Durango A Love Story

By Tina M. Manka

Amber moved back to Cedar Falls to fulfill her father's dream. She would convert their ranch into a bed-and-breakfast. Suspicious fires popped up around town due to the fight over land and the new highway. Amber's concern grew as mounting accidents happened on her ranch. Can Amber save her ranch from becoming the next pile of ash?

 

Joshua has loved Amber from afar since high school. When suspicious accidents appear on her ranch, he hires on as the ranch manager. Will Amber ever notice the love he still holds for her?

 

Thad returns to Cedar Falls to visit his father and falls for Amber in the process. He meets her at her homecoming party. Thad can't get Amber out of his mind, so he offers to become her partner in the bed-and-breakfast. Is Thad's offer legitimate or is it another of his shady deals?

 

Two men, one woman. Who will Amber fall in love with? Will she succeed in her opening her new business and making her father proud? Can they find the arsonist in time to save the ranch?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Breckenridge Crossing
• Release date: Jan 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393630654

Tina M. Manka

Tina M. Manka lives in a rural town with her husband and three children where everyone knows your name. She began writing small stories at the age of five on paper. She won a writing contest in school for her Journalism class that made her pursue her love of writing. Her days are spent working in the Health Field to give back to society and her nights with a computer in her hands writing. Her fundraising skills are used to raise money for local libraries in her area to get children reading and to enhance their writing skills, in hope they to one day may become authors.Tina M. Manka lives in a rural town with her husband and three children where everyone knows your name. She began writing small stories at the age of five on paper. She won a writing contest in school for her Journalism class that made her pursue her love of writing. Her days are spent working in the Health Field to give back to society and her nights with a computer in her hands writing. Her fundraising skills are used to raise money for local libraries in her area to get children reading and to enhance their writing skills, in hope they to one day may become authors.

Book preview

Durango

A Love Story

Tina M. Manka

Durango

A Love Story

Copyright © 2020 by Tina M. Manka

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Published in the United States of America

First Printing, 2020

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tABLE OF cONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

About the Author

Other Books

Disclaimer

Any references to historical events, real people or real places are used fictitiously. Names, characters and places are products of the author’s imagination.

CHAPTER 1

AMBER MILLS NEVER FORGOT the beautiful scenery Garden Falls, Montana offered as she stood on the flat, dry grass of the Durango Ranch. The blue sky with its white fluffy clouds played peek-a-boo with the morning sun or the distant snow-covered mountains that seemed to reach the sky. It was mother nature’s creation that brought her back to her birthplace and her family heritage. A place she called home for most of her childhood until the sudden death of her parents.

It was a period of her life she wanted to forget; a horrible shock to everyone in Garden Falls and to herself. She still remembered the phone call from an old classmate and town’s police officer, Joshua Lake. Goosebumps formed on Amber’s skin as she listened to Joshua’s shaky voice on the other end of the receiver. You need to meet me at the hospital entrance. Those were the only words Joshua spoke to her before he hung up the phone.

The ride to the hospital seemed short but horrifying. Amber sensed something happened to her parent’s. The two of them took two horses they sold to a nearby town just half an hour away from Domingo. They left an hour ago, so it did not concern her until she received Joshua’s call.

Joshua met her at the emergency entrance with a somber look upon his face as he wrapped his trembling arms around her tiny waist. He held her tight as he told her someone had hit her parents head on when her father fell asleep at the wheel. His next words, no one survived, sent her into a whirl wind of tears.

She spent a week after the funeral putting her parent’s affairs in order. Several meetings with her parent’s attorney, Ken Petersen, kept her busy during the day, but the nights seemed difficult. She excluded herself from society because of depression and fatigue. Joshua stopped by several times to offer food and to check on her, but the rest of the time she spent alone in the over- sized house feeling trapped. She experienced second thoughts to postpone her acceptance into Montana State University. She needed a fresh start in life to heal.

Two weeks after the funeral, Amber packed a suitcase and withdrew her parent’s money from their account. She loaded the family vehicle and headed out in the middle of the night towards the University to start her adult life away from Garden Falls and the Durango Ranch.

Amber came back to reality when the leaves ruffled behind her. Joshua stood with his hands in his pockets as he smiled at her. His cowboy hat nestled upon his head and his cowboy boots snapping the twigs as he stepped on them. What are you doing here?

I heard through the grapevine you moved back. So, I came to help you get situated.

Six years passed since she left Garden Falls and Durango, and nothing seemed to change. Joshua paid out of his pocket for the neighbor boy to cut the grass and he checked on the house once a week.

Amber stepped closer to Joshua and opened her arms for a hug. Joshua smiled and pulled her into his arms. Thank you for checking on the ranch.

When your attorney told me you left for college, I wanted to help. I am so happy, but are you sure you are ready to come home?

His words meant a lot to her. Many obstacles stood in her way to find a fresh life at school. She became friends with her roommate, Myra Monroe. Myra opened her childhood home, and family to her on vacations and school breaks. Her life changed after she graduated, and she realized she had to leave Myra and return to Garden Falls to face her life head on without Myra. I had a plan when I left. I would achieve my master’s degree in Business and return home to turn the ranch into a bed-and-breakfast.

The electric and gas company showed up yesterday and I suspected you would need help on the ranch, said Joshua. I let the men in with the key you gave your attorney.

I know, she said. Ken called me to see if he could give you a key to the house. It all appears the same as I left it six years ago.

The local cleaning agency cleaned the house once a week and made repairs when needed, confessed Joshua. I suspected one day you would return, and I wanted Durango in order just as you left it.

Amber peered past Joshua at the old western cabin that sat quietly on the hill. The stone path led from the driveway to the house surrounded by blooming rose bushes that radiated in the sun light. A display of flowers surrounded the oversized cabin and brought out its beauty in the stained logs that made them look new. Her father’s wooden rocking chairs sat lifeless on the open porch along with the matching wooden table. The cabin seemed the same but different, but so did the lake and the water. Life at the ranch had ceased when she left, and she sensed it in the still air.

I am glad you came home, remarked Joshua. It has been a long time.

Amber returned her attention back to Joshua, and she agreed with a nod. I had to leave to find myself and to heal.

Joshua took