Author's note: This was written for the Klarowinter Bingo Event. Forbes Farms was struggling and Caroline was desperate to win this horse race. Unfortunately, she was distracted by the entitled asshat who'd put a claim on her horse. And she definitely was not thinking about their kiss...
Prompt: Animal tracks in the snow
Warning: Some angst
"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people."
― W.C. Fields
It was far from the first time Caroline had been to the track — but it definitely was the most shameful. But Forbes Farms had been failing for much longer than her mother ever would admit and they needed this win. Putting Phoenix in the claiming race was a risk, and it took everything in her not to walk away from the farm when her mother told her the news. Just grab her shit and go. She'd certainly practiced enough; the past couple of years had taught her that no matter how many times she packed up that old truck, she couldn't seem to make it past the front gate. Her heart was too big. Or maybe she was just too stupid.
She and her mother had never agreed on how to run the family business, but lately, Liz had been taking bigger and bigger risks, and now she'd backed them in a corner and the only way out was to sell Phoenix in a claiming race and a chance at the purse winnings. It hurt her heart to do it, but the real kick in the gut was knowing that in one of those sealed envelopes in the track's lockbox was a claim from Klaus Mikaelson.
The starter pistol went off, shaking her from her thoughts. Focus. The gates flew open, and Caroline braced for Phoenix's signature frenzied pace. The fierce Thoroughbred always broke hard from the gate, settling into a rhythm at the front of the pack. It's how Caroline preferred to race too — impatient and bold as brass.
Just like Klaus. One of the many reasons why she and Klaus didn't work was because they were the same. Mystic Falls was too small of a town for them to not cross paths, even if the Mikaelsons could afford to send their kids to the exclusive Salvatore private school while Caroline slummed it in the public school system. Besides, the Forbes and Mikaelsons families were each other's local competition in Thoroughbred racing — it was inevitable that Klaus and Caroline would crash and burn.
The thundering hooves reached her ears, and Caroline expertly extended and constricted her legs to overcompensate for Phoenix's motion to 'drive' the horse faster. It was an old trick she'd learned just like everything else — the hard way. It gave her family's horses an edge in flat track races and helped keep Forbes Farms in the black for years. The Mikaelson patriarch was furious that the 'white trash with money' continued to be a threat to his business interests.
It was because of Mikael that Caroline had stormed into the Mikaelsons' stables years ago, hell-bent on tearing into the greedy old man, but she ran into Klaus instead. "Where the fuck is Mikael?! I'm going to shove my boot so far up his ass he'll choke on horse shit!"
Klaus hastily set aside something on the hay bale behind him, dimples on display despite Caroline's fury.
She was furious and he was amused. It was enough to make her see red all over again. "God damn it, Klaus! I'm not fucking around! That soulless asshole stole April from us!" Pushing back the frizzy blonde curls that had escaped from her braid, she added, "You guys already have the best lineup of jockeys in the state — do you seriously have to go after the ONE jockey we have that's not a pill addict or a drunk or a PR nightmare?!"
"Now love, we both know that's not true — all of Virginia knows you're the jockey to beat. Bloody hell, the entire East Coast knows it too after you shaved four seconds off your best time in the White Oak Stakes last month."
Caroline had been stunned — Klaus knew her stats? "I...uh...well, clearly I'm still not good enough for the fancy Mikaelsons to approach," she finished lamely, not understanding why her cheeks were heating up under the intensity of his gaze. Klaus was intense; everyone knew that. He could brood for hours — not that she noticed.
Klaus huffed, jaw suddenly clenched as he muttered, "Not for a lack of trying."
"What the hell does that even—" She'd been gearing up for another tirade, but Klaus smashed his lips onto hers, shocking them both into silence. Had he always smelled this good? And that little growly noise in the back of his throat — did she make him do that?
When they broke apart, Klaus stumbled over his words as he explained, "You sing Dolly Parton songs to your horse when you're angry and you face down my father with little more than a vicious smile and a cutting word, which makes you crazy or brave or maybe both. And those brief moments every day that I glimpse you riding past our north fence are maybe the best part of my day. You're an impossible, maddening woman and I can't stop thinking about you."
Caroline gaped at him in shock. Of course she'd noticed Klaus — with those dimples, everyone noticed Klaus. But she'd always made sure to notice him in the same way she'd notice the sparkly handbags at the exclusive Gilbert Boutique — he was just another beautiful thing she would never have. Her eyes darted around the stables as though searching for the right answer to a question they both knew they shouldn't ask. There on the hay bale was a sketchpad, the thing that Klaus had shoved aside as soon as she'd arrived. It had fallen open to a pair of familiar eyes. Hers.
Even though she knew how it would end, Caroline kissed him again.
When Phoenix suddenly stumbled, Caroline quickly maneuvered him to the far lane, sacrificing their lead. He was pulling up lame, and that's when she realized he'd thrown a shoe. Fuck. A cold pit had formed in her stomach and she let out an anguished cry as she carefully slowed him down. It was over. Caroline wasn't so despicable that she'd push the poor thing until he was overextended. She cared too much about that stubborn Thoroughbred to potentially harm him just to win a race.
Her eyes were wet when she dismounted, but quickly blinked away the tears so she could properly examine the front hoof. She paid no mind to the roar of the crowd, willing herself not to search the dust clouds ahead to see the winner. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the shoe had been thrown clear and the hoof was intact. At least Phoenix wouldn't be in pain while they waited on the vet tomorrow. Except she wouldn't be there. Phoenix's new owner would be.
The telltale crunch of Klaus' boots made Caroline grit her teeth. Why couldn't she have this one moment? She wouldn't get another and there were things she needed to say to Phoenix before she let him go. She'd given everything she had but it didn't matter. And then Klaus' claim was called.
The racing secretary had pulled out the envelope from the lockbox, and read off his name, discretely handing Caroline the rest of the claim so she could see he'd more than matched the minimum price she'd set for Phoenix. Even with Phoenix failing to win the race, Klaus' claim was triple what Caroline would've earned. Triple. She'd never been so insulted — and depressed. Because no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't walk away from that kind of money. She was no better than her mother.
With a frustrated sigh, she patted the gleaming chestnut nose, causing Phoenix to whinny affectionately in her ear. "You're going to be ok," she whispered, angry that Klaus was intruding on the last moment she'd have with the horse she once bottle fed and made silly daisy chain crowns for each of them to wear when they galloped through the pasture.
It wasn't fair. Life just kept getting harder.
"This is quite the momentous occasion, love – I've never been jealous of a horse before, but this one certainly seems to have captured your affection. It must be quite special."
Bristling, Caroline ground out, "Phoenix is special. Not to mention a superior Thoroughbred in every way your soulless Mikaelson conglomerate can measure. You may have won him in that claiming race, but he'll never truly be yours. Horses have long memories. And so do I."
"Don't I know it," Klaus muttered.
Her fists briefly clenched, but she purposely chose to ignore Klaus' pointed comment about their failed relationship. Nodding at Phoenix's front hoof, Caroline kept her tone brisk and businesslike as she said, "He threw a shoe during the race. I couldn't see any damage, but you should put on a boot and pack it with cotton to prevent bruising while you're waiting on the vet."
Phoenix lowered his head and pushed against her chest, demanding more of her attention. She barely resisted the urge to bury her face in his mane and sob. Her voice was tight as she told Klaus, "He's as stubborn as they come and won't tell you when he's hurting, so you have to pay attention to how he handles. His gait is damn near perfect, so if he's off, there's a good reason and you need to figure out what's going on with him."
Klaus didn't say anything, but it was the way he wasn't saying anything that fueled her anger all over again. He didn't care about Phoenix; he just wanted to win. Caroline thought of how cold and impersonal the Mikaelsons' stables were, and she hated how her voice broke when she worriedly revealed, "And there's been animal tracks in the snow outside our barn and I've been sitting up with Phoenix in case he gets spooked by coyotes or wolves or whatever is out there, so maybe you can pay one of your minions to do that just in case, ok?"
"You really think that low of me," Klaus asked quietly, "that I wouldn't take proper care of your horse?" At her sullen silence, he continued, "You know, I never judged you for your family, but you've certainly judged me for mine."
Were they really doing this? Fuck it. "Seriously?! I judge you by your actions, Klaus! You left me, remember?" She shook her head, hating the traitorous tears that threatened to fall as she let that pain back in. "I remember those late nights sneaking around the stables where we confessed all our secrets. You were going to be an artist and I was going to run a horse refuge and we were getting the hell out of here before our families could drag us into their bullshit feud."
His jaw twitched as he said tiredly, "It was the Sorbonne. You know I couldn't turn down that opportunity! And I wanted to keep seeing each other, but you were the one who ended things, remember?"
She could feel Phoenix's muscles start to tense at the heated exchange, so she lowered her voice to accuse, "Mikael sent you there to break us up. It was a bribe and you couldn't wait to toss me aside for priceless artwork and culture and all the things that you thought you needed to be happy." Scoffing, she added, "But when I heard you moved back home to serve as Mikael's right hand, I realized that even priceless art couldn't hold your attention for very long."
"You don't know what you're talking about," Klaus said with a sigh, cutting his gaze away to watch Phoenix preen under Caroline's soft praise.
"I know enough. You throw around triple the amount I would've earned today because you're up to something. Mikael always has schemes too, so congratulations for turning into the thing you always claimed to hate," Caroline bitterly said, placing a gentle kiss to Phoenix's nose as she said goodbye.
Not bothering to look at Klaus, she turned to walk away, promising herself that she could burst into tears as soon as she was safely inside her truck. The hand on her forearm surprised her, but it was the unexpected softness in Klaus' voice that stopped her cold. "Wait, please, Caroline. I came here to help, I swear."
He pulled out several long forms from his inside coat pocket, thrusting them into her hand as he said earnestly, "I bought Phoenix for you. I already had the paperwork drawn to transfer ownership to you and only you. From now on, your mother doesn't control Phoenix's fate." Glancing down at his boots, he quietly added, "The extra money was to start that horse refuge you always talked about. Your mother doesn't control your fate, either."
Caroline looked at Klaus in wonder, trying to process what it all meant. What it could mean for her. For them.
