Ryan

Evernight
Publishing ®

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2015 Vanessa
Devereaux

 
ISBN: 978-1-77233-375-6

Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

Editor:
JS
Cook

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized
reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.
 
No part of this book may be used or
reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the
case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All
names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events,
locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

For Rachel and Grace

RYAN

Big Sky
County, 6

Vanessa
Devereaux

Copyright © 2015

Chapter
One

“You
have to promise me you’ll take good care of this. My dad doesn’t even know I
removed it out of the attic. In fact, I don’t think he’s aware I even know
about it. I stumbled upon it when I was fourteen and up there looking for
something to do on a snowy day. I thought I’d read it and let’s just say it
fired up the imagination of a teenager whose hormones were going crazy,” said
Cash.

Katy
took the padded envelope from him. Inside was a slice of Grantsville history.
A story as equally scandalous as her own family’s famous threesome
of Sarah, Jon and Shaun.
Or so Cash had told her.

“I
will keep it under lock and key when I’m not reading it.”

“I
hope you’re not too shocked by what you find out about my ancestors.”

“If
you haven’t forgotten I own a sex shop.”

Cash
smiled. They’d been on their auction date, another date and she’d taken him
along as her guest to her brother Connor’s wedding to Jennifer
Nealon
, but they hadn’t had sex yet.
Hadn’t
even kissed yet, not even so much as a peck on the cheek.

She
liked him, liked him a lot but she whenever she was with him, Katy got the
feeling he was hiding something. Maybe that was part of his appeal for her.
A man of mystery.
 
She
wasn’t going to give up on him. She would find some way to get him to one, give
her a kiss, two, give her a mind blowing orgasm.

Cash
looked at his watch. “I have to run but happy reading.”

She
walked him to the door, cradling the padded envelope in her arms.

Still
no kiss but he simply walked down the path away from her townhouse and got in
his car. All she could do was watch and hope that her gut instinct and that
little flutter she felt in her heart was accurate and that she wasn’t pursuing
another loser. She’d had enough of them. Despite what her parents thought she
really was the settling down sort of guy. Problem was up till now she hadn’t
found a guy that she’d felt worth was settling for.

Katy
closed the door and walked back into her townhouse. She poured herself a glass
of wine, switched on the gas fire, already feeling its warmth on her body,
kicked off her shoes, and snuggled down in the chair.

She
pulled out the diary from the padded envelope, seeing tiny flecks of the journal’s
binding fall onto her skirt. She set it on her lap and opened it up. Katy was
quite looking forward to reading about a slice of Grantsville history. She took
a sip of the wine and began to read.

Somewhere
between Bozeman and Missoula Montana 1872

Gracie
took the bandana from her pocket and wiped the perspiration from her cheeks.
 
She glanced out through the carriage window
and looked up to the sky hoping she’d see at least one cloud hovering somewhere
nearby. All she asked for was the thinnest fleck of cloud so the sun would have
something to hide behind and they’d get a few minutes respite from the searing
heat.

However,
there was nothing up there, not even so much as a small strand. She glanced at
her father who was now mopping the back of his neck with his handkerchief. The
lady next to her sat fanning her face with both her hands. They would all be fried
alive before they reached their destination. How the folks traveling up on top
of the carriage were faring she had no idea. They must be toasted by now.

The
journey from Wisconsin had already seemed like it had taken years. The roads
were dusty, rough, and the temperature inside the coach suffocating. The driver
had told them the next stop wouldn’t be until Missoula.

The
name sounded so exciting and it would be close to the place that was to be
their new home. Gracie could wait to get there. The man sitting opposite her
began to cough so his wife patted his back.

“There,
there Charlie, we’ll be stopping for a rest very soon.”

He
looked out the window and then wiped his brow. “I think this carriage is hotter
than I imagine hell to be.”

“If
only there was a breeze it would give us some relief,” said the lady, fanning
her face with her hands again.

“It
might be more comfortable riding on top,” said the man before he coughed again.

“No,
we’re better off in here. The sun would beat down on your head and it’s way too
dusty,” said her father. He squeezed Gracie’s hand and looked at her. All she
could think was that his cheeks looked like they were on fire and she suspected
hers did too. Right now she wished she could bathe in a cold lake or stream.

The
carriage hit a patch of bumps and potholes causing Gracie to slide toward her
father. He held her to stop her from bouncing around on the seat. Her butt hurt
and she wished she’d taken out one of the cushions out from their trunk. Maybe
she’d do that on their next stop.

“I
hope we get there in one piece,” said the lady looking out the window. “I think
we might be in for some reprieve from the heat because storm clouds are forming
over that mountain range ahead.”

Gracie
closed her eyes.
Clouds and rain.
Maybe the driver
would stop and let them stand and let the water refresh and cool them down.
 

“Why
don’t you try and get some sleep, honey,” he father suggested. “Rest against my
shoulder and dream about our new home.”

She
was tired, dead on her feet really. She tried to stay awake so she could see
the scenery. See what Montana was like but she’d have plenty of time for that
when they arrived.

Gracie
closed her eyes and set the left side of her body against her father’s arm. She
listened to the rhythmic clicking of the coach wheels and thought back to the
songs she used to sing with her mother when she was a little girl.

“Your
mother has the voice of an angel,” her father had always said when he’d leaned
against the door jamb of her room and listened to her sing lullabies from the
old country.

Her
father wiped a tear from her cheek. Gracie hadn’t realized she’d been crying as
she lay on his arm reminiscing instead of sleeping like he’d told her to do.

“You’re
thinking of your mother again, aren’t you my sweet?” he whispered in her ear.

“I
miss her,” said Gracie.

“I
do too but she’ll always be with us. Always watching over you and taking care
of you. Always remember that.”

Gracie
nodded, trying her best to go to sleep where she could dream about the days
before her mother had died. Those were her favorite kind of dreams because it
was if she was still with them and hadn’t gotten sick.

She
hadn’t realized she had managed to doze off until a loud thud suddenly woke
her. It was if something in the carriage had broken in two. As she sat up there
was a jolt to the left.
 
Her father
wrapped his arms around her holding her tight.

“Hang
on everyone,” shouted the driver. “Just hold on tight.”

“We’ve
lost a wheel,” said the man sitting close to the window.

The
carriage went to the left and then everything seemed to happen in slow motion.
They must have been close to the edge of a ravine or hill because the back end
of the carriage began to shift and slide. The horses cried out almost like they
were screaming and Gracie watched as some luggage and a man flew off the top of
the carriage and went down into the ravine.

“Dear
Lord, what’s happening?” asked the lady who’d been fanning herself for most of
the day.

“Brace
yourselves, hold on tight,” shouted her father, grabbing her like she was going
to slip through his fingers.

Apart
from the time she’d gotten lost in the cornfield on a school outing, Gracie had
never been so scared in all her life. She clung to her father, digging her
fingers into his hands, hoping she wasn’t hurting him.

The
carriage began to roll over the edge, the horses giving more frantic neighs as trunks
and bags went flying through the air.

They’d
be joining her mother soon. Gracie knew that as the carriage slid and its side
ripped open, pulling the man and two women outside.

Gracie
screamed as her father slid from her hands. She could only watch as he tumbled
ahead of her. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see any more. Not wanting to
see him die or watch what rock she’d land against, that would without doubt break
her neck.

She
held onto the carriage seat feeling
herself
falling
and falling until she hit a tree and then, bang, she blacked out.