Free Peace River (Rockland Ranch Series) by Jaclyn Hawkes Page A

abandonment, and the fact that it had been a supposed man of God, had rocked Slade’s world hard.  Slade was still distrustful of religion and women. 
    His good father had picked up the pieces as well as possible. Slade had loved and respected him and adored his little sister, and they’d had a good life without his mother.  Then, when Slade was twenty-one his father and sister had been hit and killed by a drunk driver. 
                  Slade had never been the same.  He’d simply gone on with his life.  He was still going through the motions, and was, in fact, doing very well, in some ways.  He was on track to make it to the National Finals Rodeo for the third year in a row in team roping and all-around.  His ranch and his investments were doing great.  On the surface everything seemed fine.
                  But Rossen knew he’d lost the light in his eyes.  He’d lost his trust in people, especially women, and questioned his faith in a God he couldn’t understand.  He couldn’t understand why God had let a drunk driver kill innocent people.  He couldn’t understand why He’d taken the father and sister whom Slade loved and needed, instead of the mother who had only hurt him and left with someone who was supposed to be one of His shepherds. 
    Rossen didn’t think Slade was even sure why he was here or what his purpose in life was.  He had tons of friends, especially women, but still he seemed a little alone.  He believed that almost all women were as shallow and selfish as his mother had been, and he had been proven right time and again. Rossen and his family understood and had basically adopted Slade long ago, but they had never been able to completely fill the void left in his heart and were still trying to get him to trust in organized religion again.
                  So, Rossen was still here, traveling the country and winning at rodeos.  Always beside Slade, always dependable, always having a good time.  And every once in awhile surprised and pleased.
                                                            ****
     
                  Isabel climbed up into her bunk and slid the curtain over to obtain some privacy.  As she slipped out of her jeans and let her hair down, she thought of her friends back home.  She’d been gone for five days now and felt like she was beginning to be very comfortable with this new life.  Slade had gotten her a new cell phone so they could touch base when they needed, and she was getting along well with them.  So far they’d traveled to the rodeo in Redding and one in Reno, and tomorrow they'd be in Oregon for another. 
                  She hadn’t watched the first two rodeos.  She’d still been worried about getting away and was trying to get used to this new life, so she’d stayed near the trailer while Slade and Rossen competed.  She’d been very careful to keep Ebony well hidden.  He was probably dying to get out and run, but until she figured out a way to hide him long term, she had to keep his presence low key. 
    Perhaps she could buy some women’s hair dye and dye the distinctive lightning shaped marking that ran down the side of his face.  ESPN had once done a piece about the marking and ha d made it pretty famous.  Even without the lightning bolt he was huge and his coat glistened like black oil.  She needed to find a way to get him to some barn in the middle of nowhere where he couldn’t be discovered.  She’d stay there with him, although she was afraid to be alone.  She had the little gun her grandfather had given her, but she knew if she was ever found alone by the kind of men her father associated with, it wouldn’t be enough. 
                  During the long drives of the last few days, once she’d finally gotten enough sleep, she had been racking her brain to find a solution to this whole mess.  Maybe she