16.

Hours later it began to rain, and Cindy woke to the loud crack of thunder shaking the windowpanes. Dimly she realized there was a comforter on top of her, and her riding boots had been pulled off her feet. Part of her smiled a little then, stretching out in Jack's bed as she listened to the rain slap against the windows. The other part of her was overwhelmed with sadness, and that was the side of her that made her sit up and open her eyes.

It was dark in the room, but the bedside clock read only three o'clock. She was alone and groggy from sleep, but she couldn't allow herself to fall back into the bed. Slowly, she untangled her legs from the comforter and crawled out of bed, turning to straighten up the sheets and return everything back to normal. Calmly, she combed her fingers through her hair and put it back into a ponytail before picking up her shoes and wandering out of Jack's room.

With her shoes in one hand, she walked into the kitchen and found Jack leaning against the countertop, immersed in a conversation with his cell phone.

"Hey," he smiled at her, nodding to the kitchen table. Cindy nodded and sat down, starting to tug her boots back on.

She listened quietly to his conversation while she finished up with the boots and started to look around curiously. Cindy didn't know how many times she had been in Jack's apartment, but the bachelor's life always fascinated her. It was somehow messy and clean all at the same time, and Cindy supposed that the longer Jack lived without a feminine presence somewhere the place would continue to fall more into the messy category.

Tired of waiting for the phone call to end, Cindy got up and wandered into the living room, looking at the sparse collection of photographs that sat on an end table. There were three frames. One was of Jack, his older sister, and younger brother. The other was the infamous photograph of Bosta's first race, when the dark bay filly had attempted to savage her closest rival. Cindy smiled at that, and ran a finger down the curve of the filly's neck.

When she moved on her eyes caught on the third frame, partially hidden behind a lamp. She picked it up and furrowed her eyebrows at it, not recognizing the woman smiling back at her.

"Hey," she heard Jack behind her. She jumped, turning around.

"You're finished?" she asked, still holding the frame in her hands. "What's the news?"

"We're getting a few yearlings in next week," he said. "From the September sales at Keeneland."

"I thought we already got in a few from the July sales," Cindy said, absently turning and putting the photograph back on the table.

"Well, apparently there were a few more Lucas liked," Jack said. "We're getting five more shipped up."

Cindy shrugged and changed the subject. "I need my car. Could you drive me back to the track?"
"Sure," Jack said, picking up his keys off the coffee table as Cindy grabbed her purse off the floor.

They didn't talk so much on the way through Manhattan, but once they hit a traffic jam on the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge Cindy couldn't let the silence continue.

"When did you wake up?" she asked, tearing her gaze from the window.

"I never went to sleep," Jack said, sighing at the traffic jam as the Jaguar crawled forward and stopped again. Jack slid it into neutral and let the car rumble in place as the traffic came to a stand still.

"Oh," Cindy frowned. "I'm sorry I fell asleep. I guess the past couple of weeks have been more exhausting than I thought."

"It's okay," he said.

"I fixed up your bed," she told him.

"Thanks, but it's okay," he repeated, looking over at her.

Cindy bit her lip, and jumped when her cell phone rang in her purse, diving to dig it out from the depths of her belongings as Jack watched her with amusement. She grabbed the small annoyance and answered it quickly.

"Cindy, honey," her father answered. "I was wondering when you were going to answer your phone."

"I was taking a nap," Cindy explained. "What's up?"

"Well, your car is here at the track and you're not," her father said. "Josie and I have been looking all over for you."

"I went to lunch," Cindy said, wincing when she saw Jack smile and shift the car into first again to creep forward before shifting back into neutral. "We're on our way back, but there's this traffic jam and we've been sitting in Brooklyn for a while."

"Well, come on over by our stabling area when you get back," her father told her. "Paul just brought up the first Whitebrook string, and I knew you were curious about looking at them."

"Paul?" Cindy asked, hardly remembering anyone named Paul that was working for Whitebrook.

"Our new assistant trainer," Ian clarified. "He's fairly new still, but I've been impressed with him so far."

"Oh," Cindy said simply. "When does Ashleigh get in?"

"She'll fly up next week with Adriatic and Roma," Ian told her. "But, I'll talk to you when you get back to the track."

"Okay," Cindy said, saying goodbye and hanging up.

"Ashleigh's coming up?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," Cindy said, suddenly realizing that she hadn't really talked to him about anything concerning her family in a long time. "Adriatic and Wonder of Roma are going to do their last preps at Belmont before the Breeders' Cup."

Jack nodded quietly and silence descended again, leaving Cindy searching for something to talk about. Then she remembered the photograph she didn't recognize, and before she could convince herself not to bring it up she had already asked him who the woman in the picture was.

He gave her a surprised look, and Cindy asked him again to make sure he knew what she was talking about.

"Yeah, that's Kate Galleano," Jack said, and Cindy frowned.

"Who's Kate Galleano?"

"Does it matter?" he asked in return.

"I guess not," Cindy shrugged. "I'm just curious."

"She's an artist in San Francisco," he said.

"You know her?"

"Obviously."

"Well, you don't have to be a dick about it," Cindy huffed.

"I'm not being anything about it," Jack defended.

"Right," Cindy scoffed.

There was a small quiet moment, and Cindy stared out the window while she waited to see what would happen. Either he would tell her or he wouldn't, and she honestly didn't care. The traffic was starting to get on her nerves.

"She was an old girlfriend from high school," he finally relented. Cindy turned silently to look at him, not saying anything. That didn't really surprise her so much, so she waited for the background story.

"We were in the same class," he explained as she made herself comfortable in the passenger's seat, realizing that the traffic jam was at a stand still and people had started to get out of their cars to see what was going on.

"We broke up after graduation, since she was headed to Pratt and I was staying in California for college and the tracks in LA. I figured I'd never see her again, and we barely kept in touch for two years. Then, just after I met Audrey at Hollywood Park…"

"You met Audrey at Hollywood Park?" Cindy interrupted, getting a look from Jack.

"Yeah, I met Audrey at Hollywood Park. Her parents had a few horses with Marcus Smith, and I worked for Marcus Smith, so it was bound to happen."

Cindy shrugged and nodded, waiting for the rest of the story.

"Anyway, just after I met Audrey at Hollywood Park, Kate shows up at my apartment completely unexpected."

Cindy smiled a little, imagining the situation.

"She was moving back to the west coast, broke, unemployed, out of school, and pregnant," he went on, but Cindy had already raised up her hands and halted the story.

"She was what?"

"Pregnant?" he asked.

"Wow," Cindy frowned. "How did you take that?"

"Well, she wanted help for an abortion and she needed a place to stay while she got on her feet. Her parents were living in Europe at the time, and I was the only other person she knew for sure was still in LA, so I helped her out."

"She got an abortion?" Cindy asked curiously.

"No," Jack shook his head. "She went to the clinic, but in the end she just couldn't do it."

"So she stayed with you," Cindy said, giving Jack an incredulous look. She could hardly imagine Jack living with a pregnant woman.

"For a few months," he said. "She turned my apartment into a studio, but she cooked great food so it was a nice trade."

"You're kidding," Cindy stated.

"Nope," Jack shook his head.

"How did Audrey take that?" Cindy asked.

"I didn't know Audrey well enough then to care what she thought," Jack told her, and Cindy laughed at that, shaking her head. "She was just the daughter of my owners back then."

"What about the baby?" Cindy asked, suddenly having a flurry of questions to ask him.

"She had a son," Jack said. "Named him Christopher."

"Was she still living with you then?"

"No," he shook his head. "She had moved out at that point."

"Okay," Cindy said, still looking and feeling surprised. "Did you ever know who the father was?"

"I didn't know him when she told me," Jack shrugged then, putting the Jaguar in first when the cars started to move forward slowly. "I met him a few years back at an auction just before I moved to New York."

"You met him?" Cindy asked, surprised.

"Completely by accident," Jack frowned, shifting into second when the traffic started to pick up.

"Who was he?" Cindy pushed. "He must have been New York based."

"Cin, it turned out to be Hernon," he told her, the Jaguar roaring suddenly as he shifted into third and merged onto another road, heading up to Belmont Park.

Cindy sat quietly, staring at Jack and trying to not believe it when she knew she had already taken it as the complete truth.

"Is this a joke?" she asked instead, already feeling herself getting upset and not really piecing together her reasons for it.

"No," Jack shook his head. "You always wanted to know why Hernon and I have never gotten along, and I just told you why."

"That's bullshit," Cindy told him. "Does he even know he has a son?"

"No," Jack shook his head. "He knew that Kate was pregnant, but that was the extent of it."

"Are you trying to tell me he didn't care?" Cindy asked.

"How the hell should I know if he cared or not?" Jack asked.

"How do you know it was even David?" Cindy asked. "It's pretty easy to just pick a name out of a hat."

"Kate loved horses, Cin," Jack said through clenched teeth. "She photographed them all over the place, and one summer she went to Saratoga to check out the racecourse. I don't know how she met Hernon, but I do know that he didn't believe her about the pregnancy and let me just say that I'm not surprised after all the shit that I've heard about him since, not to mention you."

"Don't drag me into this," Cindy argued. "I'm neither stupid nor pregnant, okay?"

He gave her a look and she sighed, turning away.

"I'm sorry," she said after a minute. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm upset about this. David's a jackass, and everything you're saying makes sense."

"It's alright," he said, pulling into the backside of Belmont and rolling through the gates.

Cindy watched the nearly empty track flash by between the stables. The backside was rather quiet in the afternoon, and when Jack parked next to her abandoned Audi she hung back.

"Thanks for the ride," she said hesitantly.

"No problem," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She still didn't get out of the car. Instead they looked at each other, staring each other down.

"Thank you for telling me about Kate," she finally said. He shrugged.

"It had to be said at some point. It's just history."

Cindy smiled, and reached up to rub the palm of her hand down the beard that he had decided to keep around.

"I like the beard, you know," she told him. She brought her hand back and opened the door, turning back to tell him good bye before she slammed it closed. Backing away from the car, she saw him smile at her through the windshield and she waved him off, pulling out her keys and going to her Audi to drive down to her father's stable.

When she heard the Jaguar honk at her as it drove by, Cindy kicked up gravel at its tires playfully and watched as the car disappeared through the gate and was gone. Sighing, Cindy stood quietly and listened to the backside before she jangled the keys in her hand and got into the Audi.

"Where are these horses?" Cindy asked as she walked into her father's office. Ian looked up and laughed.

"You finally got back," he said. "Took you long enough."

"You can't rush New York traffic," Cindy smiled, following him down the stable aisle, looking in on a few horses as she went. "We tried to get back sooner."

"Who is this 'we' that you keep referring to?" her father asked, stopping in front of a stall and looking back at her. Cindy came to a frozen halt in front of a stall and smiled a little.

"One of Lucas' assistants," she shrugged, feeling her stomach grumble in a reminder that she hadn't had anything to eat since early that morning. "We were hungry."

Her stomach rumbled again and Ian laughed, shaking his head. "Your stomach must be a bottomless pit."

"I had a salad," Cindy shrugged.

"I'll get you and Josie some real food after we leave the track," her father promised, and Cindy grinned, silently thankful.

"Are these the horses?" she asked, looking into the closest stall, a big dark bay filly looking back at her.

"That's Wicked Decision," Ian nodded, giving the big bay a pat on the nose as the filly ambled up to the stall door to check things out. "One of our turf runners. She's got an excellent pedigree for turf; her sire is El Prado and she's got Rahy on her dam's side."

"Rahy?" Cindy asked. "Is this Maverick's baby?"

"Yeah," Ian nodded. "I thought you would remember Mav."

"Sure," Cindy nodded, looking in on Maverick Decision's very large daughter. Whitebrook had purchased Maverick Decision as a yearling, and Cindy had a hand in the mare's early training. Maverick had turned into a beautiful runner, and one of Whitebrook's first successful turf horses. Now it looked like she was breeding a whole fleet of turf runners for Whitebrook.

"We're looking at putting her in the Filly and Mare Turf," her father said, stroking his hand down Wicked Decision's dark neck, patting her affectionately. "But it will depend on how she comes out of her prep here."

"I'd love to ride her," Cindy found herself saying. "If Josie isn't claiming her, that is."

"I'm sure Josie would give you the mount on her," Ian said. "Wicked isn't so picky about who I put on her, but she's got a few tricky quirks that you'll pick up on pretty quickly."

"Can't wait," Cindy said, giving the filly a last pat on the nose before moving on down the aisle to a pair of chestnuts.

"Kingfisher," her father pointed to a freakishly large colt with a cockeyed blaze running over his face and down over his left nostril. "And Vinaceous," he said, pointing to a smaller chestnut filly with no markings on her head.

"They're siblings," Ian said, watching Cindy get a good look at the two chestnuts. Kingfisher had to be seventeen hands tall easily, and his darker, smaller sister had a look to her that instantly drew Cindy's attention. Ian listed off their pedigrees and ages, with Cindy listening raptly. Kingfisher was a three-year-old by Mr. Wonderful, and Vinaceous was a two-year-old by Wonder's Pride. What Cindy really liked about them was that both were out of Precocious, Fleet Goddess' first foal.

"Kingfisher spent most of this year out of training with foot problems," Ian sighed. "It seems that bad luck runs in the blood with him, but we got him going again this summer at Churchill."

"Are you pointing them both to the Breeders' Cup?" Cindy asked, and her father shook his head.

"No," Ian said. "Kingfisher doesn't have the training in to seriously consider it, and Vinaceous is unraced. We're entering her in a maiden next week."

"Great," Cindy nodded, genuinely excited to see the filly in action, as well as Kingfisher. When they moved on to the next pair of horses, Cindy was almost giddy.

She looked in on a beautiful bay filly and a dark gray colt. Both were working hungrily on their hay nets, tearing mouthfuls of the stuff off and chewing thoughtfully.

"The gray is Zero Hour," Ian told her. "You know his parents pretty well. Zero's Flight and Beautiful Music."

Cindy nodded, looking in at Glory's grandson.

"He's three, and just coming into his own so the Breeders' Cup isn't in his future," Ian said, looking over at the bay stabled next to him. "But this little lady," he said, nodding to the filly, "is running in the Gazelle tomorrow and very much a consideration for the Distaff. This is Eloquent, Fleet Goddess' three-year-old."

Cindy walked up to the bay filly and ran her hand over her neck, liking the look of her.

"You guys have so many potential stars just in this stable that I can't imagine what you have back at the farm," Cindy murmured, stroking down Eloquent's neck as the filly turned her dark brown eyes to study Cindy.

"Well, the two big ones are on their way up soon," Ian said. "What you see in front of you is really the whole of Whitebrook's racing string. We have a nice crop of yearlings waiting to be noticed, but these are all of our quality runners."

Cindy let out a breath and smiled at her father. "I'd love to help Josie exercise these guys," she said, realizing that working with these animals would be a short-lived privilege once Ashleigh showed up.

"She'd love the help, I'm sure," her father nodded. "I like to work them in pairs as often as I can, and if your work load for Lucas isn't too busy…"

"I'll be here tomorrow," Cindy nodded enthusiastically. "Between Lucas' horses, I can help Josie out."

"Great," Ian said. "Speaking of Josie," he said, looking at his watch. "Let's find her and get out of here. An early dinner sounds great to me."

"You have no idea," Cindy nodded, following her father out of the stable, glancing behind her quickly and smiling.

The next week Cindy spent every morning bouncing back and forth between Lucas' horses and her fathers' runners. She always started off her mornings with a few of Lucas' allowance and claiming horses before skipping to Whitebrook's two-year-olds. Then she was back to ride her regulars for Lucas, including Silvan, Wonderment, and Sunday. She finished off each morning with the rest of Whitebrook's horses, and usually a ride on Kingfisher, who was becoming one of her clear favorites. The huge chestnut had a perfect stride, and he was so big that it truly felt like Cindy was on top of the world when she rode him.

Just days before the Vosburgh, Cindy cantered Kingfisher down the track. Her orders were to warm him up and breeze him five furlongs out of the gate, and she was excited about the prospect of finally feeling how fast the colt could go.

As they approached the practice gate, Kingfisher snorted and pricked his ears, dropping into a showy trot. Josie was already waiting with Zero Hour, the other three-year-old dancing on his toes and tossing his head, making it hard for the Whitebrook assistant to hold onto him.

Cindy tugged lightly on Kingfisher's reins, signaling the colt to a halt. The chestnut rolled to a perfect standstill and arched his neck dramatically, waiting for the more wound up gray to enter the gate. Cindy patted the chestnut's neck and ran her hand down his mane, combing out a few wild tresses as Zero Hour walked into the gate easily on his second try. Then it was their turn.

Kingfisher walked forward and entered the gate, pricking his ears at the track ahead of them. Cindy tugged her goggles down and clutched at the colt's mane, jumping with the colt as the doors sprang open.

Kingfisher plunged, his white-marked legs leaping out and digging into the ground. Zero Hour sped away from the gate, and Cindy angled Kingfisher in after the gray, remember her father's advice that Kingfisher never broke sharp enough to fly to the front, and to let him hang back on Zero's flank. She settled the chestnut where her father had advised and let the colt roll.

The white fence on their inside was flying by, and the sounds of the two horses hitting the ground with their hooves and huffing with exertion filled the air. Cindy hovered over Kingfisher's withers, letting the colt's amber mane slap her cheeks. The big chestnut barely needed encouragement, but as they passed by the third marker and were halfway down the third furlong, she began to scrub a little at the colt's neck. Kingfisher's response thrilled her.

In one instant, they had pulled up next to Zero Hour. Josie looked a little surprised to see the huge chestnut next to them so quickly, so she pushed on the gray, getting Zero's attention and making a race of it. Then Kingfisher switched leads and fully extended, showing off his ground-sweeping stride. Zero switched strides as well, digging in next to the rail as Cindy scrubbed again at Kingfisher's neck, asking for more. The colt had reserves in spades.

They bounded past the last marker a half-length in front, and Cindy rose in the saddle with a huge grin on her face, looking behind her as Josie came even again with Zero Hour and stood in the stirrups, smiling.

"He likes you," Josie called out to Cindy as they galloped out the last furlong together, both colts streaked with sweat and eyeing each other.

"How can you tell?" Cindy asked, tugging Kingfisher down to a trot, posting in the saddle.

"Because he's being a prince," Josie said, bringing Zero down to a trot as well. "He rarely listens to anyone he doesn't take a liking to."

Cindy laughed, and patted Kingfisher fondly on the neck as the girls turned and headed to the gap. "Well, I have a feeling that I like him also."

Kingfisher snorted and shook his mane, accepting all the praise as he floated back to the gap on his long, solid legs.

The rest of the day, Cindy spent her time in Lucas' shed row giving Sunday Punch and Wonderment some extra attention. The colts had been training perfectly, and Cindy was excited about their upcoming races. Wonderment was being pointed to the Champagne in the beginning of October, and Sunday was set to run in the Vosburgh.

Cindy walked with Sunday down to the sand pit, smiling as the colt danced on his toes and shook his dark mane. The sand pit was one of Sunday's favorite activities, and Cindy intended to give him plenty of time to roll around.

"Cindy!" she heard someone coming up to her as she walked. She had to look over Sunday's neck to see who it was, and when she saw Sarah jogging up to her she had to steel herself.

"Hey," Cindy said, stopping the colt by the sand pit and letting him loose inside. Sunday let loose a happy whinny and immediately dropped to his knees in the deep sand, rolling over on his side.

"I wanted to catch you before you left the track," Sarah said with a smile.

"You caught me," Cindy said, resting Sunday's halter and lead shank on top of the solid fence as she watched Sunday roll happily in the sand.

"Do you know about the dinner tomorrow night?" Sarah asked, and when Cindy gave her a blank look she smiled. "Oh, good. I can tell you about it then."

"What dinner?" Cindy asked, frowning softly as she forced herself to look Sarah in the eye.

"A bunch of people are going to Carson's tomorrow around eight," she said. "I know it's a ritzy place, but everyone wanted to go there. I already asked Laura and she said she'd love to go. So, if you're free…"

"Sure," Cindy said quickly, smiling. "I'd love to go to dinner."

"Great," Sarah smiled, and Cindy turned back to Sunday, watching the gray colt thrash around in the sand and wishing she didn't have to feel so strange.

The next night, Cindy walked into Carson's with Ryan and Laura. Her hair was a mess of twisting curls and her heart was pounding underneath the gorgeous black dress she had found for a price she couldn't turn down. She didn't know what she was going to find when she walked into the private dining room in the back of the restaurant. As she walked through the sea of tables and richly dressed people used to the finer things in life, Cindy knew that it would only be a few hours of her life. She would walk away from this feeling wonderful, or that was at least what Laura had drilled into her head for the past day.

When they walked into the dinning room, Cindy thought she was going to faint. There were several tables dotting the room, and each was large enough to comfortably fit eight people. It almost looked like a miniature Eclipse Awards, and Cindy half expected there to be a podium and stage for speakers.

"There's Jack and Sarah," Laura pointed out to a nearly full table. Cindy spotted the three empty chairs and nodded.

"Looks fine to me," she said as Sarah noticed them and waved.

As they approached, Cindy hung back and took the last seat available, which also was the one furthest from Jack. She slid into her seat and noticed Jack watching her calmly, his dark blue eyes catching on her and refusing to move. Cindy smiled at him and settled, jumping when the waiter appeared asking for drink orders. Everyone at the table agreed to split two bottles of wine.

"Who are these horses I see you riding all the time in the mornings," Sarah asked Cindy from across the table, starting off conversation. "They aren't Lucas'."
"Sure as hell aren't," Lucas laughed next to Sarah. "But I'll let Cin answer that."

Cindy smiled at him, and then looked at Sarah. "My father trains those horses," she said. "He's the head trainer for Whitebrook Farm, who owns them."

"Oh, you did ride for Whitebrook," Sarah nodded. "I remember that now. I spotted you on a gorgeous horse a couple of days ago. A huge chestnut."

"That's Kingfisher," Cindy said, smiling.

"Kingfisher?" Jack asked.

"He's by Mr. Wonderful, out of a Jazzman mare," Cindy said, surprised Jack had asked anything. "He's three, although he barely raced this year due to some feet problems."

"Nice bloodlines," Ryan said. "Shame about the feet. Whitebrook had a winner recently, though. Eloquent won the Gazelle."

Cindy only nodded. "She's headed to the Distaff."

"Thank God none of us have a horse headed to the Distaff," Lucas chuckled. "She whipped that field."

From there the conversation flew, and the night went along with it. Cindy drank two glasses of wine, and barely felt light headed at the end of the evening. She had been too busy talking to really focus on drinking, or even eating whatever small amount of amazingly expensive food was placed in front of her. Oddly, she talked with Sarah the most and it had been so easy to forget about the past few weeks. Whenever she looked at Jack, she didn't blush or quickly look away. She could laugh with him and talk like they had when they had just met, and that astonished her more than anything.

By the time the night wound to a close everyone stood outside waiting for their cars to arrive. Jack's Jaguar appeared first, and just before it came to a stop in front of them Cindy got an unexpected hug from Sarah.

"You and I are going to be great friends," Sarah laughed. "Can't you just feel it?"

Cindy nodded and admitted to herself that she could feel that. She watched Sarah and Jack walk away from her, and smiled when Sarah turned to wave goodbye before she slipped into Jack's Jaguar. Cindy waved back and took a deep breath.

"I'm shocked," Laura said as the Jaguar disappeared down the street.

"So am I," Cindy nodded as Ryan's car was pulled up by the valet. "But, you know, it doesn't feel weird."

Laura grinned and opened her door before the valet could get there. "Didn't I tell you that you'd feel better after tonight?"

"You did," Cindy nodded. "And I didn't believe you."

"Well, it goes to show you," Laura laughed, climbing inside and shutting the door.

"It certainly does," Cindy murmured, before she slipped into the backseat and slammed the door shut.