Jockeying for You (16 page)

Epilogue

Four years later

Ryder walked into the library room of their enormous house as quietly as she could.
Should I sneak up on him and declare victory? Or let him think he won?
She debated how much she should tease her little son for a moment before caving in. “Okay, okay, I give up,” she called out in a singsong voice. “Where are you, Lenny Philip Carter? Come out, come out, wherever you are!”

Her three-year-old boy giggled loudly, giving his “secret” location away. Then he popped out from behind the leather couch. “Here I am!” He grinned broadly at her, his dark hair flopping in his face.

My son may be named after Lenny, but he’s the spitting image of Jake.

Little Lenny put his hands on his hips and stuck his chin out. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to find me. I always know what to do.”

Ah, now that’s more like how Lenny was.
Ryder’s eyes welled up with emotion thinking of the old man. He had lived a long, healthy life until his massive heart attack. The only upside was he didn’t suffer a long illness and had had no mental decline. He had left the world as he had lived in it, strong and outspoken. The one milestone change of his life had been his attitude toward Mindy. Lenny had come around to be as fond of her as Ryder was. On most days, anyway, when they weren’t fighting. Mindy hadn’t entirely given up bear baiting the old man. She had insisted her teasing kept him young.

Ryder bit back a smile. As much as Lenny had denounced Mindy, deep down he loved all the attention. For a man who had been afraid to be left alone in his old age, he had been showered with attention from two women he cared about deeply.

Still, the pain of missing him would always be there. She could no more forget about him than she could her own father.

“Momma, are you crying?”

“No.”

“But a tear is rolling down your face.”

Ryder gave a hard swipe at her eyes. “Must be all the dust in here.”

“There’s no dust,” Little Lenny protested. “The housekeepers are here every day.”

The kid’s as stubborn as Lenny, too.
She suppressed a laugh. “Then maybe these are tears of joy from finding you after my long, hard search.”

Little Lenny puffed his chest out proudly.

“Yup, you’re a tricky one,” Ryder continued. “Although maybe next time you should pick a different room to hide in. You’re always in the library.”

“But I like this room,” Little Lenny insisted. “It’s got all your trophies.”

He gestured over to a wood and glass cabinet Jake specially built to showcase all her victories. The cabinet was oversized to accommodate trophies that were quite large. But of them all, there was one award treasured beyond the rest. A large silver urn supported by a base of tiny thoroughbred horses. One of the horseracing world’s most coveted winner’s cups, and it was all hers. It seemed like seconds, not years, since Handsome Dancer had won it for the longest, most difficult, and most respected American thoroughbred race, the Belmont Stakes. The day the New York Racing Association handed it to her, Jake and Big Lenny—jockey, owner, and trainer—had been one of the best days of all three of their lives.

Although Jake joked their wedding hadn’t been too bad, either. Small and offshore, they avoided the paparazzi that would have surely happened given the controversy surrounding his father’s questionable business dealings. They were glad the fallout hadn’t hurt Jake’s success or overall reputation. Jake established the Jacob and Ryder Carter Charitable Foundation, which funded programs to help problem gamblers refrain and hopefully reform. Fewer problem gamblers in the world would mean less prey for loan sharks.

The family crisis had brought about one good result. Dina had reformed her own ways quite a bit. The result was better relationships with not only her husband but Jake and Ryder, too.

Ryder had more time to spend with family now. She still ran her training business but had quite a few people helping her out. With Mindy being the lead. Jake and Ryder had offered Mindy enough money to give up her own business and help Ryder run hers. Their partnership had proved to be an enormous success, and the horses kept coming in. They now had more offers than they could accept. There was no way they could get as many stalls at a single track as would be needed.

Ryder was sad to no longer ride Handsome Dancer professionally but took heart they would always have a special bond. Ryder would frequently take her most beloved horse out for long rides. They would go fast enough to give both of them a thrill. Reliving their tight bond and reliving their victories. Together. The wins were as much Handsome Dancer’s as they were hers.

Handsome Dancer, although retired, showed no signs of slowing down. He had an even better life now than as an active racehorse, if possible, now that all he was doing was enjoying spa-like treatments and being bred. The mares that were lined up for him comprised a long list of equine beauties.

Ryder and Jake made sure to include in his list one of their own broodmares, Ice Palace. The bay mare was worthy of Handsome Dancer in every way, winning the majority of her races for five years straight. Ice Palace had already proven to be a great mom, too. Her first foal from a different stallion was only a few months old and obviously beloved by Mom.

Little Lenny loved Ice Palace’s foal, too. Lenny would get up at the crack of dawn when he stayed by the stables to feed the ever-growing baby. In fact, Lenny had such a special bond with all the horses in their farm, Ryder knew he would one day grow up to be a horse whisperer. Like her. Jake teased their child’s name should have been Lenny Phillip Doolittle instead of Lenny Phillip Carter.

Little Lenny had already picked out the name of the yet-to-be-conceived foal of Ice Palace and Handsome Dancer—Ice Dancer. He also anticipated, with much excitement, that one day he would be a jockey.

Her son grabbed her leg and gave her a squeeze. “Momma, I’m going to have lots of trophies, just like you.”

Ryder and Lenny were interrupted when Jake walked into the library. He gave Ryder a quick kiss on her lips and held his hands out to the son who jumped into his arms.

“Wow. For a little guy,” Jake marveled, “you’re pretty heavy.” He smiled over his shoulder at Ryder. “Looks like you’ve got competition,” he said to her dryly. “Which one of you is going to win more racing trophies during their career?”

“I hope Lenny does,” Ryder answered, giving both of them a kiss.

“I love you,” Jake said, reaching his free hand out to take hers. “You’ve given me the loving family I never had but always wanted.” He gave her the warmest smile, the heat reaching all the way to his eyes. “I must be a jockey too. I’ve been racing toward you all my life. I just didn’t know it.”

Ryder’s heart melted. “I love you, too, Jake. You are the best prize of all.”

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