Miranda Lee - Marriage At A Price

Courtney pulled a face. ‘Pity. I was rather enjoying myself. What about when Big Brutus wins? Shouldn’t I revive the role, at least for the presentation?’

‘Let’s wait till the horse actually wins, shall we?’ Jack stated drily. ‘Hi, there, Lois. Time for a glass of champers?’

‘SO WHAT do you think, Courtney?’ Jack asked ten minutes before the main race. ‘Will Big Brutus win, or not?’

They were standing by the parade ring, watching the grooms leading their charges around in circles. Lois was standing in the grassed centre, giving her hoop last-minute instructions and suddenly looking very much the professional horsetrainer she was.

‘Come on,’ Jack persisted. ‘You’re the horse expert here. Give me your expert advice.’

Courtney had to admit she was impressed by Big Brutus’s appearance this time in. He was beginning to look like the classy thoroughbred his breeding indicated, most of his earlier ugly angles filled in with hard muscle.

And there was that superior look in his eye which often denoted a good racehorse. Her mother had always had faith in Big Brutus and her mother had been no mean judge of horseflesh.

‘He certainly looks the goods today,’ she said. ‘Worth a bet at the odds.’ He was twelve to one.

‘Mmm.’ Jack reached for his wallet. ‘Each way?’

‘Betting each way is for little old ladies,’ she scorned. ‘Better to put your money straight out on two horses than wimp out on one.’

‘Heaven help any man who looked a wimp in front of you!’ he returned, smiling wryly. ‘Straight out it will be, then. Stay where you are. I’ll be back shortly.’

Courtney watched him counting out a lot of notes as he hurried off. She hoped he wasn’t going to put too much money on Big Brutus’s nose. He probably couldn’t afford it. Besides, her record of tipping winners wasn’t all that great. Too biased, most of the time.

Strangely, she wasn’t much of a gambler herself. Her thrill whenever a Crosswinds-bred horse raced was just as great with or without a bet on it. She didn’t need any extra adrenaline charge. Her excitement level was already at its zenith, just watching one of their horses run around. To see it win was the ultimate joy.

Her heart contracted at this last thought. If only her mum could have been here today. She loved it when one of her horses won.

Though in this instance it was a case of if, not when.

‘If you’re watching from up there, Mum,’ she murmured under her breath with an upward glance into the clear blue sky, ‘then ask the Lord for a little help. No, a lot of help. This is Big Brutus here. As you know, the best he’s finished so far is second. In a maiden!’

The reality of Big Brutus’s past form hit home and Courtney sighed. Lois really shouldn’t build people’s hopes up.

By the time Jack returned to lead her up into the stand to watch the race, Big Brutus’ price had tumbled to an alarming six to one.

‘My God, how much money did you put on?’ she questioned as they squeezed into a spot in the stands not too far from the winning post.

‘Nothing I can’t afford,’ he returned calmly.

‘Yeah, right. And if Big Brutus doesn’t win? I’ll bet come Monday you’ll be heading for the dole queue.’

‘But you said he would win.’

‘I said no such thing!’ she protested. ‘I said he looked well. If you want to lose the rest of your savings on a stupid horse race, then that’s your problem. I didn’t twist your arm.’

‘True,’ he said with a smile.

He wouldn’t be looking so cool when Big Brutus ran down the track, Courtney thought angrily. Men! Egotistical fools, the lot of them!

Despite her dismissal of any personal responsibility for Jack’s bet, Courtney’s stomach began churning and chundering like an old washing machine stuck on the spin cycle.

‘They’re off!’ she shouted simultaneously with the course commentator, every muscle in her body tightening.

It wasn’t a big field. Only ten starters. But when Big Brutus settled down at the tail soon after the start, Courtney had to stifle a groan of dismay. As much as she kept telling herself this was Randwick, where horses could come from behind once they topped the rise into the straight, Big Brutus’s record in races up till now didn’t help. He was a good stayer, all right. He usually stayed at the back of the field.

By the time they reached the back straight, with half the race already over, Big Brutus was still running last. Admittedly, the front runners were setting a brisk pace, which meant they might tire, and Big Brutus did look as if he was just jogging.

‘Get a move on, you ugly old brute!’ she burst out at long last.

‘You talking about the horse or the jockey?’ Jack quipped drily out of the side of his mouth.

She threw him a vicious glance, warning him that any smart alec chit-chat was not a good idea at this stage of proceedings. But he wasn’t looking at her. His eyes were glued to his binoculars.

‘Move him up closer,’ Courtney urged loudly from the stand, cupping her hands around her mouth as though by some miracle this action would funnel the advice half a mile away.

‘Now, that’s definitely advice for the jockey,’ Jack muttered, bringing an exasperated sigh from Courtney.

‘It’s your money going down the gurgler,’ she pointed out tartly, whereupon Jack dropped his binoculars and started shouting advice as well.

They both fell deathly silent, however, when the field swung into the straight and a still trailing Big Brutus was pulled out into the centre of the track to make his run. His long legs lengthened stride and he began to gobble up his opposition. With a furlong to go, he swept past the tiring front runners.

‘The ugly old brute is going to win,’ Jack said with awe in his voice. ‘Lois was right!’

The reality of his words snapped Courtney out of her own frozen state of shock, and she started jumping up and down. ‘Go, boy, go!’ she chanted like a demented rock groupie. ‘Go! Go! Go!’

Big Brutus went all right, leading the field by ten lengths, stretching out his neck at the winning post as all really good racehorses do. An ecstatic Courtney threw her arms around Jack. ‘He won!’ she cried. ‘He won!’

‘He sure did,’ Jack said, grinning and making no attempt to disengage her.

‘You must have won a good bit,’ she said, so pleased for him.

‘More than a good bit. The bookie is going to be the one heading for the dole queue after he pays me out, I can assure you.’

‘Fantastic! Lois, did you hear that? Jack won a stack on Big Brutus.’

Lois didn’t hear a thing. She was too busy hugging everyone within hugging distance. It suddenly crossed Courtney’s mind that Katrina was probably watching all this hoo-ha from somewhere in the crowded stand. With that thought in mind, she launched herself up on tiptoe and kissed Jack full on the mouth.

For a second or two, she thought he was going to spoil everything and push her way.

But he didn’t do any such thing. He did just the opposite. He yanked her hard against him and kissed her back, kissed her with an incredibly explosive passion, kissed her till everything in her head was scattered to the four winds and there was nothing but his lips grinding against hers, his tongue deep in her mouth, and his hands burning hot through her clothes.

And then…then he pushed her away.

She gasped and stared up at him with startled eyes. He laughed softly, gathering her close again. She didn’t resist. She couldn’t resist.

Amazing…

‘Be careful what you start wanting, Courtney Cross,’ he whispered into her ear. ‘Or you just might get it.’

Lois’s tapping Jack on the shoulder had him drawing back once more.