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know, it's just a matter of when," Michael said flatly.
    Nick wanted to reassure him that everything would be
all right, that he shouldn't worry, but he couldn't. There
was no way for them to know what was happening with
his father.
    "Have you thought about what you're going to do once
you get there? Is your mother going to need you to stay
on at the ranch now that your father's so seriously injured?"
    "It will all depend on my father. He'd never leave the
Circle D of his own free will, but if he can't physically run
things anymore-"
    "It would fall to you."
    "Yes."
    "And will you stay?"
    Nick had asked the question that had been haunting
Michael ever since he'd received the telegram.
    Michael frowned. "I don't know. Philadelphia has been
home for a long time now. I'll just have to see what happens once we get to the ranch."
    Both men fell silent as they tried to anticipate what they
would face when they finally reached their destination.
Nick hoped things weren't going to be as bad as they
feared.

     

Hard Luck, Texas
    "So this is Hard Luck," Nick said as he got his first look at
the town. Hot, dry and dusty, it was certainly a far cry
from the sophistication of Philadelphia. He was accustomed to paved streets, brick buildings and greenery. It
looked like he was about to learn a whole new way of
life. He had a good idea how Hard Luck must have gotten
its name, for some of the buildings definitely looked as if
they'd seen better days.
    Nick had come on this trip to help Michael. He
wouldn't have had it any other way, but he had to smile
at the realization that if things had gone as planned, they
would have been standing on the deck of a ship, gazing
out to sea as they sailed for Europe right now, not staring out a stagecoach window at this town he wasn't quite sure
was civilized.

    "Yes, this is it," Michael told him, watching out his side
as they passed the general store, the hotel and the jail.
Nothing seemed to have changed in the years he'd been
away. The town still looked pretty much the same, although a little more run-down. It felt good to be thereto be home he felt a pang of regret that his homecoming wasn't for a happier reason.
    The stagecoach slowed as it neared the stage depot.
When it finally drew to a stop, Michael was the first to
climb down. Now that they were so close to the Circle D,
he was growing more anxious to get home.
    "How long will it take to get out to the ranch?" Nick
asked as he joined Michael in the street.
    "About an hour by buckboard," he answered. "I'll rent
one down at the stable so we can take our trunks with
us."
    "Let's go. It's been too long for you already. We need
to get you home."
    Leaving their trunks at the depot for the time being,
they started off.
    "Did you get him all fixed up?" Casey asked Fitz as she
returned to the stable to get her buckboard. She'd come
into town for supplies, and on the way in, one of the
horses had thrown a shoe. She'd had to bide her time
while Fitz took care of it for her.
    "You're all set," Fitz told her, pointing to where he'd
left the horse tied up. "You need any help?" Knowing Casey's pride, he doubted she'd accept his aid, but he
thought he'd offer.

    "I can do it," Casey told him as she paid him for his
work.
    She got her horse and led him out in front to the buckboard to hitch him up again.
    Michael and Nick made their way through Hard Luck,
heading toward the stable.
    "I think I'm going to need a change of clothes," Nick
remarked with wry humor, noticing how some of the
townsfolk were staring at them. The gentlemanly suits and
ties they'd worn on the trip were common dress back
East, but they certainly made the two young men stand
out in Hard Luck.
    Michael chuckled. "That makes two of us. Right now,
everybody's wondering who the two Eastern dudes are."
    "You don't recognize anybody?"
    "No, not yet, but--"
    "Michael? Is that you?"
    Michael heard a man call out from behind them. He
stopped and