The latest installment in the bestselling Eventing Series releases at the end of April — are you ready to find out what happens next with Jules and Pete? When we last saw them, Jules was settling into life as the coach and manager of Alachua Eventing Co-op, and Pete had finally gotten that troublesome gray jumper, Rogue, into his program.
Of course, Jules never planned on being a riding coach — if you’ll recall, she’s always been very adamant about not teaching for a living. This feels like it will be a tough adjustment for her. And where does her new arrangement leave Pete? He’s been having a difficult time adjusting to life outside Briar Hill and the comforts of his own farm. He’s let Jules steer the ship for the past year, and now she seems to have found a safe harbor for them — if he can find his place there.
It’s going to be quite a year at Alachua Eventing Co-op, with the students getting ready for their first events, plus a full slate of competition for Mickey, Dynamo, and the other horses. Jules will need some help from old friends — and maybe some old enemies, too — but she is going to keep moving forward, no matter what. From the pine plantations of north Florida to the skyscraper shadows of the Central Park Horse Show, Forward is all about chasing dreams, wherever they may lead.
Here’s a sneak peek of what’s coming in Forward: Book 5 of The Eventing Series.
Read now! Chapter 1 – Part 1 of Forward
The day I fought with Pete, the light streaming through the skyscrapers was a brilliant gold, gilding every leaf and every blade of grass and every stray pebble knocked by careless feet into the pathways of the park. No one turned and looked at us, because we were civilized people and it was too awful, too embarrassing: the young woman with the tear-streaked face and sun-touched hair falling from a once-sleek bun; the young man with the piercing eyes leaning on the well-worn crutches. No one turned and looked at us, but they all heard us, and we didn’t care, we didn’t stop, until we both wanted to and it was too late and we had turned away from each other.
The day I fought with Pete, New York was a film set, the kind of New York everyone sees in the movies and never finds in real life. Just moments before, the day had been gray, rain-spattered, diesel-scented, like a tractor left running in the barn aisle on a soggy December morning. As riders from cleaner climates, we’d looked at each other from our vantage points atop our horses and asked: why would anyone live here?
Then, suddenly, without warning, the clouds parted and the sun sprang up from the rooftops of Manhattan and the people came pouring out of their apartment doors like bees swarming from their hive. And just like bees, they buzzed straight to the park, to bury their noses in the sweet clover of the lawns, and when they saw us already there, in our breeches and our boots, leading our gleaming horses to the arena set up at the Wollman Rink, even the most jaded New Yorkers paused to give us a second glance. We were alien and lovely, and we towered above them even on the ground, even when we were fighting.
The day I fought with Pete, the mayor shook our hands and told us we were favorites of his niece, and did we see her showing at the Winter Equestrian Festival in West Palm back in January? We did not; we were not WEF people and we knew his niece had never heard of either of us, but we smiled back and said we’d look for her this coming winter, and he smiled and said she’d love that—she’d be the girl on the white pony, with pigtails. The governor was there, too but we didn’t meet him; he didn’t like horses and he kept to himself, sitting aloof on the platform where the dignitaries were enthroned, pretending they knew what was going on in the arena before them.
The day I fought with Pete was the best day of my life, for at least ten hours or so.
Want more? Yes, I’m being a tease! There’s more to chapter one — unlock it when you sign up for my author updates. You’ll get an occasional email when I have a new release or an upcoming event… it’s much better than relying on Facebook for updates!
You can pre-order the ebook of Forward: Book 5 of The Eventing Series at Amazon. For paperback copies, stay tuned!
