Orr Loveless is exactly where he knows he belongs, rescuing and training mules. Despite their reputation, which he feels is undeserved, he knows they are smart, sure footed, and great mounts for trail riding and outdoor adventures. The only thing he lacks is a human partner to share the work and the fun, but he knows his lifestyle is not likely to attract one.<br><br>Jase Keller has returned to New Mexico, where his forgotten roots remain. With his high finance job destroying him, he desperately needs a big change for this vacation. Only Orr Loveless doesn’t seem to want to take him on a wilderness trip. When they go, it’s the opposite of the farm boy seeing the city for the first time. Jase discovers another life and it’s the one he wants to live ... with Orr by his side.<br><br>Can Jase persuade a stubborn mule man like Orr that he doesn’t need to be “loveless” any longer?

The Mule Man

“Pretty utilitarian,” he explained, trying not to sound apologetic. Belatedly, he’d begun to recall the letter he’d received, scanned and set aside since the proposed dates had been two months in the future when it arrived. The enclosed check had come at a time when he really needed a few dollars, and he’d deposited it the next day. Now he knew he’d made a mistake and would have to pay for it.


Something about the neatly dressed and handsome stranger who’d arrived with little warning both attracted and worried him. He couldn’t feature the guy in outdoor clothes, unshaven and unshowered after several days, perched on the back of a mule navigating some of the mountain goat trails up in the Gila Wilderness. He blinked and still couldn’t.


Chapter 4