Sally saw them. Her shoulders stiffened. Jack knew a jolt of shock was running through her. He shot a quick glance at Jane who looked gob-smacked by the action he’d forced.
“Smile, damn you! This is Sally’s big number. It’s important to her.”
She belatedly stretched her mouth into a smile. Jack beamed a wide grin. “Now clap your hands above your head to show you’re madly urging her on to do her best. And keep smiling.”
He released her hand to do the same himself and felt an intense wave of relief when Jane copied the wild applause. Sally smiled. She was relaxing. He fiercely hoped she could put them out of her mind now, or at least know they were in harmony on one point—wanting her to perform well.
“Sit down in front,” a man behind them bellowed.
Deciding that nothing more could be done to fix the situation, Jack sat down.
Jane slowly sank onto the seat beside him. “You do care,” she said, as though stunned by the fact.
“Yes, I care,” he slung at her with dark ferocity, still worried about the effect her meeting with him might have on Sally. “And if you care, you’ll shut up and let me concentrate on willing your sister to take her horse cleanly over every jump.”
The starter gun went off.
Jane didn’t say another word.
Jack totally ignored her presence, his whole being tied to Sally and the horse she was riding, every muscle in his body instinctively lifting as they lifted, relaxing as each jump was cleared, tensing at the approach of the next one. Midnight Magic was a big horse. If Sally’s control of it wasn’t spot on, if it caught a leg on one of the rails, if it fell…
The relief when they’d safely completed the course was huge. He hadn’t even looked at the clock, had no idea if their time was competitive, if they had a chance of winning. He was happy that they’d made it through without a falter, neither horse nor rider hurt by a mistake.
Again he was on his feet, clapping madly.
Jane joined him.
Sally smiled and waved at them as she made her exit from the ring.
“She’s happy,” he said with satisfaction, then turned to her sister as they resumed their seats, knowing that peace between them had to be established for Sally to remain happy. “I’m sorry for shutting you out. It was wrong of me. On many counts,” he added wryly, well remembering his own deep resentment at being treated as an outcast. “You’ve shown me today you are truly Sally’s family, Jane, standing up for her, caring…It’s not something that’s been in my life since my mother died. I didn’t fully appreciate the bond the two of you have.”
She stared at him as though he had grown two heads and she was confused over which one she should believe in.
Jack pressed for a stay of judgement. “When this event is over—” he nodded towards the ring “—I think Sally would be pleased if we both go down to congratulate her on a great ride. Is that okay with you?”
“Yes,” she said dazedly.
Intent on removing any sense of conflict between them, he suggested, “Perhaps you’d like to accompany us to a celebratory dinner afterwards. Make it a happy family Easter.”
She swallowed hard. Her brown eyes filled with agitated appeal. “I’m sorry if I got it wrong. I was just so worried…”
“Let’s move on, Jane,” he cut in quickly, firmly. “That’s what I’m doing with Sally. Moving on to something better. Will you try it with me?”
He watched the lion metamorphose back into the mouse, the brown eyes flickering with apprehension, hands picking at each other. “You won’t tell Sally what I said to you?” she begged anxiously. “She wouldn’t like it that I…”
Jack reached out and gave her nervous hands a reassuring squeeze. “You were very brave on her behalf. I’ll always remember that, Jane, but the rest is forgotten. Okay?”
She heaved a sigh of relief and gave him a shaky little smile. “You’re a very forceful man, Jack Maguire. I guess I can only hope it will be okay.”
“So many things shape our lives, our choices, our decisions, but in the end we make our own destiny,” he said with the strength of his own inner conviction. “In one sense, our father brought the three of us to this moment, but what we make of it…that’s up to us.”
She searched his eyes, still anxious about his intentions, then slowly nodded. “I’d like to have dinner with you and Sally. I’d like to get to know you.”
“Good!” He smiled to show there were no hard feelings on his side. “Now let’s watch the rest of Sally’s competition.”
He turned his gaze to the ring where another rider was about to start the course, but he didn’t give his full attention to watching. His mind kept circling around what he’d just accomplished with Jane, the hurdles he had jumped to get the outcome he wanted—no clouds threatening to blot out the sunshine of his relationship with Sally.
Family ties…
He was becoming more involved than he’d meant to be.
Where was he going with this?
As long as it felt good, ride with it, he told himself.
It was okay for Jane to be on the sideline.
Sally was the main event.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Seven Months Later
THE Melbourne Cup—the horse race that routinely stopped a nation on the first Tuesday in November—virtually commanded the attention of everyone in Australia for the three minutes it took to run.
The roses at Flemington Racecourse were in full bloom. The weather was kind—a bright, sunny day. The crowd was wonderfully colourful. People in mad costumes and wild hats made a fun contrast to the serious contenders for the fashions in the field prize, all of whom were seriously dressed to the nines in their designer clothes.
Sally and Jack were guests in the sheikhs’ marquee which was packed with A-list celebrities, indulging themselves with the endless supply of fine wines and gourmet food. A beautician and a milliner were also on hand to fix up any little mishap to a lady’s appearance. Nothing was allowed to spoil anyone’s day in this marquee. Utter luxury abounded—a beautiful place made for the beautiful people, of which Sally was one with Jack Maguire as her escort.
During the year, she had attended other race meetings with Jack, at Royal Randwick and at Rosehill Gardens in Sydney. He owned a string of racehorses, including those taken over from his father, and took a keen interest in their performance, especially on the big prize days. Sally enjoyed the carnival atmosphere, loved watching the horses racing and was always happy to be with Jack.