-Chapter Three-

"Are You True?"

The Derby buzz was starting to catch, I thought as I watched Samantha unload Pride from the trailer, the rain falling heavily around us. I'd stepped beneath the covering of the barn when Samantha told me very seriously that she had him. My arms were folded across my head and my long, brown hair fell over my shoulders which were heavy from the sweatshirt that I wore.

Charlie walked up next to me, handing me a steaming cup of coffee. "Maybe if she would of drank more of this stuff she could of made it as a jockey." He said as he took a drink.

I looked at the man who stood about the same height as me and then at the tall girl who was unloading Pride, her bright red hair pulled into a pony-tail and smiled, chuckling a bit. It was true that Samantha was already too tall to be a jockey and since she was only fifteen she'd grow even more. "She's good with the horses though." I said and took a drink of coffee.

"Damn right about that." He was sounding surprisingly adamant about this subject and I couldn't help but smile again. Samantha had earned Charlie's respect all right. She might not know it but she had it. "Where's that smart-ass husband of yours?"

I took another drink of coffee, only sending Charlie a small glare as I looked around for Brad, spotting him in the corner talking to one of the new grooms. He nodded at me and I turned back to Samantha and Charlie, still a little hurt by his behavior last night. "Who's the groom?" I asked Charlie who glanced casually over his shoulder.

"Tom Brooks." he answered. "From Florida or something. Seems to have an okay touch." Once again high praise coming from Charlie. I wondered briefly if he was starting to get soft in his old age. I remembered the rage in his eyes yesterday when talking to Brad and decided against it. Nope, not a chance.

"Ash, do you want to hand me a new blanket?" Samantha called to me. "This one is soaked."

I nodded, walking over by where Brad was standing to grab a blanket from one of the chests. It was heavy with the "Townsend Acres" written boldly across it, green and yellow glittering. He gave me a charming smile and it really wasn't my fault that my heart leapt a little in my chest when I smiled back at him.

"Here you go, Sam." I said, taking the wet one from her and hanging it up to help it dry. "Why don't you get him some water and I'll grab him some hay and oats. It should help him relax a little. If it clears up later maybe we'll take him for a walk."

Samantha threw the blanket over his shoulders, adjusting it carefully. "All right. But I think that I've got him covered now if you and Charlie have somewhere you need to be." She said, looking over my shoulder as she said this and then I felt Brad's arm around me.

"Hello, Samantha." he said, smiling and then, "Charlie."

"Hello." Samantha said coolly and Charlie didn't say anything, pretending to just wander off as if he hadn't heard a thing. I frowned at both of them as I wrapped my arm around Brad's waist, pulling him closer.

"Sam, do you have things under control around here? I was thinking about taking Ashleigh out for dinner and maybe a movie." He glanced down at me, noting my surprise with another charming smile. I couldn't mask my glee, forgetting my earlier anger with him just because it felt too good when things were right between us.

"Yeah, that sounds fine." She said, turning her green eyes to me and I smiled at her, my eyes begging her to let me go without feeling guilty.

"Are you sure?" I said. " I mean I could-"

"No," she said firmly and then she smiled. "You two go off and have some fun. If I need anything I'll get Charlie." It was that moment that I loved her so much it made my heart swell. She really was the only one who was able to put everything else with Brad aside and realized that I loved him and he made me happy.

"You have my cell number if something happens." I said and looked up at Brad who was staring down at me. "I'll call in a little while to check in."

"Have a good night, Samantha." Brad said and this time his smile was genuine.

"You, too." Samantha said and then I walked off the Churchill Downs backside, arm in arm with my husband.

*

The restaurant that he chose was trendy but not too fancy. We'd stopped by our hotel room to get changed. I decided on a simple black dress that showed off a little more than usual and Brad decided on a black button up shirt and faded jeans.

A bottle of Chardonnay sat between us and a few candles as we sipped our wine and munched on breadsticks and pasta. "What's on your mind?" I asked Brad, watching as he filled his wine glass and frowned a little when he realized that I still wasn't due for a refill. I wasn't quite sure what was going on with me. Usually I was able to keep up with him but tonight the only thing that seemed to go down was the food but every time I even looked at my wine glass I felt a little nauseous.

"I'm actually wondering what's going on with you." he said, nodding his head towards my still-full wine glass. "Did I order the wrong wine? Do you want me to get you some red?"

"No, no," I said, shaking my head and smiling at him. "It's not that. I'm really not sure what it is. It just…doesn't seem to be going down well for me."

He raised a dark brow at me and I felt my blood begin to slow. He took a drink of his wine, his blue eyes never leaving mine. "Is there something you should be telling me."

Oh God, I thought and then I felt a little queasy. "No," I said shakily. "I mean I don't think there is."

"Are you sure?" He said. "We haven't exactly been careful over our relationship."

"Shut up." I said but there was no vindication in it, nothing to show that I meant it and he only chuckled a little at me.

"Did I scare you?" he said and it surprised me so much that I would be the one sitting here, freaking out and he would be so calm, cool and collected. Acting as if the very thought of a baby didn't scare the hell out of him.

"There is no way that I could be pregnant." I said and took a drink of my wine to prove it. But then, just like it had been all evening, the wine felt funny going down and I had to struggle to swallow it. "Let's talk about something else."

Brad laughed and kissed my hand and reminded me all of the reasons that I fell in love with him. He wasn't the hot-headed ass hole that everyone perceived him to be-at least not all of the time. There were moments when he was so sweet it made my heart ache, moments like this one where he made me feel so warm and comfortable. And I guess without the moments where I wondered if it was worth it at all, I wouldn't be able to appreciate how good it felt to just be with him now, holding his hand in candle light.

Maybe that's what went wrong with Mike. Maybe we just got along too well and then pretty soon there was just no more passion left. It was just the day-to-day stuff that held no adventure anymore. Days and even weeks would go by and we would hardly say anything meaningful to each other. We wouldn't laugh or cuddle or kiss or really do anything. We never fought and while everyone looked on enviously at our "perfect" relationship, I was hating every minute of it. I guess that Mike was, too but he was the only one who the guts to break it off.

We'd been together since I was fifteen so I can't say that it didn't hurt when he broke up with me. Everyone had just expected us to get married and I guess that I did, too. I'd felt lost when he'd left me and I'd had a hard time learning where to turn. It had turned me to what everyone else had convinced themselves would be the worst place for me; Brad Townsend's arms. But that was a long time ago and now that I looked at him as my husband, I was even more sure that they were wrong. It was right where I needed to be.

"Brad." We both looked up at the sugary sweet voice of Lavinia Hotchkiss-Ross staring down at us. Her features were beautiful as always, her blond hair flowing around her shoulders and her pretty blue eyes cold as ice. She glanced quickly, haughtily, at me before turning back to my husband. There was a handsome man on her arm and he kept looking around uncomfortably. "I can't believe that's really you. It's been ages since we've seen each other."

Brad looked at me first, smiling and slithering that charm right up to meet hers. "Lavinia, darling, it's been too long. How are you?" She leaned down to kiss him on the cheek and he placed his hand on her shoulder, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Fabulous," She said, batting her lashes at him and I watched in disgust as they went back in forth, asking about each other's lives. It was apparent that the handsome man on her arm and I had both been forgotten, lost in the world that Brad and Lavinia still seemed to live in. I was getting more angry by the second when I finally heard Lavinia's voice again, this time directed at me. "Ashleigh Griffen." She looked again at Brad. "This must be a business dinner or something. Am I right?"

It was my turn to be snide and sickeningly sweet. "No, actually Lavinia, this is a date. A date between two married people. Brad is my husband now." I reached for his hand and he gave it to me, looking a little surprised. I squeezed his hand and looked at him lovingly as I kicked him in the shin under the table. He winced a little but managed to cover it up quickly, much to his credit. "And who is this?"

"Oh, this is David, a friend of mine." she all but stammered. "I never saw the two of you getting married coming. I always assumed all that talk was just rumors."

Brad decided that now would be time to start kissing ass and he was right. "Nope, they aren't rumors. Ashleigh is my wife now and I have never, ever been happier."

"Well then," She said, her face turning a little red and her composure nearly snapping for a minute. "Congratulations."

We both watched as she walked off and Brad squeezed my hand again, trying to get my attention. "Sweetheart," he said, charm oozing out of every pour. "I was just trying to make you jealous."

Cheesecake was set before me and I took a bite, savoring the rich texture.

"Did it work?"

"Nope," I said and took another bite. He leaned in to kiss me but I found my wine glass first, splashing it in his face, feeling the bite of satisfaction as he sank back into his chair. "Not at all, darling." I grabbed my purse and walked out.