Mike preferred Sebastian O'Berra, a young Italian rider with an excellent win percentage. Mike or Punch would still send Vic out on a few horses every morning, but they were mainly the older horses that O'Terra didn't have time for. Vice rarely ever rode in a race; he had become more of an exercise rider than a jockey these days. A hard pill to swallow, it was a demotion he was forced to accept.
"God, it sucks to get old," Vic often thought. It was catching up with him, and was rapidly becoming an undeniable reality....
~~~
Dangerous Deception:
The Unbridled Series
By Cindy McDonald
It was just not a good time right now... There was a local group of bikers, the Nomads, that seemed to be behind it and a local cop had infiltrated deep cover... But while that was outside the normal realm of the Wests, it would come to play a part before this story ended. Now one of the hands, Martin Krebs, was becoming annoyed because the young West boy was flirting with those women who congregated around the pool table...
With his sandy hair and crystal blue eyes, Shane West was dangerously handsome. His broad shoulders eased into lean hips. His defined jaw accentuated his rugged good-looks. The youngest West, he was a study in chewy charming man candy. At twenty-three, he was already notorious for his playboy antics. A new jockey at Keystone Downs Racetrack, Ginger LaFond was interested in the handsome young man for more than his good looks. His father, Eric West, owned a huge Thoroughbrd operation, and that meant high quality mounts...
If she hadn't turned to Krebs and asked about him, it might have been ok. Instead that was the first irritation that started Krebs fuming... But then, the next morning at Westwood, Shane was just getting out and Krebs was there, sippin' a cup of coffee, lounging under a tree. Shane was doing his best to take on more responsibilities from his father, but Krebs also was not an easy guy to motivate. He got up and finally went toward the barn, with Krebs thinking dark thoughts about him.
 |
| The Mare's agitation was piqued. She tossed her head and danced in place while pounding and pawing with her front hooves. Arching her neck, she pulled on the bit. Like the mare, Vic's patience was all used up. He poked Shane hard in the shoulder with his crop. "C'mon, buttercup, let's get this freaking party started." ~~~ |
But it was not too long that Shane again spotted him, his foot propped up on an empty wheelbarrow, as others did his work...
Meanwhile Vic had not been called to ride but he went anyway. Shane hesitated to let Vic ride, but then allowed it. But Vic's old arthritic hands were no longer strong enough--he tried to gather the reins tighter, but the horse flattened her neck and whipped in and out of the other horses! And then Vic's temper took over and would not allow help...
Readers see the build-up, right up until Krebs is fired. Vic walks out of Westwood and the plotting begins...
Amazingly, Eric found a woman who actually liked
Dirty Harry. Well, at least, she put-up with him.
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| That sheep skin rug is never gonna be the same... |
By the time that Vic came knocking on Westwood's front door, Shane had already been taken... Vic had come with anger to confront Eric, but he left feeling more of the shame that he'd felt for even getting involved in this! So instead of taking the demanded money to the hiding place, he started on his own plan of action...
Readers by that time are caught up in the whole kidnapping situation. And everybody is involved in trying to find Shane, before they might decide to kill him, even after getting the ransom! That's what Vic was afraid of, and he was right to be afraid!
I loved the gigantic twist that took over this "simple" kidnapping and I think readers will love it as well. The West family is a wonderful group of people, even if you don't picture them as I do... But I also had great sympathy for Vic as well. He had been Eric's long-time friend and was now upset...On the other hand, Eric had been thinking of future plans for Vic, but just had not taken the time to talk it over with him...So, frankly I felt Eric needed to recognize his failure as well... but...any way, hopefully some future arrangement will be worked out...cause right now, Vic's in jail!
It's hard to make comparisons and I normally don't, especially when I'm enjoying the whole series. This one and the last published, however, I think are the most suspenseful, especially with the ending on this one. Sure there's romance, but the danger facing the family is extreme and difficult, especially for Eric and Kate, who takes an active role when she was told to stay at home...LOL... A perfect example of why the entire family does get in trouble quite a bit... I loved this one.
GABixlerReviews
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