Yours Again (River City Series) Read Online Free

boom a
distant memory, it had shrunk to only a few hundred residents. There were one
or two companies still mining some productive veins, but everything else had mostly
petered out.
    That
was until a couple of months ago. Discovery of new placer deposits in the
Placer River and a new vein of lode gold up on Baldy Peak had people streaming
in again, but not nearly at the volume they had been coming a decade earlier. Still,
the town was shifting into boom mode again.
    The
good news is that it meant higher prices and a larger market for their cattle
close to home. Driving them through the mountains to the railroad wasn’t the
most efficient as far as time or revenue was concerned. But he and his two
brothers Charlie and Darren, had done what they had to do the last few years, which
is why they survived the post-boom downturn when so many other cattlemen had to
pack it in.
    Taos
noted a few men he didn’t recognize leaning against the railing of the saloon,
but that was a regular occurrence these days. New people arrived with every
stage, and there was no way to keep up with who was who, especially since he
didn’t come to town unless he absolutely had to.
    The
men eyeballed him as he rode past but none made a move. Used to be this town
was a happy go lucky old fashioned boom town, but this year had turned neighbor
against neighbor, friend against friend. An extended drought dried up creeks
and springs all over the valley, and now with miners competing with ranchers
for what little water remained, things had reached a fevered pitch. Last week’s
incident down at Bear Creek had brought things to a head as several cattle had
been found shot dead, presumably by miners.
    The
whole town was a cinder box waiting on a match—both figuratively and literally.
One shot could potentially start a full blown range war that would put the
Lincoln County war to shame. While the timber and forage pastures were so dry
right now that even a wayward spark or lightning bolt could start an inferno
that would sweep through the valley destroying what little remained of the town
or the livestock. Every single person seemed on edge and with very good reason.
    Some
of the best water in the valley was on the Williams’ ranch and Taos was under
no illusions that there were some who would use just about any means to get
their hands on it. He’d had offers from other ranchers and even mining
companies to divert some of the water on their ranch, but he’d turned them all
down. Water was life in this valley and once it was gone, you were done. He had
to protect what was his, and he’d do it at any cost.
    Taos
reined up at Hardin’s Mercantile and tied up his horse. The nervous atmosphere
of town made his horse dance a bit in front of the hitching post. He stroked
the gelding’s neck and spoke softly, calming the animal. He didn’t really blame
the horse; having to be around the people of River City made him just as jumpy.
    Spurs
jingled as Taos strode across the planks in front of the building. The bell
above the door alerted everyone in the store to his presence, and as usual when
he went anywhere in this town, conversation stopped and they all stared. It’s
not that he wasn’t used to it, but it was still a little awkward. He ducked
into the store, feeling much taller than his six-foot-three frame and
completely out of place among the women shopping.
    Taos
had never been overly popular with people in town and that certainly included
the women. Even when he was younger he had kept to himself and didn’t mix much;
his height had made him an uncoordinated and abnormally skinny teen. He’d put
on a good sixty or seventy pounds since then, all of it muscle, but that had
only made him feel like a hulking beast. Then he’d married and when that went
south, a terrible image was planted forever in people’s minds, courtesy of his
wife.
    Even
now, years after his she had fled the territory, people still treated him like
a leper. He learned years ago