Heat Wave (Riders Up) by Adriana Kraft Read Free Book Online Page A

out between them. He
liked that. No longer was he intimidated by her confidence or frustrated by her
sensuality. He could take in her subtle beauty without fear of grabbing her. He
liked being near her. She always smelled of lavender.
    He appreciated,
too, the freshness she brought to the business of horseracing. Things he took
for granted were eye opening surprises for Maggie. It had been so long since he’d
broken into the business he’d forgotten how stimulating it could be. And they
hadn’t even worked with a horse yet.
    His nostrils
narrowed. Maggie Anderson had to have the most expressive, kissable lips he’d
ever seen. Quickly, he ducked his head back to the saddle he’d been working on.
That line of thinking could only lead to trouble—big trouble.
     
    - o -
     
    Without turning,
Maggie could feel the warmth of his appraising gray eyes. Surprisingly, she’d
become quite comfortable with the man hovering around. He looked at her like a
man looked at a woman, although he tried not to let on that he did. His disguised
interest flattered and chilled her. She knew he’d never touch her in a romantic
way unless she asked.
    Maggie Anderson wasn’t
about to get involved with a man no matter how appealing he might be, she
promised to no one in particular.
    She was pleased to
see that her hired man was putting some weight on. At least three evenings a
week he disappeared to attend his meetings. His commitment to staying off
booze, so far, was genuine and strong.
    As Maggie reached
up to place a yearling halter on a hook, a shadow of a smile formed on her
lips. She hadn’t expected Ed Harrington to change so. He cleaned up real well,
she supposed. But that wasn’t her business. When would he start dating again? Certainly,
a man as good looking as Harrington must have plenty of women to choose from.
    Her right cheek
twitched.
    “Now what are you
upset about?” Harrington asked. “Did you know your cheek vibrates when you’re
angry?”
    “What?” Maggie’s
hand flew to her cheek. “Oh. You must be mistaken,” she stammered. “I was
wondering if the kids would be okay with Mrs. Murphy checking in on them, or
whether she should take them on home with her. Carolyn will have a fit if I
make her stay with the Murphys. Do you really think we’ll be gone an entire
week?”
    Harrington nodded. “It’ll
take a day to van each way. We’ll need time to look over some horses. And
depending on what’s happening at the track, Cassie may want to take you to the
races to claim a horse. Can’t do all of that in less than a week.”
    “Are your friends
going to want us to stay with them the whole time?”
    Harrington dipped
his chin but failed to hide a trace of a smile. “Don’t worry about it. You’ll
like them, and they’ll like you. We go back through some tough times together. There
was a time they didn’t like me much, and I didn’t like them either. I was a
cocky bastard to be around.” He stiffened.
    “But Clint and
Cassie Travers were among the very few folks who stood by me during the
scandal. Clint still has a guy looking into the whole affair from time to time
to see if some piece of evidence was overlooked or if anybody is ready to
change a story. Odd, how it turned out. I owe them a lot. The least we can do
is give them some business.”
    Maggie thinned her
lips but did not speak her mind.
    “You’ll get some of
the best bred horses in the Midwest. I don’t just do business with friends. I
do business with friends who raise very fine horses.”
    Ducking away
briefly from his intense stare, Maggie replied, “I imagine you do. It’s hard to
picture you as cocky, though.” Embarrassed by her own words, Maggie gulped, but
couldn’t look away quickly enough to avoid seeing his frown.
    “Guess I’ve been
humbled over the years.”
     
    “No playing hooky,”
Maggie said again.
    Ed watched her push
her scrambled eggs back and forth across her plate.
    “Mrs. Murphy will
call you at seven to see