AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yes, I know. I also really love Christmas, so expect a lot of exterior lights to brighten up Dad’s crazy sculpture hoard, plus all kinds of midcentury modern ornaments and decor. I swear, that attic is full of every decoration Mom ever bought.”
“Never could manage to get rid of that stuff,” Elmer said. “For a long while, I couldn’t part with anything of hers. The idea hurt too much. Now I look at all those metallic ornaments and crazy-faced plastic Santas and I smile at them.” He looked right at Michael. “I think of your momma and I smile.”
“I smile, too,” Michael replied. “I’m really glad we both smile again.”
“Me too, son.”
Josiah rested his head on Michael’s shoulder, overjoyed that the pair had bridged the huge emotional gap that had been between them when Michael first came back to Weston. Michael still wasn’t entirely sure about his future, but was going to continue working at Woods Ranch while he figured things out. Between the three of them, they could pay the bills and put food on the table, and they didn’t need much more than that—because they loved each other.
And love, Josiah decided as he placed his hand over Michael’s steadily beating heart, was the best reason in the world to smile.
Acknowledgments
All my thanks to the folks who read, loved and reviewed my Clean Slate Ranch series and made Woods Ranch a possibility. I have had so much fun creating the world of Woods Ranch and playing with characters both familiar and brand-new. Much love to my editor Alissa for all of your hard work, suggestions, and support in bringing this new series to life, as well as through all the recent tough times. Pet pictures are often the best medicine. Thanks to Carina Press for all you do and for continuing to bring my words to others.
About the Author
A.M. Arthur was born and raised in the same kind of small town that she likes to write about, a stone’s throw from both beach resorts and generational farmland. She’s been creating stories in her head since she was a child and scribbling them down nearly as long, in a losing battle to make the fictional voices stop. She credits an early fascination with male friendships (bromance hadn’t been coined yet back then) with her later discovery of and subsequent love affair with m/m romance stories. A.M. Arthur’s work is available from Carina Press, SMP Swerve, and Briggs-King Books. When not exorcising the voices in her head, she can be found in her kitchen, pretending she’s an amateur chef and trying to not poison herself or others with her cuisine experiments. Contact her at [email protected] with your cooking tips (or book comments).
Facebook Author Page:
https://www.facebook.com/A.M.Arthur.M.A
Facebook Reader Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/300209733646247/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/am_arthur
Newsletter:
https://vr2.verticalresponse.com/s/signupformynewsletter16492674416904
Website: https://amarthur.blogspot.com/
Hugo Turner’s boots haven’t touched Texas soil in almost a decade, and he’s not sure they should now. Being in the state is complicated, but Hugo can’t resist going back for a job working with his teenage crush. His best friend’s hot older brother is now the ranch’s foreman, so he’ll be Hugo’s boss. Inappropriate? Probably. Will it stop Hugo? Probably not.
Keep reading for an excerpt fromHis Fresh Start Cowboyby A.M. Arthur.
Chapter One
“That really sucks, man, I’m sorry to hear that.”
Hugo Turner had just sat down at the long kitchen table with his dinner when that particular comment rose from the din of general conversation in the room. He’d chosen a spot in the middle so he could chat with his fellow Clean Slate Ranch horsemen, but now he looked up from his plate of meat loaf and mashed potatoes. The statement had come from Ernie and been said to Colt, both men older and more experienced than Hugo in, well, pretty much everything.
Except horses. Hugo had been around horses most of his life, and he loved working with them every day here at the ranch.
“What sucks?” Hugo asked, unable to help himself. He was the youngest horseman on the ranch, despite having just turned twenty-seven, and sometimes he struggled to really connect with his coworkers. Showing genuine interest in their lives was always a great in, right?
Colt sighed and poked at his own meat loaf. He was a handyman on the dude ranch/vacation spot, rather than a horseman. “Talked to my parents this afternoon. My father’s having trouble getting new hands, and Brand is worried that their shift to organic, grass-fed beef is going to fail because they don’t have enough people to run the operation.”
“Oh, wow, that sucks.” While Hugo had left the cattle ranching life a long time ago, he’d grown up on a ranch that failed when Hugo was ten. During his parents’ messy divorce, they’d sold the last of their herd and some equipment to Wayne Woods. Small-and medium-sized ranchers were suffering all over the country because of corporate operations, and he was honestly impressed Woods Cattle Ranch was still in business. Especially with the neighboring towns of Weston and Daisy offering few prospects for new families moving to the area.
Families like the one Hugo hadn’t gone home to see in years; friends he hadn’t seen in years; teenage crushes he hadn’t seen in years, except from a careful distance. When the entire Woods family came up to the ranch for Colt’s wedding two years ago, avoiding them had turned into an art form for Hugo, helped along by his cowboy hat and allowing a bit of a beard to grow out. A beard he’d shaved off the day they left. He simply hadn’t wanted to mix his new life up with his past in Texas. A past Colt didn’t know about yet.
“Yeah,” Colt said. “Dad and Brand are putting their heads together, but it’s not an easy lifestyle, especially if you aren’t born into it.”
“I know.” Off Colt’s curious eyebrow quirk, Hugo scrambled to correct his comment. “I mean, I can imagine. I’ve, ah, heard stories.”
