A Breath of Heaven: El Camino Real

BREATH OF HEAVEN

El Camino Real

Book 1

SABLE HUNTER

Cade
and Abby have a history. Years ago they were in love. Undeclared and
unrequited, Cade waited until Abby was old enough for him to declare his love.
Abby wanted nothing more than she wanted Cade. But something happened. Abby
pushed Cade away and he never knew why. Since then, sparks fly when they’re
together. Antagonizing one another has become their favorite sport. The only
problem is… it’s all a front. They bicker because they both want the same thing
– each other. A wedding brings them together and Cade is determined to learn
Abby’s secret. He’ll do whatever it takes to win her love. Meet the King Family
of El Camino Real – five brothers, one sister and a legacy as big as Texas.

This
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the
product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance
to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales
is entirely coincidental.

All
rights reserved.

Copyright
2013 © Sable Hunter

Published
by Beau Coup Publishing

http://beaucoupllcpublishing.com

Cover
by JRA Stevens

For
Beau Coup Publishing

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Cade Tallbull

The
stock manager stood at the door of the trailer, holding it open so that the
bright Wyoming sun hit Cade right in the face. “Get outta here, boy. You can’t
hang around here. You’re gonna have to find somewhere to go.” He rubbed his
eyes which were swollen from sleep and unshed tears.

“Yea,
sure. I’ll go.” He stood slowly, gathering his blue jean duffle which contained
only a couple of changes of clothes and his Dad’s prize spurs. Throwing the bag
over his shoulder, Cade stepped out of the rusty stock trailer and started
walking toward the empty rodeo stands. He was always struck by how different an
arena felt when it was vacant, when the energy of the crowd was only a memory.
Maybe it was just the bad memories, but the whole place seemed dark and sad.
Since his father had been killed the week before, Cade had nowhere to go. He
didn’t really even know where to start. “Sorry about that, Mr. Page. I just
needed time to get my head together.”

“Where
are you headed, Tallbull? Do you know?”

Cade
was big for thirteen, but he was still a boy. Guess he was going to have to
grow up fast. “I have plans,” he smiled, tipping his hat back on his head. One
thing was for sure, he would rather not end up in the system. Cade had heard
horror stories about that. Being on his own would be hard, but hopefully he
could find work. “Thanks for everything.” He said with a small, tight smile. 
Thanks
for nothing,
is what he really thought. Cade had asked several of the
stockmen for a job, cleaning the trailers and seeing after the stock. But he
had been turned down.

Living
on the rodeo circuit was all he knew. Buck Turnbull hadn’t been the best dad
but he’d kept Cade fed and had went through the motions of home-schooling him.
If Cade hadn’t been somewhat disciplined, it wouldn’t have worked. But when the
lights came up and the roar of the crowd announced the opening of the chute –
his father had been a different man. A legend.

Unfortunately,
Buck had drank most of his winnings. There hadn’t even been enough left to give
him a decent burial. The county had to step in and donate a plot in the local
cemetery. And if Sam King hadn’t felt sorry for him and bought his dad’s horse,
Cade wouldn’t have had the money to pay the funeral home and buy a coffin.

With
head down, Cade started down the dusty road leading out of the High Peaks Expo
Center. He kept his eye on his scuffed up boots, putting one foot in ahead of
another. Seeing pity in everyone’s eyes made him feel small and worthless.
Maybe in Laramie he’d be able to find something to do and a shelter to hang out
in until he could locate something more permanent.

Cade
dreaded living on the streets. If only his mother was still around. He missed
her more every day. That was one topic which had been a sore spot between him
and his father. Cade still blamed Buck Tallbull for not going after his
common-law wife. Tia had been gentle, giving. When she’d been caught up in an
illegal alien sweep, Cade had begged to be allowed to go with her. Neither his
father nor the authorities would allow it. Now she might be lost to him
forever. Kicking a dirt clod a few feet ahead of him, he vowed to find her. As
soon as he gathered enough money, he’d hire help.    

An
engine idling behind him caused Cade to step to one side. He guessed he
shouldn’t be taking his part of the road out of the middle.

“Cade?
Where you off to, son?” Sam King called to him out of the window of his big tan
King Ranch pick-up.

Cade
couldn’t think of a convincing lie fast enough, so he just played the vague
card.  “Away.”

“Hop
in, take a load off.” Sam leaned over and opened the passenger door,
invitingly. “I could use some company. I tend to get sleepy, you can help keep
me awake.”

Cade
hesitated, but he liked the man. Sam King was a championship bronc rider who
was retiring. This had been his last rodeo. Everyone said Sam had a big ranch
and a family waiting for him in Texas, or that was the talk Cade had heard.
“All right, if you’re sure.” He tossed his bag in the truck bed and climbed in
on the fancy leather seats. “Thanks.”

“Do
you have any family we could contact?” Sam asked, casting him a side-long
glance.

Cade
shook his head, his face flushing with shame. “No, my mother’s alive but I
don’t know where she is. There’s no one else.” His stomach growled and Sam
opened the middle console and handed him a candy bar.

“Eat
this, we’ll stop for something when we see a restaurant.”

Taking
the Snickers, he peeled the paper off and took a bite. “Thanks, I appreciate
it.” Cade was proud, but he was hungry. “I’ll pay you back.”

Sam
waved his hand. “If you don’t have any pressing plans, why don’t you come home
with me for a while? I could always use an extra hand around the ranch.” 

Cade’s
heart started beating faster. “You’re offering me a job, Mr. King?”

Sam
smiled at the boy. Honestly, he just couldn’t stand to see a neglected child.
“Maybe. Why don’t we see how it goes? Mostly I just want to give you a place to
be. A safe place. I’ve been watching you over the years, you’re a good kid. I
think you’ll get along with my boys just fine.”

Cade
studied Sam King’s weathered face. “You have sons?”

“Five
of them.” He smiled, pushing his hat back on his head. “And a girl.”

“Do
they have a mother?” Cade didn’t want to let himself hope. But he’d always
wanted a home. A real home.

“They
sure do. Her name is Amelia and she loves kids. El Camino is our home. We have
plenty of horses to ride and the school has a good football team. You’ll like
it there.”

The
man was talking like Cade would be staying with them for a time. Maybe he
didn’t understand. “I’m a half-breed, you know.”       
       Sam slowed down and made deliberate eye contact with the boy. At one
time or another, he had known the unfairness of prejudice – well, not on his
watch.  “Me too. Half Scottish, half French.”

Cade
snorted, amused. “That’s not exactly the same thing. I’m Native American and
Mexican.”

“Why
isn’t it the same?” Sam gave him a crooked smile. “People are harsh sometimes.
Usually you’ll find it’s because they’re ignorant.”

With
that simple exchange, Cade Tallbull went home to live with Sam King. Driving
from Wyoming to Texas took a couple of days. They stopped every few hours to
let Whiskey, his Dad’s horse walk around and stretch his legs. “When we get
home, I’ll need you to see after this animal.”

“I
will.” Cade promised, touching the black stallion’s neck. It wasn’t lost on
Cade that this was one of the last links he had with his family. The trip was
awkward at times, he and Mr. King seemed to search for things to talk about.
One thing they found they had in common was a love for hamburgers. Sam couldn’t
seem to get enough. They would buy two or three a piece and wash them down with
chocolate malts. When they reached Texas, Sam seemed to open up more and Cade
felt more comfortable. They cut down through the panhandle and headed to
Dallas.

The
Lone Star state was no strange place to Cade, he’d been there before, Buck had
won one of his bigger purses at the Houston Livestock show. Still, Texas was a
damn big place. “Where is your ranch?” He asked Sam while he stared out the
window, watching the flat prairie land pass by.

“On
the King’s Highway,” Sam answered with a mysterious smile.

“What?”
Cade couldn’t imagine having a road named after your family.

“Just
wait, I’ll explain when we get there.” They talked about other things like
horses and music, ate a couple of chiliburgers before turning off I45 in
Madisonville and heading east on Highway 21. “This is it, the King’s Highway,
El Camino Real.”

“El
Camino is the name of your ranch,” Cade interjected, not fully understanding.

“Yes,
it is. This stretch of road is ancient, forged by the soldiers of the King of
Spain himself. Imagine walking, riding a horse or traveling in a wagon from
Mexico City to what is now Natchitoches, Louisiana. Now imagine you are living
in a time that predates the founding of our country, a time when conquistadors
explored, missions were founded to bring religion to the new world and 
pioneers were forging across wilderness to make homes for themselves in untamed
territory. Even those who defended the Alamo traveled this same path.” 

The
old west and cowboys were Cade’s favorite thing. So it was easy to get caught
up in the idea of traveling the same trail as Jim Bowie or Davy Crocket. “Do
you ever find any arrowheads?”

Sam
leaned close. “I have a collection, I’ll show you.”

By
the time they reached El Camino, Cade was anxious to see the place he’d call
home, at least for the next little while. When they drove through the gates of
the ranch, he was shocked. El Camino was much bigger than he expected. “How
many acres do you have here?”

“Oh,
a couple hundred thousand,” Sam said casually, like it was no big deal.

Cade
blanched, unsure of his place. “I didn’t know you were rich.” All of a sudden,
he didn’t feel so good. He’d considered Sam King just a cowboy who had done
well – not a millionaire.

“I
am rich” Sam didn’t deny it. “I have a wonderful family and my health. That’s a
helluva lot more important than money.”

Those
words Sam said that day stuck with Cade. When they drove up to the big stucco
house, he hung back when a herd of kids ran out to meet the truck, yelling at
the top of their lungs. “Daddy! Daddy!” The boys looked like they might range
in age from six to sixteen and they all resembled their daddy. But the one who
caught his eye wasn’t a boy. Holding her own in the midst of the chaos was a
girl with long dark pigtails and the brightest smile Cade had ever seen. He
couldn’t help but smile back.

“Cade,
come here, son.” Sam called him over and put an arm around his shoulder. To
have all of their stares on him at one time was intimidating. “This is Cade
Tallbull. He’s going to be staying with us.” Cade waited for sneers or frowns,
but he didn’t get them.

“Hey,”
the oldest boy moved forward, hand stuck out. “My name’s Justice and this is
Jase, Shiloh and the bookends are Trace and Trevor.” Cade shook his hand.

“And
me! What am I, chopped liver?” The small girl folded her arms and stomped her
foot, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Yes,
chopped smelly liver,” one of the twins retorted and she narrowed her eyes and
stuck her tongue out. Not ever having had brothers, much less a sister, Cade
waited with interest to see what would transpire.

But
nothing happened, Justice just pulled his little sister forward. “This here is
Abby Grace, she’s a handful.”

Cade
figured the boy was quoting his parents, he bit his lip to keep from laughing.
“Hello, Abby Grace.” She offered her hand and he took it, very much liking the
twinkle in the little girl’s eye.

“Sam?
Who do we have here?”

Cade
whirled around at the soft voice. Sam’s wife was an older version of Abby
Grace, same smile, same kind eyes.

“Amelia,
this fine young man is Cade Tallbull.” He put a hand on Cade’s back and edged
him forward, as if to say – ‘don’t be shy’. “I told you about him.”

“Yes,
yes you did.” Amelia came to Cade. She didn’t have to bend over, they were
almost the same height. “I’m so glad to meet you. Are you hungry?”

“Yes
ma’am,” he answered truthfully. He always seemed to be hungry.

“We’re
all starving!” Jase yelled.

“Well,
let’s go eat. I have fried chicken.” Amelia led them all down the path toward
the front porch.

There
was a chorus of ‘yay’s.” As they made their way into the spacious home, Cade
was met with a bevy of questions. “Do you like to play football? Do you want to
go riding? Do you like to camp? Do you believe in Bigfoot?” His head was
spinning as he tried to answer each one.

Then
Abby pulled on his shirt. “Wanna play house with me?”

“Aw
shucks!” Shiloh gagged. “He wants to do boy stuff not mess with you, little
girl.”

Cade
didn’t want to say yes, nor did he want to say no. He wasn’t sure what playing
house meant, but he figured it was playing with dolls and making mud pies.
Neither of which he found very appealing. But Abby was looking up at him with
big eyes and a hopeful expression. “Sure, we’ll do that sometimes. Sounds like
fun.”

Ten
years later…Cade was family. He loved the Kings and considered Sam and Amelia
to be his folks and the boys were his brothers.

But
there came a day when he was grateful he didn’t think of Abby as a sister. She
grew up to be the most beautiful, sweetest, kindest girl in the world and Cade
knew wanted a completely different relationship with her. 

Now,
he was ready to play house.