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door. In fact, he blocked their way.
    “I need to check your purses,” he said.
    “We don’t have purses,” Eve said.
    “Your friend has a backpack. She needs to open it, please.”
    “It was for the bridles,” Eve said, “which we didn’t buy—”
    “Never mind.” Ashley pulled off her pack and thrust it at the guard. “Here, take a look. It’s obviously empty, except for my water bottle.”
    The guard glanced inside the backpack, then jabbed his thumb at the door. “Fine,” he said. “You’re free to go.”
    “How very kind,” Eve said. She pushed open the door and held it for Ashley. Clearly the man’s services as a doorman didn’t extend to non-paying customers.
    She scowled back at the guard but once outside immediately began texting.
    “What are you doing?” Ashley asked. “Texting Jackson?”
    “No sense,” Eve said. “Victoria has his phone. I’m checking with a few friends, trying to figure out what’s going on.”
    “It won’t matter,” Ashley said glumly. “Haven’t you noticed the rest of Jackson’s staff are all men now? Every groom, exercise rider and hotwalker. Victoria is cleaning house. And we’re next.”
    “Don’t be so pessimistic,” Eve said. But her dismay grew as text messages pinged in reply. It wasn’t quite as bad as she feared, but everyone confirmed Victoria was leading Jackson around by his dick, even proclaiming she owned half his business since she hadn’t signed a prenup.
    “I didn’t see this coming,” Eve said, her spirits plummeting as she scanned her screen. “Poor Jackson.”
    “You were out with a broken wrist, busy with your son. And Victoria assumed you were married. Now that you’re back, as Jackson’s assistant trainer no less, she sees you as a threat.”
    Eve yanked open the car door, her mind whirling. She could probably find riding work at another stable, but once again, she’d have to claw her way up from the bottom. The only horses she’d be given to exercise would be cheap claimers, usually the most dangerous to ride. And danger was exactly what she was trying to avoid.
    Unfortunately her recent injury had been costly. Not only had she lost months of earnings but other riders had taken her place. Unless one was a top tier jockey, trainers had notoriously short memories. Of course, they had to please their owners, and it was only natural to favor the hot jockey.
    “Luckily you’re friends with two of Jackson’s owners,” Ashley said. “If Victoria manages to chase you off, they’ll probably move their horses.”
    Eve slammed the driver’s door, struggling to think. Dex and Dani owned Tizzy, and Scott and Megan had Stinger. But that was only two horses, not a big consideration for Victoria when Jackson managed a stable of forty. And Eve would never ask her friends to switch trainers just because Jackson no longer had a job for her.
    “Men are such wimps,” she said, clicking her seatbelt tight, trying to downplay her concern. Both Ashley and Miguel had put their trust in Eve, following her from Santa Anita to Riverview. And as the trainer in charge, she felt responsible for her employees, every bit as much as she did for the horses.
    “What are you going to do?” Ashley’s face was so pale, tiny freckles showed up on her nose. “The horses can’t race if you can’t exercise them. And even you can’t ride without a bridle.”
    “Don’t worry,” Eve said. “I’ll think of something.” She pushed in the clutch and forced a reassuring smile. “At least the car didn’t stall while we were inside,” she added. “And there’s still lots of gas in the tank.”

 
     
     
CHAPTER FIVE
     
     
    Eve propped her elbows on the picnic table, watching three determined boys struggling to build a castle. They filled a bucket with sand and tipped it on top of a growing mound. The sand collapsed to a chorus of groans, and they promptly started the process all over again. One boy looked about four, his dark eyes filled