He was on his way home from his first cattle drive. He’d just run his cows to market in Sacramento. Because he’d never been away from his ranch, not in all these years. He’d sent his cowhands on home days ahead of him and then set out to wander. They were there now, he was sure, caring for the good-sized herd he had left, which were on rich winter grazing land so they needed only minimal care.
He had nothing but time.
The little boy giggled and pulled his thoughts back to the present.
He needed to get these folks to shelter. It was October in the peaks of the Sierra Nevada. October was a serious month up here in the thin chilled air of this stretch of the mountains. It was a man’s last chance to get everything ready for the long, hard months of cold. His ranch was at a lower elevation, but they had to ride a trail that climbed to the highlands, then wound down to get home.
Even at home, lower wasn’t low enough to stop winter from hitting hard. The snow came in feet instead of inches. The wind howled, and the trails locked up deep and tight.
This wagon train had been traveling dangerously late in the season. Though it could hold off for a month, Trace knew at any minute winter could land flat on their heads, and the twenty miles they needed to travel today would become impossible.
There’d be no vengeance today. He needed to tend babies and women and dodge diaper-changing duty with every ounce of his cunning. That’d keep him mighty busy for who could say how long.
Trace straightened from the tracks and turned to see Maddie Sue yanking on Wolf’s tail.
Swallowing a gasp, Trace fought down the reflex to shout a warning and sprint. At any second Wolf could revert to form. He was friendly to Trace, and he’d accepted the hired hands, but that had been slow in coming and the men were mighty careful.
They sure as certain hadn’t yanked on his tail on the first day.
For the most part Wolf was a bad-tempered critter who bared his teeth and growled at most anything new—and a lot that wasn’t new. He was the best protection Trace had at the ranch, and Trace loved him. But that didn’t mean he didn’t recognize the wolfish half of the beast and respect it.
Maddie Sue wasn’t showing one bit of respect.
Trace flinched when Maddie Sue dove at Wolf and tackled him to the ground. Wolf wagged his tail and panted while the child wriggled on top of him and stomped on his legs. Wolf licked the little girl’s face, and she giggled and hugged him tight.
It was just plain odd.
Trace got to the women and children and, acting as casual as a man could, he picked Maddie Sue up and held her against him. It was awkward because the little girl smiled at him and kicked him at the same time. She reached down and yelled, “Doggie!”
Trace figured he was holding her wrong somehow. Then he had an old memory from his pa and hefted the child higher and set her on his shoulders with her legs around his neck. Now he could hold her feet. And when his hat went flying and she used his hair as a handhold, well, it hurt, but it beat having her chewed up by the dog.
“The men I was tracking all followed the north trail. But we need to head south to reach my ranch. It’s the closest shelter.”
The pretty, dark-haired one, Deb, with those shining blue, intelligent eyes that made her seem smarter than Trace probably was, smiled. “So we’ll be putting some space between us and them?”
As if that were a good thing.
“Yep. Are you ready to move on? I’ve been going slow, holding us back, but now we need to push hard.”
“Let’s go.”
“It’s your turn to ride, Deb.” Gwen, the blonde, pretty as a picture and with a sweetness about her that seemed to draw the children, finished with the diaper and quickly dressed the little boy. She seemed to do more of the care of the children while Deb did everything else. And looking at Gwen and those young’uns, a body’d be excused for thinking she was their ma. They all had nearly white blond hair. The two little ones had blue eyes, and Gwen’s were a different shade, more greenish, yet the three looked like a matched set.
“I want to walk a little farther, Gwen.”
“You’ve been walking all morning.” Gwen scowled.
Deb smiled and slid an arm around Gwen’s waist. Sisters. For the first time Trace could see the resemblance when they stood close. The dark hair against the light fooled a man, but they had those same bright eyes and pretty oval faces.
“You know the children behave better for you, and they’ve just had a long nap. Ride with them for an hour or so more, then I’ll take a turn with them when they’re sleepy. You’ll be working harder on that horse than I will walking.”
Gwen’s eyes narrowed. “Deb, I’m not riding all day while you walk.”
Trace could tell these two had similar battles often as they tried to share the work.
Deb laughed and it was such a sweet sound, Trace found himself leaning closer to her. He straightened away as soon as he noticed what he was doing.
“I’ve walked all the way across this huge country, Gwen, and done it mostly carrying a chubby little boy. Walking all day isn’t much of a problem.”
“I know.” Gwen smiled.
Ronnie said, “Mama? Where Mama?”
The smiles on both sisters faded.
Ronnie started crying and clung to Gwen’s neck and repeated “Mama” against it in a muffled voice.
“Where Auntie Dee ’n Unca Abe?” Maddie Sue asked from her perch on Trace’s shoulders.
Trace’s big hands on those little-girl legs
