Riding for Love (A Western Romance) by Tina Susedik Read Free Book Online

symbols. Lines appeared out of nowhere and spell check came up with words she’d never heard of. Her roommate in college said she was technologically challenged. So whenever she thought about turning it on, the hair on her arms rose and her skin prickled with frustration. Adding numbers to the equation didn’t help.
    Then there was her cell phone. Another fancy item she could answer and make calls with, but she ignored the texting, games, and music her friends were so involved in.
    Eve stared out the picture window. A warm spring breeze flowed through one of the side windows, flipping the edges of her perfect pile of bills. Laughter from her employees drifted into the room. She’d give anything to be with them, getting ready for the first customers. Somehow she didn’t think she would be able to convince any of them to switch places with her. They loved working outside as much as she did.
    Right now, it didn’t make sense to hire someone to do work she should be able to do herself. Even though doing fairly well, the business was at the point with too much work for her current employees, but not enough money to hire any more. At least one more summer and winter season would get them over the hump.
    All the wishing in the world wasn’t going to magically pay bills. She sighed and picked up the first one for new fencing, another unexpected expense eating into her dwindling savings. Eve wrote the check, clipped it to the bill, and set it aside for the envelope she’d write out later. She took the next one, paused, then put her head on her desk.
    What the hell was going on around here? Nothing drastic, but little things kept happening. A broken fence, a perfectly good bridle needing to be replaced because of a torn strap, a branch crashing through a cabin window on a calm day, and two of the cabin’s hot water heaters having the same problems. The latest, salt blocks in water tanks, could have harmed the horses. Was someone trying to ruin her business?
    Eve sat up and tapped out the beat to the music playing outside. Before all these incidents, she hoped for time to create some sort of social life. She snorted. Unlikely. She stopped tapping when a red compact convertible parked in front of the porch.
    “Yes! Company!” She threw down her pen and jumped up, her chair hitting the wall behind the desk. She pushed open the back porch screened door.
    “Josie, you savior, you.”
    A tall, plump, blonde climbed out of the car. She smiled and held up a bottle of wine. “Bookwork?”
    Eve held open the screen door. “How’d you guess?”
    “It’s about the only thing that would keep you indoors on a gorgeous spring day like today.” Josie set the bottle on the kitchen counter and pulled her into a hug. “It’s been too long.”
    “I know, but at this time of the year . . .” She picked up the bottle of Moscato. “Ooo, my favorite, but—”
    Josie dug in a drawer for the corkscrew. “No buts, friend. We are going to fill our glasses, kick off our shoes, sit on the porch, and catch up. I have two more bottles where this came from, plus lots of snacks in the car.”
    “Have I told you lately I love you?” Eve laughed, taking wine glasses from the cupboard.
    “No, and you probably won’t come morning, if we drink all this wine.” She removed the cork from the bottle, filled the glasses, and tapped hers to Eve’s. “To breaks, friend. You do still have your spare bedroom, don’t you?”
    Once settled on the white wicker chairs on the back porch, the women sat quietly sipping their wine. The low, matching table nestled between them held chips, crackers, chocolate, and other snacks destined to add padding to their hips.
    Guilt washed over Eve for taking the afternoon off. George and Macy, her cooks, cleaned windows on the main lodge. Beyond the large building, several college students hauled furniture out of the six cabins in preparation of scrubbing, painting, and carpet cleaning. Each cabin would receive a fresh