The Horse Races

Gray and I didn't talk for the next few days. He completely ignored me even though I tried to apologize. Today was the Spring Horse Races and I was excited. I was hoping that I could make some money from betting on horses.

I got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast. I was use to getting up at six every morning and Doug was still making breakfast when I got to the table. Ann was reading her Morons Guide to Farming book for the second time. Gray was sitting there as well and ignored me as usual. "Morning, Ann," I say and she mutters morning back. She's so engrossed in her book she's barely noticed me. "Morning, Gray," I say nervously and he ignores me just as he has since the fifteenth.

Doug walked into the dining area with the four plates and set them down at the table. He sat between Gray and me and then we all started to eat. The silence was deafening and I wished Gray would just accept my apology already. Ann and Doug always tried to get us to talk but it never worked. Gray just wouldn't cooperate.

Once everyone was done eating Gray headed off to see Mary (the Horse Races didn't start till ten and obviously he didn't have to work today) and I decided to go for a walk until ten. He wandered around town, careful not to go near the library. He hated seeing Mary and Gray getting along, it made his heart feel like it would shrivel up and die.

Around nine fifty I head towards Town Square and see Mary and Gray talking and laughing. I flinch and wish that I could take another route to Town Square but I was already only a few feet from it. Mary and Gray were heading into the square since it had just opened for the Races. They were walking quite slow so instead of waiting behind for them to leave I hurry past them and towards Ann and Doug.

"Cliff, are you going to bet on a horse?" Ann asks excitedly. "Yeah, probably," I say as I look at the large track where the horses would run. "I thought there were only two running farms here, and only one with horses. How can this be a festival with only one person completing?" I ask curiously. "Mostly everyone in town owns a horse, cow, sheep, and chicken. But they get the two farms to keep them there for them. They take care of them and the farm owners keep a place for them to stay," Ann explains. "Oh, that makes sense," I say and smile at her. "Yep! Dad and I have a horse that we're going to race," Ann seems excited about racing. "Awesome, I'll bet on your horse then," I reply and head over to the betting table.

I place a bet on Timber, Ann and Doug's horse, and then waited for the race to start. Ann was riding Timber, a light brown horse that looked very well taken care of. Against Ann was Gray's black horse Coal, Jeff's white horse Sugar, and Duke's red-brown horse Grape.

The horses had to do four laps of the small track. Ann was winning up until the third round when Gray caught up and passed her to come in first. The next three races I lost on the bets as well. I was in shock. I had lost nine hundred gold on these races. "I am never gambling again," I mutter and slump down on the bench. Now I would only be able to stay until the middle of autumn instead of until winter.

"Sucks that you lost all four times," Ann said as she walked with me back to the Inn. "Yeah…" I mutter unhappily. "Don't worry Cliff, I'm sure you'll be able to get a job once Kai gets here," Ann says and pats my shoulder. "But what will I do once the summer is over?" I ask unhappily. "I don't know… Duke usually needs help in the autumn," Ann says with a shrug. "Yeah, and then I can try and find some other job during the winter," I'm a bit more confident now.

"See you tomorrow," I mumble as I head upstairs to the bedroom I share with Gray. As I enter the room I see that Gray has yet to return. He's probably returning his horse to Barley's ranch or spending time with Mary. I glare at nothing; her name just makes me furious.

I hear the door handle open and I look over to see Gray walk into the room – shirtless. I realize I'm staring so I quickly look down at my bed and take out my suitcase so I can pretend I'm doing something. "Umm… you did really well in the Races," I mutter and look over at him nervously. I want him to talk to me, even if it's just a grunt or a one syllable word. "I guess…" Gray mutters coldly and my heart leaps in pure joy. He talked to me, he actually talked to me! Did this mean he was starting to forgive me? Or was he just tired of being so silent? I doubted both answers. He still seemed quite angry and he never seemed to tire of being silent and mysterious.

"Did you win anything for coming in first?" I ask curiously, hoping that he would talk to me again. "A medal for my horse and one thousand gold," Gray says, he's still being cold but at least he's talking to me. "That's awesome," I say happily and smile at him. Gray doesn't smile back. "Did you win anything? I say you at the betting table," Gray mutters. "I lost nine hundred gold," I say unhappily and sigh. "Really? Isn't that going to affect how long you can stay here," Gray asks… nervously? Is he upset that I might have to leave sooner? "If I can't find a job, then yeah it will," I say and sigh again before lying down on my bed.

Gray is silent as he strips down to his boxers. I watch his facial expression and he seems upset for some reason. Does he not want me to have to leave Mineral Town? It's so impossible to tell what goes on in Gray's head.

I strip down to my boxers as well and crawl under the warm blankets of my bed. "You won't have to leave… will you?" Gray asks quietly after turning off the lights and crawling into his own bed. "If I run out of money I will. I can't pay to live at the Inn with anything other than money, can I?" I say unhappily. "Yeah…" Gray mutters before we both fall asleep.

End chapter four.