Secretariat Reborn by Susan Klaus Page A

Hunter’s halter and jerked his head out of the way. “Get back! Get back,” she snarled at the colt as she entered his stall. “Need to wrap his legs.”
    Christian took an instant dislike to the female groom. “Where’s Jorge?”
    “You mean that no-account Mexican? He got fired,” she said, tying the colt’s head up short. “I’m taking care of your horse now.”
    “Why was he fired?” he asked.
    “How the fuck should I know, mister?”
    Christian watched her wrap the colt’s front leg, his aversion growing toward the new groom. He was about to give her a piece of his mind when a woman yelled on the other side of the courtyard and distracted him. At the opposite barn a small blonde stood on her toes while angrily venting into the face of Ed Price.
    “Look, asshole, you and I both know you fucked me!” she said, loud enough for the whole barn to hear. “When you sold me the gelding, you knew he was a piece of shit.”
    Price’s face reddened. “Get the hell out of my barn or I’ll call security.”
    “You haven’t seen the last of me, motherfucker!” The woman stomped off toward the parking lot, her ponytail swinging like a pendulum. Christian recognized her. She was the attractive horse trainer who had bumped into him and his coffee ended up on his shirt.
    Christian jogged to the parking lot and headed to a timeworn green pickup. The annoyed woman had climbed into the driver’s seat and slammed the door. “Hey, remember me?” he asked through the window. “A few weeks ago, the cafeteria, we ran into each other, literally, and I got coffee on my shirt.”
    She ignored him, glaring ahead at Price, her face flushed, and her knuckles white on the wheel. With each breath, she almost shuddered.
    Christian rocked back and forth on his heels, waiting for her response.Obviously, he had left her with a bad impression or no impression at all. He halfway turned to leave.
    “Christian, right?” she said, still staring at Price.
    “You remembered me.” He gave her one of his woman-killing smiles and pushed his sunglasses up to the top of his head, exposing his deep blues, his best heart-melting feature.
    But she barely gave him a sideward glance. “Don’t tell me that son of a bitch is your trainer.”
    “Afraid so. Price has had my colt for a little over a month. I’m here because my horse is entered in the fourth race today.”
    “Get a new trainer, Christian. Price is a snake. If I were a man, I’d knock the crap out of him.”
    “What’s the problem?”
    “I’m too pissed to discuss it, and this isn’t the best place. I’ll be in the employee kitchen in an hour.” She turned the ignition key and her old pickup truck fired up.
    “Wait,” Christian said. “You never told me your name.”
    “Allie,” she said and jammed the pickup into reverse, gunned it, and peeled out.
    Christian found Price at his side. “You know her?” he asked.
    “Not really,” said Christian. “I bumped into her last time I was here. She certainly isn’t happy with you.”
    “Yeah, sorry you had to hear that. She’s pretty, but has one foul mouth. A good beating would straighten her out.”
    Repulsion caused Christian’s neck and shoulders to tense up. He gave Price a penetrating stare of disgust. “A good beating? You believe in hitting women, Price?”
    Price’s brown eyes grew big and he retreated one step. “Christian, I was only joking,” he said, wringing his hands.
    Christian crossed his arms. “I don’t find it funny.”
    Price nodded. “I’m just upset. Last week that woman talks me out of a nice gelding with decent times. Then she comes back here, cursing, and accusing me of cheating her in front of my barn staff,claiming I sold her a plug, when she probably ran the gelding too hard and bled his lungs. These small-time trainers don’t belong here. Stay clear of her. She’s bad news.”
    Christian remained quiet, still chastising the trainer with a hostile gaze while Price fidgeted and