Character Guest Post
Dela Alvaro’s POV
I’m Dela Alvaro, head of security for the Spotted Pony Casino on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation in NE Oregon. This wasn’t the job I wanted when I retired from the Army where I was an M.P. But I didn’t get to retire. I was medically discharged after an IED hit the Jeep myself and five other army personnel were riding in. That moment turned my life upside down.
Lying in the hospital, doing rehab, I had to reevaluate what I planned to do the rest of my life. The reservation called to me. I grew up there while my mom taught at the elementary school. I don’t know who my father is other than his name and he died before I was born. According to my mom, it was a one-night fling and she didn’t know anything about his family. She was an only child and her parents died when she was in college. The only grandparent I know is Grandfather Thunder, the old Umatilla man who has lived next door my whole life. He is a widower who lost all of his children. He once told me that we are all born to do great things. It doesn’t matter who our family is or where we come from. The Creator gave us all we need. It is up to us to use it. His words of wisdom are what pulled me through my pity parties when I was doing my physical therapy after the explosion.
I knew going back to the reservation would give me fewer chances to find work, but I wanted to have something familiar around me as I worked to regain my strength. I was lucky Grandfather Thunder talked to the Casino and got me a job in security. Being a lower limb amputee had stopped all hope of my desire to be an Oregon State Police Trooper or even a Tribal Officer. But I don’t have to run after people as a security guard. Just be watchful and keep an eye on the people who look shady.
Less than a year after getting the job, I helped solve a human trafficking ring and discovered the Head of Security was helping the traffickers. I was given his job on a trial basis. I passed that and now I am the Head of Security. I enjoy the people I work with and the variety of what happens every day at the casino. The locals and tourists who pass through the casino are interesting to watch.
My mom was overprotective when I returned home. I can’t live with someone having to know where I am every minute of the day. While looking for a place to rent I ended up with a large mix breed dog. He’s an amputee, too. We understand one another’s weaknesses and help each other.
Instead of finding a place to rent, I ended up purchasing a house that needs lots of work. Luckily my friend’s recently graduated son and two of his friends wanted to start a remodeling business. I’m their first customer and I love what they have done with my house.
Everything has been going as well as it could until my high school boyfriend moved back to the rez and went to work for the tribal police. I’m happy to have him back in my life. It feels like he is the piece I’ve been missing. However, I’ve been having more than friendly thoughts about FBI Special Agent Quinn Pierce, who is sending out signals that he’s interested in having more than a platonic relationship with me. Two men who are completely different, yet send out sparks when I’m near them, are making it hard for me to concentrate on my job. Keeping the guests and employees at the Spotted Pony Casino safe.
About House Edge
Zealous Environmentalists Greedy Power Companies …and a body
A bitter dispute over the breaching of dams in Idaho sparks emotions at a summit held at the Spotted Pony Casino. When the keynote speaker is murdered, Dela Alvaro, head of security, teams up again with FBI Special Agent Quinn Pierce.
The suspects are many since it appears the victim was playing both sides of the controversial environmental issue. Did someone take advantage of a marital dispute… witnessed by a crowd of casino spectators? Or did an angry wife murder her husband?
Book 2 in the Spotted Pony Casino Mysteries has Dela Alvaro not only trying to keep her job by discovering the killer before word spreads about the murder, but she also has to deal with FBI Special Agent Quinn Peirce butting heads with her high school sweetheart who has returned to the reservation as a tribal policeman.
About Paty Jager
Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 53 novels, 8 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.
I'm late getting here because my horses were getting their hooves trimmed. Thank you for being part of my blog tour. I'm happy to learn you enjoyed House Edge.
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