The majority of the characters do not belong to me. Just using them for entertainment purposes only.
CHAPTER 1
Twenty year old Griff King leaned up against the prison wall that contained him and about thirty other convicts. The smell was unbearable to newcomers, but after a while it became normal and nothing to gag over. His mind traveled back over the years to when he was just a little boy and his world was at peace. The memories were a happy ones. What a stupid kid to think they would last forever! The good memories were quickly overtaken by ones that would haunt his mind forever. The day his life had changed for the worse...
"Good night my love"
"Good night, Ma" fifteen year old Griff whispered from where his head of unruly hair was almost completely tucked under the warm quilt that covered his bed. The weather had started turning cold. In the recent mornings, when Griff went to milk the cow and feed the chickens he could see his breath suspended in the air for a few moments. The fall was his favourite time of year. The air was scented with a feel of anticipation as if something exciting were to happen. The trees were ready for the change as well and had decked themselves out in the bright colours to welcome the winter master. They soon would fall at her bidding, but for now were ready with the best they had to offer. Tonight as he lay in bed, he felt different. Griff didn't rest easy with his normal anticipation of what the next day would bring. He rolled back and forth in his bed as the hours crept on. His stomach was tight with anxiety. Griff stretched his arms out in front of him to try and shake the feeling off. Nothing worked. Tomorrow his life would change. His ma was marrying a man that she had met while Griff had been for a few months working in Billings, Montana. He knew this was bound to happen at some point, but it seemed a little rushed to him. He had only met this man on two occasions. And now he would be living on their little farm. His life was about to change. For as long as Griff could remember it had just been him and his Ma. They had never been really close. No, not close, but they were always there for each other. His mother was never one for showing affection, but he could see it in her eyes, and whenever she called him, "my love". Would anything change when there was a grown man around the place?" Finally exhaustion won over worry and Griff drifted off into a restless and troubled sleep.
The next morning arrived, Griff pulled his tired body out from under the warm covers of his bed and stood up. He hurried to dress before the cold entered his bones. Today would be his last breakfast with just his ma and himself. He hurried outdoors to get his chores done, before his Ma had breakfast finished. Frost covered the yard and the rising sun cast a warm glow over the cooler tones of the frosty trees and grass. Griff cleaned the horse stalls, fed the milk cow, two horses, and half dozen chickens that pecked at the straw covered ground in search of the bits of grain. He split a few logs of wood into blocks for burning and some for kindling. Picking the pieces up, he got a large splinter in his hand. Griff picked it out, he felt nothing. He was numb. Nothing was sinking in today. The chirping birds seemed to be far away. The sun rays seemed to mock him with their beams of cheery light. Today was not a day for sun! It was a day for cloud and rain. The mood that was over him was a mix of despair and anxiety. Something didn't feel right. The way this man looked at him whenever he spoke made him feel uncomfortable and even scared. Scared? Yes, that was it.
"Come on Griff, what do you have to be scared about? He is just a man, and you are acting like a baby." Griff's words to himself mocked his thoughts.
"Man up, you are sixteen, you have nothing, absolutely nothing to be worried about. Besides if things are that bad you can just leave. Maybe even head back out to Billings and meet up with that Candy fellow that I worked with. He would let me ride along with him, I'm sure. But maybe I am just overthinking things, it might not be bad. Maybe I'm jealous... Come on, Griff! Get your head in the game!"
Griff's thoughts were interrupted by his mother's call for breakfast. The day was officially underway.
The ride into town was a quiet one, Griff drove their buckboard while his mother sat beside him. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. She looked happy, something that she hadn't seemed to be in a long time.
"Ma, are you sure about this?"
"Yes, Griff I am." His mother reached for his hand and held onto it. That action surprised Griff. He looked his mother full in the face.
"I know you may have some worries son, but he is a good man. He will be a great help around the farm and will give you more time for your studies. I know he loves me, and I love him. And the both of you will grow to love each other as a father and a son do" His mother continued to talk, but Griff wasn't paying attention. Father? Was that what this man would become? Griff felt himself stiffen. He wasn't ready to open his heart to anyone besides his mother. Let alone a stranger! The rest of the ride into town was completed with Griff sitting in silence while his mother sang praises about his soon to be step-father.
The ceremony was short and simple. A judge, a witness, Griff, his mother and that man. Vows and a ring were exchanged, signatures were written, and with that it was over, or as Griff looked at it-it had just begun.