Breakaway

Breakaway by Rochelle Alers Page B

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Authors: Rochelle Alers
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other that often.”
    “It’s not as if I haven’t invited you to come and hang out with me, Cee Cee.”
    Gavin gave Nicholas a surreptitious glance. “I’ve never been to a horse farm.”
    “Why don’t you come with my sister?” Nicholas asked, quickly picking up on Gavin’s cue.
    Gavin raised his eyebrows questioningly at Celia. “How about it?”
    “I’m afraid of horses,” she mumbled, pushing out her lower lip.
    Pushing to his feet, Gavin sat next to her. He rested a hand over her sock-covered feet. “It’s not about riding, Celia. I just want the experience of seeing a horse farm up close and personal.”
    “Do you ride?”
    Gavin gave her a tender smile. “No.” He didn’t wantto tell her that he’d taken pony rides as a boy at county fairs. Pony and roller-coaster rides, along with the shooting gallery, were his favorite attractions.
    Celia’s gaze shifted from Gavin to her brother, then back again. “If we go, then what are we going to do with Terry?”
    “Who’s Terry?” Nicholas asked.
    “He’s my—he’s our dog,” she said, quickly correcting herself.
    Nicholas waved a hand. “Bring the dog with you. He should get along well with the other dogs at the farm.”
    “How many dogs do you have, Nicky?”
    He turned his head so his sister would see his smirk. It was a known fact that Celia had a soft spot for dogs. “Four. We have a bitch that should whelp her first litter in another week.”
    Exhaling an audible breath while closing her eyes, Celia wondered if going to Virginia and seeing horses up close would help her get over her fear of them. She was only five when she’d fallen off a pony. While she’d lain on the ground he’d stepped on her head, leaving her traumatized. She’d lost count of the number of times Nicky had asked her to come visit him at the horse farm, and after a while he’d just stopped. She knew he’d taken a huge risk when he’d invested so much of his money in a failing farm, and within a couple of years managed to realize a profit for the first time. Nicky had always supported her while she’d never supported him.
    “Okay.” She opened her eyes, seeing the shock freezing her brother’s face. “I’ll come. But don’t expect me to go anywhere around your horses.”
    Nicholas flashed a wide white-tooth grin. “If youdon’t want to see horses, then you don’t have to. Why don’t you guys come next weekend?”
    “What’s happening next weekend?” Celia asked.
    “There’s an open house at a neighboring farm. Blackstone Farms is one of a few owned and operated African-American horse farms in Virginia. Sheldon Blackstone, who has gone into semiretirement, came to see me a week after I took possession and told me if I needed a mentor then he was the one. I’ve never questioned anything he said, and the result was a thirty-to-one long shot that came in first at the International Gold Cup.”
    Celia gave Gavin a sidelong glance. “What do you think?”
    He smiled. “It sounds like fun.”
    “It will be,” Nicholas confirmed. “Dress is casual, so you won’t have the excuse that you have nothing to wear,” he said, smiling.
    Unfolding her legs, Celia stood up, both men rising with her. “I think it’s time I put my pork in the oven. The refrigerator and pantry are full, so if you want anything to eat or drink before dinner, then you’re on your own, because I have to work on a few needlecraft projects for a friend’s baby.”
    Gavin, waiting until Celia walked back inside, leaned over and bumped fists with Nicholas. “If the horses don’t spook your sister, then you shouldn’t have a problem having her stay with you when the time comes for me to leave.”
    Nicholas shook his head in amazement. “Either the shootout at the E.R. has mellowed her or you have some helluva mojo, Gavin.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “Don’t get your nose out of joint. One thing Celianever has been and that’s passive. She’s stubborn,

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