Sanderson
Redding is set to go west to a waiting job as an Indian Agent—if Charlotte
agrees. Leaving their home in Arkansas isn’t easy, but there’s not much left of
Altrose—and no jobs for men with families. War veteran Jerry Thomas has secured
positions for himself and Sanderson in California, but they must leave
immediately. With a heavy heart, Charlotte bids goodbye to her father, Minerva,
and Cotton. There’s no time to spare, and they set out early the following day
for California.
Travel
is hard on Charlotte, who is pregnant, but she finds a new measure of
determination to face what comes their way—including a prairie fire, hostile
Indians, and a hard childbirth she is afraid she might not survive.
EXCERPT
A heavy chunk of coldness fell upon her shoulder. “Sanderson!”
A fist-sized ball of ice hit
Achilles on the rump. He reared. Somehow, Charlotte managed to keep her soggy
seat. “Somebody, help!”
“Cover your head, Charlotte,”
Sanderson shouted through the din. But his words were lost in the swirling
storm.
For a moment, the panic
cleared. Get under a tree!
Charlotte thought. Ride out the storm. Her horse, though,
was in no mood to be placated or to
take cover.
“Achilles is spooked from the
hail!” she called to the men who had, moments before, been mere feet from her.
It was no use. She lost control to the chunks of falling ice. The more hail
that pelted down, hammering him from head to rump, the more spooked Achilles
became.
Before
anyone could come to her rescue, Achilles was running flat out into the
blinding storm. Due north, away from Sanderson. Away from Jerry. Away from
their destination. And straight toward Breakneck Canyon.
