“What was he?”
“A loan shark. He would prey on people down on their lock, and was losing. He came to me, this was a few years later, I think it was seven years ago now, and told me to throw a race. If I lost, then he would pay me handsomely. I didn’t tell him to his face that I would, I only gave him a look, and walked away.”
“Oh, shit, tell me you didn’t do it.”
“I didn’t. I won that race. However, that loan shark told the owner to bet against his own horse, and bet big. He matched that bet. He bragged that he had the race in the bag.”
“Shit, what happened?”
“I found Pedro there, he no long worked for Marvin by then, but I told him what Percy Biggins wanted me to do. We hatched a plan.”
“Oh god, I’m afraid to ask, what did you do?”
“I happened to have five thousand dollars in my trailer. I gave it all to Pedro. He matched it, then went to his new owner. He doubled our ten grand, and placed it on the horse I was riding.”
“Holy shit, he placed a forty thousand dollar bet on you to win?”
“Yes.” She looked at him with a grin, and picked up her coffee cup again. This time, she drained it, and shook it at him. She looked at the speedometer and nodded. “We’ll have to stop soon.”
“Not until you finish this story, woman,” Shay said with feeling.
She laughed as she took his hand in hers and entwined their fingers. She gave it a squeeze. “After I came out of the winner’s circle, the owner of the horse I ran was ecstatic. Nothing was said that day. It was only a one-day race. When I went back to work, he called me into his office. He handed me an envelope. There was five hundred grand inside. My part of the winnings, my original five I gave Pedro, and he matched it one hundred percent, so technically, I got back ten grand from that.”
“Okay, but isn’t that illegal? Like insider trading or something?”
“No, because he bet on his own horse to win.”
“I thought you said Biggins told the owner to bet against you and his horse.”
“Shit, sorry, he told the owner’s son to bet against me and the horse. I didn’t tell Biggins that he was barking up the wrong tree, and that he had the wrong owner. The son liked to act like he was someone special at the track, though he didn’t own any of the horses. His father did.”
“Ah, so you played his own game against him.”
“Yes, after that, he started to blackball me, Biggins and the owner’s son, and people started to believe them. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve worked over the last several years, but my phone isn’t ringing off the hook like it used to. I think it’s because of my age.”
“Why would you say that?”
“I’ve heard younger jockeys talk about me when they don’t think I’m around. They’re calling me long in the tooth, arthritic, geriatric, shit like that.”
“Christ.” He shook his head and pointed to the signs along the highway about the things available at the next exit. She pulled off and went directly to the gas pumps. When she tried topump the gas, he gave her the same look he had given her before, and this time, instead of pulling back out on the highway, Shay looked at her with a shrug.
“What?”
“We’ve driven for almost ten hours, how about we stop for the night?” He saw she was going to protest, but he rubbed his stomach as it growled. “I’m getting kind of hungry.”
“Okay, why don’t we go find a hotel room first, then look for something to eat?”
He agreed and they only had to drive two miles down the road to find what they needed in both a room, and a restaurant.
CHAPTER 11
“We’ll take it,”Faith said as she slid her credit card across the counter. When Shay started to say something, she looked at him with a shake of her head. After they were checked into the hotel, and given keys, they walked back outside. Instead of going to the truck for their luggage, they walked three doors down to a restaurant.
“Why did you take the room?” Shay asked after they were seated and were looking at their menus. “Especially for the price you paid?”
She looked at him with a grin. “First, I can afford it. Second, I drove this way, because this location is on a bucket list of mine. Trust me.” They gave the waitress their order, and because they wouldn’t be driving any further that night, they opted for a beer for him, and a glass of wine for her, making small talk as they waited for their meal to arrive.
“Damn,” Shay said after the waitress left and looked at her with a grin. “I might just get fat if this leg brace doesn’t come off soon. All the sitting around and eating I’m going to be doing, and unable to exercise.”
