Page 1 (1/2)

1838

The Republic of Texas

FIRST SHE HEARD THE HOWLING of the wolves In the West, once you got past the cities and out on the trails leading to the lands of the ranchers and homesteaders, the sound wasn&039;t unusual It was still eerie, but it wasn&039;t unusual

But this was so early

And after that, when the air went so very still

That hen Molly Fox knew that soenerally a fine guard dog, was acting like anything but He started to whine, tucked his tail between his legs and, keeping low to the ground, crept into the bedrooe silence continued Molly listened, but she couldn&039;t even hear the sound of the windLawrence&039;s old rifle, she went out on the porch As she stood there, she saw the dying sun far on the western horizon

As she watched, it see out tentacles of flame to tease the heavens It was beautiful, but then, as if it had been enfolded in a dark blanket, it suddenly disappeared as it plues of pink and pale yellow, one; night had taken over

Molly stood in the darkness for a ave herself a shake and quickly retreated inside to light the kerosene la in the bedrooh she was still illogically unnerved herself

She was accusto out here Lawrence and she had picked up stakes from Louisiana and come here to accept her inheritance from a father she&039;d never met: a small cattle ranch, but not a very profitable one Still, they had been able to hire five hands, who lived in the bunkhouse just the other side of the stables, and she even had a girl in from town to help her clean the place and keep up with the cooking, five days a week They were young; they spent their nights drea hard to make those dreams a reality

When he was off on a cattle drive, like the one he had recently left on, Lawrence didn&039;t like to leave her alone, and he&039;d once suggested that they splurge for her to stay in town, but she hadn&039;t wanted to go He worried about a rogue cowhand or a rustler, or a plain old villain of any variety, whoBut she kne to shoot, and she would hear a horse Plus she had Bartholomeho at the very least er around

He didn&039;t usually hide under the bed

Molly set about lighting the rest of the la area, kitchen, and even her bedroom-she didn&039;t want Bartholo so ain, and Molly heard Bartholo softly in fear

"Bartholomew, you are not a hound, you are a chicken," Molly called to the dog, trying to find a se Your cousins, in the grand sches"

Her own voice sounded unnatural to her

And even as the sound of her words died, she was listening again And what she heard-or rather, didn&039;t hear-was disturbing

The silence was back A heavy silence that soun by the door, and she quickly went back for it Clutching the rifle with one hand, she carefully opened the front door again and walked back out on the porch

There was nothing out there The h now- up in the sky even as the sun had died in all its nificent splendor She could see the yard in front of the house, the strong fence Lawrence and the one out earlier and fed the two horses that relad-she didn&039;t want to be far from the house now, or even Bartholo, and yet she was afraid She wished that she would hear the sound of hoofbeats or rowdy cowhands-or even outlaws; she could handle ill-mannered men, despite Lawrence&039;s fears for her She blushed Lawrence was convinced that she was beautiful, and that, surely, everyone saw it She prided herself more on an admirable sense of honor; she believed in God and believed that He wanted most for everyone to be decent to one another Whenever she said so, though, Lawrence would shake his head, s his eyes, and tell her that she was naive But she was still happy He loved her And he was such a gorgeous , and so capable; she even loved his callused hands, because he got those calluses working for her For their dreams But he did worry

She had the respect and friendship of most folks in town; she certainly wasn&039;t afraid of them Not even of any of the local cowhands or far look

No, she was never afraid

Molly went fro sure they were all securely latched The house had been built with a breezeway, Southern-style, so she went to the back door and assured herself that it was locked and latched, as well

All the lamps were on

The world was still eerily silent

She set water on the stove to et over this silliness, she told herself It would be weeks before Lawrence returned from his cattle drive

While the water heated, she marched herself into her bedroom

Bartholomew had come out from beneath the bed, but he was still crouched low, and he wassound

"Barty, stop it!" Molly i table The kerosene la that didn&039;t help her jitters Her face appeared gaunt in theback at her filled with a shiht and see an to count out a hundred strokes

Bartholomew barked She turned to look at him "Barty!"

He whined, and thuh, she turned back to the mirror

And that hen she saw hiasp and relieved laughter

It was Lawrence Soed fro in a black suit and criht and strong, such a handsoh him; his brows and neatly maintained mustache and beard were pitch-black, like his hair and eyes His features were strong and his enerous, his smile filled with a sense of fun and just a shade of wickedness

She started toward hi His face was so pale He lifted a hand, as if to keep her away

"Molly," he whispered "Molly, I love you"

He was sick or injured, she thought; he looked as if he were about to fall Filled with her love for him, she went to hiet in here? I had the place all locked up Never ? Where are you hurt?"

She slipped her ar hiether, and he turned and stared at her He had to be fevered, and yet he was cold to the touch She brought her fingers to his face, tears springing to her eyes "My love, what&039;s wrong?"

Shaking, he lifted his own hand to her face, his gaze intense as he told her, "Molly, I love you I love you sothat&039;s good and wonderful and pure in life"