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“Alexander.”
Claire stared at him and nodded. “Alexander.” A comfortable silence fell between them until she slipped past him and escaped back into the stables. Her heart was racing, and she needed a moment to collect her thoughts.
“Would you like to see your house?” he asked from behind her.
He moved like a cat, silent and stealthy. She jumped and laughed. “I think that would be a great idea.” They walked from the stables and made their way toward the caretaker’s house further down the driveway. The sun was warm, and just a slight breeze was blowing as they walked. She watched some of the horses as they ran the fence line. “You only had four trotters in the stable. Are these investment horses?”
Alexander gazed out over the horses. “Some of them are. Some of them are rescues, older horses who deserve to live out their lives comfortably.” He fell silent for a moment. “When I was ten, my father bought me my first horse. It was an older horse, about 20 years old. It was a mare; she was the most affectionate animal I had ever been around. At first, I didn’t understand why he bought me a horse that I couldn’t really ride, that needed so much care and love.” He smiled slightly at the memory. “That was exactly why he bought her for me. He told me that how I cared for an animal that others thought was past their prime would show him what type of man I would become.”
“And was he right?” Claire asked, holding on to the small revelation he had shared with her like a precious gift.”
“He was. I had her for twelve years before she finally died of old age. But I cared for her and loved her, and when she died, my heart was broken, but I knew I had given her the best twelve years of her life.” He waved towards the horses that now quietly grazed in the pasture. “Every living thing deserves to be loved. And horses are some of the most intelligent creatures on this Earth.” He stopped walking to watch them. “So when I find one that people think is…”
“Past their prime?” Claire whispered.
“I bring them here and give them the dignity they deserve.” He gazed down at Claire. “And now you can help me.”
Something passed between them at that moment, an understanding that became the foundation of their working relationship. She never expected Alexander Blackwood to be as passionate about horses as she was. “Do you ride?” she finally asked as they started towards the cottage that was to be hers. “I mean, that’s probably a stupid question.”
“No, it’s not. I do ride, although I’ve been hard-pressed to find time.” He pulled a key from the pocket of his slacks and unlocked the door to the cottage.
“Well, maybe we need to change that,” Claire offered. “You said you wanted to spend more time here. Why don’t we plan to have a weekly meeting on Saturday mornings on horseback? You have plenty of acreage to roam out here. It would do you some good.”
Alexander’s eyebrows rose at her comment. “It would?”
“Yeah. Get out of the boardroom and back to nature.” She stepped inside the cottage, not waiting for her answer.
Alexander stared at her. Something about Claire Reynolds drew him in and made him want to be near her. He pursed his lips in contemplation for a moment. He felt his body tighten at the thought of spending the weekends here and with her. Yes, he was going to make that happen.
And maybe win her in the process.
Chapter 4
It took Claire less than a month to settle in as Alexander Blackwood’s new horse trainer. When she had returned to Jonas’ ranch after signing the contract with Alexander, she found him waiting for her with her final check - paid through to the end of the month - and the gelding he gave her loaded up in the horse trailer ready to go. He knew she would be excited to start working for Blackwood, but he wouldn’t stand in her way. She actually spent the night in her new cottage, her horse safely tucked away in the barn.
Now, the office in the stables was decorated and set up the way she liked it, and she had already made friends with Alexander’s foreman and farm hands. She’d spent the afternoon speaking with harness drivers in Blackwood’s employ, getting to know them and which horses they preferred to race and the idiosyncracies each horse had. She had a game plan in place and was excited to discuss it with Alexander.
Getting to know the staff that she now worked with wasn’t the only thing she had managed to do. She was getting to know Alexander Blackwood as well, Behind the stoic facade he presented to the world to maintain his privacy was a man with a sharp sense of humor, a love for 80s pop hits and someone who enjoyed spending time in his own barn grooming the horses. Yes, he had staff to do that, but sometimes, he needed the comfort that came with caring for one of his horses.
It had become a habit over the last few weeks for him to meet her in the barn after dinner, turn on the radio, and, one by one, take each horse from its stall and groom it while chatting with Claire. The subject of his business in DC was off limits, not that she wanted to know exactly what he did beyond finance and real estate and other stuff. Yes, he assured her that he made his billions the old-fashioned way of blood, sweat, and tears - or, in his case, really good investments. But that was all he said about it. She was okay with that.
She hurried towards the house, her heart racing with a mix of excitement and nerves, ready to lay out how she was going to train the horses and how the drivers would be involved. She knew each of them would earn part of any winnings, but she left the numbers to Alexander. The filed folder she carried contained information on every racer, every horse, what they needed to work on, and suggestions on how to mix things up for the best results. Her meetings with Alexander had become routine, checking in with him at the end of the day to go over progress and discuss the next day’s activities.
But tonight, it felt different. There was an undercurrent of tension in the air, a palpable energy she couldn’t quite put her finger on. She let herself into the house and made her way to the room in the back behind the kitchen that was Alexander’s inner sanctum. She could hear him on the other side of the closed door, and she hesitated before reaching for the doorknob and opening the door just enough to poke her in. When he waved to her, she stepped into the spacious office, quietly closing the door behind her and waiting for him to finish his phone call. He glanced up at her, a faint smile playing at the corners of his lips.
“Give me a few minutes. Grab a drink and sit,” he said quietly, his hand over the mouthpiece of his phone. He turned his chair towards the windows behind him that looked out over the rolling Virginia countryside. “There is nothing to invest in there, James. There hasn’t been for the last ten years.”
Claire wandered around his office, too restless to sit down. She was buzzing with excitement. His office was filled with mementos of his life, each one a story that she wanted to uncover, like the very Raiders of the Lost Ark-esque golden statue sitting on the shelf. It was definitely from somewhere in Central or South America, and she wondered why he had it. There were a few other items similar to it on the shelves, and they fascinated her. She glanced back at him to find him watching her as she inspected his office.
Alexander couldn’t help watching Claire. Her cheeks flushed lightly when she realized he was watching her. He was only half paying attention to what James was saying on the other end of the phone. He didn’t care about investment deals overseas. He didn’t want to throw any more money into the Middle East. He had been trying to get his employees to return their focus to South America instead. There was an opportunity there. They didn’t want to look for it. Which meant he needed to do it himself. “Listen, my trainer is here and now I’m late for my meeting with her. Do what I asked, and start with Peru. There are plenty of precious metals there that we can look into. Talk to you tomorrow.” He didn’t wait until the other man answered, hanging up his phone and walking over to where Claire was standing by his bookshelf.
“So...are you secretly a treasure hunter archaeologist?” she asked, nodding to the statures.
Alexander laughed, deep and throaty. He picked the head up and showed her the sticker at the bottom that said “Made In China.” “Actually, no. Although the thought crossed my mind on several occasions.”
“Then…you don’t speak Hovitos. Well, that’s disappointing,” she responded.
That made him laugh even harder. “There are so many historical inaccuracies in that movie, but it’s one of my favorites.” He set the head back on the shelf. “We’ll have to watch it together one night, and I promise not to point out all the problems, like the fact that the statue the Golden Idol is based on is pre-Columbian and not really Peruvian.” He held his arm out, inviting her to join him on the couch in the sitting area of his office.
