by A. C. Wilson
Yesterday they had said goodbye to Drew as he drove with Colt up to his Montana house. All the visitation and child support had been worked out amicably, but Nora retained custody. Colt called to talk to Drew three or four times a week. It was good to see that their bond was stronger than it had been months ago. Nora smiled at him as they drove to drop off their house keys to Matt. Randy was taking her on their second official honeymoon. He had left the destination up to his wife. He had even expected an exotic place like the Bahamas or Hawaii. Maybe even a sophisticated vacation in New York. Nora had surprised him as she had often done. She chose the cabin outside of Spearfish where he had tried to rekindle their feelings. That stupid scheme had worked in its own quirky way and he couldn’t think of a more fitting place to never get out of bed.
“He is expecting us, isn’t he?” Randy asked Nora as he pulled off the highway and onto the dirt drive of Matt’s veteran’s equine therapy facilities. Nora’s brother had devoted a great amount of time developing not only this business, but the reputation for easing the disabilities of war veterans. The veterans often related to large animals, including horses. By mastering the language and trust, the veterans could apply those same methods to their own lives.
“He said eight o’clock.” Nora shrugged from her side of the truck. Randy grinned. She was just as eager to be on their way as he was.
“I think that’s him.” Randy steered them towards the round pens where a Palomino horse was tied. They stopped a good distance away so as not to startle the horse. Nora couldn’t seem to take her eyes off the other man with Matt. Randy had to admit that the stranger looked familiar as well though he couldn’t say why. Matt came to the window on his sister’s side.
“Don’t you two look positively taken with each other?” Matt teased as Nora handed him the set of keys. Nora blushed and Randy bit back a chuckle.
“We will be back in ten days. I left all of our numbers with Mom. The cell reception stinks out there so better call the landline if it’s important.” Nora smiled mischievously at her husband and Randy’s eyes widened. Reminding him of their stolen time together at the cabin only made him want to get their more quickly.
“Ten days? How did you get so lucky?” Matt teased back and Nora lifted her hands.
“It’s what happens when you are your own boss. You should know that by now, little brother.” Nora smiled sweetly and her brother laughed.
“No rest for the wicked, I’m afraid. Now you two better get going.” Matt patted his sister’s arm on the window. She looked at the cowboy again and lifted a brow.
“Matt?” He tilted his head. “Who is that man?” Everyone looked at the man in question. He was tall, rather muscular with a thicker build, and a wary presence about him. Even to the untrained eye, this man is or was a soldier.
“Blake Phails. He’s been working with the horses.” Matt’s eyes lost some of their sparkle and his features grew somber. Randy could only imagine what men in combat saw and how it ravaged them.
“He just looks familiar to me.” Nora murmured and then broke the brooding mood by swatting her brother. “We’ll talk with you later.” She turned with a seductive wink to Randy. “Let’s go.” His wish was her command. Randy turned the truck around and headed towards Spearfish. This was one second chance he wasn’t going to squander.
About the Author
A.C. Wilson lives in Abilene, Kansas with her husband, two sons, and their chocolate lab. She loves to be outdoors, playing with her boys and absolutely loves to write.
The Black Hills Series came from her mother’s idea to use Hot Springs, South Dakota as a home town for the Johnson family. Everything about the Black Hills is enchantingly rugged and of course, there are cowboys!
Check out her young adult contemporary romantic series. Black Hills Angel (Book 1), Black Hills Blessing (Book 2), Black Hills Rebel (Book 3), Black Hills Secrets (Book 4) and Black Hills Forever (Book 5 coming Summer 2015).
Four novellas will also accompany this series as Black Hills Seasons presents the stories of the supporting characters that readers have requested. Watch for them in late 2015 or early 2016.
Please feel free to connect with her on social media.
www.facebook.com/acwilson2013
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www.twitter.com/acwilson_author
http://awilsoncornell.wix.com/acwilson
Keep reading for the first chapter of Black Hills Secrets (Black Hills Series, #4).
Black Hills Secrets
(Black Hills Series, #4) by A.C. Wilson
© 2014 A.C. Wilson
Chapter 1
Deep, gut-wrenching sobs caused him to choke and gasp for air as he lay curled up on his side next to the freshly mounded dirt. The depth of his grief knew no bottom and even that didn’t terrify Blake Phails as much as going through the rest of his life without his best friend. He opened his mouth swallowing a cry of utter torment as his fingers dug into the wet earth of the gravesite. His loss of a brother-in-arms had created more chaos than two tours in Afghanistan. It threatened to uproot the foundation he’d built in the United States Army and cast him aside like a piece of unwanted rubbish.
Arlington National Cemetery. The cold, white marble headstones were eerily spaced similar to the soldiers that lie buried underneath. Platoon Sergeant Tanner Briggs was just another body in an army and another soul tragically taken by hatred and indifference. Blake felt like he was going to throw up right there next to his buddy’s grave. His stomach lurched and his vision was blurry with tears and exhaustion.
Why wasn’t it me? Why did he have to die? The torment of questions never ended. It was an assault that he was most unprepared for. The silence of everything but the agony of being left behind and the cruel revolving images of the events at night had all but shattered Blake’s mental reserve. It was just one continuous nightmare that had caused him more than once to hope that death might stop.
Coward. The name boiled in his brain, but for the life of him, he didn’t know if it was because he couldn’t take his own life or if he was looking for a way out of the hellish landscape. His hands shook as he tried to put his weight up on them and crawl into a sitting position. His chest hurt and his eyes burned. Time had no meaning, except to tell him that he was hungry and exhausted.
“Are you alright, son?” A warm, scratchy voice said from behind him and Blake couldn’t help but look up. The afternoon sun made a sort of halo around the older man standing there. In his groundskeeper uniform, Blake knew what he’d come to say to him. It was time to leave Tanner. Somehow Blake couldn’t get his body to obey his half-hearted command to move.
“Will anything ever be right again?” Blake’s throat hurt from all the tears he’d shed. Grief caused a tremor to scale his spine. The older man cocked his head to the side and his kind brown eyes understood. It was something of a consolation on a day so miserable.
“I can’t answer that, son.” The words paused on a sigh and the man shoved his hands into his pockets. “Maybe it’s time that you head home.”
Home. Where the hell is that? For twelve years, Blake’s home had been wherever the Army sent him, but his brother was always in his heart. He and Tanner met at the age of ten and had become fast friends. Neither of them had any great family life and more often than not, they would crash at Tanner’s grandmother’s house. Nana didn’t seem to mind. Blake recalled the musty moth ball scent of Nana’s house. Just then he could smell the same of the wet earth beside him.
Blake turned his head to look at the clear etching of Tanner’s name on the glaringly white headstone. He stretched his hand out and his fingertips tentatively traced the letters.
“He was my brother.” Blake felt his chest seize again and the tears fell down his unshaven cheeks once more. The groundkeeper remained silent, but Blake could have sworn the man stood a bit taller. A few minutes passed as Blake tried to reclaim his sanity, whatever shred still existed.
“A true loss and a noble gift
.” The man murmured with a bowed head. Blake could only nod, struggling to get to his knees and then his feet.
“I don’t even know where home is anymore.” Blake sniffed loudly and pulled his jacket closed. It was a balmy late afternoon, but he felt frozen to the bone. The man moved back to let Blake come around the gravesite.
“Perhaps it’s time to discover just where it is.” The man watched Blake take one step and then another. There was a vicious urge to retreat back to his position beside the headstone, but he fought it back. “I pray you find peace wherever your roads lead you!”
Blake could still hear the faint shout from behind him, but he never turned around. He was too afraid that if he gave in to one more look, he would never leave. He would expire right there next to the friend he swore he would never abandon. A vision of a knobby-kneed and gangly boy with shaggy blonde hair sprang into his mind. Two missing front teeth and a smattering of freckles on his nose caused a whole host of teasing. Tanner Briggs had greeted it all with humor while Blake had fought every bully he had come across. The two boys had made an odd and unlikely pair, but they were the best darned friends two kids could ever be. Blake used his sleeve to swipe at the warm tears. It wasn’t likely he’d forget his brother. It was even less likely that he’d forgive those responsible for Tanner’s death and himself for not dying right alongside him.
Blake returned to the hotel room just long enough to sleep and pack his belongings. A faded green canvas bag with a couple changes of clothes, Tanner’s service tags, and two photographs. One picture was of Blake and Tanner suited in their fatigues and giving the camera a thumbs up. The ever familiar ache gripped his insides at knowing now that this was the last picture taken of them. He kept hoping that this smiling, eager-to-make-a-difference face would be the one Blake remembered of his friend. Too bad the image that plagued him was as opposite as it could be.
Sliding the protective plastic sleeve over that photo, Blake held the other for a second. He took a deep breath and looked at the couple. His mother had been beautiful before alcohol and a string of bad guys had warped her. The man in the jeans and cowboy hat was his father. A father he had never met. A man that had no idea he had a son. Blake knew his mother wasn’t a saint, but she’d confessed the secret to him just before she died.
Too bad she hadn’t shared the mystery man’s name. As he sat there holding her hand, it was the farthest question from his mind. Now he wished he had asked. Blake flipped the picture over.
Hot Springs, South Dakota. That’s all that graced the back. A town he had never heard mentioned. A man lived there that was his blood and this man had no idea Blake was his son.
Stay tuned for more information regarding Blake Phails and the Black Hills crew!
