Chapter Sixty-One Ivy

CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

Ivy

" S tay still, if you're going to continue to grope me the entire time, your hair isn't going to be straight."

"Worth it," Wade says, not missing a beat, as he slides his hands up the back of my jeans.

Not a good idea when I'm standing over him with a pair of shears in my hand.

I bend down and kiss him on the lips and smile.

"You're the one that asked for this trim, remember? In your dad era now?" I say, recounting his words from this morning, when he came back to our Florida hotel room with new scissors and a comb and told me I simply had to cut his hair for him.

"I am, but fuck, that was before you were standing in front of me with your ass so close to my hands and your perfect tits in my face," he grunts, like it's painful torture I'm putting him through, which makes me smile in return.

"So greedy, Chief," I tell him, shaking my head.

"For you, always," he murmurs, as his lips come painfully close to my breasts through my shirt.

"We have to leave for the track in a half hour, if you want me to do this you have to stop trying to get my clothes off," I scold.

Wade clears his throat and straightens out, as still as a statue. My own perfect Roman godlike statue, as I run my fingers through the wavy, unkempt strands of his hair, following close behind with a comb, then my scissors. I'm not going to say he isn't tempting me with his freshly shaven, perfectly scented skin so close to my lips. It's not without effort that I don't climb into his lap, he's mouthwatering. But if I do that right now, he'll have really lopsided hair for the biggest moment in Angel's racing career so far.

The start of her career, actually.

"Okay, I'll be good. But if I do, that means I get to be as bad as fuck when Angel gets her gate card. The moment we walk through that door later. Deal?"

I giggle as he slides his hand up the inside of my thigh and tempts me even more.

"Deal …"

"You have to breathe." Wade rubs my shoulder ninety minutes later and the current I feel every time he touches me races through my blood.

I look up at him and smile.

"I know, it's just, I'm so fucking nervous," I blurt. I tap my feet, clad in Ginger's boots, and they kick the dust up under them in the Sarasota sun.

This track is unlike anything I've ever seen in the professional horse racing world. It is a practice course run as an exact replica of how a race will be for a horse. No detail spared, as owners and trainers want no surprises on their horse's first race day. The McKechnie Brothers Training Center has the market cornered for this, and if I didn't know any better I'd feel like I was at a real race. Angel's Wings has had two recorded workouts in the last three days, breezing or running close to her fastest, her best time being half a mile in fifty-four seconds.

The last two days have been a blur. I've been distracted, to say the least, trying to let everything sink in—this pregnancy, our future, my past, all of it. Thankfully the team Wade has provided me over the last three months to help train has really held the reins for me and done their best work with Angel leading up to this race.

I'm still not used to the idea I'm going to be a mother. But that news comes with a lot of self-reflection. I instantly felt like I had been lied to the moment I saw my little bean thriving inside me. Call it mother's intuition. For three years, I thought I couldn't have this, I just took what Brad's doctor told me at face value, accepting that he was honest. To hear our baby has just as good a shot as any of making it into this world was the greatest news I could ever hear, but I still felt I needed to mourn for the years in which I'd lost that hope—and for the future I never knew I could have. The future that is now a real possibility thanks to this incredible man beside me. Grinning down at me now like he has all the confidence in the world.

"There's no need to be nervous. Trouble, you've trained her well. She's got this, let's go watch for her." His brow furrows. "And walk beside me, I need to stop staring at your ass in that dress or I'm going to have to pull you into a hallway somewhere before this gate test and race even starts," he whispers in my ear, sending heat instantly to my core. It's already hot in Florida, so the return of my sundresses even for a couple of days is welcome compared to the early February cold in Kentucky. Wade isn't helping me cool down now looking at me the way he does when he wants me. A sight I'll never get over seeing.

We just manage to make it to the saddling paddock when Rowan and Angel come into view as the announcer talks about Angel's bloodline, her chances and myself as her trainer.

I take a moment to greet her and nuzzle her, to connect with her in all the chaos to say, "You've got this, baby girl."

Rowan nods at us, his dark eyes always smiling. "We're as ready as we're ever going to be. One gate card coming up." He winks, and although I smile back, I think I might throw up.

Wade chuckles beside me.

"Come on, little mama, let's go sit. Can't do anything for her down here in the dirt."

I nod and follow him up to the owner's boxes, counting my breaths as I go.

We've just taken our places as the announcer's voice booms through the speakers. He talks about the horses in contention, their aspirations and the winners in their bloodlines as the evaluators, assistants and vet check Angel, her tack and Rowan. All taking notes that decide her fate.

A few minutes seem like an eternity until I see the evaluator give the thumbs up to the recorder, and I scream a little internal scream of joy as Wade rests a big hand on my thigh. So far so good, all she's got to do now is sprint right out of the gate and the rest is gravy.

That moment of silence takes over the small crowd as all the horses ready. I close my eyes and wait to hear the bell. The moment I do, I let them spring open to find the gates flying back. Just as she's been trained to do, Angel takes off like a bat out of hell.

"And they're off in the McKechnie Brothers Quarter Annual Simulation," the announcer begins as I grip Wade's hand on my thigh so tight my knuckles whiten instantly.

"Front runner Cosmic Pines trails up the center.

"Maine's Footprint has stumbled, and here comes newcomer Angel's Wings out toward Cosmic Pines , who's right there along with Tulsa Oklahoma's Next Level at the rail."

"Definitely gonna throw up," I say to no one in particular as Wade chuckles again and removes his hand to rub my back.

"You're so fucking cute when you're nervous."

"It's Angel's Wings quickly challenging up the inside. Cosmic Pines to take the lead as they round the first turn."

The announcer tells us Angel is neck and neck coming into the first turn.

"Yes! Baby! Go!" I yell.

"It's Maine's Footprint in third and the favored Cosmic Pines between Angel's Wings and Next Level as they make this run toward the half mile pole."

The horses stay in sync as they round the corner.

"Now, Ro, now," I say under my breath, as I watch Rowan shift his weight, signaling Angel just like we've trained at the exact moment, and I watch her pull through the corner and switch leads.

"Hells yes, baby," I say quietly as I pump a fist when Angel and Rowan start gaining on the others. Then I scream because there's not a shot in hell I can hold it in.

" Angel's Wings has taken the lead as Cosmic Pines now moves toward the quarter pole and drifts to the outside. Footprint has dropped back from his early efforts as they straighten away down the track. Angel's Wings is in front after three-quarters in just one minute."

I watch the track with baited breath. "You're turning blue. Breathe, sweetheart," Wade whispers to me.

Right, breathing is good. I blow out a breath but don't say a word, I just nod.

" Angel's Wings leads Cosmic Pines by two lengths now charging hard on the outside …"

Everything goes hazy.

"It's Angel's Wings still finding her way as they come down toward the final sixteenth with Footprint back and forth." The announcer becomes more animated in the last seconds of the race.

" Angel's Wings is leading home, Cosmic Pines has dropped to third and that is it ! Angel's Wings has won it by a length!"

I am out of my seat jumping up and down and yelling, tears streaming down my face. It may only be a practice but it feels like the biggest win of my professional life as I jump into Wade's arms. He pulls me close, whispering he loves me, and I know just like he says, I'm right where I'm supposed to be.