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,

Travel Winds of Moon Driver Ranch

Sequel to Viajeros-TravelersBy Nancy Sharon Martin

AuthorHouse

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

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....