Page 33 of Shine On Oklahoma

“His place is amazing,” Caroline said. “Thefirst time I saw it, I couldn’t believe it. It’s exactly the kindof place you used to talk about owning someday, Dax.” She gazedhappily at Kendra. “From thirteen to eighteen, that’s all he talkedabout. Buying a spread, building a practice track and trainingthoroughbreds.”

“He did?” she asked, glancing sideways atDax.

“Iamtraining thoroughbreds. Quarterhorses too.”

“But not on your own place,” his mother said.“Not yet. You will in time. You’re meant to. Mothers know thesethings.”

Wow. If that’s what he wanted, his dreamwould be shattered by inheriting his father’s racetrack and all itsinherent problems—not the least of which was that the biggestheroin importer on the east coast laundered money through it.

“Anything you want to know about me or mybusiness, just ask,” Luis went on.

“How old are you?” Dax blurted.

“Dax!” Caroline punched his shoulder. “Shameon you.”

“Out of bounds,” Kendra muttered, leaningnear him and masking it with a cough.

Luis just laughed. “Eleven years younger onpaper and a hundred years older in spirit.”

Dax seemed to take a moment to digest that.Then he said, “Been married before?”

“Ohforheaven’s sakes!” His mother extendedher hands and tipped her head up, as if invoking help fromabove.

Kendra rolled her eyes and pinched the bridgeof her nose, looking down.

Luis said, “Seems the ladies are gonna spitroast you no matter how logical your questions, Dax. How ‘bout Igive you the basics instead of making you ask?”

Dax gave him the palms-up nod to tell him totake it away.

“I was born and raised in Tennessee, alwaysaround horses, but nothing big. My father was a jockey. I’m thetallest in my family,” he said with a smile at Dax. “So we havethat in common. Both big guys.”

Luis was 5’9’ in boots.

Dax laughed. It was genuine. Kendra saw himtry to hold it back and fail.

“I was married for twenty years, to awonderful woman who died way too young. Breast cancer. Been tenyears alone, and then I met your mother at your dad’s track on oneof my many visits there. It felt like the sun had come out after adecade in the dark. She’s my light.”

“Holy crap, it must be amazing to be lovedlike that,” Kendra said.

Everyone looked at her and she had adistinct, did-I-say-that-out-loud moment. Then she smirked andadded, “If you’re into that sort of thing.”

Dax glanced her way, his face odd, but thenhe was back to the third degree. “I’m sorry you lost your wife. Didyou have any kids together?”

“No, we tried, but…. Wasn’t meant to be, Iguess.”

And then the food came, and they all stoppedtalking and dug in. It was too good to allow for much conversationaside from oohs and ahhs and other meal-related exclamations.

It seemed to Kendra that the tension meltedaway a little bit. Dax relaxed more, his mother did too.

Joe McIntyre came to personally offer themdessert on the house, special dessert menus in hand. Kendra wasexpecting Dax to say a polite no thanks and end her torture, butinstead he said, “Thanks Joe. We’ll take you up on that. And we’llhave a pot of coffee, too.”

“Make mine decaf or I’ll never sleep.”Caroline was smiling, relieved.

Kendra didn’t blame her. If Dax wasn’t in ahurry to end the evening, it had to be a good sign as far as hismother was concerned. Kendra was pretty sure it was, unless he’djust thought of a half dozen more questions for the poor guy. Buthe wasn’t like that, her Dax. He was as kind-hearted as they came.Soon he started asking questions that were based on shared interestinstead of suspicion, questions about Luis’s place, and histraining methods, and which owners he’d worked for. Before long,the two of them were trading horse stories. Their frequent roundsof deep, male laughter filled the whole dining room. The otherdiners around them were smiling, because that sort of thing wascontagious. Everybody in the place was just delighted right offtheir freaking chairs.

Everybody but Kendra.

She was antsy and nervous. There were toomany variables at play. If Dax’s mother kept reminding him what hereally wanted in life, and that it wasn’t a racetrack in easternNew York, she was going to have a much harder time convincing himto inherit it.

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