Premonitions
Prologue
It wasn't often that they were at odds. In fact, as brothers go, they were far closer than most. Not only in age, but in looks, temperament, ideas and attitudes. Of course, it didn't hurt that they were a mere seventeen months apart in actual age. Or that the older one had darn near raised the younger one. As a matter of fact, either one would be hard pressed to remember the last time they'd disagreed.
But here they were, almost to the point of being angry that neither could see the other one's side of the argument. And that was when they finally decided to spend some time apart, which is why they hadn't seen each other in six months.
The older one, Bret, had spent the last few months in Casper, Wyoming. It was spring, and then summer, and it was a pleasant enough place to be. Normally he'd have been there a few days or weeks and moved on, but there was a girl named Ruby Jane, and something about her fascinated him. There were thirteen saloons in town and they were comfortable; pleasant enough to be in but not rowdy and disruptive. Every time he thought about leaving something happened to change his mind.
The younger one, Bart, was in Murfreesboro, Tennessee when he decided to head home to Texas. He'd spent most of his time wandering around Tennessee and Kentucky, and suddenly wanted to be in Little Bend before the weather turned cold. Besides, there was a girl there he'd always wanted to get to know, and he decided it was time to do just that. If she wasn't married by now.
What caused the original disagreement neither one could remember by this time, and it no longer seemed important. One night just outside of Conway, Arkansas, Bart had a terrible nightmare. He'd had those on and off since their momma died when he was just five, but his brother had usually been around when they happened. Bart woke up in a cold sweat and knew he was changing directions and heading for Wyoming instead of Texas. Something about this one made him realize that he needed to see his brother, and see him sooner rather than later. In the morning he switched direction and headed northwest, towards Casper. It was a good thing he did; neither of them knew it, but Bart Maverick was the only thing that stood between Bret Maverick and a painful death.