The Horsewoman by James Patterson Read Free Book Online Page A

he’d told her to get a new rider on Coronado. He hadn’t said “or else,” but the threat was clearly implied.
    Oscar, her favorite waiter, brought Gorton a vodka martini and Caroline an iced tea. “We’ll wait to order food,” she told him. She thought, If we ever get that far.
    Gorton raised his glass and clinked it against hers.
    “Cin,” he said.
    Sweet Jesus, she thought.
    He drank down half his drink, smacked his lips, and said, “First of the day. Nothing like it—except making some of the boys and girls in the fund enough money to buy the Bahamas.”
    Caroline took a deep breath and remembered what Becky had said.
    Try to be good.
    “So,” he said, “have you given much thought to our problem?”
    “Maybe finding the right rider to replace my daughter is not a problem at all,” she said. “Maybe it could turn out to be an opportunity.”
    “I’m listening,” he said.
    “I think we’ve found someone. Well, me and our trainer.”
    “The Mexican kid,” Gorton said.
    “Daniel,” she said.
    “Sure,” he said. “So what’s this rider’s name?”
    “Becky McCabe.”
    Gorton laughed. “Your granddaughter? You’re shitting me. I saw how badly you and the Mexican kid reacted when she rode the horse the other day.” Caroline didn’t bother to correct him again. Sometimes Daniel called him bastardo . More often he called him el cabron. An ass. Actually worse. “She’s gotten better since then.”
    “I don’t care,” he said. “She’s not riding the horse.”
    He barked out another laugh.
    “Despite what you saw,” Caroline said, “she happens to be perfect for this particular horse.”
    “My ass,” he said.
    “Let’s talk this through,” she said.
    “What’s there to talk about?” Gorton said. “The granddaughter you say has never applied herself to riding? The one I hear you bitching about, and the trainer bitched at the other day? That granddaughter?”
    “She gets better on him every day,” Caroline said.
    “She’s got a horse of her own, right?”
    “She does,” Caroline said.
    “Good,” Gorton said. “She can ride her horse, not mine.”
    “I’m telling you,” Caroline said. “She’s the best rider for this particular horse.”
    “Then why did you buy him for her mother and not her?”
    She answered his question with one of her own. “How did you happen to show up at my barn the other day?”
    “Got lucky with the timing,” he said. He shrugged. “It happens that way a lot. It’s another reason why I’m richer than shit.”
    She looked around and saw some of WEF’s biggest riders and trainers, a lot of them still in their riding clothes. She imagined herself yelling out, Who wants to ride Coronado?  and seeing hands immediately shoot into the air all over the back room.
    “I’m acting in Coronado’s best interest,” Caroline said.
    Gorton had finished his drink. He yelled “Hey!” at Oscar and then pointed at his glass.
    “Not to push too fine a point,” Gorton said, “but that’s not your call, Caroline.”
    She looked discreetly at her watch.
    Hang in there.
    “Becky can win on Coronado,” she said. “They both like to go fast.”
    “What? The other top guys want to go slow?”
    “She’s watched her mother win on this horse,” Caroline said. “She knows how to do it.”
    Gorton leaned forward now.
    “I asked you to take care of this,” he said. “Maybe I don’t just need a new rider. Maybe I need a new partner, too.”
    She could no longer contain herself.
    “Good luck with that,” she said.
    “What does that mean?”
    “Our contract gives me the right to choose the rider,” she said.
    “The hell it does.”
    She knew right away that he didn’t know. And probably hadn’t cared when he signed the contract because he never assumed anybody except Maggie Atwood would ride the horse. Caroline had checked what was boilerplate language in most standard partnership agreements involving horses. Even though Daniel actually