Read Online Cassie's Hope (Riders Up) by Adriana Kraft - Free Book Online Page B

have
that altitude factor working for you again. Maybe your dad would like that.”
    “He’d love it. He’s
probably afraid he’ll lose his trainer if he asks her to drive another three
thousand mile trip.”
    Clint cleared his
throat. “I have to be in California about the time you’d need to drive out, but
I should be at the Downs by Friday. If we’re still talking to each other by the
time you return to Chicago, I could help with that part of the drive. My calendar
is clear. I’ll keep it clear from Friday until you leave, if you want.
    He watched the red
numerals flip over on the bedside clock. “I never knew silence could be so
painful.”
    “Don’t push me. I’m
thinking. Or at least I’m trying to think. I told my girlfriends you were
history, but you’re not.”
    “I hope not. You’ve
generated more sparks for me than I can remember—and not just in the stable. I’d
like to show you my world, if you want to see it. I don’t have any big ideas on
where things will go. But I think we can have a good time while you’re here.”
    “So I’d probably
have to leave by the end of this week for Hope to have enough days at the Downs
before the race.”
    “And then head back
maybe ten days or so after the race.”
    “That would be
about right.”
    Clint heard Cassie
groan.
    “Okay, I’ll do it. I
should be there by Monday or Tuesday at the latest.” She chuckled. “I’ll be
sufficiently rested and bored by the time you arrive on Friday.”
    “Cassie.”
    “Yes.”
    “Are you doing this
for the horse, or for yourself?”
    “I’m not sure.”
    “That’s good enough
for me. I’ll see you sometime Friday. Have a safe trip.”
    “See you.”
    There—he’d done it,
and she’d accepted. Why were danger signals prickling the back of his neck?
     
    - o -
     
    What had she done? Cassie
sat on her bed and hugged herself. Another trip to Wyoming! It would be good
for Hope. The altitude should set her up quite nicely for the Capitol Stakes.
    But she’d just
agreed to much more than that. Much more. Where could she run, if she had to? She
hadn’t left herself much of an escape hatch this time.
     
    Second and third
thoughts nagged at Cassie as she sipped her coffee on the O’Hanlon farmhouse porch
after feeding the horses. Had her hormones driven her to this? It made good
sense for Hope. But did it make any sense at all for Cassie O’Hanlon?
    She’d only be out
there there less than two weeks; it wasn’t like she’d agreed to marry the guy.
    “Didn’t figure you’d
want to trailer all the way back to Wyoming,” he father said, breaking into her
thoughts. “Thought you’d bite my head off if I suggested it. Should give our
girl that altitude edge again. That’ll be a bonus for the Capitol.”
    “Hope so. What
about after the Capitol Stakes? Have you given any thought to that?”
    “Oh yeah.” Tug
winked at Cassie. “We’re nominated for the Land of Lincoln Stakes on Labor Day
Weekend.”
    “The Land of
Lincoln! A grade three stakes?”
    “Why not? Doesn’t
cost much to nominate. The real money has to be put down closer to race day.”
    “That’s heady
stuff. She’s only won a cheap allowance race plus the race in Wyoming.”
    “I know, but I’ve
got a gut feeling. And I like this fellow’s thinking, the guy you met out west.
I’m not the only guy who has faith in the altitude angle.”
    Cassie lifted her
cup to her lips and swallowed. “He thought you were pretty clever for sending
Hope out there in the first place. So, what if we lose the Capitol—do we still
move forward to the Land of Lincoln?”
    “Depends on how we
lose. If she just runs flatfooted, there’s no excuse. If she gets knocked
around a lot and has excuses for a poor performance we’ll probably move ahead.”
    “Plus we’ll have
another allowance or two for prep races between the Capitol and the Lincoln.”
    “Right. I figure
she’s strong and willing and can handle a race every couple weeks or so.