Chapter 1

Red Junction, Texas, 1880

This was never going to work. There was a new man coming to run the family ranch, and Briana McBride wasn’t the least bit happy. Her father, Raymond McBride, owned one of the largest ranches in West Texas. She always enjoyed living on the ranch with her father, until he married Victoria Jackson.

After her father married, things went down hill, Victoria had a daughter two years younger than Briana, and things were never the same between her and her father. Her father took to Victoria’s daughter instantly, leaving his own daughter out in the cold. If it hadn’t been for their housekeeper, Abigail Reed, she would have been alone after her mother died ten years ago when she was twelve.

Victoria and her daughter, Tiffany, had been in the family for eight years now, and they were the most miserable years in Briana’s life. Things were about to get worse.

The ranch foreman, Joe Wagner of her father’s Silver Lining Ranch, was killed a few weeks ago. He worked for her father for several years, and in that time she became friends with him. Although to her father it was just a business deal, and now her father had hired a new man from Wyoming. He was supposed to arrive any day. To make matters worse, her presence had been requested up at the main house tonight for supper. She usually tried to grab a bite to eat in the kitchen at night because she didn’t like being in the same room with her stepmother and stepsister, or her father. Nevertheless, she would have to be there tonight; something must be up or they wouldn’t have cared if she were there or not.

Briana tilted her head back, looking at the sun and trying to judge the time. She needed to get back to the house; if she were late for supper, or the evening meal as Victoria called it, she would be in big trouble.

Raymond and Victoria McBride were two of a kind. The only thing they cared about was maintaining their way of life, and Tiffany was growing up to fill their shoes.

Her father was sitting behind his massive desk; his feet propped up, an expensive cigar in his hand and thinking about Nicholas McMurtry, the new foreman he hired; it wouldn’t be long until he arrived. According to his sources, he would be easy to manipulate. Raymond twisted in his chair, looking through the double windows behind his desk. All the eye could see and beyond belonged to him, and Victoria of course.

Thinking about Victoria, Raymond’s eyes took on a glow. Whenever he thought about his second wife, his blood pounded in his veins. She could turn any man into mush and his daughter Tiffany, whom he adopted after he married Victoria, was a sight to behold as well; not like his real daughter from his first marriage. Briana looked like an orphan most of the time; she always wore men’s trousers and a work shirt, two sizes too big. She was disgraceful, but they needed her now. He had made a trip into town to talk to his attorney yesterday and found out some very disturbing news. Moreover, after a long talk with Victoria last night, they had come up with a plan, and the new foreman was going to play right into their hands.

He looked at the clock on the mantel in his office, and decided it was time to get ready for dinner. His whole family would be joining him tonight. He took one more draw from the expensive cigar before extinguishing it, then drained the glass of whiskey on his desk. He was ready for anything.

Briana rode slowly into the ranch yard. She looked up in the direction of the main house, searching for any sign of her family. When she didn’t see them, she relaxed a little. She entered the barn, and stepped down from the saddle with practiced ease. If there was one thing she was good at, it was riding a horse—after all; she’d been riding most of her life.

A smile crossed her face, as she thought about the times she and her mother had gone riding. I really miss her. My life hasn’t been the same since she died, and I don’t think it is going to change for the better any time soon.

After finishing her chores and taking care of her horse, she brushed the dust off her clothes and headed to the house. No sense in putting if off any longer.

Abigail Reed, the housekeeper for the Silver Lining Ranch, was busy in the kitchen, making supper for the McBrides. She had been working at the ranch for eighteen years. She loved working here, because she had been taking care of Briana almost since she was born; she was like a daughter to Abigail. The last few years had been hard on Briana, ever since her father married Victoria. Abigail didn’t like Victoria, or that conniving daughter of hers. In her opinion, they had been up to no good from the day they arrived at the ranch. They have ignored her for the past eight years, and it just broke her heart to see Raymond treat his own daughter that way. Abigail knew Briana’s mother would have had a conniption if she knew how he was treating their daughter.

Miss Abby looked out the kitchen window and grinned when she saw Briana walking across the back yard with very determined strides. Abby knew she was trying to work up the courage for the evening meal. It would be miserable for the girl. Victoria and Tiffany always made her feel like a worn out old shoe at these little get-togethers.

However, she had a surprise for her tonight. She had purchased a simple day dress for her the last time she went into town. Abby had been saving it for a special occasion and it looked like tonight might be just that, but she would break the news to the girl a little later.

Briana looked up and smiled when she spotted Abby through the kitchen window. She loved her like a mother. In fact, she had been more of a mother than Victoria had ever been, not that she was complaining. She had never liked Victoria or Tiffany. They made her skin crawl every time she was around them. Briana opened the back door and stepped into the kitchen.

“Where is everybody at?” she asked.

“They’re upstairs getting ready for supper—excuse me—the evening meal,” Miss Abby said, making a big deal of the mistake. She continued working at the sink, getting everything in order. “You’re running just a little bit behind. You should be upstairs getting dressed. You know they don’t like to be kept waiting.” She turned from the sink, drying her hands on a towel. “You better hurry up now.”

“I’m not in any hurry, it doesn’t take me long to change into some clean pants and a shirt,” Briana said, looking down at the floor. Her father always bought new clothes for Tiffany, but she never got anything new, except new workpants or boots and Miss Abby always made her shirts.

“You better go on upstairs and look on your bed. I think you’ll find something you’ve needed for a long time. I picked it up in town the last time I went for supplies. I altered it, and it should fit perfectly.” Abby watched the young woman trying to decide what to do next.

“Are you saying you bought me a new dress?” Briana didn’t want to get her hopes up. “If you did, you shouldn’t have. The clothes I have are just fine you know. I’m a simple person.” The words had come from her mouth, but she was hoping beyond all odds that Miss Abby had gotten her a new dress. She’d wanted one for a long time, but her father said she didn’t need a new one.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Now get on upstairs and get ready. I’ll be along in a minute, I have to make sure dinner is almost ready, then I’ll help you with your dress and hair. I want you to look nice when you go to dinner tonight.” She said trying to hurry her up.

She started out of the kitchen then stopped, turned and ran back to Miss Abby, throwing her arms around her friend. “Thank You, Miss Abby. I hope you know how much I love you.”

The older woman hugged her, then after a moment, pulled back. “Now, I’m not going to tell you again, you get yourself on upstairs and start getting ready,” she said laughing.

On the other side of the kitchen door, Tiffany stood with her ear pressed against the wood, listening. She overheard every word. It upset her to find out the old housekeeper bought Briana a new dress. The old biddy would hardly give her the time of day, but that would all change one day very soon. If everything worked as her mother and father planned, none of them would have to worry about Briana McBride much longer.

* * * *

The evening meal was in full swing and anything but pleasant when Briana arrived in her new dress. Tiffany laughed, because it was a simple day dress, not an elegant evening gown. Briana said nothing, lowered her gaze and toyed with the food on her plate. She was so engrossed in her own thoughts she didn’t hear her father talking to her.

“Briana, have you been listening to a word I’ve said?”

Jerking her head up, she looked at her father. “I’m sorry, what did you say?” She asked.

“I asked you what you’ve been doing today.”

That was strange. Her father never was interested in anything she was doing but she decided to play along. “Same thing as always, Father. I’ve been checking the watering holes down in the lower pasture. We need rain.” She wondered what he was up to.

“Well, I guess you’re wondering why Victoria and I wanted you to come to dinner. We wanted to let you know that the new foreman should be arriving in a few days. I would like you to drive the wagon to Fort Stockton, and pick him up, but you need to leave tomorrow. I don’t want him to have to wait for you when he arrives,” Raymond said.

She was stunned. Her father knew she didn’t want anything to do with the new foreman, and now he was going to make her go and pick him up. After thinking about it a minute, she looked at him, defiance written all over her face. “Why can’t you send Tiffany after him? I’m sure she’d like the opportunity to get her claws into the new man,” she said, cutting her gaze around to look at her sister.

“You know she is too fragile to make a trip like that by herself,” Victoria snapped. She continued to stare at her with a murderous look in her eyes.

Briana opened her mouth to argue, but decided it wouldn’t do any good. She always ended up on the wrong side of the fence, so she should be used to it by now. She stood up, ready to leave the company of her fine family. “What time do you want me to leave?” she asked her father. Raymond was patting Tiffany’s hand, trying to console her from her rude remark.

“At dawn. I want you there as fast as you can. You’ve made that trip several times by yourself. Just get there, find him, and get back home.”

“Since I’ve got to make an early start in the morning, I’m going on upstairs.” Briana turned, walking away until her father’s voice stopped her.

“Briana.”

She turned. “Yes, Father.”

“Before you leave, you might want to make sure Miss Abby doesn’t need anything from town, and be sure to check with Biscuit down at the cookhouse. He might need some supplies.” He waited for her to argue, but she just nodded.

“Papa,” Tiffany spoke up. She had been quiet, watching Briana’s discomfort, but she had to say something. “You might want to give her some extra money so she can get herself some better clothes. You don’t want her looking like a trail-bum when she picks up our new foreman.”

Briana looked down at the new dress Miss Abby gave her; she was proud of it. “This is a new dress, Tiffany, and I happen to like it just fine.”

“Well, that just goes to show how much you know about clothing. It looks like it came out of a ragbag. It looks perfectly horrible on you,” she said, wrinkling her nose.

“Now, Tiffany, you shouldn’t be so hard on her. Besides, she doesn’t have your sense of style when it comes to clothes—or anything else for that matter,” Victoria said.

Briana turned and rushed out of the room, not bothering to look back. She knew what was going on. Her father was laughing right along with Victoria and Tiffany. One of these days things would change. Miss Abby always told her to wait and her miracle would come along. She didn’t know where in the world it was, but she was sure ready for it.