Temptation Read Free Page A

to accept the invitation and let her life drift.
    Perhaps gambling was in Eden’s blood, too. Why else would she have sunk what ready cash she had had left into a fledgling camp for girls in the hills?
    Because she had had to try, Eden reminded herself. She had had to take the risk on her own. She could never go back into the shell of the fragile porcelain doll she had been. Here, centered in such open space, she would take the time to learn about herself. What was inside Eden Carlbough? Maybe, just maybe, by expanding her horizons, she would find her place.
    Candy was right. Eden took a long last breath. It was going to work. They were going to make it work.
    â€œHungry?” Her hair damp from whatever shower she’d popped into, Candy cut across Eden’s path.
    â€œStarved.” Content, Eden swung a friendly arm around Candy’s shoulder. “Where did you run off to?”
    â€œYou know me, I can’t let any part of this place run by itself.” Like Eden, Candy swept her gaze over the camp. Her expression reflected everything inside her—the love, the fear, the fierce pride. “I was worried about you.”
    â€œCandy, I told you, I was just cranky this morning.” Eden watched a group of girls rush out of a cabin and head for breakfast.
    â€œEden, we’ve been friends since we were six months old. No one knows better than I what you’re going through.”
    No, no one did, and since Candy was the person she loved best, Eden determined to do a better job of concealing the wounds that were still open. “I’ve put it behind me, Candy.”
    â€œMaybe. But I know that the camp was initially my venture, and that I roped you in.”
    â€œYou didn’t rope me in. I wanted to invest. We both know it was a pitifully small amount.”
    â€œNot to me. The extra money made it possible for me to include the equestrian program. Then, when you agreed to come in and give riding lessons . . .”
    â€œJust keeping a close eye on my investment,” Eden said lightly. “Next year I won’t be a part-time riding instructor and bookkeeper. I’ll be a full-fledged counselor. No regrets, Candy.” This time she meant it. “It’s ours.”
    â€œAnd the bank’s.”
    Eden shrugged that away. “We need this place. You, because it’s what you’ve always wanted to do, always worked and studied toward. Me . . .” She hesitated, then sighed. “Let’s face it, I haven’t got anything else. The camp’s putting a roof over my head, giving me three meals a day and a goal. I need to prove I can make it.”
    â€œPeople think we’re crazy.”
    The pride came back, with a feeling of recklessness Eden was just learning to savor. “Let them.”
    With a laugh, Candy tugged at Eden’s hair. “Let’s eat.”
    Two hours later, Eden was winding up the day’s first riding lesson. This was her specialty, her contribution to the partnership she and Candy had made. It had also been decided to trust Eden with the books, mainly because no one could have been more inept with figures than Candice Bartholomew.
    Candy had interviewed and hired a staff of counselors, a nutritionist and a nurse. They hoped to have a pool and a swimming instructor one day, but for now there was supervised swimming and rowing on the lake, arts and crafts, hiking and archery. Candy had spent months refining a program for the summer, while Eden had juggled the profit-and-loss statements. She prayed the money would hold out while Candy ordered supplies.
    Unlike Candy, Eden wasn’t certain the first week of camp would be the toughest. Her partner had all the training, all the qualifications for running the camp, but Candy also had an optimist’s flair for overlooking details like red ink on the books.
    Pushing those thoughts aside, Eden signaled from the center of the corral. “That’s