Adam, Devils on Horseback: Generations, Book 1 Read Online Free PDF Page B

pain.
    “I’m sorry, Pa. I didn’t—”
    “I don’t want to talk about the accident. I’m asking you to stay on and get the mill back on track. Then you decide where you want to go and what you want to do.” Pa sighed. “My pa never acknowledged me as his son. I had to learn how to be a father with you. I know I made mistakes.”
    Adam squeezed the reins to stop himself from reaching for his father. “You are the best father I could’ve asked for. Don’t give me any more shit about making mistakes. I’ve made more than you.”
    “You’ve no idea what I did when I was your age.”
    He’d never talked about the war with Adam, but it was obvious it had been a huge changing point in his life. It was the reason Jake Sheridan and his friends came to Texas, to Tanger.
    “True enough. I’ll stay at the mill, Pa. I won’t ever abandon my family.” Adam had held on to the possibility of following his private dream to work with rocks, but his family was more important.
    “I know you won’t, but I wanted to say it. Your mama tells me I don’t talk enough about important things.” Pa grimaced. “It’s not easy.”
    Adam saw his uncle Lee and cousin Clint ahead in the wagon waiting for them. The rest of the conversation would have to wait. The entire day would be spent in retrieving the flour and trying to fix the wagon Adam had crashed.
    Pa was right. Important things weren’t easy.
    * * * * *
    Adam stacked the next stone on the wall and wiggled it until it fit in the opening just as he thought it would. Building stone walls was a hobby he’d started ten years earlier when he knocked over a neighbor’s doing a stunt with a wagon wheel, a log and several horseshoes. It had gone horribly wrong, but the end result was Adam discovering his love of rocks, extending to building with them.
    It was soothing to see the end result in his mind before he began, and to find the perfect rock for the perfect spot. It also got him away from the mill and the flour that wrapped its powdery arms around him every day. Plus he needed the extra money to make up for the flour he’d destroyed.
    “I heard you got a wife and destroyed an entire wagon of flour.” His cousin Spencer’s voice, filled with amusement and glee, made Adam groan.
    “Why are you here?”
    “I couldn’t miss this.” Spencer stood by, his arms crossed and a wide grin on his face. He took after his father, Zeke, with his big build, blond hair and brown eyes. Spencer was a ranch hand who had natural skills with horses. Since his father was the sheriff, Spencer did all he could to get away from the strict house rules. He’d left home at sixteen to work.
    “Miss what?” Adam picked up another stone.
    “Meeting your wife-to-be.” Spencer crossed his arms and smiled like an idiot. “I heard you got yourself a gypsy woman.”
    Adam bared his teeth. “You looking to get a couple black eyes or a broken nose? I need to get out some frustration and conveniently you’re here.”
    “Oh ho! It’s worse than I thought.” Spencer laughed. “You love this little paragon of virtue.”
    “Don’t be an ass. I hardly know her.” Adam hefted the rock in his hand. “But I have no problem in messing up that pretty face of yours.”
    Spencer backed away, his grin widening. “You’ve got shit for aim and I can run like the wind.”
    “Fuck you, Spencer.” Adam wanted to tussle with his cousin, but he returned to his task instead. He wasn’t in the mood to play games with Spencer. The rest of his life hung in the balance and it damn well wasn’t funny.
    “Hey, you’re serious about this.” Spencer returned with a frown on his face. “When Elias told me—”
    “How the hell does Elias know?” Another cousin, this one Uncle Gideon’s oldest, was the town physician. As calm natured as he was, Elias was the peacekeeper of the group, the one who kept them from killing each other or from the occasional maiming.
    “He eats at Cindy’s Restaurant every day.