Something to Talk About

“I’m a hands-on trainer, so I like to ride them to test their skills.” He leaned against the fence and soaked up the September sun. His hungover eyes finally seemed to be recovering from the perpetual squint he’d had earlier in the day. “And I’m Robbie Preston, by the way. Nice to meet you.”

Kiefer shook his hand with unexpected seriousness, like a mini grown-up. When he didn’t say any more, Robbie prodded him.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before. Do your parents work at Quest?”

“My mom started as the new office manager. We moved from Los Angeles last week.”

That explained the surfer-dude clothes. And Robbie remembered his own mother mentioning a new hire for the position. She’d decided to take a chance on the woman from L.A. because she was a widow.

A damn young widow if this kid was anything to go by. The idea of the boy hanging out at the rail by himself bugged Robbie.

“Welcome to Kentucky. And if you want to learn about horses, you’ve come to the right place.” He was about to invite the boy into the stables to see the horses close up when a flash of color caught his eye.

Looking up, he spotted the woman he’d seen speaking to Marcus yesterday. Only now, all traces of her easy laugh had disappeared. She charged toward them with determined steps, her jaw set and her lips compressed into a flat, disapproving line.

“Kiefer,” she called the moment she got within hearing range and then hastened her pace. “You’re supposed to be with Max at the after-school program here.”

The boy turned, hopping off the fence rail as his mother reached them, her silky blouse and flowered skirt fluttering lightly in the breeze.

“But I told you I was coming here to watch the horses after I got off the bus. Remember?” Kiefer gestured toward the fence rail.

Or…toward Robbie?

“Ah.” The woman seemed to notice him then, her sharp brown gaze taking him in with the careful perusal of a protective mother and not even an ounce of feminine interest.

His ego definitely would have smarted if not for his knowledge that she’d lost a husband. He had no idea how long ago that might have happened, but he couldn’t imagine the pain of losing someone that close to you.

“Robbie Preston, ma’am.” He held out a hand to her, strangely eager for her to take it.

He’d noticed her yesterday and remembered her after only a quick sighting. That was unusual for him. Not that he didn’t attract his fair share of female attention. But he’d been so focused on work the last few years—so hell bent on winning family approval and the chance to head up Quest’s training program—that he hadn’t spent much time dating. His relationships had been low-key and often pursued by the ladies who wanted them.

For a woman to turn his head without even trying was a new experience. Especially a widow with a son. Hell, his hangover must have scrambled his brains.

“Amanda Emory.” She took his hand as briefly as possible, her short pink nails barely registering before her hand was back at her side. “I’m the new office manager and I’m so sorry if my son has been pestering you.”

She looped an arm around the boy as if to whisk him away from a big, bad dragon.

The thought gave him pause. Had she been listening to family gossip about his supposed hothead nature? The idea rankled.

“He’s been no trouble at all. In fact, I was just—”

“It won’t happen again, I promise.” She backed away, her short, sharp heels sinking into the soft earth while her skirt billowed gently around her legs.

Damn it.

“Mrs. Emory—” The name didn’t sit right on his tongue and it didn’t stop her anyway. He raised his voice slightly. “Amanda.”

That one stopped her. She looked up at him again as if seeing him for the first time. And whoa. His ego was a hell of a lot more pleased with this encounter.

But before he could ask her a damn thing, she shuttered those pretty dark eyes and seemed to shake her head no.

“Sorry,” she said. “I need to return to the office since I hate to make a bad impression my first week on the job.” She offered him a half smile, but he noticed she never relinquished her firm—protective—hold on her son.

“I just want you to know I’d like to show Kiefer the stables sometime. If he’s interested in horses it’s something he won’t want to miss.” He grinned at the kid, recognizing he carried more clout with the boy than the mom.

Kiefer perked up as though he’d gotten a present.

“Can I, Mom?”

“Not today, but thank you very much, Mr. Preston.” Her feet kept moving, out of range, out of the influence of the legendary Robbie Preston temper.

Damn it, she had to have heard rumors to have lit out of there so fast. He watched her walk away, the gentle sway of her hips beneath her fluttery skirt drawing his eye despite his foul mood. He needed to get back to his work and not let the encounter bother him though.

Because, no matter what Marcus said about always being on the lookout for the next big champion, Robbie wasn’t leaving matters to chance. He’d ride every horse in the stables to see what kind of new talent was on the rise.

After all, horses were a damn sight easier to understand than women, and Robbie planned to stick to what he knew best.

Amanda remembered her meeting with the youngest Preston with a mixture of regret and embarrassment during her lunch hour the next day as she observed three of the stable’s trainers work with their horses in the practice yard. From the safety of the office window, she could view one particular man without him knowing.

And heaven help her, she wanted to watch.

She didn’t feel embarrassed about that because she wasn’t ready to date. Or at least she hadn’t thought she was. It had thrown her for a big-time loop the day before when her heart had started palpitating over a man so much younger than her.

How could forty-year-old hormones not have better judgment when they had finally decided to kick in after a two-year nap? She closed her eyes and remembered her husband’s face—a face still so beloved, but, dear heaven, it had been achingly long since she’d touched him. Heard his voice beside her in bed at night.

She knew Dan would never have wanted her to be alone for the rest of her life, so it wasn’t guilt she felt. Maybe it was more a matter of not wanting to give any spare time to a relationship when her kids deserved all that she—as a single parent—could possibly offer them. Besides, she couldn’t believe she’d experienced such a sharp twinge of awareness for a younger man who also happened to be her employer’s son.

Opening her eyes, she took one last look at Robbie Preston from two stories up. His athletic form was all too apparent in well-worn Levi’s and a gray T-shirt with the stable name printed in black. From what she’d heard, his temperament had put him at odds with the family more than once. But as she watched his easy way with the gray horse he led into the practice yard now, Amanda saw a sensitivity that belied the rumors about him. Her grandmother had been raised on a farm in northern California, and Granny swore that horses and dogs could size up a person faster than anything on two legs.

“Aren’t the horses beautiful?”

Amanda started at the feminine voice behind her and turned to find Jenna Preston, Robbie’s mother and the woman who’d hired her. Amanda’s cheeks heated to be caught staring, but thankfully, it hadn’t occurred to her kind employer that her attention had been fixed on one particular man among the horses. And for heaven’s sake, she needed to get her mind back on her work.

“I am still in awe of how beautiful Kentucky is.” That much was true. “The meadows and wildflowers—and the grass is so lush and green here. Everything is so green. And the Quest property is incredible with the acres of four rail fences and all the buildings painted to match.”

Jenna smiled, her blue eyes warm with pleasure. “I’m passing that compliment straight to our head groundskeeper. He takes a lot of pride in the property and it certainly shows.” Moving closer to the window, she frowned. “Have you met my youngest son yet?”

Apparently Robbie had only just come into her view. He was eye-to-eye with the gray horse as if they were having a meeting of minds. Amanda couldn’t help a smile at the thought and she understood why Kiefer had been so intrigued by this man.

“Actually, we met yesterday. I’ve been taking a late lunch to check on my two boys at the after-school program here and found my older son quietly hero-worshipping Robbie while he worked with the horses. I had to shuttle Kiefer back to Claudia’s house.”

Jenna brushed a restless hand through her wavy auburn hair, her eyes fixed on Robbie.

“He’s upset about us hiring an outsider as head trainer.” She turned to cock a halfhearted grin at Amanda. “And I’m not telling you any family secrets with that one—all of Quest knows that his father skipped over the most likely candidate for the head trainer position. I just wanted to let you know in case he was…surly with you.”

“Not at all.” She couldn’t explain the sudden surge of defensiveness she felt on Robbie’s behalf, since she hardly knew him, but it bubbled up nevertheless. “He couldn’t have been kinder to my son, even offering to show him the stables. If anything, I’m afraid I’ll have a hard time keeping Kiefer out of Robbie’s hair.”

Jenna looked thoughtful.

“He’s good with kids. Katie and Rhea—my son Brent’s twin girls—both adore him. I’m sure Robbie would welcome the distraction of Kiefer’s company these days, so I hope you won’t think twice about taking him up on the offer for a guided stable tour from an expert.”

Jenna patted her arm with a maternal reassurance that Amanda had seen her dole out to several of the employees during her short time at Quest. Robbie’s mother had given Amanda a chance at this job when she had no experience, just some online computer courses and a fierce will to get out of L.A.

So why would she be so reluctant to take a chance on her own son as head trainer?

“Maybe I will.” Amanda tightened her grip on the papers in her arm. “I’d better be getting back to work if I’m going to finish up with the file reorganization this week.”

And she really needed to walk away from the window where Robbie Preston inspired such unexpected feelings.

“I appreciate you undertaking such a big project right away. I knew our last manager had let things slide in those months he was looking for other work, but I didn’t realize how much of a mess the files had become until after he left.”

“I think we’ll all be able to work more efficiently once I’m done.” Truly, Amanda could never have functioned with the disorganization the previous administrator had left, so she was grateful when Jenna gave her the green light to overhaul nearly every facet of office procedure. The staff was small—only eight other people under Amanda’s direct supervision—but the other employees had been around long enough that it would have been a headache to implement changes without Jenna’s blessing.

“And by the way, Amanda, we’re hosting a small dinner party at the main house on Friday for a handful of local Thoroughbred owners who are also friends. Why don’t you join us for drinks if you have time? I think it would be nice for you to put some faces to the names you must be seeing over and over again in your paperwork. We do strive to keep the business feeling like family despite our size.”

Warmed by the invitation, Amanda was reminded all over again how fortunate she’d been to land here, far away from her personal demons on the West Coast.

“I’d be delighted, Mrs. Preston. Thank you.”

“Call me Jenna and it’s a date.”

With a quick wave, she was off again, no doubt to lift someone else’s spirits or assist around the office any way she could. Amanda admired her generous nature and wondered if her family knew how much she contributed to the business in her understated way.

Amanda had no intention of letting Jenna Preston down—not in the office and not at the dinner party. That meant focusing on her job and not speculating whether a certain horse trainer would be in attendance at the Preston house Friday night.

Amanda wasn’t going to be happy.

Robbie knew by the end of the week that he’d be hearing from Kiefer Emory’s uptight mother sooner or later about the time her son had been spending around the stables. Robbie hadn’t mistaken the disapproval in her eyes when she’d hauled Kiefer away the last time, but the boy had made a point of stopping by after school every day until Robbie reminded him he should be heading to the care program run by one of the women who lived on the property.

Today was no exception.

“Is this horse your favorite?” Kiefer called to him from his usual spot at the rail of the practice yard, his school backpack at his feet, his toes now respectably covered in boots instead of flip flops.

“What makes you ask that?” Robbie eased up onto the colt he was working with. “I spend equal time with all of my horses.”

At least, he had for the last few weeks while trying to get a feel for where each of the Thoroughbreds stood in their training.

“You look at this one different.” Kiefer shrugged, apparently disinclined to pinpoint his reason any more than that. “I can just tell.”

Robbie patted the colt’s neck and steered him closer to the rail so Kiefer could do the same.

“This one is called Something to Talk About and I think he’s the next hot prospect for Quest Stables.”

Robbie had never possessed the strange kind of equine intuitiveness his sister Melanie seemed to have, but he knew enough about horses to feel the potential for power in this one. The gray colt showed hints of racing brilliance on the track and his temperament caught Robbie’s eye. The colt didn’t mingle with the other horses, preferring to keep his own counsel. And there was a spiritedness about him, a proud determination that Robbie recognized all too well.

“You mean he’s going to be a racing champion?” Kiefer stroked the animal’s nose.

Behind Kiefer, Robbie noticed his nieces, Katie and Rhea. The twins had been bending over an electronic game until one pointed out Robbie and Kiefer.

“Hey, California!” Katie called, handing the game to her sister. “Did you learn to ride yet?”

The two ran off before Kiefer could respond, clearly smitten with the boy who must be about a year older than them. But to Robbie’s surprise, Kiefer flushed and he looked worried.

“Robbie, can you teach me how to ride? All the kids at school know how and they think—” He shook his head and seemed to change his approach. “Well, they all learned to ride a long time ago and I don’t want to be the loser who can’t.”

“Son, if you think those girls see you as a loser, then you’re really missing the boat on understanding females.” Hell, even from a hundred yards away Robbie could still see his nieces’ matched heads turning around to look at the new kid on the block.

“It’s not about them.” Kiefer’s face flushed even deeper and Robbie figured if Amanda didn’t get riled about him hanging out with Kiefer this week, she’d definitely get mad when she found out Robbie had been sharing advice about women with a boy who hadn’t reached the age of interest in girls yet.

“Is anybody giving you a hard time at school?” Robbie would gladly put aside whatever awkwardness there might be with Amanda if Kiefer needed help with some snot-nosed bully.

“No.” Kiefer shook his head quickly and lightly twisted some of the horse’s mane around his finger. “But it’s tough being the new guy. I knew everyone at my last school. We surfed and skateboarded there. Here, everyone rides.”

Robbie considered the request, knowing he couldn’t do jack to teach the boy anything without his mother’s blessing. But Kiefer didn’t exaggerate. In Woodford County, the kids who didn’t own horses knew five other people who did. Growing up in this area meant you loved horses and basketball. It seemed genetically programmed.

“Have you asked your mother about some lessons?”

“She said I should join the stable’s riding club.” Kiefer looked up from his fascination with the horse’s mane. “But all the kids there already know how to ride.”

“Ah.” Robbie hated to wade into this any deeper, but then again, hadn’t he lived his whole life by jumping into challenging situations with both feet? “You think it might help if I talked to her about some private lessons?”

Kiefer’s face lit up so fast Robbie couldn’t help but smile even though he might have put himself on the warpath with Amanda.

“Would you?”

“I can’t promise how soon it will be, but I’ll try to track her down.”

“She has to go to the main house tonight,” Kiefer offered, hopping down from the fence. “I’m going to get my homework done in case she says we can start tomorrow.”

“Kief—”

The kid was honest-to-God already booking it up the path to his caregiver’s cabin, his backpack jouncing up and down as he ran. He turned and waved from about fifty yards away, his feet never slowing.

“Thanks, Robbie!” he shouted.

Something to Talk About danced sideways underneath him, impatient to begin while Robbie tried to figure out what he’d gotten himself into.

No doubt about it, he’d have to stop by the main house after work tonight. Kiefer Emory’s eyes had been too damn hopeful for Robbie to do anything but give it his best shot with Amanda. Kiefer didn’t know that Robbie’s least favorite place to hang out these days was the main house where his family congregated, united in their mistrust of him.

How fitting that prickly Amanda would be joining their ranks.

Since he’d moved out of the Preston family residence that week without a word to anyone, the evening promised to be interesting.

Chapter Three

Crap.

Robbie might have turned around before he got to the door of the main house if it hadn’t been for his memory of Kiefer’s face today. He knew what it was like to want to fit in so badly—a feeling he’d wrestled with where his brothers were concerned all his life. But he hadn’t expected to show up at the house while his family was entertaining. The cars in the driveway could have been the showroom for a high-end dealership or the VIP parking lot at Saratoga or Keeneland. His parents’ friends tended to be as wealthy as they were and could afford horses even more expensive than their cars—and that was saying something.

“Mister Robbie, we’ve been hoping you would join us.” Betsy Fuller, the Prestons’ household manager, held the door of the sprawling redbrick house wide, her simple dress more that of a maid than of a woman earning the fat salary Robbie knew she collected for running a property bigger than some country clubs.

It was part of Betsy’s charm that she’d never commented on family politics or Robbie’s long absences. She had open arms and extra place settings for anyone who showed up on the doorstep and it was one of the many reasons everyone adored her.

“I didn’t know they were entertaining tonight or I wouldn’t have shown up in work clothes.” Beyond Betsy, Robbie could see the candles lit throughout the downstairs, giving the place a festive look despite the heavy dark wood of the moldings and banisters, the rich burgundies and reds of the upholstered furniture. He knew all the guests would be out having cocktails on the veranda before dinner and he planned to make sure he avoided the family at all costs.

“If you hurry, you can change before they sit down.” She checked her watch to make sure and then winked at him. “I can usually talk Judge Parker into an extra bourbon before dinner.”

“Thanks, but I can’t stay. I just came to speak to Amanda Emory if she’s here.” He stepped deeper into the front hall, peering around as if she might come into view any second. “Have you met the new office manager?”

“Of course I have.” Betsy appeared mightily offended at the idea that she would ever be unaware of family business. “She’s out back with the family for cocktails, son. Now, why don’t you go upstairs and get dressed?”

Robbie had left some clothes here when he’d moved out earlier in the week, so technically, he could make an appearance. But damn it, he wasn’t going to play the family game of pretending he belonged here when they’d made it all too clear to him that he wasn’t good enough to take on a big role at Quest.

“No thanks.” He shook his head, regretting more than anything that he had to disappoint Betsy. She’d never treated him any differently than anyone else in the family. “Would you mind just letting her know that I’m here if I promise to have her back before you move into the dining room?”

If Betsy had an opinion on that, she kept it to herself, settling for a quick nod.

“I’ll pass along the message.”

She hurried off through the house while Robbie waited out front, the strains of a violin mingling with laughter from the veranda. His eyes went to the portraits of horses lining the walls. In other rooms, there were photographs and paintings of people. But here in the foyer there were horses dating back to Hugh Preston’s earliest days at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens where he’d first studied horses and made his earliest bets. There was a photo of Hugh with Clare’s Quest, the little filly who’d brought his first big win.

Marching across the hunter-green walls were paintings of Old Barley, the stallion that had given Hugh a win at Saratoga to finance the family’s move to Kentucky, followed by more horses that had all added to a family fortune spread across two continents. There weren’t many portraits of horses from Robbie’s cousins’ farm in Hunter Valley, Australia, but there were a few. He looked at them now instead of thinking about Amanda Emory’s potential reaction to his visit.

“Robbie?”

Her voice surprised him, even though he’d been expecting her.

He turned to find a far more sophisticated woman than he remembered. Her pretty dark hair and eyes were the same, but the outfit she wore… Damn it, he had no business taking in the soft curves of her slender frame, but the simple strapless blue cocktail dress she wore seemed to demand it. She’d thrown a yellow lace shawl around her shoulders, but it didn’t hide much of anything. Another hint of lace peeked out below the dress’s knee-length hem, accentuating her legs and drawing his gaze much too low.

Hell.

“Sorry to take you away from the group.” He launched into conversation to recover from the awkward moment. “I won’t keep you.”

He waited for her to run away from him, as she had that day by the practice yard, or to come up with some excuse why she couldn’t speak to him, since he supposed she’d been influenced by popular opinion regarding his character. Instead, she smiled warmly, the way he remembered from the first time he’d seen her.

“Actually, I’m really glad to see you.”

He wondered if his eyes widened as much as he felt they did.

Probably they did, since she laughed.

“I mean it. And I’m sorry if I seemed short with you the day we met, but it’s stressful starting a new job and I worried about taking time away to oversee Kiefer.”

She smelled delicious—like flowers and maybe vanilla. He wanted to lean in for a more definitive sniff.

“He’s a great kid.” He wanted to make it clear that he didn’t mind Kiefer’s presence around the stables.

And he definitely wanted to remember why he was here since it didn’t have anything to do with ogling a woman he had no business pursuing.

“Thank you.” She smiled with maternal pleasure and managed to look even more beautiful than she had two minutes ago. “I’m very proud of both my boys but sometimes it’s hard to step back from the day-in and day-out worries to appreciate how really great they are. I’m fortunate.”

“You have two sons?” Robbie knew Kiefer hadn’t mentioned a brother, but the boy had been fairly wrapped up in learning about horses all week.

“Max is six and Kiefer is nine. And actually, I’ve been meaning to seek you out to thank you for the time you’ve spent with Kiefer this week. He feels more sure of himself at school now that he can talk about horses without sounding like a total outsider.”