Page 106 of It’s Your Love

“Thank you.” She smiled. “And yes, she is.” She gestured toward the arena. “This idea, this ride—it’s going to save the camp and save my job.”

Man, she was cute. She wore her cowboy hat and a Trinity T-shirt and looked far more Sisters, Oregon, than Deep Haven, Minnesota.

They worked in tandem, bringing the horses they’d selected for the ride into the arena to tack up. They were almost finished when Noah’s truck rolled up.

“Need any help?” Noah entered the arena and looked at the lineup.

Grayson finished checking a cinch. “We’re almost ready.”

Beth hefted a saddle onto one of the horses. “We will never, ever turn down help.” She nodded toward Grayson. “He likes to think he can do it all, but he hasn’t seen how long my to-do list is.”

Ouch.

Noah laughed. “You pull this off and we might have to start including it as an option in future years.”

Grayson tucked the first aid kit into his saddlebag. He wouldn’t be here for next year’s event, would he?

He couldn’t even think about the follow-up conversation with the bank. In addition to the horses being available, loan papers were heading his way for a digital signature.

Could Beth go? Would she go?

Was it even right to ask her?

He pushed the questions away. For now, he just wanted to be in the moment and enjoy the experience.

“We’ve already pulled it off,” Beth said. She drew the latigo through the cinch ring.

Grayson had already ridden their route four times since they’d planned it. A two-hour ride to their lunch stop. Time to eat and explore for a couple hours, then another two-hour ride to their campsite.

Their first stop would give the horses a breather before the second leg that would take them to their evening destination.

The best part of having horses as his business was that he could be completely confident. He’d put nine-year-old kids on the horses over the past four weeks. If they were trustworthy with children, then every one of the adults could handle the slow-paced, nose-to-tail ride, no matter how many miles they covered.

Ten minutes later, Noah lifted the saddle onto the last horse in the arena, and Beth set to work cinching it.

“Horses tacked—check.” Beth finished looping the leather strap and adjusted it, then grabbed the pen off her clipboard and made a notation on her page.

Grayson’s phone buzzed and he pulled it from his pocket. “Hello?”

“It’s Robin. I’ve got some bad news.”

He apparently had his volume up too high, because Beth stilled and looked up at him, her mouth a little slack.

“There was a problem with the refrigerator the food was in—almost half of it is spoiled, including the rib eye steaks.”

Noah looked up from the horse he had stopped to pet.

Grayson headed into the barn with Beth on his heels.

“What are we going to feed them for dinner?” Beth whispered. She paced the aisle.

So much for their gourmet dinner. “You know what? Just go to the store and buy a bunch of hot dogs and chips.”

Beth’s jaw dropped open. “We can’t charge them four hundred for hot dogs—this was supposed to be an epicurean adventure as well as an equestrian one.”

“She’s got a point,” Robin said. “I’m so sorry.” There was shuffling on the other end of the line, then she continued. “Okay, I can do homemade buns and have them ready by dinner time, and Sammy suggested we also have a pot of homemade chili—the award-winning recipe from last year’s contest.”

“You’re thinking chili dogs?” He wasn’t sure Beth would qualify it as the epicurean adventure she’d been hoping for.

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