Ed patted her shoulder. “We’ll get the next one.”
Gen was already studying the form in front of her, leafing to the next race. “I had a bad feeling about the last one. Should’ve held back. My skin is tickling again, so I think we can do this.”
Wolfe put up his hands in surrender. “Your call. Let me know. I’m here if you have any questions.”
She was already back to ignoring him, seemingly entranced by the field of six running in the next race. Wolfe went back to his table, caught between amusement and irritation at how quickly he’d been replaced at the track. Seemed to be a pattern. She was finally out of David’s clutches, and had now recruited a whole new batch of men to be her friends. Seemed she gave them a hell of a lot more attention than she had given him these past two years.
The spiteful thought made his temper even darker.
He watched as she lost the next three races in a row and he picked up a couple of wins. Finally. Her crowd began to disperse as the magic disappeared and she was left with her original crew.
His phone convulsed like it was possessed. Wolfe scrolled through the text messages and voice mails, which were getting more frantic, and knew he didn’t have much more time to hide her. Kate would get into the car and track them down. Alexa would call Sawyer, who’d tell Julietta, and then he’d be in trouble. His gut said she needed one more day to process before he took her back. So he bought the precious time by texting to a dozen people that she was fine and they’d be returning tomorrow. Then turned off his phone.
Screw it.
Wolfe glanced at the field for race nine. What a mess. A dozen horses, most of which hadn’t raced before, and the odds were all over the place. He wouldn’t even trust the Clocker Lawton tip sheet on this one, so Wolfe decided to scrap it. He tossed his form and his empty bottle, then headed toward Gen.
“One last bet, or are you ready? You did great today.”
Gen looked up. There was an odd light in her eyes he recognized well. Sheer determination, fierce will, and stubborn pride.
It was pure nightmare.
Suddenly his heart began to thump. “Gen, what are you thinking?”
She smiled. Even Steve and Tom looked a little cowed by her. “Last race. Last shot. Number six.”
He glanced at the monitor: fifteen to one. Not good in this mix-up, but at this point she couldn’t lose much, right? “What’s the name?”
“Phoenix Rising.”
He swallowed. Yeah, this could be bad. Especially if she took it as some kind of sign. Wolfe forced a laugh. “Sweetheart, these horses have never run before. You had some beginner’s luck, but placing a bet on a name is fun, not practical. Let’s take your winnings, get a steak dinner, and call it a day.”
“I have three words for you, Wolfe.”
He tried not to panic, but he already recognized the craziness. She had a stubborn streak that rivaled no other. If you told Gen no, she only got more determined to prove herself. He remembered when he joked and said she’d never be able to pull an A on her Italian final back at NYU. She was a science wiz, but sucked at languages, so he’d had a field day teasing her while almost flunking her family’s second language. What did she do?
Immersed herself in Italian for a week and refused to speak English in the house. Then scored an A on the exam.
She was scary.
“What three words?”
Gen smiled. “Let it ride.”
Ed looked worried but slowly nodded. “It’s the only thing left to do. The only move left. If this horse wins, it’ll be a sign.”
Wolfe stared. “What sign?”
“A sign I wasn’t meant for my girlfriend. Ex-girlfriend. If Phoenix wins, it means I’ll rise from the ashes and find a new love.”
Steve groaned. “That’s the stupidest thing I ever heard, bro. It’s a horse. Not some kind of screwed-up analogy of your love life!”
Wolfe almost lost it, but Gen nodded as if she agreed and believed he was sane. “Ed, I completely agree. But we need to make a statement to the universe. Let’s bet it all.”
Ed clasped her hand as if they were married and had just asked the bank for a mortgage. “Yes. Let’s do it.”
“Are you nuts?” Tom yelled. “People only do that in the movies. We need the money for gas and food and stuff!”
Ed shook his head. “This is bigger than that, man. You’re gonna have to back me on this.”
Wolfe came out of his trance and shook his head. “Hell, no, you’ve both lost it. Names of the horses mean nothing when it comes to winning a race. You’ll only be disappointed and more depressed. Walk away on a high note. I mean it, let’s go.”
She clucked her tongue in sympathy. “I’m sorry you don’t understand, but I need to do this. If I take the risk and believe, something wonderful will happen. It’s time to watch the Phoenix rise from the ashes. Come on, Ed.”
Wolfe watched her walk away with his mouth half-open. What had just happened? When had he lost control of her and this whole nutty day?
Steve cleared his throat. “Damn. We’ll be fronting him all weekend.”
“What the hell does a phoenix have to do with a horse?” Tom asked.
“It’s an analogy of rebirth,” Wolfe said. “The phoenix is destroyed and rises above the ashes.”
“Did Gen break up with someone, too?” Tom asked.
Wolfe didn’t answer. Ah crap, it had nothing to do with losing the money. He was afraid if the horse lost she would spiral back into a deep depression. She was putting way too much into a horse that had no clue it meant more to her than a race. She was looking for forgiveness. Hope.