Prologue
Opening the flap of the medium sized sheep tent he lived in, Brian Keagan stepped into the crisp morning air, grateful for his new, heavier coat. At six feet four inches tall, he was a giant of a man. His naturally wavy hair, once the darkest brown one could find, was now pure white and was just long enough to touch the top of the coat's collar. He reflected on how his old one had been as effective as a mere jacket—the cold easily seeping through its thin material. He gazed at the sky. The far off mountain tops seemed to be adorned with strips of reddish orange, yellow and a thin slice of pink. He recalled his sea-faring father saying if it was red in the morning the sailors took warning. That being the case, the breath-taking sight made him wonder if a storm might make an appearance somewhere in the near future.
He looked down at 'Charlie'- his twelve-year-old Alaskan Malamute. He had been with Brian since a pup and had handled the cold weather of the mountains he'd roamed and trapped in for a number of years without a problem. Only, Charlie had long since grown old, and Henry worried about the dog. Sighing, Brian admitted the dog wasn't the only who had grown older. The fact might not have bothered the gentleman much only it wasn't just the dog and himself that Henry had to think about. He shifted his gaze towards the open fire pit-one that his baby sister had started a fire in. Now she was cooking their breakfast over the dancing orange flames. Silently, he laughed. He was sure Mariah would not appreciate being referred to by that term. If anything, she would-most likely- retort with something akin to 'I'm not a baby. I'm simply the youngest in our parents' family.' Unlike Brian, Mariah barely reached five feet. Her brown hair was so dark that it could be mistaken for black. If she'd had it hanging loose instead of done up in a bun on the back of her head, it would easily have touched her waistline.
He couldn't help but sigh yet again. There were a fair number of years between him and his sister Mariah, as he was the oldest of his father's children-and she the 'surprise' that occurred in their parents' 'golden years'. More than once one of their other siblings had insisted Mariah would be better off living with one of their brothers on their farms as the idea of her living with their sister and husband wasn't close to an option. Oh, it might have been only their brother-in- law, Steve, and Mariah got along as well as oil and water. It didn't make a difference though. Mariah had just turned eighteen when their parents were killed in a freak stagecoach accident. Through the years, Mariah had made it crystal clear, she only had an interest in living in two places...in the mountains with her oldest brother or on a ranch. Up to now, living anywhere but the mountains – with an occasional trip into Merced- had not been an option for him. At least, in his eyes that was the case. However, after an old friend had traveled out of his way to find Brian the day before, they were now facing the very real possibility of leaving the mountains sooner than either he or his sister had planned on.
Out of the corner of her eye, Mariah saw Brian approaching. The expression that was on his face spoke loud and clear, something was wrong. Only question was...what was the problem? She braced herself for the worst when her brother made his way to the side of the fire pit and said, "We need to talk."
Chapter One
The streets of Stockton were filled with noise as myriads of people walked up and down the boardwalks, rode their horses-or drove their buggies and wagons-in and out of town-along with coming in and out of various buildings. None of it bothered Nick as he stabled his horse in 'the best livery stable this side of the Mississippi'-as the owner of the business-always claimed. Nick didn't know whether or not he agreed with the statement, though he did agree it was the best in Stockton. '"Good to see you, Nick."
Joshua smiled. "Heath wanted to let you know he'd meet you at the bank. That is, if you rode into town before noon."
Nick was surprised, but not totally shocked. After all, the army had wanted to look at some of their horses and, with Nick out of town, Heath would have been the one showing the horses to whichever officer the army sent.
"All right," Nick retrieved his saddlebags off Coco and headed for the door. Soon he was walking down the boardwalk, passing one building after another and returning more than one 'Hello' to a friendly acquaintance passing by. However, he stopped dead in his tracks as he heard Emmett Stone-the young, red-headed son of the newest employee of Stockton's telegraph office-calling out for him. The young man often delivered many of the telegrams received at the office.
"Where's the fire, lad?" Nick smiled, though he quickly grew somber as Emmett handed him the telegraph and heard what the young man-who he could see was fighting to keep from grinning from ear to ear-had to say.
"It's from your wife." Emmett, who really wanted to stick around and find out just when the famous Stockton rancher got married, had to force himself to turn around and hurry back to the telegraph office. His father had already given him the lecture of a lifetime-when it came to sticking his nose into other people's business without permission. He didn't want to get another 'dressing down'-as his mother was always saying when his father started in on one of his lectures.
When it came to Nick, his jaw felt like it had fallen to the ground. He looked at the unopened telegram in his hand and felt shock waves roll over him more than once. He moved his saddlebags just enough to open his vest and slip the telegram into his vest's inside pocket. He then headed towards the bank, deciding he'd read it once he and Heath were out of town.
