Chapter 1
“Katie!”
Kateboltedupright,reverieshattered, dreamy thoughts scattering on the wind like pigeons spooked from the rafters of a barn.Oh no.She surged to her feet.No, no, no, no!
She saw Danny’s distant form frantically waving his arms and took off down the hill, strong arms pumping, bare feet pounding the fresh spring grass, her thick tangled braid of chestnut hair bouncing wildly against her back.
A weight of dread washed over her, pulling her down until she felt like she was barely moving. Not again! Her green calico skirts twisted around her churning legs, tripping her, almost pitching her flat on her face as she reached the bottom of the hill. She nearly swore in frustration as she gathered up the layers of cumbersome fabric and sprinted toward her brother sitting absolutely useless on his mount, grinning roguishly, casually waiting for her as if they had any time to spare.
“Where ya been all this time, Katie?” Danny called out. “Ma’s gettin’ awful mad; you shoulda been back a long—”
“Doesn’t matter!” Kate gasped, windmilling to a stop by his stirrup. “You couldn’t’ve ridden another hundred yards to come get me instead of me nearly dyin’ down that hill?”
Danny grabbed her arm and helped her as she swung up behind him, her skirts pushing up to her knees. Kate didn't care about the impropriety, she only cared about getting back as quickly as possible. She jabbedDanny in the ribs in an attempt to get him moving. He just laughed. Other than the fact that they were practically the same height and had a generous spray of freckles across their faces, no one on earth would believe that they were siblings, let alone twins. “Oh, I didn’t want to wear out ol’ Dutch here on the first day out.” He patted his horse’s neck affectionately. “He’s got such a long way to go.”
“And I don’t?” Kate growled in frustration. “Will you get goin’ already?”
Danny urged Dutch into an easy lope, Kate’s arms fastened securely around his waist. Danny glanced over his shoulder, grinning. “You’re gonna get it!”
She scowled. “You’re just happy it ain’t you.”
“You got that right!”
“Just be quiet and ride. Don’t you know we’re late?”
Danny laughed. “That’s what I been tryin’ to tell you this whole time!”
Kate glared at the back of his head, the color of his flaming red hair matching her mood. How she survived all these years with Danny as a twin, she didn’t know.
They crested a small rise and Kate groaned. The wagon train was already moving. In fact, the lead wagons had passed from view out of the little valley, and the dust of hundreds of wheels and feet and hooves was rising into the air. Even the cattle Pa had bought as a seed herd for their future ranch lumbered along, and another wagon company who had stopped just a mile behind theirs had nearly overtaken them.
Only one wagon sat still. Pa and Ian were with the stock, but she could see the straight-backed posture of her mother sitting alone on the wagon seat. Kate’s mouth went dry. “I’m in so much trouble,” she whispered. Danny snorted and heeled Dutch down the hill.
They barreled up to the wagon and slid to a stop. Kate swung to the ground and climbed as quickly as she could into the wagon seat, careful not to look her mother in the eye.
“Katherine, I cannot believe—”
“I know, Ma.” Kate gathered the lines, hurriedly calling out to the mules and slapping them into motion. The wagon lurched forward.
“Look at this, Katherine!” her mother said, gesturing to the dwindling line of wagons. “We are being left behind, and on the first day, no less!” She threw up her hands in exasperation. “What will people think of us?”
“I’m sorry, Ma,” Kate mumbled, her frustration with herself making her sullen. She flicked the lines, urging the mules to pick up their pace. Danny glanced back and gave her an exaggerated look of sympathy. She stuck her tongue out at him.
“Where were you?” Her mother’s cold voice made her flinch.
“Up over there, on the hill.”
“And what, pray tell, were you doing that was so incredibly important as to hold up the entire train?”
Kate looked away.
“Answer me, Katherine.”
What could she say? That she lost track of time daydreaming about the wonderful life that waited for her beyond the horizon, a life free from suffocating expectations, where she could run and ride and explore, where no one could tell her how to act, where she could just … be?
Kate sighed, glancing at her mother’s stony face. “I was”—she looked down at her dirt-stained feet—“I fell asleep.”
“Next time,” her mother’s icy tone knifed into her heart, “kindly take your rest when the work is done and we are stopped for the night.”
