Happy Saturday. Hope everyone's enjoying their weekend.

###

The next couple of days were uneventful, and Alec had fallen into a regular routine. Mornings at the track with Henry, putting the horses through their workouts, watching races in the afternoon. Alec hadn't gotten a chance to see Sarah, and he figured that for now, that was probably a good thing. They were both busy, and neither one of them needed the distraction.

It wasn't until Friday afternoon, as they were saddling Storm Front, that their paths finally crossed. Sarah was in the paddock, suited up in Hopeful Farms black and white silks, chatting with a couple of the other jockeys. Alec couldn't help but feel a little nervous. They hadn't spoken since the night they had spent together, and he had no idea what to expect from her.

She greeted him with a broad smile. "Hey stranger. Long time no see."

Alec laughed a little, relaxing. "Ready to ride?"

"Of course. Anything I need to know?"

Alec felt a lot more comfortable now that they were on safe ground. He gave Sarah a brief rundown of Storm Front's past performances, giving her notes on how to keep the colt ready at the gate. "He has a tendency to get a little placid in the gate. It's part of why he breaks slowly. He can't afford that in a six furlong race."

"Got it." Sarah nodded. "I'll keep him active."

"Get him near the front, just off the pace." Alec continued. "He'll give up if he ends up near the back of the pack. If you can get him to break quickly, you should have a good shot."

The grooms were walking the horses into the paddock, and Alec spotted Storm Front. The colt was calm but alert, his ears swiveling at the sounds. Alec nodded to the groom and took the lead.

Sarah reached out to rub the colt's nose before Alec could stop her. The colt nickered, but didn't pull away. "Hey boy. Ready to run today?" she spoke in soothing tones.

"Riders up!"

Alec boosted Sarah up into the saddle, letting his hand linger on her leg. "Have a good race. Don't worry too much about the outcome."

Sarah's face took on a stubborn expression. "I always ride to win."

Alec nodded and patted the colt on the hindquarters. He just wanted the colt to finish well, and for both horse and rider to emerge unscathed. Finishing in the money would be great, of course, and a win would be even better. But considering Storm Front only had one win out of six career starts, he wasn't going to get his hopes up.

He left the paddock to join Henry in the stands. His nerves were jangling as he listened to the announcer.

Henry laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "This is the tough part about being on this side. You don't have control any more. It's all up to your rider."

Alec nodded. If their interaction in the paddock was any indication, Sarah would have no problem with Storm Front.

"Alec, you've done your part." Henry told him firmly. "Let Sarah do hers."

The bell rang and the gate sprung open. Alec put up his binoculars and spotted Storm Front, his head just in front. He'd broken well, and Alec was pleased. If the colt could maintain his pace, he had a good chance of finishing in the money.

He watched as Sarah held him steady, allowing the horse just to Storm Front's outside pull ahead. Alec knew that if Sarah could hold him back a bit, Storm Front could close strong.

"Come on, come on." Alec muttered, watching as Sarah nudged the colt, encouraging him. The colt took the rein Sarah offered, his speed building until he passed the horse to his outside. Another horse started coming up the rail, pushing through traffic until he was at Storm Front's hindquarters. Sarah waved the stick, barely touching Storm Front, and the colt responded with a burst of speed that Alec hadn't realized he'd had.

"And the order of finish is two, five, eight. Impressive late run by the eight, but not enough to catch the two."

"Holy shit." Alec exclaimed softly. "Henry, did you see that?"

"Sure did." Henry laughed. "Good work. Now get down to the winner's circle."

"Right." Alec quickly made his way out of the grandstand to meet his winning colt.

"There he is." The voice of the track president was familiar. They were well acquainted from his riding days. "Alec! Hell of a job with this one."

"Thanks." He took his spot next to Storm Front, holding the colt's reins while the picture was taken. He rubbed the colt's nose affectionately. "You did good, boy. You did good."

He moved to help Sarah down, but she had already hopped down and was unbuckling the saddle to go weigh in. She patted Storm Front, murmuring to him.

"Hey." Alec called to her.

"Oh hey." Sarah fixed him with a bright smile. "Told you I ride to win."

"That you did." Alec nodded. "You were great out there."

"It wasn't easy." Sarah laughed. "He was starting to sleep at the gate."

"I couldn't tell from where I was. He broke well."

"That's because I gave him a little kick when the bell went off."

"Well, it worked." Alec paused briefly. "I'd like to see you tonight."

"Okay." Sarah nodded. "My last race is the sixth. Meet you after that?"

"Sounds good. See you then."

Sarah nodded in agreement and walked away, her braid swinging underneath her helmet. She looked so small compared to the saddle she was carrying, although in reality she wasn't much shorter than he was.

"She's a cutie, huh?" the track photographer nudged him. "Half the damn jockeys have hit on her already. Maybe you'll have better luck."

Alec allowed himself a small smile at that. What had transpired between he and Sarah would remain his business, and his alone.

He returned to the grandstand to watch the rest of the day's races with Henry. They engaged in idle chatter, considering their next move with Storm Front. Perhaps a few more optional claiming races, maybe a move up the class ladder, and then he might be ready for allowance company by the fall. While Storm Front would never attain the glory of top notch three-year-olds, he had the potential to have a reasonably good career now that he was in the Hopeful Farm barn.

After the sixth race finished, Alec moved to leave. Henry gave him a puzzled look. "Where are you going? There's four more races on the card."

"I'm meeting up with Sarah. This was her last ride of the day."

"I see." Henry's expression was unreadable.

"Is that a problem?"

"No, no problem." Henry shoved his porkpie hat further back on his head. "Just be careful. I don't want you losing your head over some girl."

"Again."

"Yes, again."

A silence stretched out between the two men. Alec wanted to explain that this time was different, that whatever relationship with Sarah would be naturally time limited, that he had learned the hard way not to give so much of his heart away. But he knew such an explanation would be useless.

Instead he just nodded and continued on his way. With any luck, by the time he got down to the locker room, Sarah would be ready.

Sarah greeted Alec with a wide smile and a hug. Her hair was down, held back with a headband, and she was dressed in a sweater, jeans, and boots. To Alec she looked just as lovely like this as she did in racing silks. Maybe he was beginning to lose a little of himself to her.

It was a pleasant afternoon, and they spent the time walking around. Long Island was hardly as exciting as New York City itself, but Alec took pleasure in showing Sarah the areas that were so familiar to him. Belmont and Aqueduct were as much home to him as Hopeful Farm had become.

"One of these days you should come down to Louisiana." Sarah told him. "We could have a good time in New Orleans."

"That would be fun." Alec answered.

"We do have racetracks down there. Might be a good place to race Storm Front. Not that we don't have our own high-class runners, of course."

"I've seen a few. Plenty of Derby runners come out of the Louisiana Derby."

"Admit it." Sarah nudged him. "You don't really think they're quite up to snuff."

"I...think there's room for everyone." Alec replied. "You've got racing at all levels."

Sarah sighed and rolled her eyes. "You're kind of elitist."

"Elitist?" Alec was surprised. "How?"

"You and Henry are so used to operating at a high level that y'all forget other levels exist. You damn sure don't mix with them." Sarah scolded him. "Tell the truth, what did you think when Henry told you about Storm Front?"

"I thought he was crazy. Couldn't figure out what he was doing picking up a claimer."

"See what I mean?" Sarah pointed out. "Now see, I've got family that race horses all up and down the claiming ranks. They're good horses. Maybe not Triple Crown material, but still good horses."

"Maybe you have a point." Alec conceded. "It's not exactly like I had to work my way up. Henry already knew his way around the sport by the time I showed up with the Black. I guess I was kind of sheltered."

Sarah let out a short laugh. "Spoiled is more like it. I'm trying to imagine my mom just letting me keep a horse in the backyard."

"To be fair, it was a big backyard." Alec answered. "And Henry was our neighbor."

"Quite the coincidence."

"Yeah, it was a lucky break. I don't know what we would have done with the Black otherwise. It's not as if I could have kept him as a pet."

Sarah slipped her hand into his. "Maybe I'm being a little hard on you."

Alec squeezed her hand in response. "No, you're right. I've been very lucky. Henry and I have worked our asses off for everything, but if my parents hadn't agreed to let me keep the Black, none of it would have happened."

And maybe, he thought to himself, he had no right feeling as he did after Pam's death. After all, his parents had given him everything. He'd had opportunities others could only dream of. And yet.

"What's on your mind?" Sarah's voice pierced his thoughts.

"Oh, lots of things." Alec answered in what he hoped was a casual tone.

"Like what?"

Alec debated just how much he wanted to reveal. Not that he hadn't revealed plenty already, but still. He took a deep breath before answering. "Like I have no right to feel like I do after everything my parents have done for me."

"You've got every right to feel what you feel." Sarah countered. "Maybe you don't have the right to act on every feeling. You can't run away from everything."

"No, no I can't." 'Alec sighed heavily. "If nothing else, I guess I've learned that."

"It's not easy. No sense pretending it is. But you'll be better for it." She planted a kiss firmly on his cheek. "Let's go find food. I'm starving."

The conversation over dinner moved to more general topics, Alec studiously avoiding any further delving into his psyche. He just wanted to enjoy his time with Sarah, not treat her as his personal shrink. That was a job best left to professionals if he ever decided to go that route. So far he had avoided it. It was bad enough that he had revealed so much to Sarah that he had never told anyone else. He didn't really want to dig too much deeper. There was no telling what he might find.

"We should get back. Henry's probably waiting for me."

"The work never really ends, does it?" Sarah laughed a little.

"Never."

They walked back to the motel, and Alec left Sarah at her door with a brief kiss. "Maybe I'll come see you later?"

"I'll be here. Just knock."

The thought thrilled him a little, carrying him back to his and Henry's room.

Henry glanced at him over his glasses as he entered, the table covered in papers. "Ah, there you are."

"Sorry. Didn't plan on being gone so long."

Henry waved off Alec's words. "Sit, sit. Let's talk some strategy."

Alec took a seat as Henry started analyzing the rest of the field for tomorrow's race. Henry lived for this stuff, obsessing over past performances and workouts. Alec had learned so much about the business from Henry, and he knew in good time the responsibility for managing Hopeful Farm would eventually fall to him. He hoped that wouldn't be for a good long time.

"Starshine is going to be Night Sky's biggest competition. He's been nailing his workouts, and he's pretty close in speed to Night Sky. I saw him run down in Florida. Comes from good stock."

Alec studied the other colt's workout times. "Three starts, two seconds and a third. You sure he's Night Sky's biggest competition?"

"Starshine had tougher competition down in Florida. A lot of them went to Aqueduct for the spring."

Alec was skeptical, but looked over the rest of the field. "What about this one? Winter Song."

Henry peered at the sheet. "Yeah, that colt sired by Wintertime. Fast little guy. He's a first time starter too."

"His workouts are pretty solid. Faster than Night Sky's."

"Workouts aren't everything, Alec. You know that."

"It's all we have to compare them to."

Henry nodded, reluctantly agreeing. "So add Winter Song to the list."

Alec smiled a little. "It's going to be a good race."

"Night Sky's got a good shot at this. He's got the blood of champions in him."

Alec tapped Winter Song's workout report. "He's not alone."

Henry shook his head. "Gets tougher every year."

Alec looked at Henry. "You know, if you ever want to retire..."

"Not yet, son." Henry regarded him sharply. "Not until I know you've got your head on straight and you're ready to take this on."

Alec's heart sank a little. Not that he was ready for Henry to retire, but he had been talking about it vaguely for the last couple of years. "What would that take, Henry? For you to think I'm ready, I mean?"

Henry leaned back in his chair. "Well, I need to know that I can count on you, that you're not going to run off on me again."

Alec could feel the resentment building again, but checked it. It was in line with what he and Sarah had talked about earlier. Eventually he nodded.

"Look, I know these last few months have been hard. Losing someone is hard. When the missus died, it hurt. Hurt bad. But you've got to pick up and move on. That's life."

"You were there with her. You got to say goodbye. I didn't. I had to read about it in the New York Times. If it hadn't been for that..."

Henry sighed. "It's a hell of a way to find out."

"I'd almost rather never have known."

"You would have found out sooner or later."

"Or I would have figured she just didn't want to see me again. I think I could have lived with that."

"Then I would have had a lovesick jockey riding for me, and that's no good either."

"Instead you have Sarah." Alec realized how bitter he sounded.

"You've seen her ride. She's damn good." Henry peered at him over his glasses. "And you like her too. Been spending enough time with her lately."

"Yeah." Alec let out a little sigh.

"Just don't get too stuck on her."

"Don't worry. I know better now."

Henry smiled a little. "Nothing wrong with falling in love. Hell, I'm surprised it hasn't happened before now. But you've got to take care of business, too. You can't go acting like some lovesick teenager. You're too old for that."

"Right." Alec shuffled through a pile of papers on the table. "What about the Peter Pan?"

"Later." Henry waved him off. "I'm beat and I'm going to bed. You should do the same."

"In a while."

Henry looked at him sharply. "Don't go keeping Sarah up half the damn night either. We need her to be sharp tomorrow."

Alec felt his face heat up as Henry let out a short laugh. "You think I don't know what you two are up to? Hell, I'm old, but I'm not stupid."

"Jesus, Henry."

"Have your fun, just don't stay up all night."

With that Henry got up from the table and ambled toward the bathroom. He would never say so, but the years were starting to wear on him. It was getting well on time for Alec to take on more responsibility. He knew that. He just hoped he would be up to the task.

###

Alec went through some paperwork on the table, tidying up after Henry had scattered it everywhere. The man held enough information in his head that he probably didn't need the reports, but Alec found them useful.

Soon Henry was snoring softly, and Alec had done as much analysis as he felt was useful. He still wanted to find another race to enter Storm Front in, but that could wait for another day. Alec and Henry shared a general philosophy that most horses benefited from less racing, and he wanted to build Storm Front's endurance further to test him in a longer distance. The six furlongs seemed to suit him fine, and the colt had cooled out well afterwards.

He was one of those claimers that Sarah had talked about. Storm Front might never attain champion status, but he was turning out to be a good, solid horse. Sarah definitely had a good point in that respect.

He glanced at his watch. It was close to 9:00, and he knew that if he were going to see Sarah, now was the time. She'd had a busy race day, and was riding Night Sky in the second race the next day. He hoped to catch her before she fell asleep.

Alec quietly left the motel room and made his way a couple doors down to Sarah's room, knocking on the door.

Sarah opened the door, her hair loose around her face. "Hey. I'd almost given up on you."

"Business." Alec smiled. "You know."

"Come on in."

Alec stepped in, noticing that Sarah wore a long t-shirt that hit about mid-thigh, and Alec's eyes immediately went to her thick, strong legs. The thought of those legs wrapped around him thrilled him, but he quickly checked the thought. He didn't want to get too carried away.

"Take your boots off, stay a while." Sarah had already climbed back on the bed, patting the space beside her. Alec dutifully complied, following Sarah to the bed and planting a kiss on her cheek.

"You can do better than that." Sarah teased.

Alec leaned in, capturing her lips in a long, slow kiss. He could hear Sarah let out a little sigh before he pulled back. Her eyes fluttered open, the slightest smile on her face. "That's more like it."

She curled up next to him, placing her head on his shoulder. Alec nodded toward the TV. "What are you watching?"

"Just some movie. It's not important."

They fell into a silence, half watching the movie. Alec couldn't stop thinking about his conversation with Henry. If he wanted to retire, Alec had to make sure he was ready to take over. He had a good crew up at the farm, and Mike would be more than happy to take on a larger role, he was sure of that.

Sarah gave him a look and nudged him. "Something on your mind?"

"I think Henry wants to retire." Alec blurted out. "But he always figured I would take over and...I haven't exactly been as reliable as I could be. So I'm trying to figure out how to prove myself so the old man can retire."

"You really think he will?"

"Who knows." Alec let out a little exasperated huff. "He was retired when we met, and he's been back at it for a long time. I can't see him staying away entirely. It's in his blood."

"Like you."

"And you."

Sarah sighed. "These damned horses. They sure take a lot out of us, huh?"

"Time, money, and energy." Alec laughed.

"They're worth all of it and then some."

They fell into silence again, shifting until Sarah's head rested on Alec's chest. Simply laying here with her felt so natural, so right, that Alec could barely imagine being anywhere else. It brought to mind those summer nights he had spent with Pam, laying in the fields at Hopeful Farm under the stars.

"I give you Artemis."

Alec let out a heavy sigh. He wished that such memories wouldn't intrude, not while Sarah lay beside him. It felt disloyal somehow, as if he were betraying Pam's memory by being here.

Pam was gone. She wasn't coming back. The familiar ache returned to him at the simple acknowledgment. Why couldn't he just move on?

Sarah shifted beside him with a murmur. Alec shook his head to clear it. "Did you say something?"

"Are you still watching this?" Sarah was face to face with him. Her teasing expression turned to one of concern. "Something wrong?"

"No, no." Alec blinked, surprised to find his cheeks wet. "Just...thinking."

"Well, that's enough of that." Sarah told him softly, stroking his cheek with her thumb.

Alec nodded, taking Sarah's face in his hands and kissing her deeply. All the pain, the memories, melted away in the moment as their hands tugged at each other's clothing, leaving nothing between them. Where they had previously been so fierce, they were now tender and gentle, taking the time to savor the moment that would pass all too quickly.

Afterwards they lay quietly, the TV the only sound. Sarah curled up next to Alec, one arm and a leg flung over him. Alec felt a flicker of sadness, though he enjoyed having Sarah next to him. Part of him wished it could always be like this, though he knew that was impossible.

He wished he could be more like Sarah, taking each moment as it came, with little worry about the future. All Sarah wanted to do was ride, wherever that may be. He had to admit he was a little jealous, though the lack of security seemed an inadequate tradeoff for the freedom it offered.

The farm was a responsibility he had chosen to take on, Alec reminded himself. No one forced it upon him. And yet at times he found himself chafing at that responsibility, the knowledge that he had given up all the normal rites of passage that came with young adulthood in order to make his and Henry's dreams a reality.

No wonder he had run away after Pam's death. It had felt like his final breaking point.

He was startled at the revelation, surprised he hadn't realized it before. Being with Pam had given him a taste of all that he had missed out on. And now, here with Sarah, he was reminded again of what he was missing out on.

Surely there was a way to manage both. Alec saw it all around him, successful horsemen and their adoring wives. But none of those wives were like Pam, or like Sarah, for that matter. No, they were the kind of women that those two old guys had talked about at the track, women who wanted to keep a home and raise a family while the owners, trainers, and riders spent their lives with the horses.

Sarah shifted next to him, breaking him out of his thoughts. Alec briefly considered slipping away and returning to his own room, but that seemed like a good deal of effort at the moment. Instead he pulled the covers over them both, turning so that he could hold her closer. The warmth relaxed him, and he allowed his eyes to drift shut.