Discovering Pride (Pride Series)

To the three special men in my life, who have

been there with an eager ear to listen to a tale.

For the many dogs that have come and gone,

always there with a wag in their tails,

slobbery kisses, and undying love.

Let’s play ball.

DISCOVERING PRIDE

JILL SANDERS

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Copyright 2010 Jill Sanders

Published at Smashwords

A
cool breeze drifted over the tall trees, floating down towards the still waters of a large pond, which caused the lily pads to stir. Dragonflies buzzed from flower to flower and frogs hopped along the grassy shore.

Every now and then, a lone leaf would break free from a branch and float slowly down to the moss covered forest floor.
Soon it will be winter and this little piece of heaven will be covered in snow. All the insects and animals will be tucked away for the cold days and nights. But, for today the pond waters were buzzing with life.

Lacey Jordan was a free spirit woman who enjoyed the fresh air, blue skies, and nature sounds that surrounded her home in Pride, Oregon. Even though summer was ending, the fall temperatures had reached a record high; a true Indian summer was in full swing.

Lacey was happily floating alone in the large pond that bordered her property. Well, she wasn’t quit alone; Bernard had been running in and out of the water, digging in the mud near the shore. Bernard was Lacey’s first love, and to date, her only. He was everything she wanted in a man; loyal, loving, brave, and a great listener. Not to mention he was blonde, brown eyed, and loved to snuggle. His only faults were; he hogged the bed, slobbered a lot, and was extremely hairy, but no one was perfect.

Bernard was Lacey’s three and a half year old Labrador Retriever.

As she floated her short black hair bobbed around her face, a face often described as pixy like. Her straight nose was, in her opinion, her best asset. However, most people claimed it was her crystal slate eyes that stood out the most. An artist, who had once painted her, had compared her to an exotic creature from beyond this world.

A small crease formed between her eyebrows at the thought of being compared to an exotic or even mythical creature. It happened often enough; however, she was getting tired of it. To her, she was just Lacey, a down-to-earth woman in her mid-twenties whom, at this point, had yet to
fall in love.

Most people in her town knew she had an uncanny way of predicting what was going to happen and often even able to control the outcome. However, she felt she shouldn’t be faulted for just paying attention.

But,
today she didn’t want to think of the town or its inhabitants. She forced herself to relax again as she studied the bright clear sky. Today, she was going to enjoy her favorite place: the pond which was located in the woods laying between her and her brother Todd’s houses.

Every once in a while Bernard would swim out to check on her or bark to make sure his presence was still known. She could spend hours out here, lost in thought, which would sometimes make her late for work. She was grateful she wasn’t expected any where today so she could continue floating and relaxing as she pleased.

Lacey had been born and raised in Pride, and this was home. There had been a time when she’d craved to see the world, to expand her horizons, and become a woman of the world. However, after spending over a year traveling around Europe, she had craved to be home again. She missed taking walks along the beach or sitting in front of a fire with her father and brothers. But, she had made it home only to lose her father. She struggled through her loss; her family needed her close, and she needed them in return.

She started treading water as she remembered the weeks after she had come home. It had been some of the hardest times for the Jordan family, learning to adjust to the changes after the accident that had claimed their father’s life and left her brother, Iian battered and without his
hearing.

However, the family had conquered a lot together: learning sign language and running the family businesses, they had learned to take care of each other.

Looking up, she saw Bernard happily running around the shore chasing the ducks that kept trying to land.

Aaron Stevens was restless, hot, sweaty, and he was horny. His
need
reminded him it had been over seven months since his break up with Jennifer. He’d spent the last few days hammering away on his house, spending all his pent up anger and hurt on demolition. Now, however, he was still hot, angry, sweaty, and horny.

When he’d purchased the old house he knew it needed a lot of work. But, he thought the project would help him keep his mind off the fact that he’d almost made the biggest mistake of his life. He’d learned a valuable lesson in love, and it had only cost
him his heart.

When he hit his thumb for the tenth time in the last half hour, he threw the hammer across the room. But, because there were no walls in the place, it flew across the room and hit the floor with a dull thud, giving him no satisfaction.

The first thing he’d done was rip up the bright orange carpet, which now made the entire house echo. He had plans for hard-wood or tile in the place, but he had yet to decide on which. All he knew was that carpet had to go.

He stalked from the room fuming and frustrated. And now his thumb was throbbing like a bitch. When he reached the back door he kept on going.