Free Four Weeks by Melissa Ford Page B

shuffled off toward his apartment.
    "What do you think about his wrist?” Trent asked, once the old man was out of earshot.
    She shrugged. “It would explain why the cinch wasn't tight enough,” she said without confidence.
    Trent's stomach clenched and growled again. “Let's get these horses put away, so we can eat. My treat, if I get to pick the restaurant."
    Louise gestured to her jeans sprinkled with horsehair. “I'm hardly dressed for dinner."
    "We'll go somewhere casual."
    She smirked.
    "I'm sure these people have seen horse hair before."
    The pretty sound of her laughter drifted around the yard. “I suppose you're right about that."
    "It's a date then?"
    "No. It's dinner.” She spun away from him and led her horse around to the side of the barn.
    Yes. Of course.
    He copied her movements when she unhooked the cinch and laid the saddle upright against the barn. He took a halter—as she did—from a hook on the side of the building. Replacing the bridle with it proved to be tricky, but he managed. After they led the animals to the small fenced-in area behind the barn, they put the saddles and bridles away in a storage area she called the tack room.
    Once they were back outside, Louise paused by the pen to watch the animals. She turned to him after the horses trotted further away. “They need to walk out that long ride. After dinner we can come back and put them in for the night."
    Right then he would've agreed to anything to get them closer to hot food. “Fine. We'll lock up when we get back."
    Trent eyed the horses as they moved around the pen. The slant of the early evening sun made their coats glow.
    Louise slid over next him. “Beautiful sight, aren't they?"
    Her face was flushed the same pink color it had been after he'd kissed her so thoroughly the other night. Strands of her windblown hair caressed her neck. “Yes, very beautiful,” he answered, not thinking about the horses at all.
    * * * *
    LOUISE FLIPPED OVER her plastic-coated menu for the third time. She studied the cover that featured a pen and ink drawing of a horse drawn taxi. The restaurant was predictably named The Carriage House.
    Having an appetite wasn't the problem. She'd worked through lunch and after that ride, she was starving. The man across the table provided part of the distraction that kept her from making up her mind about what to order. It seemed that they were pretending that almost-kiss never happened. The other part was that loose cinch. His fall could've been much worse.
    "Nothing looks good?” Trent asked.
    "Everything sounds great.” She dropped the menu onto the table. “I can't decide."
    "Are you so amazed by my trail riding skills that you can't think?” Trent leaned forward and smiled. “Or do you have a thing about ordering from menus?"
    One side of her mouth curved up. “Whatever."
    The waitress sauntered over. Trent took Louise's menu and handed it with his to the redhead tapping a pencil on a green pad. “Two burgers with fries.” Then he glanced at Louise. “Okay?"
    She nodded.
    After the waitress walked off, Trent faced her. “Tell me your plans for the stable. What're you going to tackle first?"
    Talking with Pete.
    No, she wanted to stay away from that topic. She'd do better to stay positive and keep Trent from reconsidering the agreement. She made a mental note to look into hiring another person to take some of the workload off of Pete, then said, “I've made a list of repairs that need doing right away. For one thing, the main doors don't close up tight. Besides being unsafe, the night wind blows right in. I understand the horses aren't kept on the island over the winter, but still it needs to be taken care of."
    Trent looked out the window. “I wouldn't know what happens here over the winter."
    The slight edge in his voice made Louise curious. Maybe he needed to talk. “Did your dad tell you much about the stable?"
    "No, he didn't tell me anything."
    Louise lowered her voice. “Maybe it was a