Prologue

Columbus, Nebraska

Late October 1882

“Hello? Anybody there?” Sam called out, knocking with his fist at the back door of the small town’s only general store. He stopped to listen, but heard nothing. Which was odd, because the owner, Mr. Heddy, had sent for him specifically. The rider had reported a claim of vandalism which Mr. Heddy wanted to have investigated immediately. Despite the fact that it was already past midnight.

Being the sheriff of Columbus, Sam felt it was his duty to protect any civilians from harm, so he’d gotten dressed, left his beloved wife Elizabeth and newborn child Ruby, and ridden the fifteen minutes into town. He hated leaving them. His precious little family was his whole world.

Thankfully, the sky was crystal clear and there was still some snow on the ground in places, so the full moon lit up the landscape enough for Sam to see without having to use an oil lamp or torch, which would have given away that he was coming if any robbers were still lurking around.

Strangely enough, nobody was. No thieves, no Mr. Heddy.

Sam had checked the front door and even the side door, where he’d left his horse, but they were all locked. He looked for signs of forced entry, but he couldn’t find any. From what he could see, not even upstairs where the owner lived. No damage on any of the doors, no windows broken.

Sam started to wonder whether he’d been imagining things but then the back door finally opened and a very sleepy Mr. Heddy appeared in the doorway. He’d clearly just gotten out of bed, because he was wearing his long night gown and his gray hair was a mess.

“What’s with the ruckus so late at night?” the grouchy old man grunted. “Don’t you know that the store is closed?”

There didn’t seem to be any urgency in his demeanor. He squinted at Sam, shoving an oil lamp toward his face. His eyebrows shot up when he recognized him.

“Sheriff? What are you doing here?” he exclaimed in surprise. “Is everything all right?”

Sam stared at him, utterly perplexed.

“Didn’t you send a rider to my house to investigate a crime at your store?” Sam asked, bewildered. His stomach sank when Mr. Heddy slowly shook his head.

“No, I didn’t,” the old man said. He seemed just as surprised. “Has there been a break-in? I didn’t hear a thing!” he told Sam with wide eyes.

“I checked everything,” Sam replied, confused. “No signs of a break-in.”

“Well, that’s good!” Mr. Heddy said with obvious relief on his weathered face. “Must have been a mistake, then.”

Sam stared at him incredulously as realization trickled into his mind like a thorny claw.

“So, you didn’t send for me?” he asked one more time, just to make sure he wasn’t imagining things. The old man shook his head more confidently.

“Oh, no! Not at this hour!” he exclaimed. “I wouldn’t have you come all the way out here in the middle of the night! Who’d do such a thing?”

Indeed. Who would do that?

Sam’s heart started racing and the hairs at the back of his neck stood up.

Something was not right. Not right at all.

“I’ve got to go!” he said to the old man as he turned on the spot. “I’m sorry I woke you, Mr. Heddy!”

The store owner replied something to him, but Sam couldn’t hear it. The blood was rushing too loudly in his ears. All he could think about were his wife and newborn child. He needed to get back home as soon as possible.

He ran to his horse and jumped on its back, turning around and kicking its flanks even before he hit the saddle. Sam rushed the animal harder than he’d ever done before, which was dangerous in the middle of the night in the dark, but he needed to make sure that his family was all right. His baby, Ruby, was merely three months old and his wife, Elizabeth, was still recovering from the difficult birth.

“I should never have left!” he kept repeating those words over and over as he urged the horse forward.

The more he thought about it, the more a terrifying thought solidified in his mind. There could only be one reason that rider had pulled him out of his home in the middle of the night. He’d wanted to get Sam away from the house.

But why? They weren’t wealthy. They lived a modest life on a small homestead.

Leaving the outskirts of the town behind him, Sam started to push his horse even harder, yelling at it to go faster. The fear threatening to choke him grew ever larger when he raced around the large rock formation leading toward his dainty little home.

The foreboding orange glow of a large fire appeared in the night sky right where he knew his house stood. He tensed up so severely he could barely breathe as he yelled his wife’s and his daughter’s names.

The closer he came, the taller the flames rose up into the sky. Screams echoed through the night, interrupting the roar of the rapidly growing blaze. There were men yelling and whistling. Sam took the shortcut and forced his horse through the small patch of woods to get there quicker.

Then he saw it.

His house was entirely engulfed. Glass was splintering from the heat and the wood of his log home was crackling as the flames licked around every inch of it. The fire lit up the area, but the several men he saw were nothing but black shadows.

Somebody dragged Elizabeth down the steps of their porch, then two men heaved her gruffly onto a horse. He could hear Ruby’s screams. Sam was still too far away to stop it from happening and though he’d pulled his revolver to shoot, he couldn’t risk shooting Elizabeth or his baby.

They quickly dispersed in different directions, but Sam had his eyes locked on the horse Elizabeth was on. Two men were dragging her along and as Sam got closer, he could see that his wife was struggling to keep upright.

“Elizabeth!” he called out to her in desperation. “Let her go!” he yelled at the men.

But they just pushed their horses to run faster. Sam was terrified that Elizabeth would fall and get hurt. And where was Ruby? He could still hear her cries, but they were somehow subdued.

Having raced all the way from town already, Sam’s horse started to slow down from exhaustion.

“No! Don’t let me down now!” he yelled at it, desperately firing his revolver away from the men and his wife to make them stop, but they just kept going.

“Elizabeth!”

The men chose a treacherous path, known to be tricky in daylight, let alone at night. It led straight into a ravine, a narrow pathway winding through sharp and pointy rocks. Sam panicked. He could barely breathe, his heart beat so fast.

He knew that there were some stoney overhangs one would need to duck underneath to keep going, but the moonlight didn’t reach that far down and the deeper they got, the thicker the darkness grew.

The riders as well as Elizabeth disappeared from his view, and Sam’s horse had nothing more to give. He had no choice but to trot after them at a slower pace. Furious rage mixed with utter devastation, yet there was nothing he could do.

A piercing scream rang out. Elizabeth.

Sam’s blood ran cold. He could hear the commotion ahead of him as it echoed in broken sounds from the rugged rock walls surrounding him, but he couldn’t see it. He tried once more to push his horse to go faster, but the terrain didn’t permit it. Loose rocks and pebbles caused the exhausted animal to slip. He couldn’t risk it.

Then came a small clearing, leading toward where the low overhang was where any rider would have to duck. A sliver of moonlight fell all the way into the ravine, finally providing a bit of visibility.

He heard Ruby crying as clear as day right in front of him. There was moaning, but no horses or riders, though he could hear them disappearing in the distance.

As he came closer, Ruby’s crying sounded so close, he stopped his horse and listened. She was right there, just outside that small beam of light in the darkness.

Sam jumped off his horse and rushed toward the spot where he could hear his baby, treading carefully so as not to miss her. It pulled him once again into the darkness and he almost stumbled over the body on the ground. Leaning down, he felt for it.

“Elizabeth!” he cried out when he realized that it was his wife. And Ruby, who was still screaming. Immense relief washed over him.

“Sam?” Her weak voice came from the darkness like the voice of an angel.

“Yes! I’m here, Sweetheart! I’ve got you!” His fingers searched for Ruby and he realized that Elizabeth was still holding her in her arms. Sam did his best to lift both of them up as carefully as possible so he could bring them out into the moonlit clearing to have a closer look at possible injuries. Elizabeth moaned again when he did that. She felt unusually limp in his arms, though she was still holding onto Ruby.

“Please, dear God! Let them be okay! Please,” he prayed up to the heavens until he found a flat spot lit up by the bright moon where he slowly set Elizabeth on the ground, propping her back up against a large boulder.

“Bear with me, my love! You both escaped! You’re safe now,” he kept reassuring her over and over again. Sam carefully pulled Ruby out of her embrace, kissed the crying baby on the forehead, and gently placed her next to his wife, making sure to use the blanket she was wrapped in as a soft cushion.

Looking her over, he couldn’t really know if Ruby was okay or not, though she was waving her little arms and kicking her legs without restriction and her strong crying had calmed down a lot, which led him to believe that she was uninjured.

“Is she… all right?” Elizabeth asked. Her voice sounded broken.

Before he could reply, his wife’s head rolled violently to the side, so he instinctively caught it with his hand to protect it.

“Elizabeth! Are you all right?” he exclaimed, even though he knew that she wasn’t.

He felt it at the same time he saw it. A large, dark stain on the side of her head.

Holding his hand up into the light, the sticky liquid was all over his fingertips as well. Blood.

The initial relief he’d felt upon finding them turned into icy fear, gripping his heart like an iron fist, slowly squeezing every bit of hope out of him.

“Sam…” Her voice was merely a whisper now.

“Elizabeth!” he called out to her. “Stay strong! I’ll get you help! I promise!”

Sam jumped up, turned around, and looked for his horse, trying to figure out how he could get both of them home safely without straining her, but then he realized that they didn’t have a home anymore. It’d burned it to the ground.

He spun back around to his wife and sank to his knees. They were stuck there, unless he somehow managed to get both of them all the way back into town. The severity of the situation scared him to the bone. He had a cold, hard pit in his stomach. Maybe, if she could rest for a bit, to garner some strength, then maybe by sunrise…

“Please, bear with me, my Love! I’ll find a way,” he pleaded. Elizabeth smiled weakly and lifted one of her arms to gently touch the side of his face with her dainty fingertips, the way she always did. He took it and kissed the palm of it, just like he always did.

“I… love you… Sam,” she whispered. “Take good… care… of Ruby… for me…”

Why did this sound like a goodbye? Her eyes fluttered shut and her fingers slowly slipped away from his cheek.

“No! No! Elizabeth! You will do that! You will be there for her, and me!” he yelled as he pulled his wife into his arms, gently supporting her head on his shoulder. “You will not leave me! Do you hear me, Elizabeth Brown? I won’t allow it! Stay strong! I need you to be strong!”

Elizabeth’s arm slowly slipped to the side. Sam grew desperate and started to lament at the moonlit sky.

“God cannot have you yet! Lord, don’t take her away from me!”

He gently rocked his wife’s limp body, speaking into her soft hair as tears rolled down his face.

“You can’t leave me, El! You cannot leave me! I need you! I love you so much!”

This couldn’t be happening.

Why would God let this happen to her? To Ruby? To him?

Then, Sam could feel the shift in the air.

It was as if the moonlight suddenly dimmed somewhat, as if the stars stopped blinking, as if the crickets stopped chirping and the lightning bugs stopped flying.

It was as if the wind stopped whispering Elizabeth’s name.

Her body slumped and he could hear the very last breath she took as Elizabeth’s soul left her body.

Chapter One

Pony Creek Ranch — Nebraska

Four Years Later — Early September 1886

“Do you see that?” Ellen asked as she stepped through the double doors out onto the porch, shielding her green eyes against the low afternoon sun.

“See what?” Sadie asked without taking her eyes off the ledger. She sat at her father’s old oak desk, going over the numbers for the last quarter. They looked mighty good. She’d once again managed to increase her profit by a significant margin.

“The rider!” Ellen exclaimed as she turned around to her best friend, brushing some loose blonde strands behind her ear. “You’re having a visitor!” she added with a pointed glance when Sadie finally looked up. Seeing the mighty dust cloud following a fast-galloping horse, Sadie raised her eyebrows.

“Who is that? And why is he riding as if he’s being chased?” she asked.

“No idea,” Ellen commented with a shrug. “Should we be worried?” The young women exchanged wide-eyed glances, but then they heard Daniel—the foreman—step out in front of the large ranch house.

“Are you expecting a visitor, Sadie?” he asked.

Looking over to him, Sadie saw that he was carrying his rifle. She smiled. He was always a step ahead.

“No,” was her simple answer, so Daniel cocked his gun.

Being as wealthy as Sadie was, she’d learned from a young age that the perks always came with drawbacks—people wanted her money, her time, and her land. The way this rider raced down the long winding road toward the ranch house, he probably wanted all three of those things.

Two more ranch hands stepped out and positioned themselves on either side of Daniel, their hands securely resting on their revolvers.

Despite the peculiar situation, Ellen leaned closer to Sadie and hooked their arms.

“Doesn’t he look so dapper, the way he’s standing there?” Ellen murmured to Sadie with a wide grin. Sadie rolled her eyes and shook her head with a smile.

She knew who Ellen was talking about, because Ellen had been infatuated with Daniel since she’d been five, when she’d watched him successfully break in a small bucking horse as a scrawny nine-year-old with a mop of brown curly hair and mysterious hazel eyes. At least, that’s what Ellen had told Sadie that day. Daniel had fallen just as hard for Ellen when she’d come to him afterwards, handing him a single, slightly wilted purple flower.

However, despite their obvious love for each other, they still hadn’t tied the knot, which Sadie couldn’t understand at all. After all these years, they hadn’t even admitted their feelings to each other. It was utterly peculiar, but Sadie didn’t want to get involved. That was between them.

She looked back at the rider.

Her shoulders sank when she finally recognized the man. It filled her with dread. She hadn’t seen her uncle in half a decade. Walter Nielsen wasn’t a very nice man, and she mostly remembered that she really didn’t like him all that much. What did he want all of a sudden?

“No need to worry, Dan!” she called out to her foreman and the two ranch hands. “It’s just my uncle.” The ranch hands both nodded and left, though Daniel stayed a little longer. He knew all about their family history, particularly about all the trouble with Walter, and he’d openly told Sadie that he didn’t like him.

“I’ll stay close by,” he called back to her. “Call me if you need me.” With that, he turned and walked away, though not very far. Sadie was so very grateful. She, Ellen, and Daniel had grown up together and since Sadie’s parents’ untimely death three years ago, these two had become her family. Both were like the siblings she’d never had.

Walter pulled so hard on the reins to get his horse to stop, it reared up right in front of the porch where Sadie and Ellen were standing and released a distressed squeal. The poor animal foamed at the mouth and was clearly worn out, yet her uncle didn’t even care to lead it to the large water trough a couple of feet away. Instead, he dismounted, jerked the heavily breathing horse along by the reins, and tied it closer to the steps leading up the porch. Sadie ground her teeth.

One thing that wouldn’t be tolerated around here was animal abuse, and she knew that Daniel, who was watching the whole thing, was just waiting to tend to the horse as soon as Walter left it.

“Niece!” Walter called out to Sadie as he raced up the stairs in his cream-colored suit. After that hellish ride, it looked a little dusty. He pulled off his hat and patted himself to get the dirt off. “I need to have a word with you!” he said with a stern voice. No hello. No how are you? Just the demanding tone he talked to her with. That man had no manners.

Sadie watched as he combed his long fingers through his oily black hair before he put his hat back on. He still looked unhealthily gaunt, exactly as she remembered.

“Nice to see you, too,” she replied with a single raised eyebrow. “It’s been a while. What brings you here?”

“Do you really need to ask?” he scoffed at her as he stepped closer. “Whatever could be the reason for me coming to this wretched place, hm?” He towered over Sadie and Ellen, who was still holding onto her arm, and stared at his niece with his beady black-looking eyes. “Why did I need to find out about Ned’s death through strangers? You don’t think it’s rude not to share your parents’ deaths with me?” He was yelling now.

Sadie thought about her parents every single day, but being so brutally reminded of the cruelest time of her life felt like a slap in the face. Having to think about her parents’ fatal accident was still so painful it took her breath away. She blinked rapidly to get rid of the sudden moisture in her eyes. Ellen gently squeezed her arm.

Sadie was also shocked at his accusation about not contacting him. She clearly remembered sending him a telegram informing him of his brother’s accident and subsequent death.

“I notified you,” she replied calmly after she’d steadied her composure. “You must have not gotten my telegram. I sent it to your last known address.”

He scoffed again and shook his head.

“Don’t lie!” he shouted. “You clearly did not, or I would have learned about it sooner!” he spoke to her in a derogatory manner, looking down his long nose at her.

The audacity of that man! At twenty-five years old, Sadie was clearly no longer a child and wouldn’t be spoken to like this. Instead of answering, she just raised her chin and looked him square in the eyes. His unjust insults didn’t deserve a reply.

“Either way, doesn’t matter now, niece,” he continued dismissively as he straightened to his full height. He was at least a foot taller than Sadie and had no problem with staring at everything right over her head. “I’m here now, so things will change around here once I get my bearings. Where is your father’s safe? I need to see all the books and ledgers so I can start taking care of things. From what I can see, this place is falling apart. You clearly need my help.”

Ellen and Sadie exchanged another look.

“What are you talking about?” Sadie exclaimed. She was almost amused. The ranch house had been painted just last year and everything looked pristine. “Everything is very well taken care of and nothing is ‘falling apart’!” she replied matter-of-factly. Not to mention that Sadie herself had increased business revenue by well over fifty percent since she’d fully taken over her father’s ranch.

Her father, Ned Nielsen, had built everything from scratch and worked his way up to become one of the most successful and recognized horse breeders, covering a large region in the western territories. He’d taught Sadie from the young age of seven every single detail of how to run the ranch, so she’d been well prepared on the business side of things.

“Hm,” was all he said as he tapped his nose with his finger. “We’ll see about that. And once we are married, there won’t be any more of this galivanting around, either.” He twirled his finger around in a circle to include her and Ellen. Both women looked at each other, perturbed. The man spoke in riddles.

“Once we are married? Whatever are you talking about?” Sadie asked again. Her urge to laugh at his ridiculous statements was overwhelming, but in the back of her head an unknown fear crept up her spine. She was an adult, so she couldn’t be forced into that kind of thing, could she? If this was true, then what could she do to stop it?

There was no way that she would ever degrade herself to that level. He was her uncle, for crying out loud. That was not only wrong, it was disgusting.

Sadie shook her head. She’d had enough. He needed to be stopped.

“I’m sorry to inform you, but I’m already married,” she blurted out before she could stop herself. Spewing lies wasn’t something she usually did, but she was desperate to stop her uncle from spinning his insane story any further.

Ellen kept a straight face, but the fingernails digging into Sadie’s arm gave away her shock. It mirrored Sadie’s own.

Walter paused and stared at Sadie with open curiosity. His eyes narrowed to dangerous slits as he leaned down, way too close to her face. His disgusting breath stank of alcohol and something rotten and it hit her so bad, she had to take a step back.

“I don’t believe you,” he replied through gritted teeth. “When was your wedding day? What’s his name?” Sadie’s cheeks burned. What now? Ellen’s hands grabbed her arm tighter, encouraging her to keep going.

“You don’t know him,” Sadie lied with a shrug, trying to appear nonchalant. “He’s not from around here.”

“And where is this mysterious husband of yours right now?” Walter demanded to know, dramatically looking around. “I would love to have a word with him.”

“He’s away on business, but he’ll be back soon,” Sadie supplied. Ellen kept her steady, keeping her from trembling too obviously. Walter scowled.

“When?” he asked with a glare that was so intense, it could have melted sand.

“In a few days,” Sadie quickly replied. Her mind was reeling. Where would she find a husband in just a few days? Would she need to pay someone to play that role? How embarrassing would that be?

It didn’t matter. She’d do whatever she needed to do to keep this man out of her life.

Walter snorted at that.

“Of course,” he laughed derogatively. “All right. Then I shall return in a week. Make sure he’s here, so we can speak man to man about what will happen with my inheritance. This ranch is mine, so you’d better prepare yourselves.”

Sadie ground her teeth. She refused to be baited by his delusional claims.

Walter turned without saying another word. Ellen released a soft growl, but Sadie tapped her arm not to show any emotion toward that horrible man.

Walter walked down the steps and turned in either direction. His horse was gone. He spun back around to Sadie with a nasty scowl on his face.

“What happened to my horse?” he yelled at her. “I demand it back this instant!”

“No need to scream, Walter,” Daniel said as he slowly walked a much calmer horse back toward him. “I made sure the poor thing was properly taken care of.”

“Poor thing?” Walter exclaimed with a huff. “That beast doesn’t listen one bit. I should sell it for soap!” he yelled. Sadie and Ellen both gasped at the comment. As soon as Daniel handed Walter the reins, her uncle jerked on the halter to turn the horse toward him, which instantly made the gelding tense and nervous.

Sadie could only watch as he mounted the animal, whipping it hard with the leather straps across its shoulders while simultaneously kicking the flanks so harshly it reared up again. She had to turn away—she couldn’t bear it. When she heard them ride off, she sighed.

“What in the world…?” Ellen called out angrily. “I don’t think I have ever met such a rude man in my life! And what was he even talking about? His inheritance? And marriage? Has he lost his marbles?”