Rules of the Ride
{Silver Star Ranch #2}
by
H.J. Bellus
H.J. Bellus
 |
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: October 26, 2015
|
~
Synopsis ~
If
it wasn't for bad luck Maverik wouldn't have any luck at all. He is the oldest
of the Slatter brothers and the protector of his family. He’s a hometown legend
and has one best friend, his dog Jake. Life is simple with Maverik. He loves
working cattle on the ranch and keeping the dynasty his granddad built alive
and well.
He's never believed in second chances.
When Maverik looks into the eyes of Ella James in
the middle of his hometown grocery store, he finds himself staring at the ghost
of second chance redemptions. Ella walked out on him ten years ago and never
looked back. She has returned to town to bury her mom but when their paths
collide, it sparks up old flames. Both know better than to indulge, but some
train wrecks just can’t be stopped.
Ella in her high heels driving her fancy sports car
and Maverik still deep in his hometown roots...
Turmoil is at an all time high at Silver Star as
buried secrets surface between Ella and Maverik leaving behind irreparable
damage. Maverik is left hollow and hopeless wallowing in his bad luck. He has
two choices.
Forgive
or
Forget.
Follow the Slatters in this second installment in
the Silver Star Ranch Novels: Rules of the Ride.
~ Excerpt ~
“Wake up.” Freezing water splashes in my
face and then there’s a kick to the right side of my ribs. The pain ripping
through my head is too much to take. I roll over and clench my eyes shut,
gripping for my head.
“Maverik Maddox Slatter, get your ass up
now.”
Granddad’s voice rings clear in my
throbbing head, and I do everything I can to muster enough energy to sit up
against a hay bale. I pull down my straw hat and grumble back at him.
“What in the hell are you doing, son?”
He waits for me to answer but only a few
more painful moans escape.
“I’ve watched you destroy your life year
by year since Ella left town, and I’m done. She’s back in town and needs
support. You going to be a coward or step it up?”
“I love her. I’ve never stopped loving
her. I want all of her and can’t control myself around her. It’s just like she
walked out of my life yesterday.” I let my hat slide to the ground and grip my
temples. “I don’t want her to leave but don’t know how to let myself love her
again.”
“Maverik, look at me.”
The silence in the barn is deafening as
I pick at the straw coating my jeans. It’s more painful than my throbbing headache
and dry mouth.
“Look at me, dammit.”
When I look up, the grief and pain
combination covering Granddad’s face is just another dagger to my already
wounded heart.
“Then be man enough to give her a
chance.” Granddad slowly takes a seat on a bale of hay across from me. “Have
you ever flat out asked her why she left?”
“I’m not dumb. She left for the city.”
“There’s your problem, boy, you’re
assuming you know all the answers.”
“She basically told me that when I ran
into her for a few brief minutes at the rodeo with Challis and Merek.” I do my
best to slide up onto the hay bale and sit down, but I don’t miss the shooting
pains going off in my head. “She could do nothing but brag about the city life
and told me she needed help dodging a date.”
“Dammit, Maverik, you’re not listening
to me. You’re assuming everything when it comes to Ella. Now I don’t know why
she left, but I do know she loved you just as much as you loved her, and it’s
worth finding out.”
I bury my face in the palms of my hands
and grunt. I can’t handle any more of Ella and the fucking emotions simmering
within me. I want nothing more than to chalk it all up to a pot of bad
decisions and move the hell on.
“Can you live the rest of your life
without her, Maverik? Will you be okay knowing you let her walk right out of
your life this time?”
“No, it killed me the first damn time.”
Overwhelming emotions attack my core.
“Then go get her, find out answers, and
make a decision from there instead of living in your own personal hell.”
“She left for the city life. I wasn’t
enough.”
“Dammit, boy, it’s your choice.”
I watch as he takes his time to stand
and hear several of his bones creak and crack as he moves about. I let his message
replay over and over in my head as I process the words. When I look back up,
Granddad is nearing his front porch and Marvel is by my side in the stable.
“I need help today.”
“I’m here.”
“We need to move some cattle around and
help Merek and Challis work the colts. We need to be on them double time from
here on out.”
“Okay.” I kick a cloud of dust up in the
air, sliding my boot back and forth.
“Saint’s going to be done screwing with
us.”
“Saint will never be gone until the day
he dies, and then more than likely he’ll leave behind a mini-him. Fuckers like
Saint will always be around fucking with the good people.”
“Go change and be ready in twenty
minutes. I’ll get your horse ready.”
Marvel storms out the open doors into
the sunlight and it’s in this moment I see the Marvel I used to know disappear
in front of me. He’s hardened with hatred and stressed beyond belief. Life’s
been a bitch to all of us, but I guess the difference between Marvel and myself
is that I have the choice to try to fix this shit with Ella, or at least get
some unanswered questions resolved.
My tiny bunkhouse is quiet and lonely
with lingering memories of sweet Ella gracing it. Just the short time she was
here made everything change. I want her here. I want her forever. My heart just
has to figure out a way back to her.
I grab my phone and dial the local
motel’s number and cringe when I realize I have the number memorized from
several nights of inappropriate behavior with strange women. A vicious cycle I
used to drown out memories and numb my pain that Ella left me in.
“Wagon Wheel front desk.”
“Um, yeah.” I pause, not really knowing
what I want to ask or say.
“Hello? What can I help you with?”
“Ella James’ room please.”
“One moment.”
The phone begins ringing, and I cringe
with each ring, still not knowing what I’ll say to her. Ring after ring goes by
until it’s cut off.
“Fuck.” I throw down my cell phone,
start my coffee pot, and head for the shower.
The cold water stuns every single one of
my senses as well as brings my sore muscles to life. Cuts and bruises begin to
sting the longer I stand under the spray of water. My hand stops over my chest,
right above my heart, and I hear my granddad’s words again, encouraging me to
find out the reasons Ella left. I could argue back with well over a dozen
reasons not to, but something clicks in my mind. I’m going for her and not giving up this time.
I race out of the shower, dry off, and
throw on my riding clothes. Snagging the hot and very full coffee pot, I dash
to Granddad’s porch where he’s sitting and begin speaking before he has a
chance to. I feel Jake settle between my legs but don’t even take the time to
pat his head.
“You’re right.” I fill his empty black
coffee mug and then sit down next to him. “I have to end this hate relationship
I have for Ella and accept why she moved.”
“You do.” He nods and takes a long sip
from his mug.
“I’m going to need you by my side. I’m
afraid she’s going to shatter me again. Fuck. I’ve been shattered for years
now.”
“Maverik, I’d rather have a broken boy
who can heal than a bitter bastard who’s going to waste away the rest of his
life in hatred.”
“I hear you. I do.” My hand finds the
top of Jake’s head. “I just don’t think I can let her go if I give in.”
“Then don’t let her go, dammit. We all
make mistakes, son. Move on.”
“Let’s go.” I look up to see my brother
with my horse saddled and him atop his.
“I’ll do it.” I brave a smile when I
turn to Granddad and don’t miss his beaming face. “Thanks, old man. I’ll grab
my coffee pot after dinner.”
My boots are deafening as they pound the
sidewalk down to the gravel road where my horse stands. With each step, I feel
like a coward with the thoughts of what I’m about to let my heart do, but I
know it’s the right thing. I fucking love Ella and looks like I have one chance
to get her back in my life.
“What was that all about?” Marvel tilts
his head to one side.
“Oh, just Granddad making me do the
right thing.” I throw a foot up into a stirrup, grip onto the horn of my
saddle, and settle down on the back of Chili. I smile knowing Marvel saddled up
my favorite horse. He’s been around since my high school days and I used to
calf rope and team rope off of him before saddle bronc became too addicting.
Ella loved Chili.
I kick him into a slow trot and realize
every single thought that passes through my mind always goes back to Ella, even
before she came home. Marvel keeps up by my side as we let our horses go at
full gait to the back pasture. The crisp air, the sound of pounding hooves, and
the smell of the ranch all calm each of my senses, causing me to breathe in
deep and exhale.
Merek and Challis’s happy faces flash
before my eyes. I see my granddad rocking happily on his porch and Marvel
working his fingers to the bone on the ranch he loves. Then I see me on the
tailgate of my truck holding a cold beer and petting Jake. The scene
immediately makes my stomach turn because it’s not the right ending for me and
never has been.
“There they are.” Marvel points over to
a herd of black cattle.
I follow behind him as he rides up to them.
We begin gathering them up one by one and I watch and listen to old Jake work
his heart up gathering the cattle. Several minutes go by before they group
together and we begin trailing them back toward the barn and corrals.
I’m going for her. I’m going for her.
I chant over and over in my head as Chili trots behind the herd rhythmically,
lulling me back into an Ella induced trance.
~ Links
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~ Review ~
This is the second
installment in the Silver Star series from HJ Bellus and these Slatter Brothers
keep getting better. To fully understand
this story you need to start with 8 Second Decision.
This book tells
Maverik and Ella’s story and what a story it is. It appears that although she disappeared from
his life like a thief in the night 10 years ago, time and distance hasn’t
lessened the emotions that radiate between them.
Ella has been forced to return to her
hometown for a family matter and comes face to face with Maverik but is very
tight lipped about her reasons for leaving.
Their need for one
another seems to overtake all of the questions and anger that Maverik has towards
Ella and he only seems to focus on enjoying the here and now, fully expecting
that she will pick up and run given the first chance. Just like his brother Merek, Maverik is a
very determined man set on getting the prize and that prize is Ella James.
I loved Ella! She was all sass and seductive when it came
to Maverik. I loved the way that she
purposely toyed with him even though she knew that they would end up all hands
and limbs. They were just too much of a
perfect fit to let the past stand in between them. But her fear from her secrets being revealed
always kept a presence. I had a feeling
that I knew what her secret was but I was thrown for a loop with the twist HJ
Bellus threw in there.
We of course get to
catch up with the rest of the Slatter family, Granddad, Marvel, Merek and
Challis. The ranch still warding off the
sins of their father and trying to right his wrongs. This story ends with more of a nail biter
than the last so you can be sure that I will be eagerly awaiting the next
installment in this series.
~ Rating ~
See where it all began……..
8 Second Decision
{Silver Star Ranch #1}
#FREE for a limited time
~ About the Author ~
I'm just a simple girl who loves the country life.. .oh yeah! & a good corn dog! Throw in a little Vanilla Ice, and shits bound to get crazy! Be brave...
-Loves country life & music
-Gets the case of the "eff-its" often
-Loves Big
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-love corn dogs & candy.... & (sex & candaaay)
-My heart is happy writing!!!
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