Colorado Pride

Colorado Pride
Five Star, Hardcover
Release Date: TBA
ISBN: TBA

Excerpt:

Seth Roberts couldn’t remember the last time he’d breathed in the pungent aromas of horse manure and hay. Feeding chickens and milking an old dairy cow in sub-zero Colorado temperatures, just to have something to eat for breakfast, wasn’t exactly the kind of memories he chewed on these days.

As he followed his good friend, Jared Garrison, through a newly built horse barn, carefully stepping around fresh mounds of manure, Seth silently wished he’d kept his old leather cowboy boots around. His hand-tooled Italian shoes weren’t exactly made for this kind of wear.

Wooden stalls lined both walls on each side of the barn. A different color of horse stood contentedly in each, some chomping on hay, while others slept in the cool spring morning. Eighty pound bags of oats and feed supplements lay stacked on a palette in the corner beneath a second story loft heaped to the ceiling with square bales of hay.

Seth stepped up to one of the stalls and draped his wrists over the side of the rail, watching as Jared dropped a worn leather satchel on the ground in front of a big black and white Paint.

“My older sister usually does all the tours,” Jared said, unlatching the stall gate. “She’s the Head Counselor, so I’m not sure what else you need to know.”

“Is she around?” Seth rubbed his jaw and glanced down the aisle. “I don’t think I’ve ever met her.”

Jared shook his head. “She left on vacation yesterday morning. Went out to California to watch our youngest sister graduate from medical school. She’s supposed to get back next Friday.” He pulled out a large plastic syringe from his bag and started filling the vial with some type of thick paste.

Seth cocked his head to the side and read the label on the tube. Looked like Jared was de-worming the mare. “I appreciate you working me in at the last minute.”

“Not a problem. We had a cancellation come in last week, so when you called, I made an executive decision and bumped your name to the top. After all you’ve done to help me get my vet clinic funded and off the ground, I owed you this one.” Jared filled the plastic tube to the tip. “As far as some of the basics go, I know that each camper is assigned their own horse to care for while they’re here, and they’re all expected to pull their load of chores every day.”

“Chores?” Seth repeated, uncertain. He flipped through the brochure for the J Bar D Outreach Camp for Kids, suddenly having second thoughts about signing his niece up for this summer day camp. “I thought this program was all about reaching out to the kids. Helping them cope with their problems. After everything Nicole’s been through these past few months, I don’t think she’ll be any too thrilled about scooping horse dung and mucking out stalls.”

Jared chuckled. “Believe me, buddy, these horses have a sixth sense when it comes to troubled kids. A summer around these guys, and I guarantee your niece will have a whole new outlook on life.”

Studying the brochure closer, Seth hoped to God Jared was right. Growing up in poverty on a run-down farm outside Leadville, Seth could personally attest to the kind of outlook he’d once had on life. Watching his dad pull double shifts in a factory only to die of lung cancer in the end, he’d sworn on his father’s grave to make something of his life. The moment he’d graduated high school, he’d left home and had never looked back.

Until now.

He kneaded the back of his neck where a spasm of pain shot down between his shoulder blades. His chiropractor attributed his discomfort to all the stress of the past few months since his only sister and her husband had been killed in an automobile accident back in March. A thick lump formed in his throat. Now that Shelli was gone, he regretted not keeping in closer contact with her over the years.

Jared anchored the mare’s head under his arm and quirked Seth a crooked grin. “Better step back a pace. I’d hate to get this stuff snorted all over that Armani suit.”

Seth chuckled. “It’s Dolce,” he corrected with mock offense, following Jared’s recommendation to step back and give the mare a little space. He slid a finger under his collar, loosening his tie. “I’m meeting with a realtor from Telluride and some investors at ten. Had to dress to impress.”

As a senior account manager at Ferguson and Tate Investments, Seth had been in negotiations for months with a Japanese based company, Five Seasons Athletics. With the acquisition of a one-hundred-year old hospital and the surrounding three hundred acres located just east of Colorado Springs, Five Seasons had plans to demolish the building and put in a high class golf and country club resort in its place. If he got enough investors in place and funded this project, he had a sure-fire shot at becoming Vice President of F&T’s Southern Division in Dallas. A promotion he could taste, he wanted it so bad.

Jared pushed the syringe into the mare’s mouth, squirting the paste down the back of the horse’s throat. The horse tossed her head, licking her lips, forcing some of the medicine to ooze out the side of her mouth. As soon as Jared removed the syringe, the mare snorted right on cue, tossing her head, making it abundantly clear she was not enjoying this particular treat.

When it looked safe, Seth reached over and gave the mare a pat on the face. “Looks like your vet skills are coming in handy around here.”

Jared slipped the empty syringe into a plastic bag. “I come out about once a week and make my rounds. J.D. would’ve shown you around himself this morning, but he had to take his wife, Debra, to an O.B. appointment. She’s due in a couple of months, sometime in Mid-July. She usually does all the paperwork. They shouldn’t be much longer if you want to wait around.”

Seth glanced at his watch. “I think I’ve seen enough, but I appreciate you taking time and giving me the grand tour.”

A loud whinny and a horse kicking one of the stalls drew both their attentions to the opposite end of the barn. “Oh, shit.” Jared threw the empty syringe in his bag and bolted out of the stall.

“What’s going on?” Seth asked, grabbing the gate and swinging it closed.

“I’m not sure,” Jared hollered over his shoulder as he hustled toward the sound of the commotion. Another loud thud against the walls and a shrill, high-pitched whinny pierced the air.

Seth followed, racing past several stalls and a small tack room before rounding the corner. He about tripped over a small sprite of a girl with long brown pigtails hanging down her front. She was standing just outside an opened stall where a big black reared up on its hind legs. Jared grabbed a lasso hanging on a wall just outside the stall. When the horse kicked its back legs into the wall, Seth’s heart slammed into overdrive as he feared for the safety of the little girl standing so close.

He scooped her into his arms and whisked her away several yards across the aisle as Jared tossed the lasso loosely around the horse’s neck.

His heart still in his throat, Seth reached down and swept a braided pigtail over her shoulder, making a quick assessment of her face and arms. “Are you okay, honey? Did you get kicked?”

She tipped her head back and met him with startled big brown eyes with tears brimming her lower lashes. Her bottom lip quivered before she shook her head and pointed toward the entrance of the barn. “Kyle did it,” she whispered.

Seth looked up and caught the backside of a young boy darting out into the ranch yard. A big kid from what Seth could tell. Looked about ten.

“Easy, big fella,” Jared soothed, holding out his palm, trying to calm the big black. Muscles bunched and visibly quivered as the horse pranced nervously back and forth.

“What happened?” Seth asked, sounding winded. He took in a deep breath trying to calm his own racing heartbeat. Adrenaline still rushed through his veins.

“Looks like the kids spooked Evening Star,” Jared said, running a hand over the horse’s neck. Once the horse stopped prancing, Jared loosened the lasso and let it slide off the horse. As he coiled the rope into his hand, he turned with narrowed eyes on the little girl.

She pulled back in Seth’s arms and ducked behind his head, as if he were going to protect her from Jared. Seth had to contain a grin as he got a better grip on the girl, anchoring his arm beneath the seat of her blue jean overalls. She couldn’t have weighed much more than a bag of puppy food, she was so petite.

He’d known Jared for several years, playing on a summer baseball league together and lately, helping him get his vet clinic funded and off the ground. Jared would no more swat a fly than harm a little girl, no matter what she might have done.

“Where’s Kyle?” Jared asked through gritted teeth. “He knows better than to come in here by himself.”

“H-h-he ran that way,” she said through a tiny trembling voice, pointing to where the boy had run away.

Jared mumbled a low expletive and draped the coiled lasso on the corner post of the stall. “You’re both lucky you didn’t get trampled on. Are you hurt?” he asked, stepping out and latching the gate.

“N-n-no,” she stuttered through a sniffle. “I’m sorry, Uncle Jared.”

Jared swept off his cowboy hat and heaved a big sigh, lowering his shoulders. “Awe, Katie, it’s not your fault. Looks like I need to have another talk with your brother.”

She looked back at Seth, staring deeply into his eyes, her big brown orbs a shiny puddle of chocolate. “Who are you?”

He smiled and had a difficult time deciding whether to put her down yet. She wasn’t hurt, but something about the way she looked at him and fiddled with his tie drew him to the little girl. “My name is Seth Roberts. My niece is going to attend your camp this summer. What’s your name?”

The little girl hesitantly looked toward Jared as if not sure she should be talking to a stranger. Seth took that as a cue to ease her slowly to the ground.

Jared hunkered down to one knee and opened his arms where she ran into his embrace. “This little munchkin is Katie. She’s my niece.” He placed a kiss on her forehead. “You scared me to death, young lady. Your mother would never forgive me if something happened to you and your brother while she was gone.” He looked over his shoulder toward the opened barn door. “That was her big brother, Kyle.”

Seth smiled at the thought of Jared playing babysitter while his sister-in-law went to the doctor. From the sounds of it, a third one was about to make things even more interesting. “Nice to meet you, Katie. I’m sure glad you didn’t get hurt. How old are you?”

“Seven.” Katie sniffled and started fiddling with one of Jared’s snaps on his red and blue plaid western shirt. “Are you still gonna to take us out for pancakes?”

Seth caught Jared’s half-grin before he furrowed his brows and touched Katie’s chin, forcing her to look up at him. “Do you promise to follow the rules and never ever go into the stalls without an adult with you?”

She nodded with tears filling her eyes again. “I promise.”

“Okay, then. Go find Kyle and wash up. I’m almost finished down here, then we’ll head into town.”

Her mouth quickly turned into an exuberant smile. The gaps where her two front teeth were missing only made her that much more adorable. “Thanks, Uncle Jared! I’ll got tell Kyle.” Then she twirled from his arms and galloped all the way out of the barn into the early morning sunlight.

“Pancakes?” Seth chuckled and rubbed his jaw. “I see you’re a real sucker for brunettes with big brown eyes.”

Jared laughed and stood, brushing hay from his knees. “When it comes to my niece, I’m a sucker for just about anything when she looks at me like that. Sorry about all the ruckus. They know better than to come in here by themselves.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad no one got hurt. I remember a time or two when I was their age trying to ride ol’ Buckmeister when I thought my pop wouldn’t find out. I had to learn with a bruised backside to stay away from the horse, and it wasn’t from being bucked off. Shelli and I both had our share of discussions with our dad behind the barn.”

Jared chuckled then slid his cowboy hat back on his head, his expression turning serious. “Sorry to hear about your sister, man. It must be tough.”

At the mention of his only sister, Shelli, Seth’s chest tightened. “More than you can imagine, but it’s her daughter I’m concerned with right now. I’m supposed to fly out to L.A. and pick her up in two weeks. She wanted to stay in California and finish out the school year with her friends, so she’s staying with Jerry’s folks. She’s their only granddaughter, and I think it kind of helped them with the loss of their only son. I really appreciate you getting her into your brother’s camp this summer.”

“Not a problem.” Jared propped an elbow on the steel gate. “I’ll have Debra mail you out an application. I don’t have a clue as to where she files all that stuff.”

“Sounds good. I’ll have my secretary fill it out and mail it back as soon as we receive it.” Seth strode closer to the stall where the stallion stood chomping on a mound of fresh hay. A small doll was lying on the ground near the horse’s feet. He bent and reached between the fence, easing the doll away from the horse. He brushed dirt from the doll’s face, which only had one eye and its dark brown hair stuck out in all different lengths. It looked as though Katie had taken a shot at haircutting. “When did you say the camp starts?”

“In two weeks, the day after Memorial Day. It runs till the end of the summer, the weekend of Labor Day.”

The timing certainly worked in Seth’s favor. “That should allow me enough time to get a good portion of my negotiations with Five Star Athletics under way. Any more delays could cost me my job.”

Since his sister’s death, he’d had to reschedule numerous meetings and had lost a smaller account to one of his younger colleagues at Ferguson and Tate, which hadn’t gone over too well with the senior partners. The conversion of the old hospital grounds into a sophisticated new resort was make or break.

He glanced down at the doll and swallowed. His newfound role as guardian of his twelve-year-old niece might put a slight kink in his plans. Not only would he be focusing on his job, which would entail a lot of traveling, working long hours, and wining and dining potential investors, he’d have to be dealing with braces, ballet classes, and all that other…girl stuff.

A cold sweat broke out above his brow. He handed the tattered doll over to Jared. Was he ready for this? Was he ready for fatherhood?

Jared took the doll. “I’ll give my sister a call and give her a heads up about the last minute enrollment.”

“’Preciate it,” he said giving Jared a firm handshake.

Seth strode out of the barn and headed toward the parking lot. He’d just swung his legs into the driver’s seat of his Corvette when his cell phone jingled in his pocket. He tugged it out and immediately recognized the California number. “Hey, Niki,” he answered. “What’s up?”

He thought he heard a sniffle. “It’s Grandma, Uncle Seth. She’s sick.”

“Sick? What do you mean? What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. You need to come and get me.”

Seth gripped his phone tighter. “Is your grandmother there? Can I talk to her?”

“No, she’s watching Wheel of Fortune.”

He could hear the blare of the T.V. in the background. “I thought you said she was sick? Where’s your grandfather?”

“He’s out working in his garage.” She lowered her voice as if she didn’t want her grandmother to hear the conversation. “I think they just want to get rid of me.”

“Do they know you called?”

“Yeah, Grandma’s the one who told me to call.”

Seth had to grit his teeth, contemplating his options. “What about a friend? Can you stay with someone tonight? Is there anyone I can call?”

“No, I’ve been staying at Chrissy’s house the last two nights. Please Uncle Seth.” Her voice sounded more urgent. “I don’t like it here. Can you come and get me?”