Read Online Black Hills Bride by Deb Kastner - Free Book Online

abilities with horses. Each of these men excelled in their skills. They must, if Erik chose them.
    He must believe they’d be able to handle the guests of a Christian retreat, even if she disagreed at the moment. The least she could do was consult him first, before firing the whole lot of them and forcing Erik back to square one.
    She might be making a lion’s share of mistakes, but Dixie Sullivan never made the same mistake twice.
    She’d accused Erik of trying to run her off when he’d brought her the big grizzly of a carpentry foreman, but she knew better now. She wouldn’t throw the stable hands’ attitudes in his face.
    In fact, she wasn’t certain she would mention the incident to him at all. Wasn’t she the one insisting he didn’t help her out of every jam? She’d have to figure out an answer to this dilemma on her own.
    Erik had his reasons for what he did and the men he hired, though he rarely spoke about them, or about anything else, for that matter. He’d given her no reason to distrust him up to this point, and she believed he’d do what he thought best for her—for the retreat, she mentally amended.
    For some reason, he’d hired these particular boys to run the stable, although at the moment, she couldn’t imagine why.
    Their crude, repellent behavior worried her. If they were this rude to her, how could she ever hope they’d lead pleasant trail rides for her guests, those who came to relax and find God here? Didn’t they understand they were working for a Christian retreat center?
    Evidently not. Or else they just didn’t care. She’d have to figure out what to do, and soon.
    As she stomped away, she overheard the boys taking turns letting out a string of mockery. She froze, their scornful words ringing in her ears. She clenched her fists to keep from turning around and letting them have it with all the fury of a hurricane.
    She’d have a talk with them, all right.
    But not right now. Not here, on their turf, in their time. She was sharp enough to realize they had her at a disadvantage here, catching her off guard as they had.
    She needed time to think. She had to be in control of the situation—and her emotions—if she was ever going to convince them to cooperate, and right now she knew she’d do little more than yell and throw insults back at them. Which would just prove their point—that she was an irrational, emotional female incapable of running this retreat.
    And she needed time to pray about it.
    Apprehension and uncertainty washed over her, emotions that had become more and more familiar to her as the days passed.
    Maybe the stable hands were right. Maybe she couldn’t do it alone. Hadn’t Erik said the very same thing?
    Frowning, she blew out a breath and continued walking toward the safety and privacy of her truck. Maybe the boys were just testing her. If that were so, she’d pass the test and win their trust.
    If not, they’d be the ones to go, not her.
    Wild animals weren’t going to scare her away from doing the Lord’s work here in South Dakota, and neither was a pack of feral stable hands.
    Come what may, she was determined to make this retreat center a reality.

     

    Erik stepped farther into the shadow of the stable as Dixie walked by. She looked ready to spontaneously combust, and with good reason.
    He’d been standing in the shadows since the beginning of the confrontation, hearing and seeing everything that transpired between Dixie and the stable hands.
    Admiration for Dixie’s courage raged with fury for the boys’ brutal treatment of her. He’d been genuinely surprised when she stood up to the ignorant, ill-mannered adolescents—and not only stood up to them, but talked them down to size.
    Dixie Sullivan might be short of stature, but she was in no way short of spirit.
    He wondered, and not for the first time since he’d met her, about the reserve she drew on, the mysterious way she found strength beyond her measure.
    Naturally she attributed it to