“Dad?”
He looked up and closed the drawer, offering me a smile. “Good morning honey. I was just about to head out to take one last look at the paddock. Our attorney will be by soon, and he has all the paperwork. We’ll be handing it over to the Killarnys, and that will remove them from the derby.” He started to head toward the door, but I put up my hand.
“Dad, why don’t you have a seat. We need to have a little chat.”
“Honey, I know you think it’s nothing. But we really can’t have people like that around if they are involved in illegal activity.”
“Dad.” I stopped and stared at him until he sat down in his chair. I remained standing. “I know about Emily Killarny.”
He looked perplexed. “What do you mean?”
“The drawer. I know what’s in it. I’m sorry for going through your things, but I had to know what was going on here. I knew that it couldn’t be what you said it was, but I wanted to find out what exactly was motivating you to keep them out of our derby.”
He shook his head. “You shouldn’t have gone through my things.”
“I am deeply sorry for that. But I know Dad. I know about the affair, and I know that you and Mom couldn’t stay married because you were still in love with Emily.”
His eyes were closed for a long moment before he opened them again and blinked. “You have no idea what it was like to watch the person you loved more than anyone else in the world walk off and marry someone else.”
“Really, Dad? You think I couldn’t possibly understand that? Do you recall that a year ago I found my fiancé in bed with my best friend? They’re getting married in two months. I think I have some clue what that might feel like. The only difference is that you slept with your best friend’s almost wife. You are not the victim here so don’t even play like you are. You drove Mom away.”
He was quiet then.
“This stops now,” I said in a commanding tone. “It all stops right here. You said Terrance is coming over with some papers today? You’re going to call him and stop him.”
My father frowned at me and raised his voice. “You don’t call the shots around here.”
“I may not, and I know that I don’t have the controlling stake that you do, but dad, I swear to you, if you do not stop this, if you do not let the Killarny horse race, then I will walk out of here and have no part of this business again. You lost your wife because you were caught up in all of this jealousy shit and some silly feud. Do you want to lose your daughter as well?”
His eyes were downcast, and I waited for him to speak. Finally, in a softer tone than what I was used to hearing from my father, he said: “I’ll make the call.”
I slipped out into the morning sunshine and put the wide-brimmed white hat with a black bow on my head. I looked at my reflection in one of the windows to make sure it was straight; then I made my way toward the track.
Instead of sitting in the usual box where I had grown up sitting with my father, I looked for the box filled with Killarny men. There, in the middle of all the other boxes, I found them hooting and hollering, with Emma there in the middle of the group. Taking the steps carefully in my heels, I walked up toward them and was greeted by Alex.
“Well, if it isn’t little Sara Waters. Not so little anymore, are you?” He said with a wink, and I rolled my eyes with a smile as I moved past him, maneuvering my hat so as not to gouge anyone’s eyes out. I smiled as I approached Pete.
“Nice to see you again,” I said, and a knowing glance passed between us. “And nice to see you too, Emma!” I shouted over the roar of the crowd that was really starting to build.
“You made it just in time!” Emma said.
Pete took me by the arm and pulled me close. “Is everything okay?”
I nodded, leaning in to speak close to his ear. “I talked to him, and he wasn’t very happy about it, but the plan he was going to go through with has been stopped. There’s not going to be an attorney, and your rider won’t have any problems down there.”
“What did you say?” He asked, looking at me with some surprise.
“I told him that if the Killarny horse didn’t run, then he was going to be losing one very important employee—me.”
Pete’s eyes were wide. “Really? And what were you going to do when you left, if he called your bluff?”
“Number one, it wasn’t a bluff. Number two well, I thought you might have a position I could fill at Killarny Estate.”
Pete grinned and whispered in my ear, “I could think of one or two.”
We turned our attention to the horses, and the crowd was going absolutely wild. The horses were off, and we all watched the Killarny horse, Clement, cheering him as he raced along, his long, quick strides rapidly advancing him to the front of the pack. It seemed to all happen in a flash and Clement crossed the finish line an entire two seconds before any other horses.
The Killarny box went wild with all the brothers whooping and shouting. I kept my composure for the most part, but couldn’t help letting out a little yell.