Chapter 1 – Rumors
The first time the rumor swept through town like wildfire was four or five years ago, and it had proven to be just that . . . wildfire. Twice a year the topic would get brought up in town council meetings; everyone would get worked up about the possibility for a session or two, and then the subject would once more fade from public view.
This time seemed different. The rumor didn't surface in a council meeting, nor was it discussed there. The news came straight from the governor's office, and seemed reasonably substantiated. According to the story being circulated, the route was to stretch from Dallas/Fort Worth to Waco, pass through Little Bend to Austin, then down to San Antonio before cutting eastward to Houston. The last leg was not yet decided; it could either go straight back to Dallas, completing the circuit, or eliminate the need for uncomfortable coaches and drive overland to Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The decision seemed to rest on the shoulders of the next President of the United States.
Either way, life would never be the same in Little Bend, Texas. The town had been growing steadily over the years, but the amount of sudden expansion it would most likely experience was staggering. This was just what Little Bend needed, half of the population agreed, and it would definitely destroy life as everyone there knew it, the other half wailed. Three council members resigned when the prospect of a significant conflict loomed, affording a local businessman the opening he'd been waiting for. That man was Bart Maverick, and the possibility of the railroad coming through town was as exciting an event as anyone could think of. And it presented Bart with the opportunity of a lifetime.
With three seats on the council vacant, he was practically guaranteed a spot. No longer could the town afford to turn up its nose at the prospect of a well-known gambler and saloon owner helping to guide it into the next phase of its existence. Of course, he was considered more than qualified by most of the town's population, having been born and raised in Little Bend, and currently owning one-half of what was turning into a horse-breeding ranch of some prominence. He had long since married and settled down in the town of his birth, and was father to five of the most adorable children on the planet. Bart wholeheartedly supported the railroad line passing through Little Bend, with a station built for stopovers.
It didn't hurt any that his father and brother were also prominent citizens of Little Bend. Pappy Beauregard had lived in town for over forty years, and Brother Bret was co-owner of the horse-breeding ranch. All three carried the reputation for honesty, whether in poker or any other business they were involved with. Bret, too, had married and settled permanently in Little Bend, with three children of his own. Unlike his younger brother Bart, Bret had no desire to be a member of the Little Bend Town Council. Nor did he possess an opinion on the proposed railroad stop in Little Bend; right now it was just a rumor, and one that had circulated many times before. Should the rumor turn into fact, and the proposal gain the momentum necessary to actually get the spur line built, the older brother would decide where he stood on the 'railroad in Little Bend issue.'
With each week that passed it seemed more and more likely that the spur line would indeed get built; then the question that lay with the public became 'Will there be a station in Little Bend, Texas, with a potential for a regular stop?'
That was still the question being bandied about when the candidates for the vacant council positions were due to declare. To no one's surprise, Bart filed for one of the unoccupied seats. To everyone's surprise, someone submitted Bret's name for another. When questioned about the seriousness of his bid for election, Bret just laughed and shook his head. The election itself was several weeks away; there was still plenty of time for Bret to drop out or get serious about someone's idea that both Maverick's should be council members.