Independent Brake (The Dominion Falls Series) Read online

  Independent Brake

  A Dominion Falls Novel

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Independent Brake (The Dominion Falls Series)

  Runaway

  Awakening

  Found

  Home

  Sarah Cass

  Historical Western Romance

  Sarah Cass

  www.authorsarahcass.com

  Printed with Permission from

  Secret Cravings Publishing

  A Divine Roses Ink Book

  Historical Western Romance

  First E-book Publication: December 2014

  Independent Brake: A Dominion Falls Novel

  Copyright © 2014 Sarah Cass

  Cover design by Sarah Cass

  Edited by Megan Koenen

  Proofread by Mary Terrani

  All cover art and logo copyright © 2014 by Sarah Cass

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  Other Books by Sarah Cass

  The Dominion Falls Series

  Changing Tracks

  Derailed

  Dark Territory

  Runaway Train

  The Lake Point Series

  Santa, Maybe

  Deep-Fried Sweethearts

  Stalled Independence

  Witch Way

  Stand Alone Novels

  Masked Hearts

  Leap

  Dedication

  To my husband, my champion.

  I know you didn’t understand at first,

  But you still supported me.

  Now you push me to write,

  And I thank you for all of it.

  Oh yeah, and I guess for the kids too. ;)

  Independent Brake

  A Dominion Falls Novel

  Sarah Cass

  Copyright © 2014

  Runaway

  There was a knock on her door, and Katherine’s father stepped into the room. His thinning red hair shimmered in the sunlight, and the grin he wore was contagious. “Are you ready, Katherine?”

  “Of course I am.” Katherine leapt from her bed with an enthusiasm that would have disappointed her mother thoroughly. After all, a proper society lady behaved with decorum always. Too bad Katherine had such trouble following the rules of society. She knew her father wouldn’t mind, he had been the one teasing her mercilessly for weeks over her surprise. She smoothed out the full width of her skirts and spun. “Am I dressed appropriately?”

  “Hmm.” He took her hand and spun her as if they were about to begin a waltz. “You might be a little fancy, but that is the norm for us, is it not?”

  “It is now.” Katherine agreed. Since her sister, Martha’s, embarrassing turn of a pregnancy out of wedlock to an Indian, and their subsequent secret marriage while she was engaged to the delightful Mr. Schaffer; Katherine’s mother had become far more obsessed with asserting their position in Dominion Falls, Colorado.

  The result had been a new wardrobe full of the latest fashions, uncomfortable corsets and ungainly hoops; and frequent trips to Denver which left Katherine utterly bored with society, as well as the proper young gentlemen with whom her mother had been encouraging her to get acquainted. At fifteen, Katherine might’ve been the age to consider proper marriage, but the thought had never appealed to her. Perhaps it was growing up her whole life among miners, but she thought there might be more fun in life than being a proper wife.

  “I certainly didn’t mean to upset you.” Her father chucked his finger under her chin. “This is supposed to be a surprise, not a funeral.”

  “Sorry. So long as my surprise isn’t us moving to Denver, I’m certain I’ll love it.”

  For a moment her father’s smile seemed to falter, but the moment was so brief she dismissed it as her overactive imagination. He held out his arm to her. “You will have to close your eyes, but I’ll let you get all the way down the stairs first.”

  “The surprise requires me to close my eyes?” She couldn’t stop her excited little hop to grab his arm. “That means it’s definitely a big one. What have you gotten for me, father?”

  “Something that has set your mother’s mind that I spoil you too much.”

  Katherine giggled at his wink and stepped down the steps with him as if light as a feather. At least her excitement kept her from what her mother described as unladylike stomping down the stairs, heaven forbid she raced as she once had when she was small. “She never complained when I was a child.”

  “Life was different then, you know that. This mining camp and our business has grown to such that we can’t be who we were then.”

  “I don’t see why not. People liked us then. Now they look at me different.”

  At the bottom of the stairs, he paused. A small frown tugged his smile away. “How so? The men aren’t...”

  When her father’s voice trailed off, Katherine raised her eyebrows. “The men aren’t what, Father? I just mean they look at me like they do mother. My old friends, the men that used to be real nice all treat me like I think I’m better than them.”

  “Oh.” His shoulders sagged and he exhaled a breath so big she wondered if he’d been holding it. “I see. Well, that’s of no consequence at the moment. You just keep being you and they’ll see you haven’t changed, Katherine.”

  “Easier said than done. Now what about my surprise?” She hopped up on her toes and bounced. “Can I see it now? Can I?”

  “Close your eyes.” Her father’s warm chuckle filled the hallway even as she obliged him and his visage disappeared behind her eyelids. His warm grasp on her arm guided her down the hallway.

  “How far are you going to take me? You’re torturing me this way.” Katherine tried to put just enough whine into her voice and puffed out her lip just enough to try to guilt a clue from him. All she got in response was more laughter.

  “You aren’t being tortured. You’re just impatient. We’re almost there. Hold on. We should stop here for a moment.” When her father stopped her, there was a small bustling of petticoats nearby before a cloak was draped over her shoulders.

  “My cloak? My surprise is outside?” The typically cold winter of Dominion Falls had hit as early as it ever did. Snow blanketed most of the town, and all of their yard and the surrounding woods in a beautiful coat of white.

  “Very astute of you. Here we go.” The door opened with a blast of cool air and her father guided her outside.

  The cold tickled her nose and she willingly leaned against him when he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. A whinny caught her ears on a blast of wind and without permission she opened her eyes. Not that it mattered she’d beat him to the punch; she’d been left speechless by what she found.

  Off at the far end of the yard a brilliant white horse as clean as the snow shook its head out. Her father whistled in her ear and the horse whinnied in response before it started to run toward them.

  “I’d tell you that you can open your eyes now, but I see you already have. What do you think, Katherine? You were complaining about the brown being too old for you.”

  “I—I just—oh, she’s beautiful father! Is she really mine?” Katherine burst from her father’s hold to run toward the fence that bordered the paddock. The horse slowed down nearby and ambled toward her and the carrot she dug out of the bag her father held out to her. “I thought you said we didn’t need another horse.” />
  “I did, but I saw this one for sale in Pueblo. She was wild as the day is long, but I thought that would be better suited for your equally fiery personality. I’ve had her fully broken and trained for you, with just a little bit of wild left.”

  She grinned when the horse took the carrot from her hand. With a small sigh she rubbed her hand along the velvet nose. “I’ll call her Powder.”

  “Like a powder keg. A fitting name.”

  “Thank you.” Katherine spun and clasped her father in the tightest hug she possibly could. “She’s the most beautiful horse there ever was.”

  “You’re welcome.” He squeezed her shoulder when they parted. “Why don’t you take a few minutes to get to know her? You and I can go for a ride after dinner.”

  “Okay.” She smiled bright even as she caught sight of her mother on the porch. When her father moved to join her mother, she turned back to Powder. She fed Powder another carrot and spoke low. “There are no presents without reason, Powder. I just don’t know what you mean.”

  She glanced at the porch and the quiet debate going on between her parents. Her mother’s triumphant nod of her head before she headed back inside didn’t ease Katherine’s concern. Even worse was the painful attempt at a bright smile her father made before he waved and followed her mother.

  “I guess hoping you are just because the brown is getting old is too much to ask, isn’t it, Powder?”

  The horse nudged her almost off the fence as it tried to get into the bag of carrots.

  “You aren’t helpful. Not at all.” Katherine chuckled and dug out another carrot to feed to the horse. “But you are beautiful. And mine.”

  * * * *

  “Afternoon, Miss Daugherty.” Gilbert Hamm tipped his hat with a broad gap-toothed smile. “Fine horse you got there. She new?”

  “Sure is, Mr. Hamm.” Katherine leaned down to pat Powder’s neck. “It’s our first time out. Thought I’d swing by the library today and see if Mother ordered anything new.”

  “Stage ain’t been in for weeks. They’d best get here before next snow fall or the town’ll be hurtin’.” Mr. Hamm lifted his hat to scratch the top of his balding head. “Turners are ‘bout out of supplies. The store’s got empty shelves first time in my memory.”

  “Kelly has empty shelves?” Katherine flinched at the slip in decorum that would have won a scolding from her mother. Then again, her mother wasn’t anywhere around. She leaned down. “Hammy. What about the stash?”

  Hammy hop-stepped closer to the horse and winked. “I checked. Kelly’s still got a good supply of syrup from last year’s tapping hidden in the cellar. We’re good for candy long as the snow falls.”

  “Good.” For years whenever the weather was cold Katherine had slipped off to Kelly’s to make candy using the snow and warm syrup. Hammy had been the sponsor of the activity as he supplied much of the syrup off his own gold claim. It was no wonder the man rarely brought back gold. She smiled and straightened. “Then mayhap I’ll see you tomorrow when the snow is fresh.”

  “I’ll let Kelly and Cora know. That young’un of theirs is just the right age to start making his own.”

  “Arthur’ll be four any day now. High time he joined us.” Katherine nodded. “I’ll see you then.”

  Hammy waved as she urged Powder on down the road. Where just weeks ago hammers and saws had rang through the muddy streets silence now lingered. Buildings had been abandoned in a series of heavy snows that left piles of lumber still buried today.

  Vendors crowded every inch of the street around the abandoned building projects. Tents lined the next street over behind the skeletal signs of the attempts of the once large camp to become a town.

  Katherine knew every one of the vendors, her parents had made sure to know all of the camps members as they joined, until recently. They’d stopped meeting the stages after Martha’s embarrassing folly. Many things had changed since that travesty.

  A sharp whistle pulled Katherine out of her own thoughts, and she tugged the reins on instinct. The moment she realized the culprit behind the whistle was Cole Mitchell she wished she hadn’t stopped. The man always left her flustered and beside herself. When she’d first started to notice boys, both Cole and her sister’s fiancé, David, had captured her imaginings.

  Nowadays David was long gone, but in recent months Cole had begun to speak directly to her on regular occasions. It infuriated her mother, and gave Katherine a disturbing, secret little thrill. Rumors of how well-pleased Cole’s women of ill-repute were kept flew fast and easy in a camp like this.

  Cole was nearly seven years older than her, and had come to town just two years before. The few proper women in town balked that he took in whores young as fourteen, but Katherine had met many of the whores and doubted any were below eighteen. She also suspected Cole helped along any rumors he could.

  Either way, the man was a sight that turned many a lady’s head, proper or no. To have such a man, a rake, a letch, whatever he may be, pay Katherine any mind had its own flattery. She rather enjoyed the attention, and didn’t discourage it as much as she likely should considering his sort of business.

  Ashamed that such thoughts should dare to cross her mind, Katherine tried to again reclaim her wits as Cole stopped just near her foot. “May I assist you in some way, Mr. Mitchell?”

  “Fine looking horse ya got there.” Cole’s lip curved into a knowing smirk. “You enjoying your bribe?”

  Heat rushed to her cheeks and she narrowed her eyes. “I beg your pardon?”

  “Blizzard. She’s a bribe with a hell of a price tag. You did know that, didn’t ya?”

  “Blizzard?”

  “The horse. That was her name when I was training her. Why, what did ya name her?” He chuckled. “Let me guess. Somethin’ real pretty like Snowy or Princess.”

  Her short, angry huffs of breath formed into steam in the cold air and she lifted her chin to hide the way she had to blink back her tears. Rather than tell him what she’d named the horse she spoke through her clenched jaw. “You trained her?”

  “Of course. Who else is gonna train a horse in this camp? Especially a wild one like this beast was.” He rubbed the horse’s flank and nodded. “I knew she was going to you, though, so I kept a little wild in her. I think ya got some wild in you that ain’t been unleashed yet too.”

  “I think you’re speaking far too inappropriately.”

  “Fifteen is the right age. Can’t tell ya how many women find themselves then. Got three girls now that are near-sixteen. Besides, your parents are marrying you off at fifteen. Guess it ain’t so inappropriate after all.”

  “I am not a whore, nor will I be.” She drew up straight, trying to process what he’d said. “And my parents aren’t marrying me off so young.”

  “It ain’t so young. And yeah, they are.” He shrugged. “What do ya think the horse is for?”

  Katherine pondered the quiet conversation she’d witnessed back at the house. The timing of Powder’s arrival didn’t make her a gift for birthday or Christmas. The talk of going to Denver permanently, and the courting she’d been forced to take part in when they did visit.

  “So your Pa didn’t tell you yet.” Cole clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Such a shame too. Gonna waste your whole life on a marriage of convenience.”

  “What do you know of marriage anyhow?” Katherine tried to put venom into her tone, but instead it trembled dangerously close to tears. “My parents’ marriage is good.”

  “I know more’n you’d think, and your parents eloped. Heard from your Pa himself, they liked each other. You got a guy you like, Kathy?”

  “My name is Katherine.”

  “I like Kathy. Suits ya better.”

  On Katherine’s left a door slammed open. Her sister, Martha, stormed into the street. Her light brown hair had begun to gray already after the stresses of the past two years. It flew out of her bun in unruly strands as she rushed toward Katherine and Cole. “Cole Mitchell, you get on away fro
m her! Katherine Marie Daugherty, what do you think you’re doing speaking to the likes of him?”

  “This is all your fault, Martha.” Katherine spat the words before she could think too hard on what she was saying. “And I have always spoken to Mr. Mitchell. It’s polite.”

  “Katherine! How is it my fault you’re speaking with a man that keeps loose women. You know he only wants to make you one. I’ve heard him saying it.” Martha narrowed her eyes at the man who only grinned in response.

  “I’d bet anything he’s said such things because you eavesdrop and you are impossible.” Katherine swung out of her saddle and dropped right down onto the frozen street to meet her older sister’s angry stance with one of her own. “All of this is your fault. The horse, the arranged marriage. All because you couldn’t keep your legs together around a damned red man.”

  “Katherine!” Martha’s jaw dropped, and Cole’s laughter rang through the street, drawing more attention their way. “You’d best watch your—”

  “I will not! You are the cause for my whole life changing.” Tears burned at the back of Katherine’s eyes as the full weight of what Cole had suggested hit her. To be married off to a virtual stranger, to lose even more of the life she loved here in Dominion Falls. It was more than she could take, and she snapped. “Because of you, everything is changing. Don’t you dare tell me to be silent because it’s all your fault. You left a good man to be a whore to a red man—”

  Katherine’s cheek stung seconds before she registered Martha had slapped her. She clasped her hand over the sore cheek and stared at Martha.

  “Hey now.” Cole stepped out from under Powder’s neck and positioned himself in front of Katherine. “Don’t go beatin’ your sister for bein’ honest.”

  “I’ll have you know,” Martha began, “that she is a child. She shouldn’t be saying such things when she knows nothing about them.”

  “She’s no child. Your parents are gonna have her wed before the end of the year if they can, just so she don’t mix with riff raff. And she’s got a point. Wouldna happened if you hadn’t taken up with an Injun.”

  “Lewis is emancipated.” Martha all but hissed, her hand twitching like she was going to slap him too. “Practically white.”