The Spirit Path: The Spirit Path Series, #1

By Tammy Tate

When Nicole saddled up her horse before the impending storm, it was 1997.

Things spiral out of her control when her horse gets spooked and she hits her head.

She wakes up, lost and confused and soon finds herself in the care of a Sioux warrior. As if that isn't odd enough, the stranger calmly informs her it's the year 1812.

Can Nicole find her way back? Will she even want to now that her world has collided with that of a strong sexy man who is battling for his own survival?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tammy Tate
• Release date: Jan 29, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386546238

Tammy Tate

Tammy Tate was born and raised in Hollywood, Florida but has lived most of her adult life in Texas. Her passion to write began in high school and follows her everywhere she goes creating a world where anything is possible. She's been married to the same amazing man for over thirty-five years. Her secret to a long marriage? It's easy when you marry your best friend. In her world Friday night is still date night. Before becoming a full-time author, she was an Executive Secretary, a Computer Consultant/Technician, and a Communications Officer (Police Dispatcher). She doesn't mind a challenge and has raced a late-model in a women's powder puff race, ran barrels and poles in a play-day rodeo and drove an 18-wheeler. She and her husband have raised three wonderful children. If she's not breathing life into her characters, she’s spending time with her husband. December 2013, she signed her first book contract with a traditional publisher and has since become a best selling, award winning author. She loves to hear from you~ Email: [e-mail] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tammytateauthor Twitter: https://twitter.com/authortammytate Blog: http://authortammytate.blogspot.com

Book preview

Excerpt For The Spirit Path

Feeling self-conscious, Nicole leaned to one side with her boot toed-in and her arms crossed, suddenly wishing she hadn’t removed her shirt.

It’s not what you think, she said, blushing a deeper shade of red. It’s a cami... I mean a shirt and girls wear it like this. To make her point, she stepped back and whirled. See. Nothing to be ashamed of.

Her heart raced when Flaming Arrow’s gaze went from the thin straps at her shoulders to the low neckline of the cami and then lower to the bare skin above her waistband. Nicole tugged at the bottom as if it would make it more presentable. Better? she asked.

He stepped toward her, taking long slow strides like a lion stalking its prey. Despite being a bundle of nerves, more heat built low in her belly. The sudden urge to kiss him grew as he circled her as if he was committing every inch of her to his memory.

Nicole’s mind blurred into her own thoughts.

What if he tried to kiss her? Would she let him? More importantly, did she want him to? She closed her eyes and let out a low moan.

Yes, yes, and yes.

THE SPIRIT PATH

Third eBook Edition

Copyright © Tammy Tate 2020

Cover Design by Tammy Tate

Previously published individually as:

The Spirit Path - Book One

The Secret Path - Book Two

Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.

DEDICATION

To my husband, Lary. Your love and support has given me the strength and courage to achieve my dreams. You are truly my inspiration.

Chapter 1

1997, North Texas

Steam rose up from Nicole’s second cup of coffee as the morning sun muscled its way through the kitchen blinds, giving the granite countertop and everything it touched a faint yellow glow.

The cordless phone rang. 

Nicole frowned when Tracy’s name popped up on the caller ID. It could only mean one thing. Her best friend was going to be late.

Nicole added cream and sugar to her cup, stirred it, and took the call. Hello?

While waiting for Tracy to reply, Nicole inhaled deeply, drawing in the rich coffee bean aroma.

Hey! Tracy didn’t sound happy. I can’t go riding today. Michael wants me to go to Kingsville with him to visit his parents.

Nicole eyed the 1997 horse calendar next to the refrigerator. She wasn’t superstitious and barely noticed it was Friday the thirteenth. Working from home, everyday felt like the next.

Since her uncle had passed away, leaving her his house, two acres and a sizable nest egg, Nicole lived by her own clock. Her life no longer revolved around getting to the paper on time and coming home exhausted. Her days of being a journalist were over.

Nicole replied, I think I’ll go riding anyway. Besides, you complain about how much time your husband spends at the deer lease. It'll do you good to spend the day together.

I know, Tracy moaned. Michael spends five-hundred dollars a year to hunt on someone else’s land. It’d be a shame if he didn’t go. But with that said, you know I’d rather go riding... Tracy’s voice trailed off. A good sign someone had entered the room.

Michael shouted in the phone’s background, Hey, Nicole!

Hey, Michael, Nicole replied back and then chuckled when Tracy hissed. Nicole lowered her voice to go easy on Tracy eardrums. There’s always tomorrow, Nicole told her. Now go and have fun.

Tracy snorted. Fun! Listening to Michael's mother complain about why we haven’t given her a grandson isn't my idea of fun.

Michael’s voice filtered into hearing distance. It’s not like we haven’t been trying.

It was more information then Nicole needed.

Shaking her head, she snapped, Relax Tracy. You got this.

If you say so, Tracy exhaled roughly like she wasn’t so sure. Well, I better finish getting ready. I’ll call you when I get back...

The line went dead.

Nicole chuckled. She tried to remember her life before Tracy and couldn’t. When she first moved to North Texas, they hit it off right away. Mostly because of their love for horses.

Tracy was high maintenance. Just ask Michael. He was six years older than his wife, but his veterinarian career allowed him to spoil her rotten.

Nicole wasn’t complaining. Having a vet nearby worked in her favor too. Like the time that Buck ate moldy hay. Michael gave him a shot to calm his upset stomach. He even slept slouched in a chair outside the barn while Nicole and Tracy kept the 1500-pound palomino on his feet.

Rolling wasn’t the problem. All horses did a slow-motion roll that took several tries to get over. But if they were in pain, they rolled fast. Since their free-floating intestines couldn’t keep up, twisting one could be fatal.

The only way to prevent that was to keep a horse on its feet until whatever had made him sick, passed.

Sometimes it took hours. Other times, days.

Tracy was twenty-three. Two years younger than Nicole and felt like the younger sister she’d never had.

A typical day usually consisted of horseback riding, grocery shopping, or renting a new release and stopping for a burger on the way home. Even that came to an end when Nicole met Eric.

Nicole walked to the living room to a computer desk tucked into one corner. She put the phone back on its charger. Immediately her eyes locked on a metal five by seven picture frame.

The handsome man posing with her grinned back.

Grinning, Nicole picked it up and traced her finger along his strong jawline as a slew of memories came racing back.

Like the night Eric got home from work, angry at the world. The pungent aroma of garlic bread filtered throughout the two-bedroom house before disappearing into the ceiling.

The oven timer buzzed.

After depositing six golden bread slices into a wicker basket, Nicole placed it on the dining room table beside two lit candles and a large bowl of spaghetti and meatballs.

The front door slammed.

Eric dropped his briefcase on the floor and reached up to loosen his gray pinstriped tie.

Good timing, Nicole said, glad that he didn’t have to work over. 

Without so much as a glance, her now, ex-boyfriend stomped down the hallway, funneling his fingers through his hair.

Soon water began running in the bathroom shower.

Eager to know what was bothering him, Nicole wiped her hands on a dishtowel and went to see what was wrong. Eric wasn’t good at opening up. Like always, getting him to talk would take some persuasion. 

Nicole leaned against the bathroom door frame. Do you want to talk? 

No! he shouted.

What’s wrong?

He snapped, Everything!

Are you okay? 

"No, Nicole. I’m not okay. We are not okay."

Nicole’s jaw dropped. Just as she was about to prod him for an explanation, the water shut off. 

Michael jerked the vinyl curtain back, almost ripping it loose from the bronzed metal hooks. With his hands on his hips and water glistening against his hard-chiseled body, he glared in silence while staring down at the floor.

Nicole couldn’t deny the attraction. All six feet of him. But, his dashing good looks had never been in question.

Eric shook his damp head, sending a fine mist about the room. I’m sorry, he said with a frown. I lost the Higgin’s case today. The whites of his eyes were bloodshot. I even yawned in court.

To Eric, appearance was everything. Especially in court but at the moment it wasn’t what troubled Nicole the most.

She chose her next words carefully. I’m sorry, I’m still trying to process the ‘we are not okay’ part.

Eric took the towel she handed him and began to dry off, buffing his skin until it was bright pink. It’s been six months since we moved in together. I guess I just miss my space.

Eric was in full lawyer mode. Ready to pounce at any given moment. Only this time, his anger seemed directed toward her.

Nicole wished she could salvage what was left of their relationship but came up empty-handed. The fact that they were so different didn’t help.

Eric grew up in New York. He had wealthy but loving parents and was used to getting his way. His idea of dressing casual was polyester slacks, a Ralph Lauren polo shirt, and patent leather oxfords. A game of racquetball or golf was his idea of entertainment.

When Nicole left Dallas and moved to the country, her needs were simple. She welcomed fresh air and wide-open spaces where she could hear herself think. Country music, cowboy boots, and jeans quickly became the norm. Horses were her passion. She even bought a puppy and installed a doggie door. Comfort foods were chicken fried steak, white gravy, and bread pudding.

Nicole recalled the day she and Eric met.

It was like something out of one of her historical romance novels only without the happily after ending.

Eric was visiting a sick friend and stopped at the one and only grocery store in Aransas Pass. The attraction was electrifying when they reached for the same plump juicy cantaloupe.

They kept bumping into each other on every aisle. If she needed milk, so did he. While standing behind her in the checkout line, Eric asked her to meet him later for a drink. It took all of two seconds to accept.

Later that evening, they downed several rum and cokes and laughed the night away like love struck teenagers. A slow song began playing on the jukebox. A noisy group of sweaty line dancers filed back to their tables to quench their thirsts.

Despite telling Eric that she had two left feet, he led her to the dance floor anyway and she let him.

More couples joined them. Each one embracing their partner as their boots began to shuffle. It was impossible to tell how many of them knew each other beyond the bar or had just met.

Eric slipped his arm around Nicole’s waist and reached for her hand which he placed on his shoulder. She put her arms up, locking her trembling fingers around his neck. Staring into her eyes, he slowly pulled her to him until their shirts touched. His body felt like a hot water bottle pressed into hers.

Swaying in time with the music a conversation began taking place that didn’t require words.

Halfway through the love song, Eric must have agreed. His nose brushed her cheek, fanning it with warms puffs of air. By the end of the song, his lips moved to her ear and he growled huskily, Let’s get out of here.

Nicole didn’t protest when he suggested leaving her car in the parking lot and picking it up later. She barely recalled giving him the directions to her place for a romp in the hay. Of course, that was a figure of speech because she found out later Eric was allergic to straw.

Later, they went out for a bite to eat and then raced back before embarrassing themselves in public.

They couldn’t keep their hands off each other. After that, they were inseparable. Eating, drinking, and sleeping became necessary evils to keep up their strength.

Eric brought something to their relationship that Nicole never felt before—lust.

In the beginning, she called it fate. So did he. But at the end of the day when the sheets settled, she knew something was missing like an adult conversation that didn’t involve heavy panting.

The insatiable appetite they shared manifested itself into incredible sex and Eric suggested that they move in together. But, that wasn’t enough.

Six months later, Eric moved out, driving forty-seven miles back to his high-rise condo in the city which was nothing more than an elaborate hotel room at best.

Nicole had seen it. He took her there to get more clothes. They even stayed the night, made love and soaked for an hour in a bathtub twice the size as hers.

Between the sirens and the non-stop traffic below, she didn’t get much sleep. Ryan slept like a baby.

She kept it to herself that it was fitting for a romantic getaway because everything was in close proximity, but it wasn’t to her liking for everyday living.

Chapter 2

As promised, a week later, Eric returned for his things.

Nicole boxed everything up and had them waiting. They barely spoke as she helped him load them onto the backseat of his shiny new Lexus.

To get over being alone again, Nicole buried herself in her work.

When she wasn’t riding Buck, she was plotting future novels. She hammered the words out with her keyboard, bringing characters to life in a world where she controlled their destinies. Thanks to Eric, she had plenty to write about when it came to passion.

Tracy was glad that Eric left. It was uncanny how Tracy could only describe her distaste for him as a gut feeling.

Staring around her small, two-bedroom house, Nicole shook her head. It wasn’t much. But it was hers, free and clear.

The property consisted of two wooded acres with a white picket fence across the front, giving it a fairy tale vibe.

Oak trees shaded the front and back yards. On windy days an old porch swing creaked from the eight by ten porch. A red and white barn with two horse stalls sat about four hundred feet from the house.

Staring out of the window, Nicole noticed Buck with his head draped over his stall door. His flaxen mane sparkled under the morning sun.

The weatherman said a storm was moving in from the south, but it wouldn’t arrive until later in the day.

If they left now, they could be back before it hit.

Nicole hurried to the bathroom to brush her hair. From the mirror, a blue-eyed woman stared back. She pulled her long brown hair into a ponytail, and after applying a thin coat of strawberry lip balm, she pressed her lips together to even it out.

Perfect, she said with a wink.

Harley sat by the front door with his ears perked. The three-year-old, one-hundred-and-fifty-pound Rottweiler tilted his masked face to one side. His impeccable bloodline showed.

A few years back, his great-grandfather had been the top stud dog in the United States. When he was ten months old, Nicole enrolled Harley in obedience classes and taught him voice commands. Harley didn’t care what they did as long as it involved her.

Nicole slipped into her dusty cowboy boots then turned to Harley. Are you ready? she asked.

He wagged his two-inch nub, shaking his entire body.

Nicole grabbed her hat from a stuffed raccoon mounted on a log near the door. It was a gift from her sister, who owned a popular taxidermy shop on Main Street.

Harley barked in anticipation.

Nicole opened the door.

Harley raced toward the barn.

Within minutes, Nicole had Buck saddled and ready to go. It was a task that she could have done blind-folded any day of the week.

She crawled onto his back. Her face grazed a few inches above the saddle, reminding her how much she loved the smell of freshly detailed leather.

Before riding off, Nicole leaned over Buck’s withers and stroked his neck while thinking how blessed she was to be free of the hustle and bustle of the city.

She squeezed Buck’s body with her legs, sending him toward the gate.

Harley trotted beside him in the grass.

Obedience classes were money well spent.

At the end of Armstrong Road, a grassy area widened out on both sides of the newly built highway that took over a year to complete. The five o’clock news called it progress.

Nicole shook her head. Five years ago, it was a dirt road that flooded when it rained and was perfect for horse-lovers such as herself.

Well at least they left room for us to ride, Nicole hissed, reining Buck toward the grass running parallel with the asphalt.

Buck knew the routine. It didn’t take much to send him on his way.

Mobile homes peppered the landscape with an occasional side road separating the properties. Cattle grazed behind rusty barbed wire fences. There were acres upon acres of undeveloped property for as far as the eye could see. The landowners called it an investment with no intention to ever call it home.

That was fine by Nicole. It gave her and Tracy plenty of places to roam.

Nicole steered Buck through an opening in the trees and down a narrow path. Occasionally she ducked under a low hanging branch. The fragrance of yesterday’s bath still lingered in Buck’s mane.

Harley trotted in front of them with an occasional look back to make sure he hadn’t strayed too far away.

Nicole broke off a small branch to knock down a spider web blocking her path.

The trail spilled into a clearing with a lake in the center and a sandy figure eight at one end.

Nicole rode toward a sandy figure eight etched in the grass at the far end.

To give Buck a workout, Nicole loped Buck toward it and made a few passes around.

Bucks hooves dug into the deep sand, churning it up even more.

Not wanting him to get him overheated, Nicole slid him to a stop and then rode to the edge of the lake so he could drink.

Harley relaxed beside a nearby boulder, panting in the shade.

Nicole crawled down from the saddle to join him.

Funny how six miles separated her from a town of 13,500 residents, yet it felt a million miles away.

A loud clap of thunder caused Nicole to jump.

Buck flinched too.

Looks like the storm might get here early, Nicole whispered to her four-legged friends.

There was an eerie electric charge in the air causing the hair on her arms to rise.

Staring wide-eyed at the trees, Buck snorted while prancing in place.

Nicole remembered the last time they got caught in a storm and had to take cover under an abandoned shed.

Easy boy, she said, standing up and stroking Buck’s neck. Easy, she repeated.

The oak trees were tall. There was no way to tell how close the storm was. Summer storms, in general, had been known to roll in fast with a vengeance.

Eager to get home, Nicole climbed back into the saddle.

To her surprise, halfway up, a deer burst out of the trees breaking off small limbs and twigs. Its eyes mirrored Buck’s, big and wide.

Buck lunged sideways.

Gravity tugged at Nicole like a high-powered magnet causing her to lose her balance. Her head tagged a boulder on the way down, and everything went black.

Chapter 3

Nicole’s arms trembled as she pushed up from the ground. She remembered the thunder, the deer, and then hitting her head. Reaching back, she winced at the golf ball sized lump embedded in her hair.

Thankfully, it wasn’t bleeding.

A sharp pain shot across the back of her skull. But, she couldn’t think about that right now. Buck and Harley were nowhere in sight and could be in danger if they wandered toward the highway.

Panic set in.

Surely Harley hadn’t gone after the deer. Her anxiety meter pegged out at ten.

Nicole licked her lips to hydrate