Wyoming Magic

Susan Haven

Description

Romantic and intriguing, this story draws the reader into mystery and danger with a thrilling and surprising ending.Inheriting a ranch in Wyoming from an unknown cousin called Willard, Sandy Carson goes to investigate. On meeting Kyle, the sexy ranch foreman outside town, their instant attraction is mutual, but having expected to inherit the ranch himself, Kyle is shocked to discover Sandy is the owner. Unable to keep his hands to himself when Sandy responds, it isn't long before things intensify. With Willard and Mary's headstone indicating they had been parents, what secret is hidden in the barn's locked attic and why does Sandy get abducted?

Informations

• Publié par: The Conrad Press
• Date de parution: 08 août 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781839783135
• Langue: English

Extrait

Wyoming Magic
Susan Haven


Wyoming Magic
Published by The Conrad Press in the United Kingdom 2021
Tel: [phone]
www.theconradpress.com
[e-mail]
ISBN 978-1-839783-13-5
Copyright © Susan Haven, 2021
The moral right of Susan Haven to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved.
Typesetting and Cover Design by: Charlotte Mouncey, www.bookstyle.co.uk
The Conrad Press logo was designed by Maria Priestley.


Dedicated to the memory of my husband Les 
 and daughter Ann-Marie who always 
 encouraged me to write a book


Chapter One
Sandy Carson crested a rise in the rolling hills she’d been travelling through since leaving Cheyenne, bypassing the smaller town of Boulder before pulling her SUV over to the side of the road beside a grey rock formation that thrust up out of the greening grass like craggy fingers. She couldn’t hold back the faint gasp of surprise that left her lips as she took in what at first looked like a wide flat valley spread out below her reaching all the way to a range of rocky hills in the far distance, streaked with pale creams, reds and grey.
It had taken two amazing days to drive from Phoenix and despite anxiously wanting to arrive at her destination of Sweetwater she’d tried not to be in too great a hurry to reach the end of her journey. The only time she’d ever left the State of Arizona had been to fly to Chicago to attend University there, and so far she had been enjoying the adventure, feeling triumph that she’d even managed to relax despite the disasters that she’d been told might happen to her.
Her whole life had been in the quiet town of Lone Tree. Fifty-five miles east of bustling Phoenix with all its malls and busy traffic, she usually only went into the city to meet up with her long-time friend, Mandy Romano for lunch and girl talk. She wasn’t one for big cities, she felt uncomfortable with what she called the concrete jungle, preferring the more open fields around her home. That life had changed dramatically just a month ago.
Her day had started out as normal until she’d come home from working a new horse at her stables to discover a officious looking man sitting in the dining room with papers set out before him. With her mom Alice looking somewhat shocked, she’d immediately feared the worst.
‘Mom, are you and dad okay?’
‘We’re fine, Sandy. This is Mister Amery. He’s a lawyer and has some news for you.’
Indicating the man who’d risen from his seat at the dining table, Sandy was puzzled but as he held out his hand, she automatically took it.
‘Miss Carson, Sandy Carson, I presume.’
‘Yes.’
On being asked to sit, he had proceeded to inform her that Willard Thompson a distant uncle who she’d never really heard of before had sadly died in a tragic accident, that she’d been left his ranch in a place called Sweetwater, Wyoming and while it was at the present time being run by the foreman, it was a viable concern. In fact it had been doing very well for years. And she was now a wealthy woman.
She remembered the shock as she somehow managed to sift through a copy of the Will along with the deeds while Alice and Ken, her father having been called in from his work, seemed so surprised that they were almost as speechless as her. But the lawyer had assured them that it was totally legal.
‘He left me a ranch. But why, and who is, or was, Willard Thompson?’ she’d asked her mom once the lawyer had left but they didn’t seem to know much themselves.
Discussing it several times with Mandy, she’d slowly been overcome by curiosity to go and find out about the place. No, not curious, it was just something tugging at her heart to go and investigate until she’d finally come to the conclusion that she couldn’t not. Perhaps she could sell it and then she would still be financially comfortable, to continue her work with horses.
With both Mandy and her parents finally won over, accepting her determination to go, they’d then been horrified to find out her intentions were to drive there, to have an adventure. It was too far, too dangerous, she’d be all alone they warned. But Sandy had slowly brushed all their worries aside. After all, she was curious as to what exactly she’d been given and for the first time in her life decided to do something completely out of the ordinary.
With her career of horse training, sometimes referred to by people as ‘horse whispering’ she preferred the term ‘gentling’ having slowed for the moment and no new horses in the pipeline at the present time, this would be the best time to leave her business. Blade Fuller who worked with her had assured her that he could cope with the few horses they had at the time, and would be quite happy to take on any extras if necessary.
When her parents, along with Mandy, finally realised that they couldn’t talk her out of the journey they became more helpful, working out the roads she’d need to travel, motels she could stay at, gas stations, and even Sheriff’s departments. Having rechecked she’d packed plenty of water and food for the journey, and her cell phone and laptop were fully charged, plus all the leads she needed, nearly nine hundred miles wasn’t too far if she thought about it quickly!
The GPS would be her main guide but, as her parents warned her several times, it might just let her down if it ran out of signal somewhere and insisted on packing road maps, as might her cell which was something she also had to worry about. But despite their help she knew that they thought she was just taking too much of a chance.
Having packed a small suitcase as she didn’t own much in the way of clothes, mostly dark coloured pants and shirts, with her straw hat and sunglasses on, she’d finally set out in her SUV. But despite her assurances to everyone that she’d be fine, she couldn’t ignore the butterflies in her stomach.
Picking up the interstate for Flagstaff and setting the cruise she began to relax, enjoying the drive especially as on the way she was passing places with fascinating names. Horsethief Canyon and Bloody Canyon along with a town named Black Canyon City, let alone the amusing Bumblebee that made her giggle.
Navigating the big junction out of Flagstaff, she headed east for Winslow passing the site of the famous Meteor Crater before stopping at a gas station for fuel at Holbrook intending to keep her tank topped up. Not long after she spotted curiously shaped rocks scattered along the verges with the markings of bark and tree rings in varying shades of browns and blacks and a sign notified her that she was passing the Petrified Forest N.P. Somewhere she’d never visited but had heard about and would have loved to have stopped, but she didn’t want to break her journey and add time to her drive.
Just before Gallop she was over the State Line into New Mexico leaving the interstate and onto Navajo land heading for Cortez, stopping for a rest at a diner to enjoy a light meal and a coffee before crossing another State Line into Colorado. Cortez and Monticello flew by until she reached Moab and the hotel where she had a room booked for the night. Across the road was a big diner its lights already glowing as dusk was creeping in and having taken her suitcase up to her third floor room, luckily they had an elevator, she was grateful to cross to the diner for a meal. Thankful to be able to stretch her legs even for that short a walk.
Having eaten, she returned to the room to set up her laptop to tell her mom and dad, and Mandy, where she was and that she was safe, with the distinct feeling she could hear their sighs of relief through the written replies. After a very quick shower, she tumbled into bed. She’d never driven so far before and with being excited at all the different and spectacular scenery, she’d been left feeling tired and drained.
Next day, re-invigorated from sleeping in a very comfortable bed, Sandy checked out of the hotel, pleased to give a good review on a form she was asked to fill in, crossing to the diner she found other early travellers already eating, and after a satisfying meal of bacon, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, she was on the move again.
Driving to the next big junction and turning right, she was back on another Interstate towards the big city of Denver where the sight of the huge buildings nestled in a valley between snow tipped mountains even from a distance was a bit intimidating, and she was glad to find she could bypass the main town, picking up another Interstate, and crossing the State Line into Wyoming, aiming for Cheyenne.
Passing a large model of a buffalo adorning a ridge that had her smiling, a sign for a café encouraged her to stop for coffee and a snack. Built from hewn logs, she found herself the only single person there, just an elderly couple chatting at the back, hearing them say that last night had been a very cold one, and making her shiver at the thought as she slid into a window seat to take in the view. It had been so warm in the car. She was almost there, only a couple of hours from her destination and so immersed in her thoughts, she almost let her coffee go cold, forgetting it was in her hand until the man behind the counter came over to refresh her cup.
Cheyenne’s long main street came and was left behind. More green rolling hills with rocky outcrops pushing up through the grass followed by red rocky canyons with green pines covering the slopes. Crossing the Laramie River and driving straight on through town, informed by the GPS to make a left for Laramie, she was more than a little worried about what she was doing the closer she got to her destination.
Having driven almost nine hundred miles to get here, and feeling more than a little jaded from the strain of the constant driving along what