Horse Race (6 page)

“I don’t think we’ve met,” Josh A said, stepping forward. His normally cheerful look had been replaced with a suspicious one. He stuck out his hand. “Josh Winfield, Bartlett Stables.”

Josh B shook his hand, looking just as suspicious as he glanced from Josh A to Carole and back again. “Josh Parker, Bluegrass Park.”

“Uh-oh,” Stevie whispered to Lisa. “Showdown at the Josh Corral.”

Cookie Cutter had calmed down as soon as Josh B had
stopped running, and Lisa quickly had her moving again. The whole group trailed along beside her.

“So, you work here?” Josh A asked Josh B.

Josh B nodded. “I was just telling Carole about it a little while ago,” he said, turning to smile at Carole. “Right, Carole?”

“Um, right,” Carole said.

“I was telling her about my job, too,” Josh A said quickly. “I’m working with some of the top horses at this meet. Maybe you’ve heard of some of them. Leprechaun, Speedy Bee—”

Josh B cut him off with a shrug. “I don’t really have the time to keep up with every single horse that runs here,” he said. “I’m too busy making sure the whole track runs smoothly.”

Lisa raised an eyebrow. Manning the snack bar didn’t seem all that critical to her. On the other hand, she noticed that Josh A hadn’t bothered to mention that he was only a part-time assistant groom. Instead, he seemed to want Josh B to think he was training the entire Bartlett Stables string himself.

Lisa glanced at Carole and saw that she looked as uncomfortable as Lisa had ever seen her. It was time to do something about the situation. As amusing as it might be to her and to Stevie, Carole obviously wasn’t having any fun.

“Hey, Carole,” Lisa said. “Isn’t it about time for you to go inside and take care of that errand Garvey wanted you to do?”

“What?” Carole said. “Oh! I mean, yes, I think you’re right. I’d better get going.”

“What kind of errand?” Josh A asked.

“Perhaps I can help,” Josh B added quickly.

“Um …” Carole looked at Lisa for help, but Lisa’s mind was a blank.

Luckily, Stevie came to the rescue. “There’s no time to stand around talking about it,” she barked out, giving Carole a shove. “You’re late already. Go, go, go!”

Carole didn’t have to be told again. Even though she never ran when there were horses around, she broke into a brisk jog as soon as she was a safe distance from Cookie Cutter.

Lisa shot Stevie a grateful glance. Stevie grinned back. “So, boys,” she said cheerfully. “Now that Carole’s gone, I guess you’ll just have to settle for talking to Lisa and me.”

The Joshes looked at Stevie and Lisa. Then they both glanced in the direction Carole had gone. “Um, my uncle probably needs me in the office,” Josh B mumbled, backing away.

Josh A nodded and looked at the ground. “I think I’d better get back to my barn,” he added hastily. A second later, both boys were gone.

Lisa and Stevie continued to walk with Cookie Cutter, who seemed much more interested in the stray patches of grass along their route than in her human companions. “Call me crazy,” Lisa said, “but Josh didn’t seem to be heading toward his own barn.”

Stevie nodded. “And the other Josh was going the opposite direction from the track office, unless they’ve suddenly moved it to an empty stall in the Maskee shed row.”

“Where do you suppose they were going?” Lisa asked with a twinkle in her eye.

Stevie shrugged. “Beats me,” she said. “But I think it’s a good thing Carole had a head start!”

“T
HAT WAS GREAT
, Deborah,” Lisa said. “Thanks for letting us tag along.”

“You’re welcome,” Deborah said, sinking deeper into the comfortable chair in the hotel lobby. It was early evening, and The Saddle Club and Deborah had just returned from an afternoon of touring some of Kentucky’s horse country. Deborah had needed to visit several local racing and breeding stables for her research, and since the Maskee horses weren’t in any races that afternoon, the girls had gone with her.

They had seen a lot of beautiful farms and even more gorgeous horses, from broodmares with their half-grown foals to retired stallions standing at stud. The owner of one stable had even invited them to watch some of his yearlings being trained. The frisky colts had already been taught to
accept a bridle and saddle, and the yearling trainer was teaching them to accept a rider’s weight. The Saddle Club had seen similar training sessions at Pine Hollow and elsewhere, but somehow it all seemed new and different here in Kentucky.

“I really liked that one yearling,” Stevie mused. She was perched on a love seat next to Deborah’s chair. Carole was next to her, and Lisa was standing nearby. They were waiting for a table at the hotel restaurant. A long day in the fresh summer air had made them all very hungry.

“Which one?” Carole asked.

Deborah grinned. “Let me guess,” she said. “The bay with the white feet that kept trying to turn around and look at the guy who was riding him?”

“That’s the one,” Stevie confirmed. “He had a real sense of humor.”

The others laughed. The clownish colt had been funny to watch, and it was no surprise that Stevie liked him.

“Most Thoroughbreds look so serious and businesslike on the racetrack,” Carole said. “It’s easy to forget that each one has its own unique personality.”

“Speaking of unique personalities,” Stevie said, lowering her voice, “check out the tourist convention across the way.”

The others glanced at a group of seats nearby, where a family of three was clustered. The father was wearing shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. Two cameras hung around his neck, and he held a small, late-model camcorder in his hand. He
was pointing it at his wife, who wore a Kentucky Horse Park T-shirt and floral shorts. She was posing for the camera with a boy about Lisa’s age, who had to be her son. He was dressed in denim shorts and a T-shirt that matched his mother’s.

Lisa and Deborah couldn’t help giggling. “It looks like they’re having a nice time in Kentucky,” Carole said with a smile, giving the family one more glance.

As she did, the boy turned and met her eye. He looked surprised for a moment to catch her looking at him. Then he smiled.

“Uh-oh,” Carole whispered, turning away quickly. “They caught me.”

But it was too late. A moment later the boy was standing in front of her. He was holding one of his father’s cameras.

“Hi there,” he said. “I noticed you guys sitting here, and I was wondering if one of you would mind taking a picture so that my whole family can be in it together.”

“Sure,” Stevie said. “I’d be glad to.”

She started to stand up, but the boy was already pushing the camera into Carole’s hand. “This is totally cool of you. I—um, we—really appreciate it,” he said, giving her a big smile.

“I don’t know much about cameras,” Carole protested. “Maybe Lisa should do it. She’s the photographer here—”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll do an awesome job,” the boy protested, extending a hand to help Carole to her feet. “By the way, my name’s Josh. Josh Stanton.”

“Hi, Josh,” Carole said weakly. “I’m Carole.” She followed him over to where his parents were waiting.

Stevie let out a low whistle. “This is really getting weird now,” she told the others. The girls had filled Deborah in on Carole’s two admirers during their drive that day.

Lisa nodded. “Could there really be
three
Joshes in Kentucky who all like Carole?”

“It sure looks that way,” Deborah said. They turned to watch as Josh carefully posed his parents on one of the lobby sofas. Carole stood waiting, camera in hand, looking a little forlorn.

“I think we’re going to have to come up with a new way to keep track of these guys,” Stevie said after a moment, a twinkle in her eyes. “A, B, and C just doesn’t have the Kentucky ring to it. Luckily, I have the perfect solution.”

“Josh, Josher, and Joshest?” Lisa guessed.

“One potato, two potato, three potato?” Deborah asked.

“Nope. Even better.” Stevie grinned. “Win, Place, and Show.”

The others laughed. “Sounds good to me,” Lisa said. “But which one is which?’ We don’t know which of the Joshes Carole likes best.”

“That’s okay,” Stevie said. “Josh A should be Win.”

“Because his last name is Winfield?” Lisa asked.

Stevie shook her head. “Of course not,” she said. “Because he came in first.”

“So that must mean that the Josh grinning his head off over there right now is Show,” Deborah guessed. “There’s
just one problem with your brilliant idea, Stevie. What if a fourth Josh comes along?”

Stevie glanced over at Josh, who was sitting between his parents and smiling broadly at Carole as she tried to focus the complicated camera. “No way,” she said firmly.
“Four
Joshes? Come on. What are the odds of
that?”

They were still laughing when Carole rejoined them a moment later. “What’s so funny?”

“We’ll tell you when we get inside,” Lisa said. She had just noticed the hostess gesturing to them. “It looks like our table is ready.”

“I’ll join you in a second,” Deborah said as they all stood up. “I just remembered, I promised to call my editor when I got back. I’m just going to find a phone and then I’ll be right in.”

The girls ate rolls and talked about the Josh situation while they waited for Deborah. Stevie told Carole about her new names for the three boys, and Carole laughed. Then she turned serious again. “I just don’t get it,” she said once more.

“You don’t have to understand it,” Lisa advised her. “Just enjoy it. After this weekend, you’ll never have to see any of them again if you don’t want to.”

“Thank goodness,” Carole said, taking a sip of water. “I know I should be flattered, and I am, kind of. But I just don’t know how to act when they’re acting that way and I don’t even know them. It’s not at all like it was with Cam.” Cam was a boy Carole had met through her computer. They had
chatted on-line about horses many times before they ever met, so Carole knew they had something in common. However, Cam’s family had moved away before Carole could really start thinking of him as a boyfriend.

Just then Deborah returned. She was humming a little as she sat down. “Okay. That’s taken care of,” she said cheerfully.

Stevie gave her a suspicious look. “So, how’s your editor doing?”

“Oh, she’s just fine,” Deborah replied with a big smile. “Very fine.”

“Did Max get her down for her nap okay without you?” Stevie asked innocently.

“She fell asleep right away once he started singing to her—Oops.” Deborah grinned sheepishly. “You caught me.”

The Saddle Club laughed. “We understand,” Lisa said. “We don’t blame you for wanting to check in on Maxi.”

“I really did call my editor first,” Deborah said, reaching for a roll.

“Uh-huh,” Stevie said. “We’ll take your word for it. Right now, I’m much more interested in talking about food. And I don’t mean baby food!”

The next forty minutes passed quickly as the group talked about everything they had done and seen that day. Before long, the topic turned to the next afternoon’s races.

“I can’t wait to watch C.C. break out of the starting gate in a real race,” Stevie said.

Deborah nodded. “I just hope I’m back in time to see it.
I’ve got appointments at more farms tomorrow, and if all goes well, I’ll barely get back to the track before post time. I really hope I make it.”

Carole swallowed a big mouthful of mashed potatoes. “I hope you do, too,” she said. “C.C. looked really great out there this morning. I’m sure she’s going to … uh …” Her voice trailed off as she stared across the room.

“Win?” Stevie supplied helpfully.

“No,” Carole said grimly. “Show.” The others turned and saw the newest Josh and his parents taking their seats several tables away.

“Let’s pretend we don’t see them,” Lisa suggested. “Maybe they won’t notice you.”

But they did. Before long, Carole glanced over and saw that Mr. Stanton had raised his camcorder again and was taping her. Josh saw her looking and waved.

“Oh no,” Carole moaned. “He’s getting up. I think he’s going to come over here. What should I do?”

“I think you should do what C.C. would do,” Stevie said helpfully. “Run.”

Carole nodded. “I think I just might do that,” she said. She was already feeling confused enough about all the male attention she was getting. The last thing she wanted to do was deal with more of it while she was trying to eat. “Did anyone happen to notice where the rest rooms are?”

“I did,” Deborah told her. “They’re right around the corner from the phone I was using. Past the check-in desk and down the hallway near the hotel bar.”

“Thanks.” Carole didn’t wait around a second longer. She raced for the restaurant entrance, not pausing to see if Josh was trying to follow. He couldn’t follow her into the women’s room, at least.

She found the hallway and paused, taking a quick look over her shoulder. There was no sign of Josh.

“Good,” she muttered. She didn’t really have to use the rest room, so she leaned against the cool cement wall in the narrow hallway behind the phones and thought about what to do. If she went back in now, he would be waiting for her. She decided it would be best to hang out here for a while until the coast was clear. Luckily she had already eaten most of her dinner.