Mud Springs, California
Summer 1860
A scream tore through the early-morning air. Instantly alert, Jacob Young reined in his horse and pushed back his hat, scanning the area for trouble. His horse shifted beneath him, its movements telling him it, too, sensed something was wrong.
Then Jacob saw her. A child, no more than three or four years old, in bare feet and a white nightgown. He squinted, searching intently for her parents, but found no one. Why would a little girl be in a ravine by herself at this early hour of the morning? The sun had barely begun to top the horizon.
His gaze moved to the other end of the ravine. A cloud of dust rose like steam from a kettle. Icy fear twisted around his heart as he saw what had the little girl scrambling up the small hillside. Cows, hundreds of cows, thundered down the gorge toward her. The rumble of hooves pounded the ground along with the continual terrified screams from the little girl.
Stampede.
Jacob kicked his horse’s flanks and shouted, “Hiyah!” The horse’s sturdy legs tensed—then, like a shot, they raced down one side of the ravine toward the small figure that seemed so very far away. He leaned over the horse’s neck, urging him to go faster and faster. They were close but so were the cows. A flicker of apprehension coursed through him. Would he make it in time?
The child stumbled and fell, losing ground she’d already gained. Frantically she glanced behind her. Jacob was close enough now to see that fear, stark and vivid, glittered in her eyes. She spotted him racing toward her and stopped trying to climb the ravine; instead she turned and ran in his direction. Clear brown eyes looked up at him expectantly. A solid wall of cattle closed in on her.
Jacob leaned over and grabbed her around the waist. Thankfully she weighed no more than a half bale of hay or Jacob felt sure she would have unseated him. He pulled her up and plopped her in front of him in one swift move. Her fingers clutched his arms and she pressed back against him, turning her head sideways to hide her eyes from certain disaster. His arms wrapped protectively around her tiny waist as the horse swung away trying to outrun the thundering, bellowing cattle. If need be, he’d shield her with his body, should the horse fail in its attempt to get them to safety.
His heart beat so hard and fast in his chest it felt almost painful. The cows continued down the ravine and the dust rolled, causing him to cough. The horse managed to get up the canyon wall just before the cattle pounded past them.
The little girl shuddered. He tightened his hold, offering comfort the only way he knew how. She sneezed and rubbed at her eyes. Jacob slowed the horse to a walk.
“Honey, are you all right?” He loosened his grip on the child.
She wiggled around to face him. “Uh-huh.” Big brown eyes looked up at him. Her heart-shaped face was covered in dirt and muddy trails traveled down both cheeks where her tears had run into the collar of her now very soiled nightgown.
“What are you doing out here?” he asked as he wiped at the dirt on her face with a handkerchief from his pocket.
She shook her head and her blond braids slapped the sides of her little face. “I don’t know. I went to sleep and when I woke up I was here.”
The sound of hooves pounding the ground had Jacob twisting in the saddle and looking over his shoulder. A young man and woman raced toward them. Fear and relief warred for a place on the woman’s face.
“Daisy! Are you all right?” the young woman called.
Jacob felt more than saw the little one nod, her hair rubbing against his chin. Her name fit her. Her golden hair resembled the color of a yellow daisy, her brown eyes the button in the center of the flower. Jacob was thankful he’d come along when he had, but anger twisted in him like a volcano on the verge of erupting.
When the woman and man got close enough, Daisy answered, “I’m all right. Lilly, he saved me.” Her big brown eyes drank in Jacob’s face.
The woman pulled her horse alongside Jacob and reached for the child but Jacob was having none of it.
“Where were you? Why was she here by herself? What kind of mother lets a child wander off alone at this time of the morning?” Jacob’s heart demanded he say more but the child in his arms tensed and placed her hand against his heart. He took a deep breath and reined in his temper.
“Now see here.” The man bristled at Jacob’s words but the woman held her hand up and silenced him. Tears glistened on her pale heart-shaped face.
“I’ve been looking for her since early this morning. I have no idea how she got here... I don’t know how she opened the door to get out of the house.” A hot tear rolled down her cheek. She swiped at it with a trembling hand. “I would never intentionally let her wander off, nor would I want her hurt in any way.”
With an odd twinge of conscience, Jacob handed Daisy across to the woman. It surprised him to see her wearing men’s trousers. Her pretty blue eyes ran over the little girl as her arms gathered her in a tight hug. Golden hair hung over one shoulder in a tight braid, reminding him a little of his adoptive mother, Rebecca.
The woman whose name he now knew to be Lilly looked to be about his age, twenty, maybe a year or two younger than himself. Jacob realized he was staring and said, “I’m not sure why she is out here by herself but the cattle almost did her in.”
Before Lilly could speak the man beside her interrupted. “And I’d like to know what you’re doing on Johnson soil, mister.”
Jacob leaned against his saddle horn, aware that his hands still shook. “My name is Jacob Young.” He pushed back his hat and met the other man’s eyes.
“Lilly, the cows came running toward me. I almost got runned over,” Daisy said, laying a small hand against Lilly’s cheek.
Lilly stopped running her hands over the child and looked over Daisy’s head. “Thank you for rescuing her.” She hugged the little girl close to her. “I’m Lilly Johnson and this is my sister, Daisy.”
“You still haven’t told us what you are doing here,” Lilly’s companion said. Ice-blue eyes scowled at Jacob.
Jacob didn’t care for the man’s tone but he assumed that he was Daisy’s father so thought it best to answer him. “I’m the new stock tender for the Pony Express. I was headed to the Johnson ranch to let the owner know I’d arrived.”
Lilly stopped fussing over the little girl and straightened in the saddle. “I’m the owner of the ranch, Mr. Young.”
“Then I’m assuming Mr. Roberts, the Pony Express superintendent, told you I was coming.”
“He did.” She nodded to the man beside her. “This is Sam Hawkins. He’s the foreman of the ranch but your job is totally separate from the ranch, so the two of you won’t really have much time to spend with each other.”
Lilly directed her gaze back to the little one in her arms. Her worried voice questioned her sister. “Daisy, what made you come this far from the ranch