Once A Cowboy
From the Hot Off the Range Anthology.
BLURB:
Riding and herding. Those spurs that jingle-jangle-jingle. What is it about cowboys that so doggedly fires the imagination? Join the Mischief Corner authors as they give you their own unique takes on the cowboy mystique and mythos, from the American West, to Australia, to outer space. The cowboy story will never be the same…
Once A Cowboy - Toni Griffin
It's been six years since Jesse Howard has stepped foot on the Western Hills Cattle Station. Now that he's able, Jesse's returned. The problem is, he's not returning alone. Will Logan Kennedy, the love of his life, listen to Jesse's explanations or will Logan close the door on the future Jesse's dreamed about for so long.
BLURB:
Riding and herding. Those spurs that jingle-jangle-jingle. What is it about cowboys that so doggedly fires the imagination? Join the Mischief Corner authors as they give you their own unique takes on the cowboy mystique and mythos, from the American West, to Australia, to outer space. The cowboy story will never be the same…
Once A Cowboy - Toni Griffin
It's been six years since Jesse Howard has stepped foot on the Western Hills Cattle Station. Now that he's able, Jesse's returned. The problem is, he's not returning alone. Will Logan Kennedy, the love of his life, listen to Jesse's explanations or will Logan close the door on the future Jesse's dreamed about for so long.
EXCERPT:
"Fuck, I hope we get some rain soon."
Logan Kennedy sighed as he surveyed the dry and dusty land before him. Storm
snorted beneath him and shook his head. Logan reached down and patted the
gelding's crest, soothing the large animal.
"From your lips to God's
ears, my friend," Bluey said from beside him. The older man slapped Logan on
the back before he removed his akubra and wiped away the sweat currently
beading on his forehead; then he settled his hat once again in place.
Bluey had been a fixture on the Western Hills Cattle Station for as long as
Logan could remember. He had the brightest red hair Logan had seen this side of
a dye job, but Bluey kept it cut short with a set of clippers. Logan had no
idea why guys with red hair were nicknamed Bluey; it was just one of those
things, he supposed. He'd never bothered to ask, and really, after all this
time it didn't matter. Bluey was Bluey.
"Time to get back to it," Logan
announced as he spurred Storm into motion below him. Storm had been named due
to the huge thunderstorm he'd been born in the middle of. His damn horse had
been so impatient to come into this world he hadn't cared one iota that it
wasn't the most convenient of times for Logan and everyone else to be worried
about a horse in labour. Thankfully, he had grown out of that impatience at a
young age.
Looking out across the land, Logan took it all in. The bright
blue skies without a single cloud in sight were not what he wanted to see. The
ground was dry and dusty. They needed rain. The wet season usually ran for a
good six months of the year, followed by a dry season where they wouldn't see a
drop of rain and the temperatures dropped overnight.
By the time the wet
was due to roll around again, everything looked as it currently did. Starved
for water. Logan knew they had enough water to get them through, even though
the last wet wasn't as good as previous years, they weren't in trouble yet.
Still, it would be nice to get some rain and see another colour except brown
for a change.
The day dragged on and as the sun made its way across the
sky and started heading for the horizon, Logan and Bluey headed back to the
homestead. After a day in the saddle checking on the herds and fences, Logan
sighed with relief as he swung down from his horse.
With the cattle
station being the size it was, a lot of the work got done using utes and ATVs,
but no matter what, Logan loved being on horseback more than anything else. Any
opportunity he had, he was in the saddle. The men that worked for Logan knew
this, and on the days that he was able to pull himself away from the paperwork
and the phone calls it took to run this place, they left the jobs closest to
home for Logan.
This land was in his blood. The station had belonged to
his daddy and his granddaddy before that. He'd grown up on this land. His
blood, sweat and tears had all gone into the earth throughout the years, but
Logan wouldn't have it any other way. He couldn't imagine doing anything other
than what he did.
Yes, he'd had to sacrifice a few things along the way.
His father had died on the land doing what he enjoyed, and as much as he missed
his dad, Logan couldn't think of a better way to go. He'd also sacrificed
love, but even that hadn't made Logan hate what he did. Jesse Howard was the
love of his life, and Logan knew he'd never fall for another like he had for
Jesse. They had grown up together, neighbours, had been friends all through
school, but unlike Logan, who had been an only child, Jesse was the youngest of
five.
Teenage hormones had run rampant through their systems, and one
thing had led to another when they were seventeen. Logan could still remember
the first time he had crowded Jesse against the side of the barn and swooped in
to take his lips in a hard kiss. His heart had beat a mile a minute, scared his
friend was going to push him away or worse, slug him. When Jesse had wrapped
his arms around Logan's neck and kissed him back, Logan thought he'd died and
gone to heaven.
It had been hard, but Logan and Jesse had managed to
hide their relationship for five years before someone else found out about
them.
Logan shook his head, wondering why all of a sudden he was
thinking about things long buried in the past. Jesse was gone, and as much as
it hurt, Logan didn't think he'd ever see the other man again.
"Fuck, I hope we get some rain soon."
Logan Kennedy sighed as he surveyed the dry and dusty land before him. Storm
snorted beneath him and shook his head. Logan reached down and patted the
gelding's crest, soothing the large animal.
"From your lips to God's
ears, my friend," Bluey said from beside him. The older man slapped Logan on
the back before he removed his akubra and wiped away the sweat currently
beading on his forehead; then he settled his hat once again in place.
Bluey had been a fixture on the Western Hills Cattle Station for as long as
Logan could remember. He had the brightest red hair Logan had seen this side of
a dye job, but Bluey kept it cut short with a set of clippers. Logan had no
idea why guys with red hair were nicknamed Bluey; it was just one of those
things, he supposed. He'd never bothered to ask, and really, after all this
time it didn't matter. Bluey was Bluey.
"Time to get back to it," Logan
announced as he spurred Storm into motion below him. Storm had been named due
to the huge thunderstorm he'd been born in the middle of. His damn horse had
been so impatient to come into this world he hadn't cared one iota that it
wasn't the most convenient of times for Logan and everyone else to be worried
about a horse in labour. Thankfully, he had grown out of that impatience at a
young age.
Looking out across the land, Logan took it all in. The bright
blue skies without a single cloud in sight were not what he wanted to see. The
ground was dry and dusty. They needed rain. The wet season usually ran for a
good six months of the year, followed by a dry season where they wouldn't see a
drop of rain and the temperatures dropped overnight.
By the time the wet
was due to roll around again, everything looked as it currently did. Starved
for water. Logan knew they had enough water to get them through, even though
the last wet wasn't as good as previous years, they weren't in trouble yet.
Still, it would be nice to get some rain and see another colour except brown
for a change.
The day dragged on and as the sun made its way across the
sky and started heading for the horizon, Logan and Bluey headed back to the
homestead. After a day in the saddle checking on the herds and fences, Logan
sighed with relief as he swung down from his horse.
With the cattle
station being the size it was, a lot of the work got done using utes and ATVs,
but no matter what, Logan loved being on horseback more than anything else. Any
opportunity he had, he was in the saddle. The men that worked for Logan knew
this, and on the days that he was able to pull himself away from the paperwork
and the phone calls it took to run this place, they left the jobs closest to
home for Logan.
This land was in his blood. The station had belonged to
his daddy and his granddaddy before that. He'd grown up on this land. His
blood, sweat and tears had all gone into the earth throughout the years, but
Logan wouldn't have it any other way. He couldn't imagine doing anything other
than what he did.
Yes, he'd had to sacrifice a few things along the way.
His father had died on the land doing what he enjoyed, and as much as he missed
his dad, Logan couldn't think of a better way to go. He'd also sacrificed
love, but even that hadn't made Logan hate what he did. Jesse Howard was the
love of his life, and Logan knew he'd never fall for another like he had for
Jesse. They had grown up together, neighbours, had been friends all through
school, but unlike Logan, who had been an only child, Jesse was the youngest of
five.
Teenage hormones had run rampant through their systems, and one
thing had led to another when they were seventeen. Logan could still remember
the first time he had crowded Jesse against the side of the barn and swooped in
to take his lips in a hard kiss. His heart had beat a mile a minute, scared his
friend was going to push him away or worse, slug him. When Jesse had wrapped
his arms around Logan's neck and kissed him back, Logan thought he'd died and
gone to heaven.
It had been hard, but Logan and Jesse had managed to
hide their relationship for five years before someone else found out about
them.
Logan shook his head, wondering why all of a sudden he was
thinking about things long buried in the past. Jesse was gone, and as much as
it hurt, Logan didn't think he'd ever see the other man again.