Off to the Races

“What’s it like?” I asked, not daring to look him in the eye as he brushed down Desert Bandit with slow, deliberate strokes. “What’s what like?” he countered, dusting off his hands and grabbing the horse blanket slung over the stall door, spreading it over Bandit’s back. “Jockeying,” I deadpanned, rolling my eyes. I patted down Bandit’s silky black mane, and his ears pricked forwards as he craned his neck to sniff my fingers for a treat. Will sighed in a wistful way, leaning against the doorframe. He looked at me curiously, his brow furrowed a little at the center thoughtfully. “Why do you want to know?” “Would it kill you to just answer the question?” I snapped, glaring at him. He cracked a crooked smile. “Bri,” he started, his voice low, then stopped again. “It’s... it’s everything and yet nothing all at the same time.” The last thing Sabrina Richards wants to do is get shipped off from NYC to go live with her uncle and his wife on their breeding farm out in the middle of Virginia, but when her mother dies in a car accident, she doesn’t have much of a choice. Catapulted into the racing world right before the annual competition for the Triple Crown ensues, it should be exciting. But in the midst of riding lessons, the aftermath of her mother's death, trying on Derby hats and the various hot jockeys, there's a lot more at stake than the winner's purse.