“Military. I joined the Army at the age of eighteen. I don’t know if it was because I was good during boot camp, or what, but my drill instructor and CO, which means commanding officer, talked to me after graduation.”
“About?”
“They wanted me to train to become a unit leader in the National Guard.”
“Is there a difference between the two? Army and National Guard?”
“Yes and no. Yes, they are two different entities. No, because the National Guard is like a spin-off of the Army. You have to go through Army boot camp to be in the National Guard.” He saw her frown and finished the last couple of bites on his plate before he pushed it away. “Have you ever heard of the Navy SEALs?”
“Of course, everyone has.”
“Okay, but not anyone that joins the Navy can be a SEAL.”
“Ah, I get it, being a SEAL is a spin-off of the Navy.”
“Correct. Anyway, I liked the freedom I would have with the Guard, so I took them up on their offer.”
“What freedom, I thought being in the military was working twenty-four seven.”
“It is, however, once my schooling and training were done and I started working my way up the chain of command, it took five years to be in my position, and that took a lot of hard work, guts, determination, and grit. Anyway, once I was fully in the National Guard, I worked every day, but it was mainly pushing papers.” He sighed, and held up his hand when she looked like she wanted to say something.
“Can we clean up this mess, then go into the living room before the fire and I’ll explain everything? I’m not shutting you out, it’s just that my leg is killing me, and I want to prop it up with some ice on it.”
“Oh, sorry,” she said in a rush, and jumped to her feet. She sent him into the living room while she cleaned up the kitchen, and when she joined him thirty minutes later, she paused to ask if he wanted something to drink.
“I’d love a beer.”
“Are you on any pain meds?”
“No, Caleb can’t prescribe them. I have to wait until I go to the doctor tomorrow.” He shook his head sadly. “I still don’t know how I’ll get there.”
“I’ll take you.” She walked away after that statement.
CHAPTER 7
She returnedwith an opened bottle of beer, and a glass of ice water. At his look, she smiled. “Now that I have a job, I have to maintain my weight.”
“Why? You look perfectly healthy to me. Maybe a little too thin.”
“No, in order to be a jockey, I have to meet certain height and weight requirements.” She laughed. “I don’t have to worry about my height. I’m five foot even, and have been since I turned sixteen. You didn’t ask, but I’m thirty-eight. There are no age restrictions, just height and weight. You might not think so, but being a jockey is an intense occupation. Not only are you running around the track on the back of a horse, but you also have to meet rigid requirements before every single race.”
Shay studied her and frowned when she jumped to her feet and disappeared, she was back in under ten seconds, and he grinned when he saw her wrapping a bag of frozen cauliflower in a towel. She settled back in her chair across from him, after she handed it to him, and he placed in on his knee. In minutes, he sighed in relief.
“What requirements?”
“First, jockeys can be male or female. As long as you know what you’re doing, are trained, and meet the requirements, you can race. I’m going to name the requirements for both genders. The shortest you can be is four foot ten inches. The tallest is five foot six inches.”
“You meet that with only being five foot nothing.” He grinned at her snort of laughter.
“Yeah, I do, my weight can fluctuate, but my height can’t. I can’t grow any taller, nor get any shorter. I’m good on the height.”
“What about weight?”
“It actually depends on the horse, and the racing commission.”
“Why?”
“Before any race, the racing commission bases the weight the rider has to be based on certain criteria from the horse. I don’t know what they judge, but I do know that the rider needs to be between one hundred and fifteen pounds, and one hundred and twenty-seven. The lighter the jockey, the faster the horse goes. Jockey’s weigh in before a race with all of their equipment. Uniform, boots, helmet, gloves, everything they wear. It usually weighs around seven pounds. That is taken into consideration for the jockey’s weight.”
