Rider On Fire
The small squirrel was just ready to scold — its little mouth partially opened as it clutched the acorn close to its chest. In the right light, one could almost believe the tail had just twitched.
Franklin Blue Cat called it The Sassy One. It was one of his latest carvings and in three months would be featured, along with thirty other pieces of his work, in a prestigious art gallery in Santa Fe. He hoped he lived long enough to see it.
Franklin often thought how strange the turns his life had taken. Had anyone told him that one day he would become known the world over for his simple carvings, he would have called them crazy. He would also have called them crazy for telling him that, at the age of sixty, he would be alone and dying of cancer. He'd always imagined himself going into old age surrounded by children and grandchildren with a loving wife at his side.
He set aside the squirrel. As he did, the pain he'd been living with for some months took a sharp upward spike, making Franklin reel where he stood. He waited until the worst of it passed, then stumbled to his bedroom and collapsed on his bed.
He considered giving Adam Two Eagles ... read full excerpt from Rider on Fire ebook
