Chance Meeting Read Online Free PDF Page A

knowing that he’d done the right thing, that his father would approve. Pop could have been talking to him right now, that voice roughened by a lifetime of cigarettes easily conjured. “Steve, son, don’t you ever forget this. Never be afraid to pass the good fortune you have on to someone else. You share it, it’ll stick around. You try to hoard it all to yourself, it’ll go sour, as bad as rotten milk. You remember that when you’re out in the world, trying to make your way.”
    These days, things were going about as well for Steve as they ever had. If he kept riding smart, if his horses remained injury-free, he might win the American Grand Prix Association Rider of the Year award, given to the competitor with the highest points won in the jumper division. Winning that might bring him one step closer to his goal of being selected for the United States Equestrian Team. And that would provide him with the opportunity to compete internationally, to experience the challenge of riding in Europe against the seasoned and formidable foreign competition. The Olympics were just around the corner. Although it would be great to compete at the Olympic trials, and a dream come true to make the Olympic team, Steve was realistic about the likelihood of that happening. He hadn’t had the kind of experience he needed yet, riding against truly great equestrian teams or tackling the bigger, tougher European courses to be able to compete at the highest level, which the Olympics represented. He was getting closer, but he still needed to put in a lot more hard work, to learn from the horses he rode, and to be blessed by Lady Luck.
    In the meantime, he’d share his good fortune, and happily, too. He’d follow Pop’s advice and help out a young, star-struck kid. And who knows, maybe that would give her self-confidence a little boost, win her a few ribbons that she could pin up on her bedroom wall. Because, with the exception of those spectacular eyes, it was hard to imagine her ever being anything but the way she was now: thin, plain, and awkward.
    Both girls were studying the medallion intently, whispering excitedly to each other, when, without warning, a man stormed in, startling them all. And total hell broke loose. At six feet, Steve Sheppard considered his height respectable. Hell, he positively towered over his mother, father, and two sisters by seven inches and more. But coming face-to-face with a guy like this was like coming nose-to-nose with a professional linebacker whose main goal in life was to squash his opponent flatter than a pancake. An ambition that might become reality, since the guy had Steve shoved up against the side of the van and was breathing a little too close for comfort. The sight of the human gorilla pinning him against the wall had turned Ty’s face white as chalk. She’d rushed over and grabbed hold of the guy’s arm. A nice gesture but utterly ineffectual; she might as well have been trying to uproot a tree. Lizzie’s face had paled visibly, too, her freckles standing out prominently as she joined her friend in the effort to free Steve. Finally, Steve managed to get his arms up and shoved, hard. Unfortunately for his ego, his attacker didn’t fly across the room as Steve had envisioned but merely stepped back, the promise of murder still in his eyes. Everyone began talking at once.
    “If you’ve so much as touched these girls, you son of a bitch, you’re dead meat.”
    “No, Sam, no! Sam, please, it’s all my fault. I dragged Lizzie here to meet Mr. Sheppard.”
    “Who in hell are you? Girls, do you know this guy?”
    “Sam, I’m so sorry! I won’t do it again. Please don’t hurt him,” Ty cried, her voice high, near hysteria.
    “Don’t believe her, Sam! I mean, she is sorry, but it’s all my fault,” Lizzie cut in hurriedly as she gave Sam a nervous, shaky smile, hoping it might sway Ty’s angry bodyguard. She’d never seen him like this, never realized that he could actually hurt