Timber Lake (The Snowy Range Series, #2) Read Online Free Page B

last me for a bit. Got them home, put them in the back yard. Long story short, I used the stock trailer to bring them out here, and my two sisters drove the van with my Mom and grandpa riding caboose in the SUV. Made quite a sight with that caravan.”
    Sonny smiled. Here it was, years later and they’d re-enacted that parade, down to his sisters driving a U-haul with his gramp’s worldly possessions bound for Vegas, and his mom dropping him off with his now aged mounts in tow. But this time he wasn’t a greenhorn kid with stars in his eyes.
    They watched the sun sinking low against the backdrop of the foothills to the Snowys while Sonny told Hank about all the assistance he’d received from the rodeo folks who’d helped him find a place for the mule and the mare when he’d arrived in Laramie, all ready to begin his new life at the University. “The rodeo clown, man by the name of Mateo, informed me the mule was bridle wise. I didn’t have a clue what that meant until Mateo saddled him up, hoisted me on board and slapped the mule’s butt.”
    Hank was chuckling so hard he started coughing. “Sorry, man, but that seems like a hard way to learn to ride.”
    “Wasn’t the only thing I learned that day.” He grinned ruefully. “I’d always wondered why cowboys seemed to walk kinda funny. Now I get it.”
    With a wide and knowing grin on his face, Hank stretched and checked his watch. “Getting late. It’ll be time for supper in an hour. Come on up when you’re ready. Cookie tells me we’re having meatloaf, mashed and peas. Her gravy is to die for.” He patted his belly. “In case you don’t know... Cookie is my wife.” He looked Sonny up and down. “Just a fair warning. She’s gonna want to fatten you up. You’d do well to clean your plate. Just saying.”
    They bid each other farewell until dinner. Sonny took a few minutes to organize the small trunk holding his sad collection of used tack and equipment. Now that he was gainfully employed, maybe he could afford a few upgrades. Like an oversize ballpeen hammer to convince the Mule-with-no-name that the rider knows best. As for Peanut, the little mare got showered with all the affection he had to give.
    He whispered in the mare’s ear, “Even if I find someone, kiddo, you’ll always be my best girl.” The problem with that was he’d taken to saying ‘if’ and not ‘when.’ And even ‘if’ was heading at breakneck speed toward unlikely.
    ****
    S tepping around the bustle sweeping alongside the rodeo holding pens was a lot like coming home for Sonny. He’d been on the team penning squad all through his junior and senior undergrad days, though he’d had to back off when he was accepted into the pathobiology graduate program. He’d kept his riding skills honed as an intern during the summer months, packing into the mountains, tracking and collaring cougar and whatever other wildlife his mentors were studying.
    The mule, of course, didn’t give a flying fuck one way or the other. Ride him, don’t ride him... it was all the same to him. His only requirement was that Peanut came with. End. Of. Discussion. Sonny had discovered early on the little mare made the ideal pack horse. She was nimble and quick, much stronger than her fourteen hands would lead you to believe, and trail savvy. The three of them made a good team as long as everyone agreed on who was in charge.
    Sonny wasn’t too proud to admit it wasn’t him.
    The evening events were in full swing, the stands alive with shouting and hooting as the fans egged on their favorites. He’d missed the team penning, but that was on him for dawdling and talking with the ranch manager as long as he had. Now he needed a bird’s eye view of calf roping, if only he could find an open spot to join the group of jeans-clad cowboys lining the top rail.
    Circling the perimeter, his eyes and attention skyward toward the huge floods illuminating the arena, he never saw the man coming until he connected with