Bobby Estrada is tired of school, rules, and boredom. He wants to have adventures. Eventually he arrives in southwestern New Mexico on foot, tired, and hungry. Orr and Jase, the mule men, give him a job mucking corrals. Six months later he has grown up, learned a lot, and bought a young mule to train. That’s when some exotic visitors show up.<br><br>Doyle O’Brien, an Irish aristocrat, is dedicated to caring for his young niece for whom he became guardian after her parents were killed in a tragic accident. She was also injured. Young Fiona loves horses and rode well before she became partially paralyzed. When Doyle hears mules are safe and reliable if properly trained, he decides to try to find a small one Fiona can eventually ride. She immediately falls in love with Powwow, the young mule Bobby has begun to train.<br><br>In Doyle, Bobby sees his dream prince come to life. In time the O’Briens must go home, taking Powwow. Bobby is determined to go, too. Can an Irish aristocrat and a young Latino cowboy find common ground beyond the lust that sizzles between them and make a modern fairy tale come true?

A Mule for a Princess

However, home now meant something more. That “more” was both exciting and worrisome. Bobby was there. The mere thought had Doyle growing hard, but he knew there was more than mere lust to his rapidly developing feelings. He shook his head. He had told himself he was not going to allow it to happen—the young Latino was merely supposed to be a brief fling, a way to pass the time and scratch his itch when it became too unbearable. Yet, when he was honest with himself, he knew there had been a deeper underlying desire from the first. He had hoped, even longed, for something finer and more real.


He might not want a wife or children but he did want a companion, a permanent sort of companion with whom he could be himself, forget the conventions and constraints and onerous duties…With a ragged sigh, he again shook his head. How could such a thing be possible, especially for him?


Chapter 21