Getting Closer

Chapter 1

Summer, 1879

Heath loved sunrises, more than any other time of day, so when he had been riding herd all night and the glow behind the eastern mountains began to color the sky, he always began to feel his heart lifting. He never could explain why he felt that way – he couldn't connect it to a childhood memory or anything else that had happened in his life. He just loved it.

Nick, on the other hand, saw something entirely different when the sun began to rise. "Breakfast!"

Riding next to him, Heath laughed. "I swear, Nick, except for your misadventures with the ladies, you have no romance in your soul at all."

"Too hungry for romance," Nick said. "Besides, I have to go back to the house and work on the books. Kills any idea of romance."

"Well, there's romance and then there's romance. One of these days, you and I will have to have a long talk about the difference."

"As long as we have it on full stomachs," Nick said and turned his horse toward the chuck wagon.

Heath followed along and soon they were settling in with coffee, bacon and eggs. One by one the men riding night herd joined them, as the day men came in to take their places minding the cattle.

"You going into the house with me?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, I could use a few hours of sleep," Heath said. "We'll have to be right back out here tonight."

"You will," Nick said. "I'll be going over the books with Jarrod, assuming he makes it in from San Francisco today. I'll decide later whether I'll come back out for night guard."

"I didn't realize Jarrod was coming."

"He wired me the day before yesterday. You can handle things without me out here if I sleep in tonight."

"It'll be boring without you, Big Brother."

Nick grinned. "I just brighten everybody's day, don't I?"

Heath chuckled. "Depending on whether you have a full belly or not."

They finished breakfast, turned everything over to the foreman McCall who had just come into camp, and rode back to the house together. It took less than an hour – the herd was not that far away. When they got near the house, they ran into their sister coming out.

"Good morning!" she called, reining in her horse.

"Out early this morning, aren't you?" Nick said.

"Just felt like an early morning ride. It's going to get hot later, I think. I'll see you in a couple hours," Audra said and took off.

Nick and Heath rode into the stable yard and turned their horses over to the stable hands there. They dusted themselves off and went into the house. Nick did not have to yell for his mother for once – she was arranging flowers on the table in the foyer.

"Morning, Mother," Heath said and kissed her cheek.

Nick did the same right behind him.

"You both need to shave," she said.

"Heading that way," Nick said.

"I'll sleep a couple hours and then shave," Heath said. "I'm about to fall out of the saddle."

"You're not in the saddle," Nick said.

"Well, there you go," Heath said and went upstairs.

Once alone in his room, Heath took off his boots and began to get out of his dirty clothes. Never one to allow sunlight to bother his sleep, he fell on his bed with the shutters open and immediately faded off.

When he woke up, it was about noon. He shaved, as promised, cleaned up and got into some clean clothes before he went downstairs. He found his mother and sister, and both his brothers, lunching in the dining room.

"Well, good afternoon," Jarrod said as he was finishing up his own midday meal.

Heath sat down. "Afternoon. Good to see you again, Jarrod. Good trip in from San Francisco?"

"Nice and quiet and on time," Jarrod said.

"How was your ride, Audra?" Heath asked.

"Lovely," she said. "The air was nice and fresh this morning."

Heath dug into the fried chicken on the table. "Sorry I'm a bit late. I guess I needed more sleep than I thought."

"Riding night guard seems to set your internal clock off every time," Victoria said.

"Sure did today."

"Jarrod and I still have to go over the books," Nick said. "I'll head back out after dinner."

"I'll go back out after lunch," Heath said. "Be back for dinner."

Heath gobbled down his lunch and was out the door after appropriate good-byes. In less than an hour, he was back out with the herd.

It was getting hot, as Audra predicted. Hot and dry. There hadn't been a good rain for weeks, but at least the water supply for the herd was still good. What Heath worried about was the orchards and the crop put in for winter feed. If it didn't start raining soon, those could be in trouble.

McCall pulled up to Heath as soon as he saw him. "Afternoon, Heath."

"Howdy," Heath said. "How's it going out here?"

"Fine, fine. I'm planning to send a few men out to check on the other water supplies, just in case."

There were several other ponds and streams on the property, at other locations, that they could use in a pinch, if they were still in good shape. "Good idea," Heath said. "Tell you what. I'll go check on Marino Creek myself, be back before you can sneeze twice."

McCall laughed as Heath took off toward the east. That boy had more colorful expressions than you could shake a stick at, and McCall had the suspicion that he made most of them up by himself.

Heath took off at an easy gallop. As he moved through the hot air, he felt cooler and happier. He pictured Marino Creek and the cool, clear water he could wash over his head and neck. No better way to accomplish a chore.

The creek was down a bit, but since the winter snowpack had been good, it was still just fine for what they needed. Heath dismounted near a nice set of rapids that he particularly liked and knelt down there. He scooped water up with his hands and with his hat and poured it all over his head and neck, enjoying the coolness running down his back and chest.

He took a hatful of water and put his hat on his head, then remounted and took off back toward the herd.

He did not get far. Someone, somewhere, took a shot at him.

His horse reared and Heath went tumbling off. He rolled into some rocks for cover and looked all around for any sign of who had fired at him. But there was plenty of cover for an assailant – trees to the west and south, a big rock outcropping toward the east, further upstream.

Heath saw nothing – not a reflection of light off metal, not movement through the trees or the rocks, not a thing. With a big sigh, he saw that his horse had not run far before it stopped to nibble some grass. Could he get to it?

He tried. Someone fired, and Heath scampered back into his rock cover.

He sighed, and looked, and sighed again. Now what?