His arm tightened around her waist as a robust chuckle escaped. “I believe you’re right, my dear.”
The gun sounded and Cassie had no time for nerves. She couldn’t keep her eyes off the places switching, the colored numbers on the board swapping out as horses passed each other and inched toward the lead.
Don Pedro was in forth. Cassie fisted her hands so tight, her short nails bit into her palms.
“Come on. Come on,” she muttered.
Tessa eased past third and into second on the last turn.
The announcer’s tone raised in excitement as Tessa inched even farther toward the head of the race. Cassie wanted to close her eyes to pray, but she couldn’t take her gaze off the board.
Just as the first two horses headed to the finish line, Cassie started jumping up and down. Excitement, fear, nerves... They all had her unable to stand still.
And when the announcer blared that the winner was Don Pedro by a nose, Cassie jumped even higher, wrapped her arms around her father’s neck and squealed like a little girl.
“We did it,” he yelled, embracing her. “My girls did it!”
Damon jerked back, gripped her hand and tugged her toward the winner’s circle, where Tessa met them. Her radiant smile, the mass of people surrounding her and the flash of cameras all announced there was a new winner.
Grant was right there in the throng of people, his grin so wide there was no way to hide the pride beaming off him.
Cassie’s heart lurched. She loved that Tessa had found the man of her dreams, couldn’t be happier for the couple. But, for the first time, Cassie was not the first one Tessa turned to after a race.
And that was not jealousy talking.... Cassie loved seeing Tessa and Grant so happy, and sharing Tessa’s affection was fine. It was the fact that Cassie still felt empty when monumental things happened. Whom did she turn to to celebrate or for a shoulder to cry on?
Tessa turned her head, caught Cassie’s eye and winked down at her. Returning the wink, Cassie smiled to hide her sad thoughts.
Soon reporters were thrusting microphones in her face, as well. Very few ever won the Triple Crown, and a team of females was practically unheard of. History was definitely in the making.
The Barrington sisters had done it again, and with only one more race to go to round out the season and secure the coveted Triple Crown, Cassie knew she needed to focus now more than ever on training for the Belmont.
Which meant keeping her heart shielded from Ian, because if he penetrated too much more, she feared she’d never be able to recover if it all fell apart.
They were gone for days, weeks.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t weeks, but Ian felt as if he hadn’t seen Cassie forever. Which told him he was going to be in trouble when it came time for him to head back to L.A.
She’d arrived home late last night and he’d known she’d be tired, so he had stayed away to let her rest and spend time with Emily. But knowing she was so close was hard.
As he headed toward the stables just as the sun peeked overtop the hilltops, Ian wanted to spend some time with her.He’d actually ached for her while she’d been away. Like most of the nation, he’d watched with eyes glued to the television during the Preakness and he’d jumped out of his seat and cheered when Don Pedro crossed the finish line for the win.
The familiar smell of hay greeted him before he even hit the entrance. As soon as he crossed the threshold, Ian spotted Nash cleaning out a stall.
“Morning,” Ian greeted him.
Nash nodded a good-morning and continued raking old hay. “Cassie isn’t here yet,” he said without looking up.
Ian grinned. Apparently he and Cassie weren’t very discreet...not that they’d tried to be, but they also hadn’t been blatant about their relationship, either.
“Hey, Ian.”
He turned to see Tessa striding into the stables, all smiles with her hair pulled back.
“Congrats on the win.” Ian couldn’t help but offer a quick hug with a pat on her back. “That was one intense race.”
Tessa laughed. “You should’ve seen it from my point of view.”
Her eyes darted to Nash, then back to Ian. “What brings you out this early?”