The Alberta Adventures
by
Laurel Rowan is happy to be home in Alberta and excited that Coll Hazel is coming from Cornwall for a visit. She’s looking forward to showing around him the ranch. The visit doesn’t turn out as she imagined when the plight of a band of wild horses comes to her attention. Laurel is angry and frustrated that her childhood friend Chance, the boy on the neighboring ranch, and his father are determined to round up the wildies and send them to the meat packers. Laurel, Coll, and Chance’s sister, Carly, embark on a mission to rescue the horses and find a protected place where they can live wild and free.
The truck and trailer rattled down the long lane to the main road. Laurel stopped and flicked the indicator on, looking carefully before pulling out. “Idiots drive way too fast sometimes.” She moved onto the pavement and changed gears as their speed increased. She loved the feel of the transmission responding to her hand on the long gear shift. It was almost like riding or dancing, the balance between clutch, accelerator and shifter. The big truck picked up speed on the long downslope toward town. “I love this view.” She nodded at the wide sweep of prairie shimmering in the late June sunshine. Wild flowers lent splashes of colour to the hills and the mountains loomed misty and pale blue blushed with pink in the distance. When she arrived at the junction of 507 and 785, she jogged over to Highway 6 and skirted the main part of Pincher, when the highway turned north, she carried on past the interchange on what became 507 again.
READ MORE“It’s kind of the long way around, but I hate driving through town with the rig and this is really the best way with the least amount of stops and twists and turns,” Laurel explained. “We pretty much circle around the whole town. Carly hates it ’cause Chance insists on going through town.” The truck leaned around a long bend and jumped a bit as she geared down to third. “Oops, I always get that wrong.”
COLLAPSEEileen Charbonneau, Amazon review wrote:"Even readers who haven’t been following the Cornwall Adventures of the protagonist can easily pick Laurel’s trail up in Alberta, Canada where she and friends both Cornish and Albertan are bent on rescuing some wild horses from a cull. Her best friend’s father is the rancher most pushing for this and his violent tendencies aren’t just directed at horses. His family is subject to them, too. A good teen read, covering wildlife conservation, family dynamics, burgeoning romance, and a lot of interesting information about ranches and rodeos."
"Laurel’s busy summer on her parents’ ranch in Alberta, Canada, is about to get exciting and dangerous. She competes in rodeos with her best friend Carly and loves watching a roaming herd of “wildies” led by the great stallion Coal. Best of all, this summer her boyfriend from Cornwall is visiting. The affable Coll makes friends easily and takes to ranching, but only has romantic eyes for Laurel, and feelings are mutual. Neighbor Chance is jealous. And he is planning to help cull and round up of wild horses. Laurel is their champion, along with a First Nations family. But the law is not on their side and the magnificent Coal and his pack of mares are in danger of being captured and sent to the slaughterhouse. Tensions escalate as both sides take action in an exciting conclusion. Besides wildlife conservation, issues of physical and alcohol abuse. sexual awakening and family love and loyalty are brought to vivid life. A fine novel teens are sure to enjoy."
