Brazos Bride

Chapter Two

Brazos Bride 

Chapter Two

"This is my last chance." Micah Stone put the power of his back into scooping a shovel full of moist earth and tossing it aside. "Blast, it seems we've been digging forever. If we don't hit groundwater soon, I'm finished for sure." 

Mired ankle deep in the muck of a dried up spring, Micah fought to keep his balance while he talked to his brothers, Zach and Joel. "Too far to keep hauling barrels of water from your land, Zach." 

Zach barely glanced up. "Even that isn't enough to keep you going much longer." 

They'd hit damp earth, but no water to speak of. Not enough to sate the thirst of his herd, that was for damn sure. Just enough to cling to the shovel and his boots and make digging that much harder. 

Zach leaned on his shovel and stared at the dying cattle hugging the fence between them and water. "Damn Montoya to hell for getting himself killed before he let you cut a path to the river. If not for his orneriness and damned inconvenient death, we wouldn't be forced to scoop out your spring for a few buckets of water." 

Some said Micah and his brothers were alike, but he couldn't agree. Each was tall with gray eyes and black hair, but personalities made them very different. As youngest, Micah had grown up fast in the War and later worked in the Rangers with his brothers. He'd hated being on the move and the gunplay his former life required. 

Micah had finished with killing, had vowed never to shoot at another human. Not after the incident that still haunted his nightmares. All he wanted was to be a peace-loving rancher. To turn this little spot in Texas into a haven, a place he could put down roots and someday start a family. 

Zach was the tallest and best looking of the three Stone brothers. If ladies were nearby, they always smiled at Zach first. Not that he noticed. He had his own spread a few miles west with good grass and water, but not enough to support Micah's herd along with Zach's and Joel's. 

As the eldest brother, Joel was the most serious of the brothers, yet still hadn't decided when or where he wanted to settle or if he'd choose politics. He smiled less than Micah or Zach, but a better man than Joel had never been born. Joel had led Micah's defense in the dark hours Micah had been falsely accused and jailed for killing Alfredo Montoya. 

Whatever people thought about the Stone family, Micah admitted he'd have been lost without his brothers' help these past few months. Though Micah loved this land, he was close to surrender. He'd filed on his section and bought an adjoining section from a man pulling out. Now Micah wondered if he should have left too. 

Scrub oaks and mesquite trees dotted acres of dried up grass. An occasional stand of live oaks offered more substantial shade but not much relief from the dust. High, wooded hills of the Palo Pinto Mountains were visible on the western and northern horizons. The nearest large peak was Stone Mountain, the location of Zach's ranch. The ravines held nothing but cedars and sand, and there was no water hereabouts until the Brazos River. Montoya's five strands of barbed wire denied Micah's cattle access to that river. 

At the other side of the current excavation, Joel ceased digging and flexed his shoulders. "With this much mud, we're sure to hit water soon." He took a swig from his canteen and cast a glance at the endless blue overhead. "Not a dad-blamed cloud in sight. Hellfire and damnation, is it ever gonna rain?" 

"Nothing here but dust and heat. Even a good breeze would help." Against his will, Micah followed his brother's glare at the relentless summer sky, but movement caught his attention. "Rider coming. Lord, I hope it's not more trouble." He'd already had his fill and then some, more than enough to last this lifetime.