Her Billionaire Secret Romance Page 3

  He worked with her on visuals and cues, then they did starting block drills until it was time for her to get ready to leave for school. The coach gathered his things to leave at the same time.

  “Thanks, Mr. Laskin. This was a great practice. I will work on this all week at school and see you next Monday on my day off.”

  “You need to make sure Tandy is getting good exercise as well. She needs a daily workout. I will let your stable boy know. Have a good day.”

  He took the horses to the stables to give them grain, and Eliza headed to the house to shower for school.

  That night, and every Monday night all year long, Eliza visualized winning the race against Charles. She didn’t think the fact that Charles was a tall, good-looking boy had anything to do with it, but the fact that he’d dismissed her like she was a child really bothered her. Just because she was a little short didn’t mean she was of little consequence as he had intimated. She wondered how old he thought she was. She planned to show him just how adept at riding she had become and give him the challenge he felt was missing in last year’s race. She had been imagining the satisfaction she would have when she raced across the finish line ahead of him.

  And on top of everything else, she had grown three inches this year. Her dermatologist had put her on Tetracycline, an antibiotic for blemishes. He told her she might grow because of it, and sure enough she did. Eliza smiled with satisfaction and could hardly wait for Saturday’s race. Charles’s family had signed him up for the race, and she was ready. She didn’t like to admit it, but Charles had been showing up in her dreams lately. She was excited to see him again. She had been imagining just how it would be.

  Chapter 3

  Charles hadn’t done much practicing for this year’s race. He didn’t even know his parents had signed him up until a few weeks ago. His opinion was that if Eliza Stanton couldn’t even manage to stay on her horse, then he really didn’t think he had much to worry about.

  He hadn’t thought much about the race even after finding out that he’d be in it. The race was a big deal to his parents. Even the local newspapers came out to cover it. Charles was willing to cooperate with his parents’ wishes with the hope that it would make it easier for them to accept a decision to attend medical school if that was what he decided.

  If the truth were told, he was more excited about the clandestine work he had been doing all year at the hospital with his sister Rachael. After that first visit to the hospital, he had signed up for a weekly volunteer experience every Thursday evening. Occasionally he did rounds with Rachael, but normally he worked in the children’s ward, serving dinner and talking with the kids. It was his idea to start a story hour after dinner with his favorite children’s books which he donated to the hospital children’s ward.

  The day of the race crept up on him, and, when he realized it was in just a few days, irritation brewed. I need to get this race over with and focus on what I have really enjoyed doing this year. The only bright spot to the day was the thought of seeing Eliza again. He wondered if she’d spar with him a little bit or just concentrate on the race, and he wondered what her eyes looked like when the sun hit.

  The night before the race, Charles spent the evening at home. He came down to breakfast wearing his riding gear. “Hi, Mom, so today I take back the trophy. Dad should be happy about that. He has complained about being cheated all year.”

  “Charles, don’t be crass. Your father has not been complaining all year. It was just all so unsettling. The race was not finished, so this year we are all counting on you to return that trophy to our game room where it belongs.”

  Charles laughed. Even his mother was into this competition. Someday he was going to look into their Irish ancestry to find where this feud began. His mother sat down across from him at the table. “Did you have much of a chance to practice with the riding team at school? You seem to be very busy this year.”

  Charles really didn’t like keeping anything from his parents, but he wasn’t about to tell them about his hospital volunteer work. “Well I have been busy with schooling. I am taking a serious look at my educational experiences for the future.”

  His father came in for breakfast. “Hey, Charles, you ready for a big win today? Let’s hope the Stanton girl can manage to stay on her horse.” His father laughed.

  “I think the trophy’s in the bag.” Charles got up to leave, thinking it would be very nice to see Eliza Stanton again. “I’m going to check on Sparks. I’ll ride over with Darrel.”

  He went outside to help Darrel get Sparks into the trailer. The pasture land behind the stables was thinly forested. The trees provided nice shade in the summer months but didn’t promote a lot of pasture growth. Consequently they purchased a lot of their feed year round. The trees were huge now and basically shaded the whole pasture. Charles had climbed most of them himself. It was a goal he’d had at ten years old, and he’d pretty much accomplished it.

  Once Sparks was in the trailer, they both hopped into the cab of the truck. Charles looked over to see Darrel looking at him speculatively while chewing on a piece of hay.

  “What?” Charles hated that look. “Just tell me what you’re thinking.”

  “I heard that the Stanton girl has been training all year for this race.” He raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

  “You don’t think I can beat her?” Doesn’t she have anything better to do?

  Darrel chuckled. “I think you are going to be in for a surprise, that’s all.”

  When they arrived, the Stantons were already there, and he could see Eliza walking her horse around the track. Does she really take this race that seriously? His coach handed him a pair of binoculars. He focused them on Eliza. Her horse looked like Eliza wasn’t the only one training all year. Then he moved the binoculars up and saw her face. His heart missed a beat. She was truly beautiful, and the look of determination on her face did worry him some. Other riders were walking their horses around the track.

  He looked at her horse again. “That horse has been in training too. Sparks will have some competition.” Charles mounted Sparks and rode out to the starting line. Eliza cantered up and put her horse in position. “Good morning, Charles.”

  “Good Morning, Eliza. Good luck today.”

  She looked even better up close. How did he ever think she was a little girl? He wasn’t too worried about the race, but his heart was pounding in panic mode just from looking at her.

  “Thank you, Charles. I don’t expect to need it this year.” She smiled and looked demurely down as if she had been merely talking about the weather, but he could see the blush on her face.

  Charles smiled, the gauntlet had been thrown. “Oh, ho.” He would not hold back this time. “We shall see, Eliza.”

  “Yes we shall.” They both looked up as the families cheered from the stands. Local families brought picnic lunches and sat in the stands to cheer on the horses. The women dressed up like it was the Kentucky Derby and the men laid bets. When it came time for the race, all the festivities stopped while everyone gave their complete attention to the race.

  Eliza and Charles both leaned forward as the referee shouted, “On your marks. Set.” The gun was fired, and off they went. Charles immediately took the lead, but Sparks seemed unsure of his gait around the track. Eliza was coming up on his right in a steady gait that kept increasing in speed. As she passed him, she smiled victoriously and he nodded his head in appreciation of her prowess. He tried to encourage Sparks to go faster, but he was going as fast as he could, and Eliza just kept increasing her speed until she was a full quarter of the track ahead of him. His father would never get over this, he was sure.

  Losing this race to Eliza Stanton would be the worst. Now that he wanted to impress her, now that she had been showing up in his dreams, and now that he’d noticed just how beautiful she was, it was suddenly very important that he win.

  “Come on, Sparks, we are looking really bad here; can you give it a little more speed?” At this point
in the race, there was no way he could make up the distance and win, so his new goal for the day was to decrease the distance between them and save some face. “Sparks, give it your best!” He kicked back but refused to use the whip. He would hear about that from his dad as well.

  He looked ahead to Eliza; she just kept increasing her speed and, unfortunately, the distance between them. She crossed the finish line and it took Charles another 10 seconds to cross. It was probably going to be one of his most humiliating experiences for a long time, brought up at all family gatherings for years to come. He rode over to Eliza and took off his hat and bowed his head slightly. “That was impressive!” I have underestimated you, Miss Eliza Stanton.

  “I hope that was enough competition for you, Charles.” Eliza raised her eyebrows and laughed.

  Charles nodded his head and had to laugh at himself for his earlier arrogance, but he determined to make sure this humiliation didn’t happen again. “I deserved that, but you just wait til next year. If you are going to take this so seriously, then I will be training this year as well, and then, Eliza, you’re toast.”

  “We shall see. Perhaps you need more motivation.” Eliza smiled coyly as she sidled her horse next to Charles. Was she flirting? Charles leaned back, judging her behavior.

  “It’s fun to race, but I have no interest in this feud.” She was smiling at him and flashing those violet eyes, daring him to join her on forbidden ground.

  “What kind of motivation are we talking about here? Would a Stanton go out with a Harrington?”

  The pause was thick with expectation. The hint of vulnerability in her expression almost made him take back his challenge, but then her now familiar spark of competitive drive took over and she smirked, “Well, yes, I think a Stanton would go out with a Harrington. If the Harrington won the next race.”

  Now that was some motivation. “Okay, it’s a deal.” Charles was satisfied with himself, feeling proud of his rebellion until he saw his father storming over toward him.

  “See you next year.” Eliza looked over toward his father. “Good luck.”

  Michael Harrington’s face was redder than his son Charles had seen it in a long time. “Why didn’t you use the whip, Charles?”

  “Dad, I never use the whip with Sparks. He would have been confused and probably gone slower.” Charles leaned down to adjust his stirrup. “This isn’t on the horse. This is totally my fault. I didn’t think I needed to practice at all, and I didn’t train Sparks either.” He was unfortunately going to hear about this for months. Like it or not, he would have to make a much better showing next year and that meant more time spent training. Time away from other things he would rather be doing. But now, at least, he had a better reason than the family feud for doing so. Charles smiled to himself.

  Eliza could not keep the smile off of her face. She was so happy to have won, and in such big way too. Her family all cheered as she rode over to the stables. They put a wreath of flowers over Tandy’s head and took pictures. Tandy stomped and snorted in appreciation. Eliza reached out and took the bouquet of beautiful white roses handed to her—it smelled wonderful. Her father held up the trophy and everyone cheered again. All of her brothers were there. Eliza shed a tear she was so overjoyed at their praise. And underneath it all a new exhilaration at the thought of a date with Charles. She was helped off of Tandy and carried around by her brothers, who were singing a victory song.

  “Put me down guys!”

  Her brothers did put her down, then Devon leaned over. “Eliza, none of us ever won this race with so much distance between first and second place. This is a family record. Congratulations.”

  “Really? Awesome! I did train all year long, and it paid off. But Charles said he is going to start training for the next race. And who knows which locals will register?”

  Her brother Devon shrugged off her concerns. He was her oldest brother, and she looked to him more often than the others for guidance. He was the one who taught her how to swim, and her mother told her it was Devon who had done most of the babysitting while she was out at meetings. “Just up your schedule, and you will beat him again next year.” He made it sound so easy; well it wasn’t easy. But her determination to win was something more than family pride. She wanted to prove something to Charles, so winning was vital. And now this bet. She couldn’t date Charles, not really. Could she?

  Once in the car on the ride back, her father looked over at her. “So, Lizzy, did you wipe that snide smile off of Charles’s face?” He chuckled.

  “Yes, but he was just so nice about losing that it took some of the fun out of it.” Eliza scrunched up her forehead. “Do you think he did that on purpose to spoil my satisfaction? Because he did spoil it, Dad. I wasn’t nearly as satisfied as I imagined I would be.”

  Her father laughed even harder. “Oh, Lizzy, you read too many books. Everything that happens doesn’t have a nefarious scheme behind it.” You have no idea the scheme I have planned now, Dad.

  “Well, I actually feel sorry for him, and that’s even worse. His father looked pretty mad as he walked over.”

  “Michael adores Charles. I‘m sure it was just fine, so feel free to glory in your win. You’ve trained all year, and you deserved to win. I’m very proud of you.” He put his arm around Eliza and pulled her close for a hug. Eliza started to feel better. She smiled to herself as she relived the shocked look on Charles’s face when she flirted with him. He’d seemed game for the plan.

  The rest of the ride home she reran the race in her mind. The glory of it was so satisfying. She didn’t realize how competitive she actually was until now. If Charles was going to train for next year, then she was going to train even harder. The taste of winning was something she didn’t want to lose; it was just too sweet. The look of admiration in Charles’s eyes was even sweeter.

  She looked over at her father. “Dad, would it be possible to race one of our thoroughbreds?”

  “I don’t know, Lizzy; those horses are meant for the derby. If they were injured, we are talking about a big loss, not just in money but in potential.” Her father seemed to be thinking about it. At least he didn’t reject the idea outright.

  “Well, then can Tandy be included in the training your men do with the thoroughbreds while I’m at school? Maybe just get their advice?”

  “Yes, that’s a great idea. I see you’re planning for next year already.” Her father chuckled. She knew her father adored her, and it was wonderful to be so loved. She hoped she would never do anything to gain his disappointment. Feeling his pride in her today was a memory she would cherish.

  A lot of her goals centered on her parents’ aspirations for her. Her junior year of high school she had taken online courses and graduated a year early. That had put her in Charles’s graduating class. She also worked hard and started college as a sophomore.

  She thought back to Charles. At least she had gained his respect on the track. She wanted to impress him, not just beat him. Winning gave her such confidence. She was surprised at how forward she had been, talking to him after the race. He had been popping up in her dreams on and off this year. He was very good looking, but lots of men were. It was his personality that she liked best, and he seemed to have a soft spot for her. At least he was always kind, even in the face of a pretty humiliating defeat. He also seemed keen on their plan for a date. Well, she wasn’t going to make it easy. Winning was more important than ever. The problem was how could she do it?

  Chapter 4

  Charles put Sparks in the stable himself. “Sparks, I had no idea what we were up against in this race.”

  The stables were always kept in a clean and orderly condition. The rich redwood added a rustic air to the stalls. Charles grabbed a brush and ran it slowly and firmly down Sparks’ back, thinking about the fiasco at the track.

  Darrel walked over and frowned. “Well, that was hard to take; we are going to have to get to work this year with you and Sparks.”

  “Do you know anything about the training
routine they are doing with Eliza’s horse?” Charles continued brushing Sparks down. It wouldn’t have been so bad, but the entire rowing team had come to watch. He would never hear the end of this. Plus he’d looked like an idiot, with all the assurances he’d given everyone that he would win. That couldn’t be helped now, but he could find out how they were training at the Stantons’.

  “I know Dee Laskin. I’ll ask him next time I see him at the club.” Darrel patted Charles’s shoulder. “We can take them next year for sure. It’s just a matter of training”

  Charles wasn’t so sure. You had to have the desire to win, and he saw that in spades in the violet eyes of Eliza Stanton. However, now that they had a date riding on the results of the race, it made it fun for Charles. If his parents knew what was riding on the next race, they would have fits. They definitely wouldn’t allow it, which did add to his excitement and determination to win. It was one thing to possibly date a beautiful woman, but quite another to make it an act of rebellion against both families. The risks were high and so was the excitement.

  That night, Charles came down to eat with the family. He might as well hear what they had to say. “Hello, Dad, I misjudged that one.”

  “Yes, I think we all did. There was a lot of money that changed hands today.” His dad shook his head. “If I would have bet against you, I could have made a fortune.” He laughed.

  Charles smiled, thinking about Eliza’s face as she flirted with him, challenging him. “So, Dad, how did this feud start anyway?”

  “I would have to go back into Irish history. Ireland is full of feudal families, I’m afraid. In our families’ case, we brought the feud with us when we immigrated.”

  “So when did we all immigrate?” Charles asked, interested.