Page 88 of Her Guarded Hero

“Well I can’t miss the sign,” Lindy said as she turned under the towering crest above the drive that proclaimed the Lyle Olympic Equestrian Center. “How big is this operation anyway?” Lindy asked.

“They’ve had sold plenty of gold medal horses. I’d say they have probably close to one hundred horses on-site at any given time.” Aurora answered as the drove up the long-paved drive.

“How much do they go for?”

“The best of the lot won’t go as high as a racing thoroughbred.” Aurora sat forward in her seat to look at the big house and office.

“Yeah, but how much?” Lindy asked.

“I’ve heard as much as a half a million, maybe more.”

Lindy whistled, as they parked the car near a bunch of others. Aurora took note of a Bentley amongst a bunch of BMWs’ and a Mercedes. “Your Dodge is kind of out-of-place.”

“Yeah, but a notice a lot of good old-fashioned work trucks,” Lindy smiled. “Let’s go mingle with the rich and famous.”

The woman at the front desk didn’t seem all that impressed to begin with when she saw the two of them, but things soon changed when she got Dennis Lyle on the phone.

“Mrs. Chance, I didn’t realize you were such a long-time friend of the Mr. Lyle. Please take a seat in the drawing room while I get Chuck Zimmerman to give you a tour while Mr. Lyle finishes up with his meeting.”

It wasn’t long before Lindy and Aurora were checking out the expensive indoor training arena.

“You could eat off the floors in the stables,” Aurora teased Chuck.

“We set very high standards here at L.O.E.C.,” he said stiffly.

He’d been like that the entire tour. Aurora was intent on getting him to loosen up.

“There you are!” Aurora and Lindy turned at the same time to face Dennis Lyle. Aurora lit up. She really liked this man. She held out her hand.

“Ah come on, none of that,” he almost leaned in for a hug, but then took her two hands. “I didn’t know you were expecting. When did you get married?”

“I didn’t,” Aurora answered.

“Are you and the stallion on speaking terms? Are you thinking of getting hitched?” Dennis asked jovially. Aurora had forgotten his penchant for speaking in horsing terms. God love the man, he meant that in the nicest way possible, so Aurora smiled. “Yes, we’re going to get married.”

Aurora saw Lindy roll her eyes. “Who’s this pretty filly?” Dennis asked as he turned to Lindy.

“I’m Officer Melinda Dressler of the LAPD,” she said gruffly. Aurora could read her cousin’s mind. She was asking if Dennis Lyle was for real.

“You must be either Tate or Zeb’s little girl,” Dennis said.

“What, no handshake?” he asked.

Lindy gave him a reluctant handshake. “This is quite the operation you have here, but I noticed that Chuck was reluctant to give us a tour of some of the out buildings,” Lindy noted.

Dennis waved his arm expansively. “Those are Elsa’s projects. She thinks that she can eventually get even more horses trained with a new method she’s working on perfecting. For now, I’m leaving that to her and Chuck. She’s very protective of her system.” He turned to whisper conspiratorially with Aurora. “You know she’s an Olympic champion. She won gold at Atlanta and Sydney.”

It was a familiar story. Aurora nodded and smiled.

“Perhaps Elsa will show us.” Lindy said doggedly.

“No, that’s not possible. I already told you this,” Chuck said emphatically.

“Well, there you go,” Dennis smiled. He looked up and his smile got brighter. “And here’s my beautiful wife. Elsa, look who’s come to visit; Aurora Chance and her cousin Melinda Dressler. Melinda works for the LAPD.”

Elsa tripped on the cement but quickly righted herself. She gave a quick smile to Aurora and then held out her hand to Lindy. “What brings you here?”

“My dad buys horses along with my uncle Tate,” Lindy smiled as she let go of Elsa’s hand. “Aurora told me about the great training facility you have here.”