Travel Winds of Moon Driver Ranch: Sequel to Viajeros-Travelers

by Nancy Sharon Martin

Overview

Travel Winds of Moon Driver Ranch is a western about the people of Bowie and the ranch of the arrogant cattle barron, Tyree Stockton. This seqel brings together the women travelers and the forces of the winds impacting the uncertain desires and wishes they hoped for.

The men and women travelers are united in their endeavors to fulfill their destinies.

Everyone from time to time has experienced a troubling bluster in their lives. What was the message the wind might be sending us as mortals? Perhaps the message was one of power or one of a mystical nature. The Travel Winds of Moon Driver Ranch takes the reader through a journey of which they see the impact the flurries can have on lives. The reader might pay more attention the next time a gale crops up and makes them uneasy,

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781456745769
Publisher:	AuthorHouse
Publication date:	04/28/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	144
File size:	443 KB

Read an Excerpt

Travel Winds of Moon Driver Ranch

Sequel to Viajeros-Travelers

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By Nancy Sharon Martin

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2011 Nancy Sharon Martin
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4567-4575-2

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Chapter One

The cold winter wind blew a few, small, dried mesquite-tree leaves across the barren patio behind the Prittchett House kitchen. Marina sat at the cooks' table placed in front of a large window to enable the cooks to look outside. The winter in Bowie had been brutal. She felt a chill as the wind swirled another patch of dried leaves from their resting place. How they scatter, she thought. The leaves did not ask the wind to move them from the place where they had fallen from the giant mesquite tree. But the wind scattered them just the same. The leaves would not be able to return to the spot from whence they came.

Her daydreaming took her back to the great fiesta that she and Millie had planned. The fiesta had been a great success. All their friends were together, enjoying the food, music, and dancing. The Prittchett House had been full of life and love. Now she realized that all their friends had scattered, just like the dried leaves from the giant mesquite tree. Don Caro had returned to his ranch in Red Rock. Tyree had gone to look for Apaches in the White Mountains. Maxwell had returned to his home back east to take care of his ailing wife. Silas had left to work on the railroad spur at the Moon Driver Ranch; he seldom came into Bowie now. Rumor around town was that Maxwell and Silas were Pinkerton men still on assignment in Bowie. Marina was sure that Millie knew the facts, but she dared not ask about the men for fear of causing Millie to have to break a confidence by telling her. Bones had gone back to his duties as army surgeon at Fort Bowie. Bones visited the widow Sarah Woods from time to time in Tucson. He rarely returned to the Prittchett House. Marina was sure it was because he did not want to meet Tess Collins. He was in love with Tess, but she did not return his affection. Tess and Pickles stayed in Bowie, having opening a busy dress-making shop.

Ross Bender had hoped that Tess would leave town; after all, she had killed a man, causing the Pinkerton men to be hot on her trail. Ross had heard about how Tess had followed a man to Bowie. That man was the Confederate spy, Tom Lacy. He had slipped into a false persona and taken an alias. His new identity was that of an army lieutenant, and he had joined the army at Fort Bowie. His partner was the outlaw, Dente. Their plan was to steal payroll, horses, and cattle. They would send the money back to the South in order to help regain southern power over the North.

Tess had good reason to hate Tom Lacy and to carry out her scheme to find him and kill him: He had killed her family in cold blood, raped Tess, and left her for dead. The rape had left her with his unwanted child. As a result of Tyree Stockton's wild horses bolting on the railroad platform, Tess had sustained injuries, losing her memory for several days, as well as losing the unwanted child. Maxwell and Silas had come to find Tess and arrest Tom Lacy for being a Confederate spy, but Tess had made the first move, eliminating Tom Lacy during a shoot-out.

However, Ross never quite agreed with the verdict that Tess had acted in self-defense that day in the Prittchett House. The two Pinkerton men had assured Ross that Tess was a secret ally of the Pinkerton office, not a senseless murderer. Nonetheless, Ross wished that Tess had not decided make Bowie her home. Slowly, the town had begun to settle down, and Ross thought about maybe leaving Bowie as soon as he could find another lawman to watch over Bowie.

So many people had traveled to Bowie to meet or create their destiny, and now most of them, like the mesquite leaves, had scattered, either temporarily or permanently.

"Scattered," Marina said out loud. She had not noticed that Millie and the old cook, Willie, had come into the kitchen. They walked toward Marina, and Willie shoved a steaming cup of coffee and a freshly baked biscuit in front of her.

"What is scattered?" Millie wanted to know, interested in finding out about Marina's daydreaming.

Marina wanted to gain her composure before answering Millie. After a moment, Marina answered, "I was thinking about the wonderful fiesta we had in October. It seems like so long ago. All of our dear friends have scattered. Will we ever see them again? Will we ever be able to eat, dance, and laugh together again?" Marina welcomed the coffee and biscuit. She did not want to talk anymore.

Millie tried to comfort Marina by telling her that all the people they loved would gather together again. "This cold and dreary February has you feeling blue. Your spirits are sagging. I admit I have worried about the same thing from time to time, but I am sure that we will have many fiestas in the future. Our friends miss us as much as we miss them."

Millie hoped every day that she would have a letter from Maxwell Burton. He had said that he would write to her as soon as he settled in and saw to his wife's care. Millie had no right to expect Maxwell to correspond with her. After all, he was a married man with a young son. His return to his life probably made him forget all about Millie and the Prittchett House fiesta. Millie restrained herself from trying to talk to Silas Daniels, who was Maxwell's partner. Surely Silas must have had contact with Maxwell since he left Bowie. But Silas rarely came to town. He seldom visited the saloon for a whiskey or a night with one of the soiled doves that Rosa Franco had left behind. Millie wondered if Silas avoided her so that he did not have to answer her questions about Maxwell.

Millie decided that Marina was right. The people who had traveled into their lives had scattered. Marina had awakened old memories, and Millie herself began to feel sad.

Millie, too, began to muse, and she recalled that many people had left town, but a new arrival now was the focus of the townspeople's talk. Who might answer the notice that Bowie needed a schoolteacher? The townspeople wondered what she would be like. Millie, as always, would offer friendship to whomever the town selected to be the teacher. Marina also hoped a new friendship was possible.

Willie, growing weary of the two women talking about the past, reminded them that they still had a great deal of preparation for the noon meal. Twenty new travelers were in the massive dining room. More passengers would arrive soon, because the train had just pulled into the station.

Marina finished her coffee and biscuit, and then went to the sink to wash her hands before starting to peel potatoes. Millie left the kitchen to check on the travelers in the dining room. Patty and Liz were already taking food orders, and the customers were grateful for the warm room and the roaring fire in the fireplace. Hot tea and coffee appeared to revive them, and they talked about how wonderful it was to be out of the blistering wind.

The Prittchett House always welcomed travelers from many starting points and with many destinations. After their meal, they would board the train and scatter to the travel winds—just like the dried leaves of winter.

Chapter Two

Ross Bender—Wags, folks called him, because he talked his adversaries to despair—seriously thought about leaving his post as lawman of Bowie. He wanted to leave Arizona and go to the beaches of California. He dreamed about a life by the sea. The hot sun and desert made him weary. The killings and hangings had also taken their toll on him. The shooting and killing at the Prittchett House by the strange red-haired woman, Tess Collins, had caused him to lose confidence in his ability to recognize a villain. He wanted to settle down to a sane, comfortable, day-today routine. Ross had to admit to himself that having Maxwell and Silas in town to help with the turmoil that Tess had created had been a godsend. Ross, in a passing conversation, had made it known that he wanted to retire. Maxwell instantly had grown interested in what Ross had to say. Yet the idea of Maxwell coming back to live in Bowie permanently made Ross almost go crazy with jealousy. Maxwell was interested in more than the lawman's position. It was obvious to Ross that Millie and Maxwell had a quiet affection for one another. Maybe retirement was not the real reason for going to California. Ross had loved Millie for years, but she did not see him as a future husband, only as a longtime dear friend.

Millie, at one time, had been in love, but Apaches had attacked her fiancé's ranch, robbing him and taking his life. Millie never recovered from her loss. Ross had tried many times to help her forget, but she never accepted any of his overtures. Now, since the arrival of the handsome Pinkerton man, it seemed that Millie was a woman who could be interested in a man, and in love, again. Nothing had happened outwardly, but nonetheless, the two seemed to light up whenever they came in contact with each other. Maxwell was always the ultimate gentleman. After all, he was a married man—a man with a young son and a very sick wife back east.

Ross had begun to let his sorrow get the better of him. Folks in town had started to talk. More and more, he ignored the drunks in the streets, seldom arresting them. Cowboys came to town, shooting their guns just to make noise, and Ross did not take them to jail overnight as was his usual custom. He seemed to lose the zeal that had given him the reputation of "one tough peacemaker." If people needed him, all they had to do was go the Mesquite Branch Saloon. Tipp would always tell them they could find Ross at the back table with a bottle of whiskey and a cigar. Tipp liked Ross, and so he secretly hated to watch the lawman drink away whatever demons he couldn't seem to rid himself of in any other way.

Tipp had gained ownership of the saloon after Rosa Franco fled Bowie. Telling him he was very likely to make the place go under, she had laughed as she went out the door. Little did she know about the big, strong bartender. He had never dreamed he would have the chance to make a future for himself. Many of the soiled doves stayed on and continued to work for Tipp. A few of the girls left to work outside of Bowie, in the tent city where crime was rampant, and unsuspecting men lost their money or gold—and even worse, their lives.

Here again, the people complained about Ross, who made his presence known in the tent city less and less frequently. A man had beaten one of the girls to death, and then ridden away without anyone coming after him. The populace of Bowie was irate. Why was Ross not doing his sworn duty of protecting them?

Tipp heard the conversations and grumblings at the bar and at the tables. Ross was at his favorite table, barely able to sit upright. Tipp sent word to the only person that Ross might listen to: Millie Prittchett. Millie was aware of the change in Ross and felt responsible for some of his behavior. Once again, her old suitor had come to ask her to marry him. He promised to leave his work as lawman and settle down on a small ranch outside of town. She told him no as gently as possible. He was her dear friend, and she did not want to crush his pride, but she did not love him—and he knew that she didn't.

Millie had watched Ross leave the hotel and go straight to the saloon, so when the message came to send help to get Ross home, Millie acted immediately, asking Willie and Samuel to go with her to the Mesquite Branch. Both men told her she was out of her mind; she could not possibly consider going to that place, even if it was for a very good reason. She prevailed, and they did as she asked.

Millie's entrance into the establishment caused various reactions. Good citizens of the town were shocked to see Millie Prittchett in the den of vice. Many of the men hastily shoved a soiled dove off their laps, turning so that Millie was not able to see the men's faces. She paid no attention to the attempted cover-up of men she knew were respected family men. The mission objective was to retrieve Ross, and she cared less what the men were whispering about her, or the activity surrounding the reason for her being in the vile place Ross seemed to want to call home, than she did about getting him out of there.

When Ross saw Millie and her two guards, he waved at them. "Millie, my love, what are you doing here?" He tried to stand and take off his hat but the whiskey made him lose his balance. If not for Willie, hitting the floor would have been Ross's only option. One of the drunks shouted to Millie to come and sit on his lap. Ross quickly reacted to the insult to Millie. He drew his gun and demanded that the "pig" take his request back, or he and the undertaker would be having a meeting. The apology was rapidly forthcoming and the "pig" left the saloon by the back door.

Willie and Samuel needed no direction. Each took hold of Ross and marched him outside to the waiting buckboard. Millie drove the team to the back entrance of the hotel so they could take Ross upstairs, out of sight of the curious eyes and ears. Marina had the red room ready. This room was at the very back of the hotel, and it was popular with newlyweds who wanted privacy and quiet. Marina had sent for Pickles and told her to bring her medicine bag. Pickles was the closest thing to a doctor in town ever since Ben Crawford had shot himself after Yolie had run off with Marina's own husband, Efrin. Pickles had a special gift for healing basic problems, and she was always ready and willing to help. Ross knew the spicy young black woman who had helped heal Tess's infected arm after Tom Lacy shot her—he had shot to kill Tess, but failed and only wounded her in the arm. Instead, Tess had shot and killed Lacy.

Pickles opened her bag now and asked for help from the two women in the room. "I need a lot of hot water, salt, and a large coffee cup. You'd better have a large basin close to his head, because he is going to be heaving up almost to his heels. Also, have a pitcher and basin of cold water and cloths ready. I think we can get started as soon as all of these things are in place."

Willie and Samuel placed Ross in a chair beside the table where Pickles had placed her bag. The women situated all the necessary items exactly as Pickles wanted them. She removed a small black bag. The contents had a horrible odor that made everyone in the room react immediately by covering their noses. Pickles put the contents of the bag into the cup of steaming hot water. The odor subsided, and the water turned a beautiful shade of blue. Pickles took Ross's face in her hands and tilted his head back. She opened his mouth, and before he knew it, she had poured a large amount of fluid into his mouth. Using both her hands, she held his mouth shut. Ross tried to resist, but to no avail. The blue fluid finely made its way down his throat and into his stomach. The next substance to go into the mouth of the captive patient was a pinch of salt. Ross swallowed it, and Pickles let him rest. She placed a cold cloth on his forehead, and then quickly put the empty basin under his chin. Marina and Millie watched intently, wondering what the magic medicine was going to do to Ross. The next few minutes were torture for Ross. He heaved and heaved, sure that Pickles had poisoned him and he would die, or at least wish that he could. Millie felt sorry for him, but at the same time, she realized that the whiskey was sure to leave his body—and leave it with a vengeance. It seemed to everyone in the room that the blue liquid took an eternity to pass through Ross's body.

"I do not see that I shall have to repeat the treatment," Pickles pronounced. "Ross should be sober in an hour or two. He might want some hot coffee, but maybe not." She smiled and began to pack up her bag.

As the blue liquid's effects abated, Ross less need for the basin, and he started to cuss at Pickles. "You devil woman! What did you do to me?"

Millie told him to watch his language, advising that at a later date he would thank Pickles for the help that she had given him.

Pickles knew that this was the time to leave the room and let Millie and Marina take the next watch over Ross. Millie thanked Pickles, telling her that they were in her debt. Pickles mentioned she sure could use a piece of Willie's apple pie before she went back to the dress shop. Marina told her to come downstairs, and a piece of pie and hot coffee would be waiting for her. Pickles enjoyed her refreshments, and Marina went back upstairs to join Ross and Millie.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Travel Winds of Moon Driver Ranch by Nancy Sharon Martin Copyright © 2011 by Nancy Sharon Martin. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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