Free Riding for Love (A Western Romance) by Tina Susedik Page B

Snook, she didn’t have any family left. She’d spent many sleepless nights trying to get a handle on the situation and praying no one would be injured.
    On the longest nights, thoughts of Denton being responsible crept into her mind. After all, the problems seemed to start when he came back into town. But as fearful of horses as he’d been in his youth, she couldn’t imagine him coming anywhere near the barn to cut a bridle, or spray water on hay turning it moldy and inedible to the horses. Besides, no one had seen Denton on her property. But, then again, no one else had been spotted and the incidents kept happening.
    She took a sip of soda, and went over the client list more carefully. A honeymoon couple, a couple in their forties, a father and his teenage son, two women in their late twenties, brothers from Milwaukee and . . .
    Spitting out a mouthful of cola, she pushed up from her chair, letting the back slam against the bookcases behind her desk. She ran from her office, through the back door and, ignoring the porch steps, jumped off the side, then dashed out to the barn, waving the list of customers at Tom.
    “Did you go over the client list for this week?” she yelled.
    He placed the rope he’d unraveled over his arm and took the paper from Eve. Without batting an eye, he handed it back. “Looks like we’re full again. What’s the problem?”
    Eve gritted her teeth and stomped her foot. “What’s the problem? Didn’t you see the last name?”
    “Yep. Mr. Johanson is joining us for the next two weeks.” He set the rope on the stall wall, picked up another, and proceeded to straighten it.
    “You knew, didn’t you?” She grabbed the rope from his hands and tossed it on the ground. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
    “None of my business who comes here. He paid his money like everyone else.”
    Eve stomped her foot again and slammed her hands at her waist. “And just how did he manage to do that without my knowledge, Mr. Durham?”
    “How the hell should I know? I don’t handle reservations.” Tom turned his back on Eve and picked the rope up from the floor. “Maybe you should ask your manager.”
    “Tom, you are my manager,” Eve said, letting out a frustrated groan.
    “I don’t understand why you’re getting so riled up.”
    “You know damn well the man’s petrified of horses. Don’t you remember the time our 4-H club had a trail ride and he fell and broke his collarbone? Rose told me he also fell from one when he was eight and broke his arm. Since then he couldn’t even bring himself to pet one,” Eve yelled. “He’ll have a heart attack the first time he goes near a horse. We’ll have a lawsuit and lose the farm for sure.”
    Tom chuckled. “Seems you’re pretty worried about the man’s safety, considering you’ve washed your hands of him. Seems like it shouldn’t matter if he fell off and landed on his head.” Tom took Eve by the shoulders and pressed her onto a bale of straw. “Relax, he’ll be all right. Besides, landing on his head might knock some sense into him.”
    “What do you mean?”
    Tom drew a piece of straw from the bale, pointed the narrow stalk at Eve then put it between his teeth. “Seems to me that any guy that’s as afraid of horses as he is, yet is willing to risk life and limb to be near a woman, needs to have some sense knocked into him. Hell, I might knock him off the horse myself, just to help him along.”
    Eve placed her elbows on her knees and rested her chin in her hands. “I don’t understand why he’s doing this to himself.”
    “Don’t you?” Tom chewed on the straw for a moment. “Think about it a bit.”
    “Well, as I’m dropping into bed tonight I’ll give it a few second’s thought,” she answered sarcastically. “What I don’t understand is how he managed to get reservations in the short time he’s been home, considering the fact I knew we were booked these two weeks.” She looked pointedly at Tom.
    He shrugged.