Page 30 of Lie for a Million

Her faint smile appeared forced. “Just sore. My daughter came to babysit me and keep me resting. She just left.”

“I know. I recognized her from Frank’s memorial service.”

They stood facing each other in what was becoming awkward silence. He had made love to this woman. Yet, in many ways, he scarcely knew her at all.

“So, how are things going?” she asked. “Has One in a Million settled down?”

“He seems fine. I’ve been working with him every day. But we’re keeping him away from Fire Dance.”

“And Fire Dance? Is he going to be all right?”

“He’s doing better. I think he’s beginning to trust me again, but he had a bad scare. We’ve got a long way to go and not much time.”

“Have you kept your word about training him on your own time?”

Her question stung. “If you’ve been watching me, you already know that I have.”

“I haven’t been watching,” she said. “I trusted you, and I’ve had other things on my mind. But since I’ve got a stake in this, I’m saying take the time. Do whatever you need with him. The assistant trainers can take on more responsibility.”

“Thank you, Boss. That’ll help.” The sunlight deepened the shadows on her face. She looked tired, he thought. Maybe more distressed than tired. “Is something the matter?” he asked. “If there’s anything I can do—”

“No. Just a family issue. I’ll deal with it.” She turned to leave.

“Boss?”

She turned back, her eyes questioning.

“Would you like to see Fire Dance in action? It won’t take long to get him ready.”

There was a beat of hesitation, when Roper almost regretted asking. But then she nodded. “Yes, thanks, I’d like that very much.”

* * *

Perched on a rail across from the stable entrance, Lila waited while Roper and the grooms readied Fire Dance for his workout. With so much weighing on her mind, she needed the diversion. And she needed to do her job, which was overseeing the entire horse program. As capable as Roper might be, she mustn’t depend on him to do it all.

She’d promised to continue Frank’s legacy. But there was more to that legacy than she’d realized. Frank had betrayed her and their marriage in the most uncaring way. She owed him nothing. Going forward, anything she did to keep the stables running and the horses winning would be for her own satisfaction.

As for the unborn child Frank had left . . . But she wouldn’t think about that now. She needed time to recover from the shock and make an intelligent plan. The confrontation with Crystal would come. But not now. Not today. She wasn’t ready.

Roper led Fire Dance into the arena, mounted, and warmed him up with an easy lope around the ring. They made a striking pair—the stallion with his regal body and gleaming chestnut coat, and the handsome rider who moved as one with the horse.

Stopping, Roper began the routine, starting with the spin in place and moving into the patterns and direction changes. As Frank’s wife, Lila had watched years of reining competitions. She knew what to look for, and she knew good work when she saw it. Roper was good. He was more than good. As he cued the horse with subtle movements of his hands, knees, and body, he was superb.

Still, she sensed a flicker of distrust in the stallion’s response. Fire Dance had been trained to depend on his rider for guidance and safety. When the other horse, bigger and more aggressive, had attacked him out of nowhere, he’d been shaken and scared. Unless Roper could make him feel safe, he might never fully trust again.

The young stallion’s quality showed in his every movement. But Lila’s gaze was drawn to Roper. His expression was calm and focused, his posture erect, his hands light on the reins. Only the patch of damp sweat between his shoulder blades betrayed the physical effort that went into his control of the horse. That kind of grace couldn’t be learned. It had to be second nature.

Frank had been an excellent horseman, winning multiple contests over the years and taking home some handsome prizes. Much of his success had been due to One in a Million. But on the right horse, Roper would have bested him every time.

Watching him now, Lila understood why Frank had refused to let Roper compete. And she could imagine how Roper, ambitious man that he was, had chafed under that restriction. Had Roper’s frustration been powerful enough to drive him to murder?

But where had that thought come from? Just because Roper possessed the perfect combination of motive, means, and opportunity didn’t mean he was a killer. She knew him. He’d never given her reason not to trust him.

The memory flooded through her as she watched him ride—Roper’s arms around her, his mouth on hers, her body burning with need as they’d shed clothes and given themselves to total abandon. Since then, he’d hadn’t mentioned that forbidden encounter or laid so much as a lustful hand on her. But he had to be thinking about it, just as she was.

Her face was still flushed with the memory when the routine ended with a sliding stop in front of her. Pulling her thoughts back to the present, Lila slipped off the rail and applauded. “He’s beautiful,” she said. “I can see why you chose to ride him.”

“He can be spectacular when he’s focused,” Roper said. “But when he’s nervous and distracted, the performance falls apart. What we’re working for now is consistency—when I depend on him and he depends on me. We’ll have one run at the big money. It’s going to take both of us giving all we’ve got.”

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