Lucas (2 page)

We’ll find another way.

“You have a lot of
talent, Lucas,” Noah said as if reading his thoughts. “It may take some time,
but he’ll come around.” He stood and picked his hat from their father’s desk.

“What’s this?” Noah
asked, pulling an unopened envelope from a collection of papers on their
father’s desk. Noah held it up and showed Lucas. It had been addressed to
Jonah, Noah, and Lucas Deardon with fancy writing. The corners were bent and it
looked as if it had been there for quite some time, but had yet to be opened.

“It’s nothing.” Their
father snatched it back from Noah’s hands and cleared his throat.

“It was addressed to
us. Don’t you think we should at least know who it’s from?” Noah persisted.

“Just someone trying to
stir up trouble. Let’s leave it at that.” The stern expression on their
father’s face said that was the end of it and they should not press it any
further.

Noah bobbed his head
with a reluctant nod, but Lucas was growing increasingly suspicious of their
father. Though tempted to snatch it right out of his hands, he refrained,
gripping the brim of his hat a might tighter instead.

“Well, that didn’t go
over like I’d imagined.” Their father tucked the letter in his back pocket and
continued as if there was nothing else to say. “We still need to figure out how
we can come up with the money for the herd. Why don’t you boys take some time
tonight and think on it. We’ll discuss it again tomorrow. We’ll leave a legacy
all right.”

Lucas and Noah looked
at each other.

“Did Jonah say, ‘our
child?’” Lucas asked.

It only took a moment
before both of them scrambled out the door to find their older brother. Jonah’s
words about their father having left his family behind had sparked an idea in
Lucas. There was a way to get the money, but he doubted anyone was going to
like it.

Lucas thought of the
conversation he’d had with his cousin, Raine, when they’d visited Redbourne
Ranch last year in Kansas. Raine had told him that Granddad Deardon had
provided an inheritance for all his grandchildren if they married before the
age of twenty-five. Jonah had met the requirement when he and Emma wed and
Lucas knew if he could convince their grandfather to uphold his end, they would
have enough to purchase the herd and save the ranch. If not, he could always
ask for a job.

There was just one
thing left to do. Find their grandfather.

“Do you ever get the
feeling we are more like business partners than his family?” Noah asked as they
stepped outside into the brisk evening air. “Jonah was right, you know. Mama
leaving left Dad a broken man. I’m not sure he even remembers how to be just a
father, not the boss,” he mused.

Lucas’s thoughts turned
to the woman who’d destroyed their once happy family so long ago. “Do you ever
wonder what it would have been like if she hadn’t left? Do you think that
letter was from her?” Lucas wondered aloud.

Noah turned to look at
him. “Come on, we’ve got Jonah to find and work to do.” He haphazardly smacked Lucas
on the shoulder.

Arggggg.
He bit back a curse.

Montana, Dakota Territory

Lucy Russell stepped
down off the stage, followed by two other young women who’d come west for the
same reason. A husband.

The burley driver stood
up on his very tall seat and tossed down several packages for some of the
townsfolk, a few large trunks, and a gaggle of smaller bags from atop the
coach, earning him exaggerated gasps from the other two soon-to-be-brides. It
took a moment before he found hers, but the man, who’d allowed her to ride on
his seat when the coach had become too stuffy, carefully handed down her lone,
oversized carpet bag.

“Good luck to you, Miss
Russell,” the driver called as he tipped his hat and recaptured the reins.

She smiled and waved
him goodbye. With a quick attempt at brushing the thin layer of dirt from her
traveling dress, she looked up to face the little town of Thistleberry,
Montana. It was the hometown of Gilroy Hearn, her betrothed—even though she’d
never met the man. The settlement was a far cry from the busy streets of New
York, but as she took a deep breath, she couldn’t help the excitement this
opportunity brought. She had a plan. And this is where she would make her home.

Several men and women
had gathered around the stage and Lucy looked for any sign of the man who’d
been described in her letters—average height and build with a thin mustache.
Plenty of men looking on fit that description, but as she glanced toward each
of them, none seemed to be there to collect her.

Maybe he’s just running
late.
It was hard, after all, to predict the exact time a stage might arrive.

A rather large framed
man with sunny blond hair picked up the enormous blue trunk that belonged to
one of her traveling companions and slung it up onto his back, evoking a giggle
from the girl that made Lucy’s eyes roll. A young, nice looking man with a
slight mustache walked toward her and suddenly her heart started beating
heavily in her chest. She stood up straight, prepared to offer her hand.

He smiled at her,
tipped his hat, and reached down for the brown riveted trunk she hadn’t
realized sat next to her feet. Her uneasy smile froze in place, her gaze
quickly darting from man to man as they lined the street.

He’s not coming.

“Excuse me, ma’am, but
are you Miss Lucy Russell?”

She spun around with a
smile, anxious to meet the man who belonged to the deep and rugged baritone voice.

“Hello,” she said,
annoyed at the slight crack in her voice. She certainly hadn’t expected him to
have white hair and a clean shaven face.

He’s old enough to be
my grandfather,
she mused as she craned her neck to look up at the tall gentleman. H
e’s
certainly not average…anything.

With her back straight
and her chin held high, she extended her hand. “Gilroy Hearn, I presume?”

The man cleared his
throat, but instead of taking her hand, he took her bag.

“Liam Deardon, ma’am,”
he corrected, meeting her eyes straight on. “Now, here’s the thing...” He
scrubbed the back of his curled fingers across his leathery looking jaw line.

Her stomach dropped
along with her hand.

“If you’ll just come
with me I can explain on the way.” He threw her bag into the back of a
buckboard waiting behind them in front of the General Store.

“On the way to where?”

“Home,” Mr. Deardon
announced. “Whisper Ridge Ranch.” He held out a hand to help her into the
wagon.

She lifted her skirt
and slid her other hand into his, unsure what to make of the situation. “I
don’t understand. Where is Mr. Hearn?” She sat on the bench, determined to
silence the alarm that sounded in her head.

The older gentleman
gingerly pulled himself up onto the wagon seat next to her and collected the
reins. “I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news.” He looked straight ahead and
snapped the leather straps in his hands. “Hi-yah!”

Oregon, One Week Later

“Montana isn’t that far
away. It’s only a couple of hundred miles,” Lucas told Jonah as he tightened
the saddle strap on his horse. He winced slightly at the pain the motion shot
through his shoulder. “Adonis here will get me there with no problems, won’t
you boy?” He patted the gelding’s back.

The horse whinnied as
if he’d understood every word.

Lucas laughed.

“You can’t travel there
alone.”

“He won’t have to,”
Noah stepped into the stable and pulled his tack down off the wall.

Lucas smiled. “And just
how did you get out of heading over to Eureka and working Markham’s ranch?”

“Oh, I didn’t. I’m to
report there first thing tomorrow. I was referring to Jonah. I think he could
use some distance from this place. From Dad.”

“And what about Emma?”
Lucas asked.

“What about me?” As if
on cue, Jonah’s bride walked through the stable doors.

His brother’s face lit
up and he scooped his wife into his arms and kissed her smack on the mouth.

Lucas knew he should
look away, but it was good to see Jonah happy. He deserved that.

“Good morning,” Emma
greeted them, a light blush staining her cheeks.

The one thing he
regretted about leaving so soon was that his niece or nephew would likely be
born before he would return.

“You look beautiful,
Emma,” he said, leaning down and kissing her on the cheek.

“We’ll miss you around
here, Lucas. Take care of yourself.” She handed him a small knapsack. “Just a
few things for your journey.”

“Thank you kindly,
ma’am.”

Jonah’s forehead
wrinkled above the bridge of his nose.

“I’ll be fine,” Lucas
told them. “I’ve taken a job accompanying the stage as far as Virginia City.
It’s good money, enough to get me to Thistleberry and back. I’ll be home before
you know it.”

“Does Dad know where
you’re headed? He should be the one leaving for Montana to face his family. Not
you. Not with that shoulder.” Lucas knew how difficult it must have been for
Jonah to stand up to their father, but he’d said it had been good for the soul,
though he still sensed some hostility between the two men.

“I told him about the
job with the stage and he was fine with it.” Lucas took a step toward Jonah,
who mumbled something unintelligible under his breath.

“Look, we all have to
do our part. Noah is going to Eureka to learn cattle ranching, you have to
oversee this last herd and its delivery, and I...well, I have to find Granddad
Deardon and persuade him to un-disinherit us. Is that even a word?”

“No,” Noah shook his
head with a snort.

Jonah opened his mouth
as if he was going to say something, but Emma stepped in between them, looking
up at her husband.

“I don’t know where I
would have been without my grandfather. He is the reason I have you.” She
smiled.

A light chill swept
over Lucas and gooseflesh rippled his skin.

“Your father is a proud
man, Jonah. What was it you said? You shouldn’t be punished for his mistakes.”
Emma threaded her arms beneath Jonah’s and leaned up against him. “Lucas is
right. Finding your grandfather may be more important than you think. And it’s
not just about the money. You should get to know him. While you still have a
chance.”

Lucas beamed, grateful
that someone understood why he had to go. “That’s a wise woman you’ve got
there, big brother.”

Jonah sighed. He bent
down and brushed his lips lightly over Emma’s, then deepened the kiss. When he
pulled away, he lingered on her eyes a moment, then turned to Lucas.

“Take this.” He set
Emma aside as he pulled something from his pocket and slid it into Lucas’s hand
before yanking him into a fierce embrace. “God speed, baby brother,” he
whispered. “God speed.” With a quick pat on the back he turned and walked from
the stables.

“Good luck, Lucas,”
Emma said as she stood up on the tips of her toes and placed a kiss on his
cheek before hurrying to join her husband.

When Lucas opened his
hand to reveal an old, oval-shaped, gold locket, his heart skipped a beat. He
clicked it open. There was a photograph on each side—one of his granddad and
the other his grandmother—the last before she died. Because of the strain
between their father and his family, Gabe Deardon’s children hadn’t even been
allowed to go to her funeral. Lucas snapped it shut and squeezed with a
grateful upturn of his mouth. He didn’t remember much about the woman, except
that her hair had always seemed to smell of warm bread. He smiled wider.

“You ready?” Noah had
finished packing his beautiful paint gelding.

“As I’ll ever be.” He placed
the closed locket in his vest pocket and scooped up Adonis’s reins.

He and Noah would be
able to ride together for the better half of the day before the road would take
them in separate directions. They led their horses out into the yard and
mounted.

“Let’s go.”