Bring Them Home (Will Fain, #9)

Prologue

Will gripped the reins lightly as he drove to the railroad station. Del rode alongside on his roan and Elena joined Will on the seat with Carlos between them. The boy had been awake since before dawn and had not stopped talking since they'd left.

"How fast does the train go, Marshal Will?"

"Fast," Will said.

"Faster than a horse?"

"Much faster."

Carlos considered this. "Faster than your racehorses?"

"When they're going downhill," Will said, "a train is at least twice as fast as any horse alive, but when they're carrying a load uphill, a horse might be able to outrun them for a short distance."

The boy went quiet for a moment, working through this. Then, "I want to see the engine."

"We'll see it," Elena said. "And Papa will explain to you how it works and why it gives off such clouds of steam. Now sit back and enjoy the ride."

"I am enjoying it, Mama," he said.

"Good, we'll be there soon."

Jacob had offered to drive them in, but Will had said he'd do it. There was something about seeing his deputy off that Will felt he oughta do himself.

Jacob was seventeen now and had been driving the buckboard by himself since he was eight years old.

It was just a short jaunt from the ranch into New Braunfels, and it was a fine spring morning, so Will didn't mind the ride.

They reached the Southern Pacific depot just as the train was pulling into the station from Austin heading south.

Carlos looked at the steam locomotive and was mesmerized. Del had already bought the tickets, and the platform was busy with passengers and freight handlers, but Carlos couldn't take his eyes off the engine, which was sending puffs of gray smoke into the warm sky.

Del tied his roan to the buckboard and went along to see to the luggage.

Will helped Elena down from the seat. She had a composed way about her that he'd always admired.

She did not make a fuss of things and did not show emotions she wasn't feeling.

Her father was gravely ill and, after eighteen years away, she wanted to see him.

That was all that was on her mind at that moment.

"Virginia sent this," Will said, handing her a jar with a cloth tied over the top. "Peach preserves. For your father or for the road, whichever you think is best."

Elena took the jar and looked at it for a moment. "Tell her thank you."

"She wanted to come herself, but Josephine's down with the croup and not sleeping well at all."

"Tell her I understand." Elena looked up at Will. "And tell her I will write when we get there."

"You'll probably get back before your letter arrives, but Virginia will read it with interest whenever it comes."

Del stepped up and stood beside Will on the platform. Carlos had worked his way toward the front of the train and was standing as close to the locomotive as the crowd would let him, staring up at it.

"You've got the route," Will said.

"Southern Pacific to El Paso," Del said. "Cross into Paso del Norte on foot. Mexican Central south to Jiménez. Carriage from there."

"And get good horses, not the first ones they show you."

Del smiled. "I know how to rent a horse."

Will laughed. "Yeah, that was unneeded advice. How long will you be gone?"

"Four or five days to get there, maybe a little more depending on the connections. Two weeks with her father, if he's well enough to want the visit. Three at the outside. We should be back in a month. If not, I'll send you a telegram."

"Take what time you need," Will said. "Abram and Ross know what needs doing here, and they're dependable. Jacob's got the horses. He'll keep an eye on things."

"Jacob's a good man," Del said.

"More responsible than most," Will said.

The conductor came along the platform yelling, "All aboard!" He said it like the word ended in a "t." Carlos came running back with his eyes wide. "Pa, that engine's got a fire inside it. A real big one. I could see it when the man shoveled in the coal."

"Wow, good for you," Del said. He put his hand on his son's shoulder and steered him toward the steps. "Let's get on now."

Will shook Del's hand on the platform. Del gripped it and held it a beat longer than he needed to, the way a man does when he has something to say and decides the handshake says it well enough. Will understood. He let go and stepped back.

Elena took Will's hand in both of hers. "Thank you for driving us in."

"Safe trip," Will said. "Give my regards to your father."

She nodded and went up the steps. Del followed with Carlos, who turned on the top step and looked back at Will.

"Marshal Will, when I come home, I'm going to tell you exactly how fast the train goes!"

Will laughed. "I'll look forward to hearing all about it."

The conductor lifted the step and the train shuddered and began to move as smoke billowed out of the stack.

Will stood on the platform and watched it go as cinders and the smell of burning coal filled the air.

Del appeared in one of the windows and raised a hand, then the train gathered speed and rolled south out of the station and was gone.

Will paused there a moment as the smoke from the locomotive thinned out against the sky.

A month at the outside. Del had said it himself. The Mexican telegraph lines were slow, and a man visiting a sick father-in-law didn't spend his days trying to find a telegraph office. A month was not long. He'd been on assignments that long without sending word home.

He walked back to the buckboard, made sure Del's roan was tied securely, and headed home.