Wild Racing Heart

By Leigh Macfarlane

PEACHLAND PASSIONS BOOK 4

Owen Pankratz has seen Asha Jones around town. She's pretty, athletic, and single, and Peachland is a small place. So, yeah, Owen knows who she is. Somehow, though, he never realized the woman who teaches yoga at the seniors centre is also a physiotherapist by trade. Then his cousin, Alicia, leaves her husband, and Owen is injured while preventing Biff from attacking Alicia. With less than two months until Owen is meant to be running the Penticton Ironman triathlon, he is going to need Asha's services to make that happen. With a brother whose head injuries lead him to compulsive behaviour issues, Asha has her own problems. She also has immense respect for the way Owen is chasing his recovery. It isn't long before the solid strength of the man has her questioning who is healing whom. Now, if only it wasn't so inappropriate to tell him how she feels.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Leigh Macfarlane
• Release date: Jan 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9781990264061

Leigh Macfarlane

Leigh Macfarlane is a proud Canadian (eh!) author of both fiction and non-fiction books who is fortunate enough to live in California North -- the gorgeous Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. Since Leigh already lives in one of the most beautiful places in the world, many of her novels are set locally. In Leigh's books you will be transported to orchards, vineyards, ski hills, ranches, beaches, art galleries, athletic fields and waterfront cafes.Well, maybe not ski hills. Rumour has it Leigh is afraid to drive in the snow.Where heroes are concerned, I love me a cowboy, or a guy who can fix a car, a fearless protector type, or a studious professor with a sharp mind, the soft touch daddy, or a hard-body with a soft-heart. Sometimes I love me a bad boy, but I'm working on it. Just as long as he is good to his woman and cares about the world around him, I'm in.My heroines might be clutzy, or chubby, still figuring life out, or they might just have swollen bank accounts and be living the high life. Either way, my ladies are real women who appreciate life, laughter, beauty, family, puppies, chocolate, and especially the love of a strong man.When not writing, Leigh is mom to four wonderful, not so small, humans, one yap-monster dog, a gorgeous but aging cat and a fish whose quality of life appears to be declining. Once, Leigh fell off a horse, wrapped the back of her knee around a telephone pole, had horse liniment applied to her injury, and was proclaimed part horse by the race horse trainer who had fixed her up. To date, this claim has not been proven false.

Book preview

Need. Coffee. Now.

Asha stood, eyes blurry and feet bare, on the cold tiles of her kitchen floor. She wore skin-hugging spandex shorts and a snug sports bra in black and neon blue, held her purple yoga mat tucked under one arm, and skimmed her fingers through her short, glossy black hair as she glared at the dripping coffee maker. Then she asked herself the age-old question.

Why was the dang machine so slow?

She might be a physiotherapist by trade, might teach yoga -- passionately -- on the side, but still, the struggle was real. She needed her coffee. It was her one major vice.

Impatience, she decided, did not make her a fraud. She would be zen later. In about two more minutes, in fact. Once the brew was in the mug, she’d head out to her front yard, spread her mat on the grass on the side with the view of Okanagan Lake, and she’d zen her ass right off.

Exactly as she instructed her clients to do.

It wasn’t even her fault she was feeling so desperately out of sorts this morning. It was the blasted podcast. She’d agreed to be interviewed on The Wholistic Doc podcast to speak to the mind-body connection of the practice of yoga. It was a topic she believed in wholeheartedly -- that wasn’t the problem.

No, there were two issues at play stressing her out. First, she got a little -- and also a whole lot -- tongue-tied in any public speaking situation. The only way she could get through a scenario like this interview was to religiously avert her mind from the fact that this podcast had a listenership in the six figures and convince herself she was just having a nice one-on-one chat with the esteemed Dr. Nola Lee.

She and Nola had been friends for years, so there was that. To keep herself even moderately calm, Asha was fastening her mind on their personal connection and holding on tight.

It didn’t help, though, that her brother, Nelson, had called her two nights earlier looking for bail money -- again. He was the second issue that had her frazzled this morning. Her baby brother had a penchant for brawling, and he’d just been arrested for the second time after being involved in a bar fight.

Nelson claimed it was no big deal – he had just been blowing off steam. Of course, he always claimed that. It might even be something close to the truth.

Her brother had, for three brief years, had a career as a hockey player in the NHL. One rough hit too many had left him with a career ending traumatic brain injury. It also left him with some deep-seated anger issues and a drinking problem. Since the rest of the family lived all the way on the other side of the country in the Canadian capital of Ottawa, Nelson was officially her responsibility.

And that was enough to stress the zen right out of anybody.

Now, as Asha trucked outside with her -- finally! -- full mug of coffee and her mat, she felt her steps quicken with anticipation. She needed these moments to breathe through the kinks in her body... and her mind.

The grass bent under her feet as she walked over to her preferred spot and spread out her mat. The sun was already up, but her lawn was still partially in shadow. The three fruit trees in her front yard -- the reason she’d purchased this spot backing up against the mountain in Peachland in the first place -- threw leafy shadows every which way across the lawn. It was still only early June so nothing was ripe yet, but the apple trees would attract deer to the yard in a few more months.

She still found that utterly charming, even though she’d owned the rancher and the full acre of land for three years now. The private spot she’d found was good. For her, life in the small, quirky lakeside town of Peachland was good. She just needed to get Nelson back on track, and she needed to get through today’s… chat with her good friend Nola. Tomorrow, she could resume her satisfying and rewarding life here in her personal spot of heaven on earth.

The thought put a small smile on her face. Breathing out, she stood a moment and watched the early morning sun work its way up over the hills and onto the surface of Okanagan Lake. She lifted her coffee to her lips and inhaled the world’s best scent as she stared through the small tendrils of steam. The first sip was bliss as it slid down her throat, warm, strong, and delicious.

She was halfway through her first cup, the birds were singing, the sun was gently warming the morning, and she was working up to taking her position on her mat and greeting the world with a few sun salutations when she was distracted by what sounded like a truck’s engine climbing her hill. Sure enough, she could make out some sort of pickup two corners down the S-curves of her road.

Even though the truck seemed to be moving unusually slowly, she ignored it and took a deep breath in and out to get herself into a focused headspace. Some part of her knew the truck had made it up another bend in the road, but it hardly seemed like anything her mind needed to focus on. She took one last sip of her coffee then bent to set the cup in the grass. Just as she was standing, there was a yell from the driver of the truck, then a loud crashing sound in the bushes where the road met her driveway.

She frowned when she saw what looked like a giant black dog push through the bushes. And then her heart shuddered as adrenaline flooded her system.

Not a dog.

Bear!

Her brain screamed the info at her, and Asha gave an involuntary little squeak. The bear, who had been lumbering up her driveway and headed her way stopped at the sound. Asha found herself in a completely unwelcome faceoff with a medium-sized black bear who was less than twenty feet away.

Un uh, Asha said, backing up slowly. When the bear cocked his head as if assessing his next move, she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. So, she yelled.

Not today, Satan!

Satan -- the bear -- stood on his back legs at her scream. He let out a grumbling sound of his own which spiked Asha’s heart rate all over again. Not even caring that every survival manual ever said to never turn your back on a bear, she did just that, and sprinted full speed for her front door.

She reached it and slammed it shut as if the hounds of hell were on her heels, then she peeped out the side window to see what had happened to the bear.

Not much. She found him back on all fours, still in the same spot, looking like he was contemplating his next move. As Asha watched, he stepped a big paw forward and ambled his way over to where she’d left her mat and her coffee discarded.

Lowering his snout, the bear gave her coffee mug a sniff, then knocked it over with one paw.

Hey! Asha said from inside the safety of her home as she watched the golden liquid spill all over her purple mat.

The bear’s tongue flicked out, and she almost laughed as he shook his head at the taste. Apparently, coffee wasn’t Satan’s thing. Her momentary humour dissolved, though, when the bear turned his back on her house and sat his big, hairy ass on the purple vinyl surface of her yoga mat.

Oh no you didn’t, Asha said, and she opened her front door. Her hands went to her hips in indignation as, from the safety of her doorway, she yelled at the bear.

Hey! That’s not your mat. That’s mine.

Nada. She got nothing from the bear. He gave no sign he’d even heard her. Her pitch rose until it was close to a shriek.

Get your hairy ass off my yoga mat, Satan!

This time, the bear turned his head just enough that he could look at her over his shoulder. His nose wrinkled, and he shook his head at her just enough to have Asha leaping back inside and throwing the deadbolt.

Fine, she muttered, heart racing, "You just sit there, then. I’m calling the cops. She nodded with a ridiculous, vindictive satisfaction that she’d no doubt deny later. Then we’ll see."

Owen had been following the black bear for the last half an hour. The hunt had started all the way down on Beach Avenue when the animal had given Molly Tillison the surprise of a lifetime by wandering onto her front patio and giving his tail a good scratching against her front door. The truth was, Owen would have paid good money to see the look on Mrs. Tillison’s face when the bear had made himself familiar that way. Except, of course, it was rare for bears to make their way down to the main drag of Peachland. This guy was potentially very much a problem.

The bear crossed the highway – good thing it was early morning – and headed up into the hills. Owen kept on the animal’s six, but where the truck needed to stay on paved surfaces, the bear could cut in and out of people’s lawns. This gave it something of an advantage over Owen, who had to detour around curves that were not imposed on the bear.

The animal had gotten a bit of a jump on him for a while. Just long enough, in fact, that Owen had been too far away to give an effective warning to the town’s pretty little yoga instructor.

Maybe they’d never met face to face, but he knew who she was. There weren’t a whole lot of attractive, single women in Peachland. Asha was both. Plus, she was athletic. And in a bendy kind of way. So, yeah, he knew.

From his spot fifty yards back from the bear, Owen could see Asha clearly. He knew with a sick sense in his stomach exactly what scene was about to unfold. He honked, then rolled down his windows to yell a warning, and that was how he heard her address the bear. She made him smile even as he palmed his dart gun and floored the gas just in case.

He saw the bear rear up, saw Asha boot it for her front door. That had him breathing a sigh of relief. He’d shoot the bear for real if he had to, but he’d really rather not. If he could simply shoo him back deep into the hills, that would be Owen’s first choice. Ray had called in sick this morning so he was out here on his own. This bear was young, but he would still be a bitch to haul into a cage all on his own. Bears, even young ones, weren’t exactly lightweights.

He wasn’t going to get that lucky. It was possible the reason the yoga instructor was single was because she was also a bit crazy. That was the only thing that explained why the woman came out of her front door and started yelling at the bear again.

Of course, she was only maybe crazy. She was definitely super cute. Looking at her made his heart light up even as he gripped his dart gun and climbed out of his truck.

Hey!

He was yelling at the bear, not at her. He wanted the animal to keep its attention on him, not on Asha. After all, he was armed. All she had was some chutzpah and a hefty dose of attitude.

Asha didn’t seem to realise he wasn’t speaking to her, though. She took two steps forward. Probably didn’t even realise what she’d done, Owen thought, but the bear sure noticed. His head, which had turned to scope out Owen, gyrated in her direction.

It was almost like Asha had forgotten the bear was even there. She clearly had no idea how fast the animal was capable of moving. Bears looked like big, slow lugs, but they could become barreling locomotives with startling ease. Owen raised his arms and waved at it until the bear turned to stare his way again.

You need to go back inside, Owen called out. He walked a few paces forward, then paused when the bear grumbled.

If Asha heard, she ignored the warnings of both males.

You’re that guy, Asha said. She hadn’t recognized him in his khaki ranger uniform. She knew who he was – everyone in town did -- but she hadn’t known he chased bears off yoga mats for a living.

I’m a guy, Owen agreed, Not sure I’m that guy.

That guy. The one who competes in triathlons. I’ve seen you riding your bike.

Ah. He kept his eyes on the bear as they spoke. The animal was becoming irritated. Owen could see it in the way his muscles were tensing. Acting on instinct, he lifted the dart gun, aimed it at Yogi. In that case, guilty as charged. I guess I am that guy, after all.

Triathlons are hardcore. Really. I’m impressed.

Duly noted, Owen said, and the bear stood up and spun around in a single motion. With an inward sigh, Owen’s finger squeezed the trigger and the dart hit the bear. The bear whirled at the pinch of the dart, and Owen fired a second time as Asha squeaked and sprang for her doorway.

The bear seemed to finally identify Owen as the threat, and he charged. With no other option, Owen sent a third dart into the bear, then he leapt behind a tree as the bear kept coming. With a fourth dart, the animal finally staggered, dazed, and then his legs crumpled underneath him, and he went down.

"Guess triathlons don’t impress him," Owen muttered. His heart was pounding, and he stayed behind his tree while it steadied.

He didn’t glance away from the inert form of the bear. Tranq’ed or not, bears had been known to stir and startle unexpectedly. Consequences could be nasty for anyone trying to handle them. You had to treat an animal as powerful as this one with respect. Otherwise, you had no business handling them at all.

He heard Asha’s screen door slam, glanced up and saw she was back in her front yard. What was with her?

Ma’am, if you don’t mind, I’m a little bit busy right now. He’s down, but that doesn’t mean he’ll stay that way. Could you maybe just…

The triathlete waved a hand dismissively, indicating… Asha wasn’t sure what. Shut the fuck up and get out of my way, maybe.

Well, she could take a hint. Even if she did find it fascinating to watch him size up the bear. He was as focused on the animal now as he’d been ever since entering the yard. Seemed a bit extreme to her. He’d shot it what, six, seven times? That bear was down for the count. Anyone could see that.

And ma’am? What was even happening right now?

My name’s Asha, she said. Not ma’am.

The triathlete didn’t glance her way. He’d stepped out from the cover of her apple tree and now stood only a few feet from the bear. Still, he registered her words. She could tell by the way the skin tightened beside his eyes ever so slightly.

Asha, he said, after silently studying the bear a moment. I’m going back to my truck now. It seems maybe you’re more city than I knew, so I’ll just tell you, he’s out. But he won’t stay that way forever. It would be better for you to go inside and wait.

Back to your truck? Her voice lifted a few notes. She heard herself go shrill and though she tried to stop it, she wasn’t entirely successful. Are you just going to leave him there?

No ma’am, Owen said. He didn’t explain more, just left. When he came back, he was driving his truck. He left it running in her driveway opposite the bear and when he climbed out, he had his arms full of gear. He spread some kind of canvas net contraption next to the bear, then moved away when the police car she’d requested finally pulled up the driveway.

She recognized the cop who climbed out of the car. He was young and gorgeous and had recently married the town’s florist. Cassidy was a sweetheart. She attended one of Asha’s yoga classes, mainly, Asha knew, because one of the local seniors had no other way to get there. Cassidy was Edna Gruen’s ride. It was an unusual friendship, but a sweet one.

She was glad Ian was the one to respond to her call. Not nearly as glad as Owen, from the look of things. He had Cassidy’s husband following him over to the bear, and Asha almost laughed out loud at the look on Ian’s face. To say the man looked reluctant was the understatement of the year. Owen, on the other hand, simply observed the bear – checking that Satan still slumbered, no doubt – then lifted the bear’s massive front legs and shoved the tarp underneath them as far as it would go.

Ian was a lot more wary when he touched the bear’s hind end, but he ultimately managed okay. Asha wasn’t exactly sure how they did it, but the two men eventually tugged the canvas and sort of rolled the bear until he was lying on his side, more or less in the centre of the sheet. Then Ian backed off while Owen went for his truck.

And backed it right onto her front lawn.

Chapter Two

"Wait, did you say bear?"

I sure did. So, needless to say, my morning didn’t exactly go as planned.

I’d be a nervous wreck, the host of the podcast said, but to Owen it sounded like she was grinning at Asha when she added, You were probably doing your Ujjanis and taking it all in stride.

Sure. Asha laughed, Let’s go with that. At least, if calling the police and screaming at the bear from my front door is what you mean, then taking it in stride was exactly what happened.

Owen snorted at that. So, she was more self-aware than she had seemed at the time. Over the sound of Dr. Nola Lee’s