Horse Love Read Online Free PDF

his promise, we’d have had everything moved by now.”
    “And if Lisa had been here, too, it definitely would’ve been done,” Carole agreed. She zipped up her windbreakeragainst the chill of the spring evening. “And if pigs had wings—”
    “But he promised,” Stevie whined.
    “Hey, think of it this way,” Carole said. “You’re forever telling me there’s nothing Phil does that you can’t do as well.”
    “True, but I didn’t say he’d do this any
better
than I can. I just said we need his help. And instead, he’s skiing a zillion miles away.”
    “And Lisa’s on a beach a zillion miles in the other direction.”
    “Oh, she’s not on a beach at this hour of the night!” Stevie said.
    T HE SOFT , WARM waves tugged at Lisa’s bare feet. The receding water pulled away sand, making Lisa feel as if she were sinking. But if she was sinking, so was Tec, because he was standing right next to her, still holding her hand. He hadn’t let go of it since they’d left the dining room, and Lisa found herself hoping he never would.
    “… and then yesterday morning, they told me we were going on a vacation. It’s like it was … I don’t know, fate,” she said. “Yesterday, I thought it was a strange idea. Now, well …” Her words hung, the rest unspoken, unnecessary.
    “My parents planned this for months,” Tec said. “Itwas a Christmas present, but I’ve known about it since August.”
    “Well, it’s a nice place,” she said.
    “Yeah,” he agreed. They splashed along the beach where the tide lapped at the sand.
    They had been walking and talking for two hours. The moon, once an orange platter near the horizon, was now a nearly round silver plate high in the blue velvet sky, attended by thousands of stars. Lisa felt more alive than she had ever felt in her life. It was as if she could feel, see, hear, smell, and taste the entire world around her. The salt sea smell mingled with the sweet scent of Tec’s aftershave. The tropical breeze caressed her shoulders—except where her arm touched his. The stars and moon seemed to reflect in his eyes and off his tanned skin, making him glow. And inside, Lisa felt a similar glow warming her.
    They talked, and they listened to each other, too. Everything about Tec, everything he told her about himself, everything he said about her, all seemed right, balanced, true. Although they’d known each other for only a few hours, Lisa was beginning to think that their souls had known each other forever—that they were almost one.
    “What would you be doing now if you were home?” Tec asked.
    “That’s easy,” Lisa said. “I’d be with Stevie and Carole.”
    He frowned ever so slightly. “Who’s Stevie?” he asked. “A boyfriend?”
    It took Lisa a second to understand what he was asking, because it had been so long since she’d thought of
Stevie
as a boy’s name. “Short for Stephanie,” she explained. “Those two are my best friends. We do almost everything together. You’d love them. They’re great.”
    He smiled, lighting up her world again. “I bet I would.”
    “Although they might not like you, because I don’t think they’re very happy with me at the moment. See, Stevie had this great idea—Stevie has a lot of great ideas, only sometimes they’re not actually great, but they usually turn out okay, as long as Carole and I help, but I can’t help this time because I’m here and the stable is a zillion miles north. On the other hand, Stevie said Phil would help and I’m sure he’ll do a better job than I would, so I shouldn’t worry, and maybe Red is going to help, but I know Veronica would be useless.…”
    Lisa realized she was blathering, but she couldn’t help it. The very thought of her friends trying to finish an enormous project without her had reminded her ofthe fact that part of her thought she ought to be in Virginia.
    She interrupted herself. “Am I talking too much?”
    “Absolutely,” Tec said. “And you