New Beginnings (New Beginnings Series) Read Online Free

town?” Sam asked, trying to break the silence.
    “Same as ya left it. Why do you think t’guy bushwhacked you t’other day? Think he knew ya were looking to do business in Plum Creek?”
    “I don’t know, but I think you were right, the days of me traveling alone have ended. I’m glad Toby made it back to town safely. I sent him back as soon as I knew trouble was brewing.”
    “Ya lucky ya got somewhere for help. Who was this woman anyway?”
    “Sara.”
    “Man, you’re lucky she didn’t leave ya to bleed to death, or maybe finish ya off herself.”
    “Why? You know her?” Sam looked at Eric rather puzzled.
    “Ya mean ya don’t?”
    “Should I?”
    “Must’a bin Sara Gardiner, William’s wife. Thought she’d left the farm last summer and headed back east.”
    Sam sat in silence, wondering why Sara Gardiner would help, unless she didn’t recognize him. The rest of the ride back to Brandon went by quietly, both men thinking of the past.
     
    Nearly two years earlier, William Gardiner began coming to Grand Valley almost daily. After being only an occasional customer he suddenly began to frequent the tavern. Sam wasn’t sure why, but knew the man had problems at home and a man wanting to drown his sorrows often proved to be profitable. William had a soft spot for the girls and especially one struck his fancy. The establishment moved to Brandon when Grand Valley started to decline and he followed with his business. Gradually the whiskey and poker games started to interest him more and more. Like most other men avoiding problems, when he was in the tavern he felt like the outside world disappeared. This certainly didn’t bother Sam. After all, the Gardiners held a bank loan to develop their farm. The more time William spent in the saloon, the less likely he would be farming his land and would probably not be able to pay back the money. The collateral being the farm, Sam saw dollar signs whenever the farmer entered his establishment.
    During the next winter, William went deeply into debt to the saloon, which often bailed him out of poker losses. Near the end of March, Sam called in the loan the farmer had no means of paying off. They agreed he would bring Sam the team of beautiful Shire mares as payment on the last day of the month. The bar owner was gracious enough to give his loyal patron an additional twenty dollars credit.
    Several days went by with no sign of the man or the team and no one was allowed to beat Sam Fielding. The weather was mild on the third day of April and he felt it had been long enough to wait for payment. Eric was sent out to the farm to retrieve the team and although it hadn’t been planned, Toby followed. Eric thought of sending him back to town, but really didn’t expect any trouble, so let the boy tag along.
    When they arrived no one appeared to be at the Gardiner homestead. Eric went directly down to the barn, expecting the team to be in their stall, when he met William at the door, shotgun in hand.
    “Hey, hold on.” Eric held his left hand up toward the farmer. “We don’t want any trouble, but Mr. Fielding wants t’team today.” Behind his back his right hand held the Frontier 44 he often tucked into the back of his jeans under his jacket.
    William leveled his rifle toward the collector’s belly. “I need the team, or I can’t put in this year’s crop.”
    “Hey, I’ve got no say in t’ matter. I have ta take ‘em today. Maybe you can rent ‘em back from Mr. Fielding.”
    “I can’t let you take them,” he cocked the trigger.
    But Eric was much more experienced at gun fighting and before William’s gun discharged, the bullet from the 44 hit the farmer in the chest. The man fell back against a small pile of hay and as he lay dying, Eric simply walked past him to find the horses.
    Toby watched the commotion, getting so excited he jumped up and down and screamed wildly.
    As he walked back past the boy leading the team, Eric suggestively told him a lantern