Synopsis
Historical Fiction/Woman in Jeopardy/Thriller Callie must marry a man who is a stranger but she chooses someone different from the man her father suggests. Off they go: Father to CO to manage a mine, Callie & Sloane to NM to his ranch, but Callie has no plans to remain married or to stay far from Kansas City. How will she survive if she runs away? Her father feels political pressure to leave KC and has sold their home. All her friends think she is lucky in her marriage. Callie is about to discover a world she is woefully unprepared for, a world in which she must quickly choose who she can trust-Sloane is not the man she imagined and her very life depends on who she trusts next.
Excerpt
NEW MEXICO TERRITORY 1880
CHAPTER THREE
By the end of the week, true to Sloane's plans, Callie found herself bundled onto a wagon along with boxes of supplies: rope, tools, and her valise and trunk. Sloane had only two small bags with him but said he would bring up more of his belongings as the work
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progressed on their house. A small warehouse had been rented to receive his deliveries and her household goods from Kansas.
Thinking about the recent fire on a passenger train out of Kansas, Callie imagined the terror the people must have experienced. Then, she felt guilty for being relieved that her own possessions had been delayed in transport; someone's error had turned out to be providential for them. She would get to play her piano again.
Sloane slapped the reins against the horse’s rumps and she felt her herself jerk as the beasts jumped forward at a trot headed for the distant hills. Callie clutched at her hat and Sloane smiled and reached a hand over to steady her on the bench.
"Jim and the boys will be up this morning to get started. They brought lumber up earlier and I think Tia's family has set up a cooking area and camp for us."
"How long do you think it will take?"

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"Depends on the weather and how many men Jim managed to hornswaggle into helping us." Sloane glanced at her face. "Are you excited?"
Callie nodded. Setting up housekeeping had a surprising appeal for her. She mentally chided herself; you won't be here long enough to enjoy it. But she longed for home cooking again instead of the endless round of beef and beans and chicken at the hotel. And despite her obstinate struggle to reject this marriage she had to deal with the here and now.
The land around her on this April morning shimmered in the warm sunlight and the breeze felt soft on her cheek. The sun seemed to shine everyday and she couldn't imagine more perfect weather. She didn't enjoy being waited on by a maid on the other hand with Tia's help she could envision planting a garden; her mouth watered at the memory of fresh tomatoes, lettuce, green beans, corn, and melons.
She pulled off her red woolen shawl and bundled it against the rail to cushion her back. Sloane looked ahead to guide the horses up

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the hill. The ride had taken only an hour and ahead of them they saw a group of people gathered around another wagon pulled into a small clearing where they planned to build their home.
Jim, the foreman, broke away from the group to call out a cheerful “Hello.”
"Mrs. Hendricks, Sloane, good to see you folks. Any problems?"
"Jim, good morning, thank you." Callie reached out her hand to alight from the carriage. "We had an easy run; Sloane found a good team of horses."
“Boss, what can I help with first?"
“First is a cup of that coffee for me and the Mrs."
“Coming right up."
“Jim?" Callie stopped him. "Please. I'd like everyone to call me
Callie, especially since we’ll all be working together." “Much obliged, ma'am."

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Sloane stretched and looked around at the group assembled. Some her recognized from Tia's family and others were unfamiliar to him. Three brothers of Tia came over to say good morning.
“Callie, this is Armand, Hector, and Roman and their parents over there, the Trujillos. Jim, why don’t you guys work on that south wall and get a move on.”
! Callie saw Jim’s smile fade as he handed her a cup of coffee, she wanted to apologize for her husband. “My Papa always had a lot of friends in KC to help out, he always said good friends meant more to him than anything.” Jim smiled at her and doffed his hat as he went to join the other men.
! Sloane looked at her and grinned, “And where is dear old Dad right now? Oh, that’s right, he’s gone. Left in a hurry, too, as I recall.”
! “I just meant-”
! “Callie, come over here, take a look right here.” Sloane reached out to put an arm around her and hugged her close. “Jim and I are

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close but when there’s a job we get busy. You let me deal with the men. Say hello to Mrs. Trujillo.”
Standing over a small fire Mrs. Trujillo stirred something in a large cast iron kettle. She smiled at Callie.
“It is carne adovado, needs to cook a long time. We are very happy for Doñ Sloane. He is a good man and I see he has found a beautiful wife. Welcome to Santa Fe."
Callie smiled but inside she felt like such a liar. Here were all these people coming out to help them and all she wanted was to be far, far away; she felt a little crazy. She broke away from the gathering to wander over to the edge of the hill. What did I expect when I got married? She pondered her situation and realized that she had simply planned to go on taking care of her father. Big surprise. He didn't need her.
Sloane walked up behind her.

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“Here try this." He placed a bite of hot buttered tortilla in her mouth. "And here's your coffee." She opened her mouth again and he fed her another piece of tortilla.
“You have some butter-wait, I'll get it.” He reached over and kissed the corner of her mouth. “Delicious."
She moved away from him, embarrassed and flustered. "You have a lot of people here helping out."
He stared at her. "I'm a lucky man."
Sloane turned to go. "When you finish your coffee come and find me." He hurried away at the sound of hammers pounding and saws grating across wood.
Callie looked around once more at the hills and trees. A blue jay shrieked his indignation at the world and a chipmunk flashed his tail as it scooted up a tree trunk. A loud thwack made her jump and she turned to see two men wrestling with a large tree stump which

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appeared to be dead center of the area Sloane had outlined for the portal of their house.
She tried to conjure an image in her mind but all she could see around her were trees and grass. Not to be held back by slow production at the brickyard Sloane was forging ahead with some vision of his own. Callie hadn't seen many wooden homes out here, either, most of them seemed to be of adobe but Sloane had assembled a small mountain of lumber. When she looked over he was standing alone staring out across the valley.
Soon enough, she drained her coffee cup and Tia appeared to ask her what she wanted to start with. The young woman motioned for her to follow and they came to another clearing with a wagon pulled to one side. Someone had entwined a canopy of branches and evergreens woven to form a shade area. A cooking fire had s
