Turn and Burn (Western Star 2)

By Mary Kit Caelsto

Lora's not quite ready to take the next step with Clint. Before she can do so her friend is in trouble and needs help. It doesn't take long for Lora to realize her friend is in deep and she's the only one who believes everything will work out. Will seeing a new side of Clint doom their fledgling relationship before it gets off the ground? Or will she have compassion for a past that makes the presence difficult to watch?

Clint wants to give Lora all the time she needs after her rough divorce. He understands. He really does. Except now he's watching her fall head over heels into helping a friend with secrets that aren't his to tell and he's not sure he's ready to watch history repeat itself.

As the attraction between Clint and Lora deepens they'll each have to make some choices, both about each other and what they want out of the future.

Note: This is women's fiction with romantic elements which get stronger as the series progresses.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mary Kit Caelsto
• Release date: Jul 21, 2019

Book preview

< Turn And burn>

Western Star Episode 2

Mary Kit Caelsto

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, places, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

TURN AND BURN: Western Star Episode 2

Copyright © Mary Kit Caelsto, 2019

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Cover Art ® 2019

Cover art by My Author Home

Book formatting by My Author Home (http://www.myauthorhome.com)

Electronic Publication Date: July 2019

This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the author.

Please support horse rescue and rescue organizations. You may just find your next best friend.

Also By The Author

Equestrian Women’s Fiction

Noble Dreams Series

Steady On Course

Standing On Course

Correction On Course

Walking On Course

Course Perfect

Shadbelly Faults

Husband On Board

Double Clear (coming soon)

Western Star Series

(women’s fiction w/ romantic elements)

Spins Are Wild

Turn And Burn

In The Chute (coming soon)

Fantasy/Magic Realism

Radio Arcana

Hidden

Tonic Chords

Of Songs & Horns

Chapter One

Lora had to admit watching the handsome cowboy riding the lawn mower across her yard was a nice perk moving in. Not that they were anything other than friends. She made sure to keep him at arm’s length, though sometimes the nights got lonely and she knew he occupied the basement apartment. From some of the looks he’d given her, he wouldn’t mind if she’d come downstairs, or invited him up. But she wouldn’t. Her divorce had been final for a month now, all the financial stuff worked out with her keeping the farm, her truck and trailer, and most importantly her horses. That Billy had ended up heartbroken for a second time when his buckle bunny had left him didn’t even fill her with a pang of sadness. As her grandmother used to say, he’d made his bed. Now he had to lie in it.

And she had to keep her bed empty. The brief kiss when she’d offered him the apartment had startled both of them and she preferred to think of it as a fluke. With a sigh, she hurried down to the barn to give Pepper a ride and then maybe her other horses before the day got too warm.

Tracie was driving home from a small rodeo in Joplin and what she’d said bothered Lora. Probably more than it ought to. After all, people gossiping about her and Clint having a sexual relationship were just a combination of small town busybodies and overactive imaginations. She was a big girl. She could handle herself, and she figured Clint could as well. No, it was the belief that many had about Clint using her to get ahead—that bothered her. A lot. Again, not because of her reputation. After what she’d gone through with Billy she doubted much could tarnish her reputation now. No, she worried about Clint.

Lora glanced over her shoulder as she ducked into the open barn doors. Clint almost finished the mowing, with just a few circuits of the yard left. Then, he’d come down to the barn and muck out his stalls and get some riding in. By that time she’d probably be done with training so they wouldn’t have to share the arena. Lora stopped so quickly she almost tripped. She was avoiding him. Like a teenager with her first crush, afraid of running into him. That was silly. And it couldn’t last.

Her phone chimed in its holster on her belt. Lora checked it. Heading out of Joplin now. You and Clint are everyone’s topic of conversation. Let’s win in Pine Buff to really give them something to talk about. A string of laughing emojis followed the message.

Lora sighed. Drive safe. She ignored the other part of Tracie’s message. Sometimes she thought her friend and fellow trainer liked to stir things up. Then again, she also knew from long nights drinking hard cider that Tracie also looked out for her. If her friends had noticed how difficult Billy’s divorce had been on her, they were too kind to say. Instead, they teased her and kept her thinking of the next competition. Lora led Pepper out of her stall and clipped her into the cross-ties. She brushed the appaloosa mare, still amazed at how far she’d come in just the short time. Today they’d work on leg yields and listening, while still hopefully ignoring the barrel pattern set up in the arena. She stepped into her tack room, grabbed the saddle with Pepper’s saddle blanket thrown over it, and carried both back. By the time she tightened the cinch and had fastened her helmet, she was focused on the horse and only on the horse. Nothing else mattered.

A solid hour of riding later and Lora was excited with Pepper’s progress. The steady thud of manure hitting the wheelbarrow announced Clint’s presence in the other row. She led Pepper back, quickly untacked the mare, then turned her out for a little relaxation before getting Lolly. Her main competition horse was running well, but Lora also knew they could always work on getting better.

Through the open doors she watched Daisy’s truck pull up in front of the barn. She’d been doing well since Scooter’s semi-retirement and Paco was coming along well. Lora strode toward her.

Daisy, as always, looked put together with her boots and riding jeans, her t-shirt spotless and a pink bandanna that matched her shirt holding back her blond hair. I’m not interrupting am I? She glanced around Lora to see Lolly standing in the cross ties.

Not at all, but let me know what you want to do. I don’t want to be in your way. We were going to work on reaction times.

I’ve still got some obstacles set up in the outdoor arena. Paco and I were going to practice there.

Sounds good. Let me know if you need anything. I’m can always sight you from the ground.

Will do. We should be fine. Good luck.

Thanks. Lora turned and went back to her horse. A few moments later, she had Lolly tacked and was in the arena. When she found herself glancing down Clint’s aisle, he was done and his gear put away. His horses were still in their stalls, so she wondered where he’d gone, then chided herself because it really wasn’t any of her concern.

She finished riding Lolly and another horse, then decided she’d done enough for the morning. Diana would be coming for a lesson this afternoon after work, and Lora wanted to go over her entry forms for Pine Bluff and then the Tulsa show the week after. Certainly she had enough work to do without worrying about Clint or the rumors about them. She gave a couple of pointers to Daisy, then hurried up the stairs inside to wash up, eat a little something for lunch, then sit down with the never-ending bookwork. With any luck, she’d keep herself too busy to think about