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Chapter 1

Colonel Harrison read the letter a second time, then leaned back in his chair and sht That was the only way to describe the letter: the answer to a prayer

Just to ht it did, he looked at the letter again General Yovington had issued orders froton, DC, that Lieutenant L K Surrey was to leave the post of Conment But since Lieutenant Surrey had died just last week, Colonel Harrison would have to choose sonment in his place

Colonel Harrison’s somery to take Lieutenant Surrey’s place The lieutenant, now replaced by Captain Montgoer into the gold fields of the Colorado Territory He was to remain with her and her s as the lady needed hiers she would possibly encounter on her journey and to do what he could to make her travels more comfortable

Colonel Harrison put the letter down, handling it as though it were a precious relic, and smiled so broadly his face nearly cracked Lady’s o o ordered away from Fort Breck

Colonel Harrison took a few deep, cleansing breaths and thought about having his own fort to co to deal with the perfection, the cool knowledge of Captain Montgoer would the men look to their captain for confirmation of every order, for permission to do what their colonel asked of them

Colonel Harrison thought back to when he first cao His predecessor, Colonel Collins, had been a drunken, lazy old fool Collins’s only concern had been surviving until he could retire, get out of Indian country and go back to Virginia, where people lived in a civilized manner He was content to turn over all responsibility to his second-in-coomery’s record had to be seen to be believed He’d been in the arht years he’d worked hih the ranks He’d started as a private, and, after extraordinary heroisone from second lieutenant to captain in ahe’d outrank Colonel Harrison in another few years

Not that thehe’d ever earned in the aro his head He was generous, fair, and understanding with the enlisted ht he ran the fort The officers went to him with their problems; the officers’ ladies fawned over hiomery didn’t drink, didn’t patronize the whores outside the fort; he’d never lost his te He could ride like a deallop, shoot the eye out of a turkey froe and a ses Hell, even the Indians liked him, said he was a omery would die before he broke his word

Everyone in the world seeomery Everyone, that is, except Colonel Harrison Colonel Harrison loathed the man Not just disliked hi the captain could do that the colonel couldn’t made the colonel despise him more The enlisted men saithin a week after the colonel’s arrival that Harrison didn’t know anything about the West, and the truth was, this was the first time in his life the colonel had been west of the Mississippi Captain Montgomery hadn’t volunteered to help the colonel learn the ropes; no, he was much too polite for that, but, in the end the colonel had had to ask him some questions The captain had always known the answer, always known the best w

ay to settle any dispute

It was after Colonel Harrison had been at Fort Breck for five an to hate thea sixteen-year-old daughter who practically swooned at the sight of the man, didn’t help matters