Estes Park native Todd Fleece works hard to honor his obligations to family and the businesses he inherited, but only his friends and the horses at his ranch brighten Todd’s life. In fighting his attraction to his best friend’s ex-boyfriend, Todd has focused solely on his work, leaving little room in his life for finding love.
Matt Abel’s reckless youth put him on a path to a self-destructive life—his most painful failure was being a horrible father. He excels at extreme sports and living on the edge. Now back in Estes Park and teaching white-water rafting, Matt tries to reconnect with his mother and his grown daughter. When he runs into his ex’s friend Todd, Matt longs for more than a fling.
But achieving happiness isn’t simple, not with Todd’s family conflicts and Matt struggling not to slide back into alcoholism. With hurdles threatening to drive them apart, Todd and Matt try to find the courage to brave the rapids and face a future together….
Buy links: Dreamspinner | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Cat gives this one 4 Meows with a 3 Purr heat index...
Todd runs a trail ride and amusement park in Estes Park that he inherited from his misogynist father, His stepmother has dementia and is getting worse causing all sorts of trouble for Todd.
Matt has come back to town for the summer running the rafting tours, hoping to make amends with his mom and daughter. Both Todd and Matt had chemistry when Matt was dating Steve, Todds best friend.
Braving the Rapids is a very good story. I loved all the characters, even Rosalind his mom and Matt's daughter.
There are several plots lines. the main one being the attraction and relationship between Matt and Todd, the relationship with Todd's family, and a few that seem to run from the series. My only issue with the story was there where things brought up that confused me that I am sure was from the first book, plus there is so much mention of Jess Waters that I didn't know about as well. SO I suggest you read the first book.
If you like ranchers, adrenaline junkies, close friends, and some steamy romance this is for you.
Excerpt...
Chapter One
Todd Fleece
THE AFTERNOON sunlight angled down from the mountains just right to highlight the agent’s badge as she walked toward me. But the embroidered yellow star didn’t quite glint in the sun the way a metal badge would have.
I groaned, then couldn’t hold back an exasperated laugh as I raised my hand in greeting. “Afternoon, Pam.”
She waved back, giving no other return greeting before glancing toward the countryside, brows furrowed.
Again I raised my voice. “Last time I checked, the horses were wandering toward the west side of the field, by the mountains, probably just to make rounding them up harder since I’m sure they know I have dinner plans.” I tried to inject as much friendliness into my tone as I could. It wasn’t Pam’s fault. It never was.
Finally Pam drew near enough to speak. She was nice but always serious, like a New York City cop instead of an animal control agent in Estes Park. I’d never asked where she was from. Her unwavering formality wasn’t usual in Colorado. “It’s been longer than normal since my last visit, Mr. Fleece. I’m still sorry to come by at the end of the day. There were more pressing….” A slight blush rose to her cheeks.
Well, look at that. There was a personality under all the layers of bureaucratic hoopla after all. More pressing cases, I was willing to bet. She knew as well as I did she’d find nothing wrong. Which was nice but seemed a backhanded award to make me the last stop of her day. Well, whatever. Again, not her fault. “Call me Todd, please. We’ve been through this enough by now, we should be on a first-name basis, don’t you think, Pam?” Irritation crossed her features—briefly, but there. Again, I reminded myself that none of this was her fault, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t take some pleasure from it, no matter how small.
“Fine. Todd.” She wrinkled her nose. “We’ve had reports—”
I cut her off. “Let’s not do the formalities. We’ve both got them memorized by this point. Even if it has been pushing a year since we’ve been through them. Just tell me what it is this time. Horses too fat again? Too skinny? Reports of me using glitter nail polish on their hooves that hasn’t been thoroughly tested and deemed safe for animals?”
She balked.
A smile. Just the barest of a twitch from the corner of her lips, but for her, a smile. I nearly patted myself on the back. That had taken years.
“Actually”—this time Pam’s blush was vibrant—“that your livestock is being given illegal growth hormones.”
I felt my mouth fall open, then laughed. I couldn’t help it. “Say what now?”
She muttered something I couldn’t hear.
“So why would I be giving my herd growth hormones? They’re plenty strong enough to carry all the tourists up the mountains and back down again as they are. And if you’ve gotten complaints about me making them flex their biceps for the dining entertainment, I can promise you, it was only that one time. It seemed to cause some sexual arousal in a few of the guests, so I figured it was best to steer clear from then on.”
Pam’s eyes bugged clear out of her head. Or at least seemed like they were about to. “Excuse me?”
“Kidding, kidding.” God, I couldn’t help myself. “I only let the horses get sexually aroused by the humans, not the other way around.”
“Bestiality isn’t a joking matter, Mr. Fleece.”
I grimaced. “Gross. Not when you put it like that.” And I was back to Mr. Fleece. I sighed. “Fine. Let’s get this over with. What do you need to do to prove that I’m not doping my animals before the Olympics and that Jess Waters is a good-for-nothing liar? Again.”
“Mr. Fleece, I never said that Mr.—”
I cut her off once more with a wave. “You and I both know Waters made up this bogus claim to waste my time and yours. Just like he has a dozen other times. And I know you have to investigate each and every time. So, what do we need to do to get this over with quickly?”
She glanced over toward the base of the mountains, like she didn’t want to do this any more than I did. “The most affordable way would be a urine sample.”
I laughed again. “You holding the piss cup, or am I?”
Pam didn’t laugh. Of course.
I so didn’t need this. And God, I fucking hated Jess Waters. I tried not to hate the woman who’d probably put him up to it. “You know, that sounds complicated. Can’t we just do a hair sample or swab their cheeks? Maybe ask them to do the high jump, and if they can’t clear the—”
Pam cut me off this time. “A hair sample would work, but the test is more expensive than the urine, so we’ll go that route.”
“I’ll pay for the hair test, if it gets you on your way quicker. Not that I don’t love our impromptu dates.”
“No. That isn’t….” She looked again toward the west, this time her gaze darting up to the setting sun.
“Gets dark early still in April. Doesn’t it?”
She narrowed her gaze at me. “Fine. We’ll do the hair test.”
Thank God. “Great. Let me go get some from one of the brushes real quick, and you can be on your way.”
“I have to retrieve the sample myself, Mr. Fleece. This is official business.”
I almost argued. She knew I treated my animals like they were family. Hell, better than family. She wasn’t any more worried about ridiculous claims of doping my horses than I was. She knew me. And I knew her. Arguing would do no good. Another sigh, one that didn’t disguise my irritation. “I was about to round them up anyway. I imagine you want to wait here?”
She nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Fleece.” She looked toward the barn. “May I wait in there? The evening chill is starting to arrive.”
I nearly laughed again. The evening chill. I refrained. “You bet.” I headed over to the four-wheeler I used to round up the horses and called out over my shoulder, “Feel free to dig around while you’re in there. You know, just in case Jess complains that I put ground-up kittens inside the salt licks.”
Typically, rounding up the herd was one of my favorite parts of the day, especially on days like this, before we opened for the season. The off-months hurt the wallet, but no tourists, just me and the horses? Perfection. Although I was one of the few locals who actually enjoyed tourists. They were here for vacation, and they were easy to make laugh. A lot more fun than Ms. Pam Your-Horses-Are-In-Danger. Even so, as I sped over the rocky land toward where I figured the horses were, neither the growing colors of sunset reflecting off the mountains nor the physical perfection that was Estes Park cut through my bad mood. I was willing to bet this was the first of many reports to come. The complaints from Jess were always cyclical. I hoped this one was from Jess. A few more over the next couple of months, and then he’d move on to another local businessman and leave me alone for a while. The worst-case scenario was that he’d been set up by my stepmother, and then she might be on the warpath for God knew how long.
Sure enough, the herd was exactly where I figured. As far away from the barn as they could get, all clustered under the shadows of the mountains. Just the sight of them caused my blood pressure to lower. It really was perfection. No man-made structures out here other than wooden fencing. Just pines, aspens, and a herd of horses grazing under the Twin Owls formation jutting up from the mountain range. It could be any time period. Just nature. Wild and free, mostly. Just nature. Just life.
I only allowed myself the luxury of peace for a moment. I had things to do and annoyances to handle. And I was going to be late. Of course the other four members of the Gay Boy Christmas Dinner group were used to that. I was always late. It didn’t matter if it was for Paxton’s annual Christmas party or one of our monthly dinners. I couldn’t ever manage to show up on time, best friends or not. However, this time I was going to be exceptionally late, even for me. I paused the four-wheeler and pulled out my cell to shoot Steve a message to let the others know and to order me a burger after they all got their food. Maybe, since we didn’t have to worry about a pee test, I’d be able to get to Penelope’s before the food got cold. Ah, Penelope’s. That was another good thing about off-seasons. The burger joint opened back up a few weeks before the crowds arrived, and we locals could actually get a burger without braving the hordes.
After hitting Send on the text, I stuffed the phone back into my pocket, not waiting for a reply, and slammed on the gas, popping a wheelie. Might as well make it as fun as I could.
Brandon Witt resides in Denver, Colorado. When not snuggled on the couch with his two Corgis, Dunkyn and Dolan, he is more than likely in front of his computer, nose inches from the screen, fingers pounding they keys. When he manages to tear himself away from his writing addiction, he passionately take on the role of a special education teacher during the daylight hours. I grew up in El Dorado Springs, Missouri for the first 18 years of my life. The day of my 18th birthday my mom, dad, brother, and I loaded up the cars and moved to Estes Park, Colorado. I now live in Denver with my two perfect corgis, Dunkyn and Dolan. Growing up in an ultraconservative, Christian environment, then moving on to get my bachelors in Youth Ministry, I struggled with being gay for most of my life. This included five years in reparative therapy (ex-gay therapy), meeting one to three times a week. At the age of twenty-six, I finally accepted who God make me to be and never looked back, and have never been happier. Each struggle, whether it be church, fearing damnation, heart shattering break-ups, and losing family to cancer and accidents, seems to make it’s way into everything I write, as well as a core of loving being alive. Life is hard, but man, is it ever wonderful! I’ve worked with children (ages 8-18) with emotional disabilities since 2000, first as a counselor in a residential treatment facility, and now as a special education teacher. During my sophomore year in high school, Ms. Hungerford introduced me to creative writing, and since that day, I’ve dreamed of being an author. Having Elizabeth North offering a publishing contract was one of the most life-changing days of my existence. I now dream of being a writer full-time. My boyfriend, Stephen, is hoping for that as well, as he wants to tag alone on a world tour. Big dreams. Big dreams. Though my writing seems polarizing to many readers, both positive and negative, regardless of which of my books you choose, I pray that in its pages you find both the struggle and immense joy of life. I am humbled and honored by each person that reads my books. Thank you so much for making my dreams come true!
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Thanks for the review & excerpt!
ReplyDeletelegacylandlisa at gmail dot com
A great highlight thank you.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Thank you for the review and excerpt! I really want to read this book.
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