Page 1 of Eden's Dom

Chapter One

Eden shuffled behind the line of people, moving off the plane. She was glad the chaotic flight was over. She winced again when the bag she carried bounced against her hip. From the weight of the bag and people running into her, she knew she’d have a few bruises.

Her excitement and thoughts of being on the ranch kept her sane and moving along. It was a dream come true.

She would stay at the ranch for two weeks, during which time she would learn how to use horses as therapy for children and military vets. A friend told her about the program, and it was exactly what she’d been looking for. She needed something to do with her time, but she didn’t want to go back to full-time work. She had enough money and didn’t need to.

The program was going to teach the group several things. One part was teaching the students how to take care of a horse and how to ride. Since she’d been around horses her whole life, she could skip that.

Eden caught sight of a sign with her name on it, held over everyone’s heads, and headed that way.

The man smiled. “You must be Eden?”

“Yes.”

“I’m Randy, the ranch manager. I’m here to pick you up.”

“Thank you so much. I hate to take you away from your job, though.”

He chuckled. “Don’t worry about that. Until everyone shows up, there’s not much to do.” He held his hand out. “Let me take your bag. It looks heavy, and you look tired.”

Eden chuckled. “A bit. The flight was hectic, with babies crying, men arguing, and the flight attendants had to move a few people around to keep the peace.”

“I’m so glad I don’t have to fly.”

“Have you ever?” she asked as they walked to the baggage claim.

“Nope, and I’m good with it,” Randy said. “Show me which ones are yours.”

They stood with a large group of people waiting for their bags. She’d only packed one because she was only going to be there for two weeks.

“That one,” she said and pointed.

Randy snatched it up. “Follow me.”

Eden walked with him out of the terminal. “I can carry one.”

Randy snorted. “This is nothing. We have to wrestle calves every spring, and the hay bales alone are a hundred pounds.”

“I knew they were heavy when I tried to move one at the ranch where I help. I couldn’t move it an inch. I even tried sitting and using my legs, but it didn’t budge. I still think someone glued the bale to the floor.”

They both laughed. He walked to a truck that had the ranch emblem on the doors and put her bags in the back seat.

After Eden got in, she looked around. The two front seats were large and fit Randy well. She looked over her shoulder andsaw how nice and big the back was. “I didn’t realize trucks had back seats like this.”

Randy put the truck in gear. “Yes. We had to have room for the ranch hands. We’ll go to town in this or to pick up supplies, and since we’re all big men, the trucks had to be, too.”

They talked about the area, and she asked questions about the seminar. It was a pleasant and relaxing ride, which helped with the headache that started the moment she got on the plane that morning.

Eden looked around in awe when they turned into a driveway and through huge metal gates with the ranch’s name in decorative, elaborate letters spelling, CRAWFORD RANCH.

“Wow, this is beautiful,” she said.

Randy grinned. “Yeah. I hate to say it, but I’ve gotten so used to it, I don’t appreciate it like I should.”

She looked over at the young man. “Do you enjoy working here?”

“Oh, yeah. I started right after high school and trained under my father, who had worked here for decades until he retired when I took over.”

---