Prologue

Crystal Springs, Nevada

1881

“Would you get done with your work and stop daydreaming, girl!” Nina felt her stomach turn as the mere sound of that man’s voice revolted her. Her job at this inn was one she needed and as repulsive as Bill Lanely was, he was her boss.

She took a deep breath and thought of her sick mother. Irene had worked all her life to take care of Nina and her younger brother Cal. Now, Irene was too weak to even get out of bed, and Cal was too young at nine years old to work even as a laborer.

“Almost done!” Nina yelled back as she swiped at a few loose hairs that hung in her face. Her green eyes narrowed; she didn’t have to look at him to know the letch was gawking at her. He had a penchant for young girls, but that was one line Nina swore she would never cross. She heard his footsteps as he came closer and stopped washing the floor.

He had tried to touch her last week and seemed he thought he stood a chance. Nina waited a moment and turned to face him. It was better to see what he had planned then to let him think he stood a chance. Nina breathed a sigh of relief when he withdrew his hand.

“‘Almost’ doesn’t put coin in my pocket, so get a move on! Or do you want to find yourself other work?” He growled in response, spitting everywhere as he spoke. Bill’s reddened face looked more like a rabid coyote as he smeared his sweaty palms across his fat belly. He might have left her be this time but his eyes were roaming her body in a way that warned her he would keep trying till she had little choice.

He paid half of what other establishments did, but it was the only place that would take her as she was only nineteen with little experience. The place also looked half as nice as the other inns. The dark curtains were moth eaten and matted with dust. The lick of paint that was still left peeled from the walls and ceilings, and the wooden floors hadn’t seen polish in over twenty years. Nina had tried many of the other places before she had found work at The Lane. The dirt and neglect seemed to mock her every time she walked into the place.

She closed her tired eyes, and they stung behind her lids. She opened them and dragged her feet on the wooden floorboards to get to the heap of washing waiting for her. Once that was done then she could go home and cook a hearty meal for her mother and Cal.

She smiled as she thought of the potatoes she had managed to grow in their dry, unforgiving patch of land that’s been in the family as long as they’ve existed. She had saved up all month to get just enough food in the house so that every day wasn’t a worry.

Some days having just a slice of bread to eat was as good as a Christmas feast. Today? Well, there would be meat with supper tonight and potatoes fresh from the earth. Nina became so consumed by her daydream of planning her perfect supper for her family that she had the washing all folded in no time.

As Nina closed the door to the laundry room and made her way upstairs to the inn’s exit, she heard a rumble that came from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. She froze in place as fear poured down her spine like ice water. Something is wrong, she thought frantically as she clung onto the wooden railing at the foot of the staircase. The earth vibrated under her feat so violently that her knuckles went white with the sheer effort of trying to keep her balance.

A moment later the air went eerily quiet and Nina let go of the railing to see if she could find the cause of the tremors. She felt her finger sting and looked down to take a splinter from her thumb with trembling hands. There were mines near the town, and there had been a few collapses in the past. Nina had been in school when many if her friends had lost their fathers. If it was another cave-in at the mines, she prayed that nobody had lost their life today.

Lamps that had been burning throughout the small inn where laying on the floor, the kerosene oil had spilled onto the floor and lit on fire. “Oh no. No, no, no,” Nina muttered, breaking into a run to help other staff as they lashed at the flames with blankets. Nina felt her throat go dry as she looked all around her as the flames started to rise higher and higher. Nina ran to help where she could until she heard screams coming from outside. Nina went to the front of the inn—she had to see what had happened.

When she reached the front door, the sound became deafening. Nina watched in horror as a wave of water forced its way through the main street of Crystal Springs. The raging water echoes in her ears as her heart matched the torrent in front of her. Nina felt like time stood still as she noticed a calf in danger, right in the path of nature’s unforgiving wrath.

She took a steadying breath and put her foot out the door when she felt a hand enclose on her wrist. “Miss, you can’t go out there.” It was Matthew, a boy who had had a crush on her for as long as she could remember.

“Matthew, I have to go check on Mama, you know she’s sick. What if…” Nina choked suddenly as the unthinkable dawned on her.

“I’m sorry, Miss, but it’s just too dangerous out there. Please see some sense,” Matthew pleaded.

“Matthew, let go! I know you mean well, but I have to go. Where’s Cal? Cal!” Nina hollered and looked around in panic. She had to find her brother, who had been at her side until that very moment. I have to make it home in time! Mama can’t get up by herself, I have to make it! Nina thought as she set eyes on Cal. Relief made her feel exhausted but she had no time to recover if she wanted to make it home.

Nina went to leave but the flood crashed past the inn taking half the porch with it. Matthew, who had been holding onto her wrist, had pulled her back into the building in the nick of time. The second wave dashed any chance of leaving, and Nina had no choice but to watch, helpless as her home and her mother were the next victims of the flood.

At first it looked like a dust cloud coming their way and then they heard the sound of crashing buildings as the water swallowed everything in its path. Nina felt her legs melt beneath her as she faced the direction of her home.

“Mama, no!” Nina heard a piercing scream that hurt her ears. She looked down and as her lower body became ice cold only to realize for an instant that she had jumped into the water out of panic and was about to go under. Nina felt hands grab onto the collar of her dress and drag her up and back into the inn. Nina blinked as she lay on her back and looked up at Matthew and Rita, a cleaning lady that had run to help get Nina back inside.

“Thank you,” Nina said in a tone that had no one emotion to it. Her own voice sounded like she was mouthing someone else’s words.

“Nina, are you all right? That’s what I was trying to tell you, there’s just no way into that water to help anyone,” Mathew said, checking her over to see if she had any bumps or cuts. Nina moved away from Matthew when he tried to dab blood away from a small cut on her temple.

It’s…gone! Her mind screamed as she fell to the ground, her disbelieving eyes taking in the gaping tract of land and water where her home once stood. The torrent of water rushed past having swallowed what had been a wall with beautiful windows that invited the light in. The hard wooden planks of the inn’s porch bit into her knees. Nina winced as she knew before looking that she has scraped her knees. Her head pounded and a muscle in her neck twisted into a knot, but her heart ached more. Cal was standing at the stairs nearby, and he inched forward as if to help. Yet he paused and just watched quietly, not knowing what to do.

“Mama, no!” Cal screamed, his face contorted with grief, his eyes bright with tears that knew no end. His sobs were met by others as the townspeople gathered, realizing they had lost their children, their husbands, and their wives. The few who were left had lost their entire existence in the blink of an eye.

Cal stood still as a statue, and Nina knew he had seen every part of their house being swept away. His eyes wide and unblinking he refused to say a word. His entire body was visibly shaking as he stated unblinking at where their house had been, where their mother had been.

“Cal, it’s going to be okay,” Nina soothed as she gripped his shoulders and tried to make him look at her. “Cal, please just look at me.” Nina had never seen him like this. He didn’t seem to hear or even see her; all he could do was stare at the water that still rushed past where their house had been. Nina tried to make enough sense of what had just happened to be able to help Cal. Yet not one coherent thought would glue itself together in her mind. She hugged him tight to show that she loved him and that she would be there for him. The rest had to work itself out.

The entire town had been built on the backs of four generations of hardworking people who settled there, and every building had been swept away. Even if they could wait for the water to settle, they would have to start from scratch. How many of the survivors would want to stay where they had lost it all?

Chapter One

Crystal Springs, Nevada

1881

“Cal I…I miss Mama too, but we have to make it to somewhere safe and we have to be strong,” Nina soothed as she fought to suppress the tight ball of emotion rising in her throat. She knew she had to be strong not only for her brother but for herself as well.

Yet the sorrow continued to consume her. “I’m heading for the church to see if there’s a way for us to make a new start. If we go out the back, we should make it to the hill. You stay quiet and have respect. Only speak when Pastor Allen asks you something, okay?” The boy just stared at his feet. “Okay?” Nina repeated. What is going on here? Nina thought as her eyes roved Cal’s face, struggling to read his emotions. She had expected him to share in her grief but the boy that stood in front of her was a stranger. The little baby she had helped raise and had prayed with just before bedtime was gone. It’s as though I lost Cal as well today, Nina thought sullenly, and she had no idea how to heal his sorrow.

“Okay, Nina!” Cal snipped as he balled his fists at his side.

“Cal, I want nothing more than to go home and let things be as they were but we can’t, buddy. You saw what the water did to most of the town, right? Where will we sleep? Where will we eat, Cal? We don’t have money or even clothes left. We have to just think for a moment, okay?” Nina stood in front of Cal with her arms folded. “And another thing, Cal, we only have each other so don’t you get snippy with me, you hear me?” Nina concluded, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks. It may be true that her emotions were a bit raw and she was hard on the boy, but Cal wasn’t going to start speaking to her like he wanted.

“I’m sorry, Nina,” Cal mumbled a half-hearted apology and continued to study at his worn-out boots. There was a patch sewn into the toe where it had worn paper thin. Their mother had fixed them with love, once. The memory of her fixing Cal’s boots was as clear as if it had happened yesterday. Cal had run in to show his mother that his boot had a big hole in it. She had walked over to a small wooden box on her sewing table by the window.

“Now, Cal, what did I tell you about kicking trees with your boots?” Their mother had teased him as she had worked with skilled hands. She had cut a patch from an old pants and had sewed it on good and tight. Nina smiled as she reminisced, only to open her eyes and break the daydream. She would never see her mother do all the little things she used to do for them again.

She was gone, and they had no other family.

Cal had been a sweet child all his life. He had always admired Nina as his older sibling. Right now, she felt like a failure and hurt that he had turned away from her so quickly. Yet Nina felt miserable being so tough on Cal.

She felt ripped up inside; he was just a boy. Rather than touch any more raw nerves, Nina decided to leave the subject and cut Cal a break. They only had each other left, and it wouldn’t do to become his enemy. In this moment, something had to be done to help Cal and herself. She had to find strength and guidance, so what better place than in church?

Nina came closer to give Cal a hug to cheer him up. Yet Cal jerked away from Nina and refused to let her hug him. Nina couldn’t remember a time she had felt more hurt. “It’s okay, buddy, and you know what? Pastor Allen will know exactly what to do. Just think—when we finish our conversation, you and I can go on a grand old adventure just like in the books you read,” Nina reassured, her expression softening at the sight of him. Cal looked lost. Before now he just wanted to play and learn new things but he looked defeated.

She knew if she made it fun for them both, they just might make it to a better life. “I love you, Cal,” Nina whispered, and turned away to conceal the unexpected swell of emotion.

In the past, when Nina had shown him affection, the boy had shied away, crying, “Gross, Nina! Don’t hug me, I’m not a baby!” Today, he embraced her tightly, taking a while before he let go. He had learned a hard lesson in the cruel ways of the world today, and there wasn’t a thing she could do about it. Nina slowly let go of Cal. She didn’t want to leave him alone but it was best to see Pastor Allen alone to speak frankly.

“I’ll be right back. Don’t move a muscle, okay?” Nina commanded, yet with a lighter tone, and Cal gave her a nod and a small smile.

She walked up the small hill to the chapel, her feet slipping and struggling in the mud left behind by the receding floodwaters. The town chapel had been built not long after the mines had started operating. Men working in the dark, confined spaces of the mines looked to the chapel for courage, the sight of its steeple a beacon of strength as they left the mines to return home again. The chapel had also been useful when there had been accidents where men couldn’t be saved, even with the doctors on site. Today, the old bell in the tower would ring three times to signal the town’s loss. Nina looked around at the damage and felt sad that all the work people had done over the years was now just rubble.

As she contemplated the town’s history, Nina’s boots sunk deep in the muck. If the miners could toil for hours on end, she thought to herself, gritting her teeth, well, then, I can too. I’ll make it up that hill. Nina looked back at Cal to make sure he was still safely behind her. She had just seen the entire town disappear in moments; she had to be sure Cal was still there.

Taking her eyes off Cal once more, Nina looked down and saw red paint on a small piece of wood. It might not have been whole, but the markings were unmistakable. There was still a piece of it that was big enough to see a candy painted on it in blue.

Nina had taught Cal the color and had bought him one that was a different color every time. It had been a good way to teach the boy his colors, shapes, and sums, too. Cal hadn’t understood sums until it concerned how many pieces of candy she had bought.

The sign had once hung proudly above the local dry goods store. She had been there every Thursday morning when the candies had arrived. She didn’t ever have enough to buy more than two apiece for her and Cal, but it had been worth it. She closed her eyes and could taste the caramel toffee. The tang of salt on her tongue encouraged her to linger in the memory just a moment longer, and she didn’t realize she had been crying.

The sweetness of the memory ushered in thoughts of when they had gone to church as a family every Sunday. Nina and her mother had dressed in their finest. By others’ standards, their frocks weren’t all too fancy, but to them, the dresses were truly the best they had. They would wash their dresses with care and put them away every Monday, clean, starched, and pressed for next Sunday’s outing.

Meanwhile, Cal had been determined to learn how to knot his own tie. Over the course of two weeks, the small family had arrived just in time to hear the start of the service, but the boy beamed with pride over his efforts. Afterwards, Cal and the children had played in the garden that was now underwater. At least the flood had the respect to leave the chapel itself be, Nina thought to herself, grief constricting her breath.

Nina looked up at the large wooden cross that adorned the top of the entrance as she entered and felt a sense of peace as she got inside and looked towards the altar. Nina waited for the pastor to get up from prayer. He had his head bent and his hands pressed together as he whispered reverent words of thanks. Once he got up, he turned to greet whoever had just come in. His face changed from one of serenity to one of joy.

“Well, I’ll be! If it isn’t little Nina Roberts!” The pastor exclaimed and greeted her with a friendly smile. Despite being nearly seventy years old, his dark hair only had a few silver streaks at his temples. A smile lit his bright eyes as he beheld Nina.

“Pastor Allen, it’s a sight for sore eyes seeing you. I…I just don’t know what to do.” Nina turned from the pastor and paced up and down. She only settled when Pastor Allen put his hands on her shoulders to settle her.

“Come with me child,” Pastor Allen soothed as he led the way to a small office next to the altar. “Take a seat dear girl and tell me what’s on your mind.”

“Thank you, Pastor,” Nina replied as she slowly sunk into the hard, wooden chair. He moved to the other side of the desk to take his seat. He smiled encouragingly and waited for Nina to feel ready to speak. “You see, we lost our Mama and…and…” Nina trailed off and wrung her hands in her lap. She didn’t want to break down now, not until her and Cal were both safe. Taking a deep breath, she continued. “I need to know what to do next. We don’t have much money but I need to make sure Cal and I get somewhere safe.” Nina felt proud she could get her thoughts in order and speak the words.

“Do you reckon you have enough to take the train west?” Pastor Allen asked as he frowned in thought.

“I reckon I do, Pastor, but what lays west besides more dust?”

“It seems there’s need for skills only women possess.” At his cryptic words, Nina’s bright eyes widened to the size of saucers. “Oh no! No, no, my child I would never suggest such a thing!” Pastor Allen reassured her with a soft chuckle. “I meant skills like cooking, cleaning, and other domestic duties. Not every town has women who can do that for the working men, you see. Some towns aren’t well established and their wives don’t see it fit for themselves and the children. The terrain is too treacherous, and fresh water and food aren’t always available. Any family that wants to settle there runs a high risk of not surviving. It’s sad, really. After all, when the men returned from the War Between the States, there was no work for them. They had no choice but to try their luck in the mines or out on the range.”

“It makes sense and they sure can’t pay me less than what that greasy Bill Langley and his rotten inn did,” Nina spat, realizing a moment too late that her words were uncharitable. Her sharp green eyes flickered tentatively to meet his gray ones. “I’m sorry, Pastor, that was uncharitable. That man just gets me all worked up with how unfair he is.”

“It’s human nature to feel anger and resentment towards people that might be treating us unfairly. Yet it is important to not act as they do; all that causes is more cruelty and sin to be brought into this world.” Pastor Allen smiled as he caught the change in Nina’s facial expression, her eyes were wide as saucers against her ashen complexion. “I’m sorry. I did not mean to chastise you. Stay true to yourself, Nina. You’re a good person and I want the best for you. I’m also terribly sorry to hear about your mother. You and her both will be in my prayers every day. How is Cal taking this?”

“Not well at all. He’s more subdued and we already almost got into a fight,” Nina murmured with her head in her hands.

“Don’t worry too much; it’s only a natural reaction for loss. I will pray for you both to have strength and guidance.”

“Thank you, Pastor,” Nina replied with a small smile.

“Now, I reckon you and your brother need something in your belly. Let’s take a look and see what we have around here.”

Nina smiled softly, grateful for the Pastor’s desire to find something for her and Cal to eat. Her heart ached as she thought back to the meal she had been planning to have as a family. She thought of how they would have laughed and eaten until they couldn’t anymore.

The mental image was bittersweet as she clung to the memory of her mother—how her face, though weathered by a hard life of barely making ends meet, held a light that had never dimmed. Her gentle, empathetic smile had never faltered in front of her children as she stayed strong for them.