Racing Savannah (6 page)

It makes me proud I played a role in those odds.

I’m leaning against the fence watching the horses and lead ponies trot around the track, doing a final warm-up before post time, when Jack starts tapping his hands on the fence like he’s pounding a bongo drum.

“Calm down,” Mr. Goodwin says to Jack.

“Can’t,” Jack says.

My palms go sweaty and I cross my fingers and my toes as the horses enter the starting gate. Star is in the seventh position. I glue my eyes to the green-and-black Goodwin family silks worn by Bryant and the horse.

The gates fly open.

“And they’re off!” the announcer says, as the crowd goes silent. Hooves thunder across the dirt. It’s a sight that’s mesmerized me since I was a little girl, almost like seeing floats in a parade. The excitement of seeing horses fly out of the gate leaving a wake of dust is electric.

But Star broke late and now he’s trailing the pack. Ten other horses are leaving him in the dust. A colt named Hard Money has the lead, followed by Desert Waves. The Name’s Timmy is in third. “Go, Star,” I say, not tearing my eyes off the green and black silks.

He starts to pick up speed at the 5/8 pole, and I jump up and down. This is Star’s seventh race.
Seventh
time’s a charm.

The pack reaches the straightaway and hurtles toward the finish line. Star is still in last place but he’s making ground—he passes four horses in a late break, but it’s not enough.

Jack slams his hand against the fence when Desert Waves crosses the line first.

“Maybe next time,” Mr. Goodwin says, looking equal parts pissed and pitying.

“Damn,” I whisper, not wanting to meet Jack’s face. He brought me along today to keep his horse calm! To help him win the race! How will I get the job now?

“He should’ve won,” Jack says, rubbing his eyes. “Shit.”

Mr. Goodwin lays a hand on his shoulder. “Son, lower your voice, please.”

“He shouldn’t be losing. Not with his breeding! That’s all horse racing is. Breeding!” Under his breath, I hear Jack mutter, “And I can’t even fucking do that right.”

I look at the crowd around us. People are staring at Jack. Here’s the thing: regular horse races aren’t like the Derby. They aren’t like an NFL game. It’s about gambling. People watch the races then they go inside and cash in their winning tickets, and then they bet again. They usually don’t make a big scene.

“I can’t believe it,” Jack says, turning to face his father, letting out a string of curses. “Five lengths! He might as well have not run,” Jack hisses.

“Shh,” says Mr. Goodwin.

I feel bad for Jack, but I’m also scared I won’t get the job now. I’ll have to try out for another owner, maybe even work at another farm away from my dad. I need an opportunity to do something big with my life—I won’t get stuck making minimum wage.

I turn to watch Bryant handing Star off to Rory to cool the horse down. Dad pats the horse’s neck then walks over to us. “Savannah, I need you back in the barn now.”

That’s when Jack looks at me as if he just remembered I’m here. Blood races to my head. I really thought I could help with Jack’s horse. Bile works its way from my stomach to my throat.

“Excuse me,” I say to Jack and Mr. Goodwin, then follow Dad back to the barn. I yank a sucker out of my pocket. Now’s not a good time to ask if I got the job.

Star did great in his warm-ups. So what went wrong? What’s he so scared of?

I glance back just in time to see Abby Winchester hurling herself into Jack’s arms. He looks over her shoulder, staring at me. Why in the world is he hugging her?

I pop the sucker in my mouth, shove the wrapper in my pocket, and get ready for the long drive home.

After the races, at twilight, I’m hanging out by the Greenbriar pasture, watching Star graze. He’s chomping on grass, not a care in the world. I unlock the fence and head into the pasture.

Star sees me, trots over, and invades my space, pushing against me.

“Nuh uh.” I get right back in his face, showing him who’s boss. I push him away, making him move several feet from me. Dad always says that horses have short memories and that I should never worry about hurting their feelings. They’ll always come back, because they want to feel safe, they want to feel taken care of.

So why doesn’t Star feel safe? What’s he scared of? With his bloodline, he should be an expert racer already. Instead he panicked and got a shitty start out of the gate.

I cluck my tongue and snap. “Star, c’mere.”

He looks up and walks over, keeping a bit of distance from me this time. I reach into my pocket and pull out a treat, rewarding him for showing me respect. As he eats from my hand, his breathing slows and a stillness settles over his body.

I start examining him, looking for injuries. Monitor his breathing. I rest my head against the withers and listen for his heartbeat.

Sometimes, it’s almost like I can hear a horse’s voice. This one time, I could tell a mare was sick because she kept rubbing her head against mine and whinnying. Turns out she had an infection that could’ve made her go blind. And I caught it just in time.

“Why are you so skittish?”

I stand there with Star while he grazes and stare up at the sky, praying to Mom. Is she up there listening to me? I pray that even though Star did bad in his race today, I get the job.

All of a sudden, Star’s tail starts whipping around and his ears lay back. He’s nervous or angry.

“Hi,” Jack calls out, waving from outside the fence, his hounds running circles around him. Jack looks comfortable in a T-shirt, track pants, and a baseball cap turned around backward. A good outfit to curl up in on a Sunday night.

Star pins his ears. Does the horse not like Jack, or is it the three rambunctious dogs at his side? I’d hate to tell Jack that his horse doesn’t like him.

“Can we talk?” Jack asks.

Nodding, I pat Star’s neck and exit the pasture.

“You did really well today.” The fresh smells of Jack’s cotton T-shirt and soap waft up to my nose, luring me into a trance. His eyes are bright sapphires under the moon.

“I’m sorry he didn’t win. I can’t believe it, honestly.”

“Me neither. He did better in your warm-up than he did in the damned race.” Jack purses his lips and looks at the next pasture over, where mares are grazing with their young. “We should probably get the horses inside.”

Jack and I mount Appaloosa ponies and herd the horses toward the barns. A rush of happiness fills me when he gently coaxes a yearling into his stall. I love how he respects and takes care of his animals, and his fluid riding skills show he’s a true horseman. The stars glitter against the deep purple sky. It feels like it’s just me and Jack for miles and miles.

Much too soon, the horses are safe and cozy in their stalls, and I have no excuse to spend more time with him.

“Lock that gate,” he calls.

“Yes, sir.” I finish the chore and meet back up with Jack.

“Don’t call me sir.”

“Aren’t you the boss?” I tease.

He scratches the back of his neck, looking pained all of a sudden. “I’m probably gonna score a big fat F on this test.”

“Why do you say that? Everyone respects you.” Gael told me a story about when Jack was fifteen and his father was out of town and couldn’t be reached, Gael was wrestling with whether to euthanize a prized gelding that broke his femur on the track. Jack made the call to put the suffering horse down.

“I don’t know who’d buy a horse I breed considering how bad Star’s turned out.”

“He’s a fast horse,” I reply. “He just has some growing up to do.”

“He should be better than this. He’s bred from the Man o’ War and Nasrullah lines.”

“He just got a bad start out of the gate.”

“Star’s been gate-trained a couple times already.” We’re standing so close, I can count the freckles on his nose. See the flecks of gray in his blue eyes. “I love Star, but my father thinks I should sell him to recoup some of the cost. Cut my losses.”

A memory of Moonshadow roars into my thoughts.
Moonshadow
bucking
and
squealing, trying to get away from strange men she didn’t know, trying to get back to me.
I swallow hard and try to focus on the present.

“Please don’t sell Star,” I say quietly. “Crotchety as he is, I like him.”

“It’s a good thing I’m the boss right now ’cause I can’t sell him. I can’t fail on my first big stud fee deal. Nobody will respect me as an owner…Maybe your workouts with Star will get him in shape for the race at Keeneland next weekend.”

I move closer to Jack, getting in his space just like pushy Star. “Does this mean I got the exercise rider job?”

He steps closer, invading
my
space this time. “I think it’s pretty obvious you’ve got the job.”

“Yay!” I squeal and jump into his arms, wrapping my arms around his neck. My heart swells at the trust Jack is putting in me. He clears his throat and I immediately let go, mortified. “I’m sorry.”

He gently pats my shoulder. “So we’ll see you tomorrow morning, then?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Stop calling me sir.” He laughs softly and gazes into my eyes, and it feels like everything stops. The wind stops rustling the grass. We both stop breathing. The only thing that keeps on are the twinkling stars.

Heat floods my body as he takes a step closer and gently pushes me against the white fence. “Hey,” he says. His fingertips graze my cheek. He stares at my lips, setting me on fire. Holy shit, what is happening!

I grab his shoulders to hold myself up, breathing hard, inhaling a mix of honeysuckle and soap. The fence scrapes against my back. What would Jack say if someone caught us here?

I push him away before anything happens.

“What’s wrong?” he murmurs, as if in a daze, locking his hands around my waist.

“Jack, no.”

At the word
no
he jerks his hands away and holds them up. “Wow, you really don’t want to kiss me, eh?”

“You’re my boss.”

His eyes flutter open wide and he takes a step back. “Shit, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

Of course he wasn’t thinking. He doesn’t have to worry about what other people would say.
“Why is the rich, gorgeous Jack Goodwin kissing a girl like
her
? He must be using her because she works at Cedar Hill. She’s convenient.”
He doesn’t have to worry about his father getting fired if he’s caught kissing me. On top of that, after he badmouthed Abby Winchester today, he let her hug him! So how can I trust anything he says? Just like all rich people.

Jack nervously scratches his nose. “I’m sorry. Can we pretend this never happened? My dad’ll be pissed at me.”

Without a word, I abandon Jack by the pasture, haul ass back to Hillcrest, and rush into my shoebox of a room, slamming the door shut behind me, rattling the picture of my mother hanging by the door. I reach my bed in two steps and collapse.

Jack Goodwin just tried to kiss me!

It’s not that I’m nervous about the prospect of hooking up. I’ve fooled around before—I even had a regular thing going with this guy Adam. We almost slept together once, but not even the cheap wine coolers we drank before made it feel right. I want my first time to be with someone I love and respect.

I cradle my stuffed bear. If I’d stayed out by the pasture, if I hadn’t pushed Jack away, he would’ve kissed me.

And I’m not sure what I think about that.

• • •

I have five days to get Star in shape for his next race.

If he doesn’t win this time, there’s a good chance Mr. Goodwin will convince Jack to sell him, and I can’t let that happen.
Not
again.

So, on Monday morning before school, I meet Gael for my first day of work as an exercise rider at Cedar Hill.

“Congratulations on the job, drama mama.”

I give him my death glare as he gives me my schedule. I’m to take Minerva, Star, and Echoes of Summer out for exercise. I will ride each horse for about twenty minutes before handing the horse off to a hot-walker to cool down before it gets a bath and food.

First I take Minerva out onto the track, warm her up, then turn the other direction and race around the turf to avoid a traffic jam with other riders warming up.

When I’m just getting finished with Minerva, Jack appears on the edge of the track, riding Wrigley. He pulls his cowboy hat off, waves it at the staff, and puts it back on. Most guys my age would still be sleeping at 5:30 a.m., but Jack’s up early to see what’s happening on the track and in the barns.

When I trot past, riding Minerva, I discover that Mr. Serious is back. He avoids my eyes and tips his hat. “Good morning, Savannah.”

“Good morning,
sir
.”

Thank the heavens he didn’t bring up last night’s almost kiss.

I drop Minerva off with a hot-walker then retrieve Star from Greenbriar. He flicks his ears forward and approaches me but doesn’t get too close. He’s starting to respect my space.

“Good boy.” I take his lead and direct him out onto the track. He seems happy and carefree today. We trot around the track two times and then head over to the clocker’s tower.

“I’m ready,” I tell Gael so he can time me, and Star and I take off. I feel like I’m riding a ballistic missile. “Woooo!” I maintain perfect control, so it’s a great run. When I’m finished, Gael and Jack are clapping, and Mr. Goodwin has joined them. He whistles and claps too.

“Time?” I call out to Gael.

“1:41,” he replies. “It’s not complete shit.”

“It was brilliant!” Jack shouts. Mr. Goodwin gives his son a weird look.

I wave to Jack, dismount, and whisper to Star that he did a wonderful job. But the second I pass Star off to a hot-walker, the horse starts whinnying and slapping his tail around. Instead of going to get Echoes of Summer, I rush back over to Star, relieve the hot-walker, and cool the horse down myself. Star nickers and nips at my face as we walk in circles over and over.

I only have five days to get this horse ready to race.

What’s wrong with him? Why does he only respond to me?

• • •

After work on Monday morning, Rory drives me to my new school, and on the way, I dig into his new screenplay.

“But this doesn’t make any sense,” I say, waving the script. “Your character just met the girl two minutes ago. Why would she sleep with him?”

“True love. She saw him and just had to have him.”

“Girls don’t sleep with guys two minutes after meeting them.”

“But it’s like, every guy’s dream!” Keeping one hand on the wheel, Rory taps his other hand on the paper. “That’s why this script will sell. Men will love it.”

“Well, I wouldn’t pay for a movie ticket to this. You need to edit.”

“I’m so glad I met you. Nobody else wants to read my screenplays.”

“I’m sorry no one wants to read your porn,” I tease.

“Hey, now. It’s high-brow porn.”

My heart starts thumping hard the moment we pull into the parking lot, where Rory says the seniors park in the back corner. I peer out the truck window at a sunken area of concrete filled with water, weeds, and mud.

“Why is there a lake in the middle of the parking lot?”

“Because the school spends all its money on the football team.”

Rory adds that everyone calls this area of the parking lot
The
Swamp
, and for some unknown reason it’s cool to park there.

I hop down out of the truck, and Rory links my arm in his as we walk past a group of smokers and then the skaters. He helps me check in at the office and points out the cafeteria and the bathroom, but then abandons me at my homeroom because he absolutely has to meet up with the drama teacher. He swears this will be the year the teacher finally agrees to produce his original play,
Call
Me
When
Your
Mom
Is
Back
in
Town
.

After homeroom, in which I talk to absolutely nobody, I navigate through the crowded hallway. My first class of the day is Crucial Life Lessons, a required course for seniors, where we’ll learn, you guessed it, “Crucial Life Lessons.” Is that stuff like how to balance our bank accounts, warnings not to sign up for credit cards, and the difference between 87 and 93 octane gas?

I enter the classroom and grab a seat toward the back. The name Coach Lynn is scrawled across the whiteboard. Vanessa Green comes in, takes the seat right in front of me, and turns around.

“I had fun Saturday night,” she says. “I think I have a sparkler addiction now.”

“I had fun too—”

Jack Goodwin appears in the doorway.

“Oh shit,” I mumble.

He sees me and swaggers past girls trying to speak to him and lazily drops into the desk next to mine, props his foot on his thigh, and shakes his cowboy boot. I guess he isn’t allowed to wear a cowboy hat in school; his hair curls around his collar.

“You did fantastic this morning,” Jack says, leaning toward me and smiling that lopsided smile. “I know Star’ll do well this weekend at Keeneland. I know it.”

“Thank you.” I smile, bowing my head a little.

“So you and Whitfield, huh?” He drapes his arms across the desks in front of and behind him. Vanessa swivels slightly, listening in.

“What?” I reply.

“I saw you walking in the parking lot with him,” Jack replies.

“So?”

“So I’m wondering if you guys got a thing going on.”

“Naw. He’s too tall. He’d break his neck trying to kiss me.”

Vanessa laughs.

Jack gazes into my eyes and my pulse thumps harder and harder. Is he gonna bring up the almost kiss?

“So he’s just a friend?” Jack asks.

“Right.”

That’s when Rory enters the classroom and grabs the seat right in front of Jack.