Giving Chase (A Racing Romance) (Aspen Valley Series #2) by Hooton Hannah

Author:Hooton, Hannah [Hooton, Hannah]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Hannah Hooton
Published: 2014-01-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 30

As a way of conciliatory gesture, Frankie wore her parents’ duffel coat gift to Kempton Park the next day. There would be plenty of occasions in the future for her to wear her Burberry jumper for Rhys. Today she had just the two rides, but such was the quality of the field, she felt privileged to have even those. She was on Asante in the first on the card, a novice hurdle, then she was aboard Romulus in the Christmas Hurdle to be pace-setter for Rhys’s and Donnie’s mounts, Dexter and Dust Storm. She knew her chances in that race were about the same as the temperature outside, a bone-chilling minus three, but she was quietly hopeful that Asante might run into a place in the novice hurdle. Though he never particularly stretched himself at home, she was sure he had more to give. He would have to give if she was to get anywhere close to a place.

Frankie was welcomed into the warmth of the weighing room by the buzz of Irish and English accents with a sprinkling of French. Kempton’s Boxing Day meeting always pulled in the best horses and jockeys even from beyond British shores. Frankie was also well aware that she was the sole amateur riding throughout the whole card.

She nipped into the main changing room on her way to the lady jockeys’ to deliver Tom’s present. Rhys was sat on the bench in just his breeches, pulling on his boots. Above and behind him hung six different sets of silks which he would wear through the course of the day and his saddles. Frankie felt a bit like she’d pitched up at an airport to go on holiday with a friend and found that they’d bought along three suitcases while she’d only brought a hold-all.

Rhys looked up and smiled. A lollipop stick stuck from the side of his mouth. He slapped his hands to the left of his chest.

‘You’re breaking my heart, Frankie,’ he said then gestured to her wardrobe. ‘I’m disappointed.’

‘I got this from my parents. After your gift arrived yesterday, I figured I should wear this as a peace offering.’

‘You’d need to get a lot hairier and walk way better on all fours before you’d get close to that.’

‘Eh?’

Rhys flapped a hand.

‘Never mind. Didn’t your parents appreciate it much then?’

Frankie didn’t want to hurt his feelings—what worse feeling could there be than when, in the first straits of love, you found your potentially future in-laws hated your guts? Or maybe she was getting a bit ahead of herself here. But just in case…

She gingerly stepped onto the tightrope between truth and deception.

‘Mum thinks it’s lovely.’

Rhys gave her a sober look and took out his lollipop. His tongue was red.

‘And your dad?’

‘Well, Dad’s a bit of a tricky customer. I’ve always been his girl, if you like, and I think because he’s been a jockey he knows about the usual promiscuity, so he was a little…protective. Yeah, protective.’ There, that didn’t sound so bad.

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