Love on the Horizon (A Northern Woods Novel)

LOVE ON
THE HORIZON

Copyright
2013 by Charliann Roberts

All
rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied
in reviews.

This is
a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and events are the work of
the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to real persons, places, or events is
coincidental.

Cover Art by Preston Spencer

Dedication

To
Bob, who makes my life special

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First,
I’d like to thank Detective Michael Ramirez and Detective Ariel Perez for
taking the time to answer any questions I may have had pertaining to police
reports of missing persons and related crimes.

I’d like
to thank Nik Morton for all of his help and advice, along with the support and
confidence to keep writing.

Thank
you also, to Preston Spencer for the wonderful book cover. You’re a terrific
artist!

To Bob I
give my heart and soul. Thank you for putting up with my crazy whims and
treating me like a princess anyway! I love you…

Chapter
One

The view of the meadow from the
dining room window was incredible. Hundreds of acres of wildflowers as far as
the eye could see. This was his home, and no matter how many years he’d looked
at the exquisite panorama, it still astonished him. The breathtaking scenery
always calmed his nerves when trouble arose. However, this time was different.

Nick stood in front of the sink
and stared out across the prairie, lost in thought. He drew his brows together
in a frown, and poured the remainder of his coffee down the drain in disgust. When
he turned from the window, he discovered Mariah had entered the kitchen. Her
hands folded in front of her, she leaned against the tall oak bookcase.

“What’s troubling you, Nick?”

He moved over by the door and grabbed
his jacket from the hook on the wall, when he noticed the look of concern in
her eyes. He pushed his arms into the sleeves and pulled up the zipper.

She came to him and placed her hand on his. “You
haven’t been yourself for the past few days. Please talk to me.”

“It’s only business, honey. We’ll discuss it
tonight. I have to get over to the stable right now,” he said quietly, and
kissed her lightly on the cheek before he rushed outdoors, into the crisp
morning air.

* * *

Mariah remained in the entryway,
her eyes focused on Nick as he walked over to the barn. Wondering why he’s been
so troubled, she closed the door and tried to envision what might be wrong.

Her husband of five years was the
kindest, most loving person she’d ever known. They met on the day Nick
delivered a beautiful colt that her father had purchased from the Colburn
Stables Ranch, for her twenty-first birthday.

The Colburn Stables Ranch was a
popular horse ranch in Pinewood Hills, Minnesota, located on the outskirts of
Duluth where they bred, trained and sold quarter horses. The minute Mariah met
Nick she knew it was love at first sight. The sound of his voice affected her
deeply. He’d given her a smile, and sent her pulse racing while she admired the
sexiest body she’d ever set eyes on. He appeared to be close to six feet tall
and when he removed his Stetson, his soft, brown hair lightly touched his
shoulders. An outline of his biceps strained against the fabric of his polo
shirt.

Hearing her son’s shuffling
footsteps enter the kitchen, she turned to see Nicky rubbing the sleep from his
eyes with his tiny fists. He climbed on a chair and smiled.

“Hi cowboy,” she said as she
ruffled his hair and reached for a box of cereal. “Are you ready to start
school today?”

“Uh huh… but does kinnergarden
have a bathroom?”

“Yes, honey, but you’ll be going
to preschool. You’ll be in kindergarten when you turn five years old.”

“Okay mommy, just so they have a
bathroom. Can I have my Cheerios now?”

“Here you go sweetie.” She placed
the bowl of cereal in front of him, along with a cup of juice. She stood back
and looked on while he ate each Cheerio one at a time. “Are you sure you don’t
want milk on them?”

He shook his head. “Uh uh, then
they get mushy.” He grinned and continued eating. Mariah pulled a chair from
the table and sat across from him. She sipped her hot coffee, while she watched
her son. He looked like his dad. Those same hazel eyes flecked with gold and a
smile of constant happiness.

“Why do you keep looking at me,
Mommy?”

“Oh, I'm enjoying how much you
look like your daddy.” When he finished eating, she stood to clear the table.
“I laid your clothes on your toy box. Do you need some help?”

“No, Mommy, if I look like Daddy,
I’m big enough to put my clothes on all by myself, just like he does.”

Her eyes followed him as he ran
down the hallway to his bedroom. She smiled and rinsed off the dishes in the
sink, tightened the belt on her robe, and went to her own room to get dressed.
She slipped her legs into a pair of blue jeans and pulled a turquoise
sweatshirt over her head. She brushed her long black hair, and gathered it into
a ponytail, before she went to check on Nicky.

Mariah grinned as she watched
from his doorway. He stood at the end of his bed. His shirt was crooked with
three buttons placed incorrectly and his cowboy boots were on the wrong feet.

“Here honey, let me help you.”
She re-buttoned his shirt and switched his little boots to the correct feet.
“You did a good job putting your jeans on all by yourself.” He jumped up with a
proud smile.

“Okay, we’re on our way.” She
grabbed her purse, and they hurried out the back door.

Nicky climbed into the car seat
and Mariah snapped his seatbelt. When she slid in behind the wheel, she saw
Nick standing by the corral. He lifted his head and she smiled when he jogged
over to say goodbye. He walked over to the back window on the passenger’s side
and blew Nicky a kiss, then stepped around to the driver’s side.

“I love you,” he whispered and
leaned through the open window to place a kiss on her forehead. “Drive
carefully, Mariah. We’ll talk tonight, okay?”

Mariah
nodded. “After I drop Nicky off at preschool, I’m meeting Sarah for lunch, and
we’re going shopping. I’ll pick him up when his class lets out. We’ll be home
around three o’clock.”

   “Okay.” He backed away from
the car and tipped the brim of his Stetson at Nicky. “See ya cowboy. You have
fun at school.”

“No, Daddy, not school. I’m going
to preschool!”

“Oh.” He cleared his throat.
“Sorry, cowboy. You have a good time, okay?" 

"I will, Daddy."

Mariah glanced in the rearview
mirror as she slowly drove away. She smiled when she saw him wave.

*
* *

Nick
watched them travel down the gravel drive, leaving a trail of dust behind them.
When they were out of sight, he brushed the dirt from his Stetson and placed it
on his head. He turned and hurried back to the stable. He needed to talk with
Jake in private. Jake Morrison is one of his best ranch hands. He was
determined to find out why Jake planned to leave the country.

He was about to enter his office,
when he spotted Jake at the other end of the stable, ready to walk out to the
corral.

He cupped his hands to his mouth
and shouted, “Jake!” When Jake turned around, Nick waved him over to his
office.

Nick
was at his desk when Jake entered. “Have a seat,” he said and nodded toward a
chair. “Are you ready to leave on this big adventure you’ve been planning?”

“I take off tomorrow morning. My
plane leaves at eight.”

“Where are you headed? I’ve
overheard a few of the men say you’re leaving the country. It sounds exciting.”

“Well, if you have a moment, I’ll
explain.”

“Jake, you know I have time for
my employees. I’m very interested in where you’re going. Go ahead and tell me
about it.” Nick sat back and clasped his hands behind his head. “Will you be
traveling with your brothers?”

*
* *

Jake
leaned down, placed his elbows on his knees, and thought of just how much he
wanted to tell him. He took a deep breath, sat up straight and looked Nick in
the eyes.

“No, I’m going alone. Nick, you
know all about the hell I went through with Barbie. She robbed me of every
penny I earned and stripped my pride along with it. I loved her with all my
heart. I gave her everything she wanted, and then she left me for another man.
When she left, she took a part of me with her.

“I can’t find a decent woman up
here in the woods. I purchased a plane ticket to…”

Suddenly the phone rang and Nick
held up his hand. “Hold on a minute.” He picked up the receiver and said hello,
then looked up at Jake. He covered the mouthpiece and whispered, “Sorry, this
is an important call. I’ll be a while. I’ll speak with you later today. Come
back before you leave.”

Jake stood, placed his hat on his
head, nodded and then stepped out and closed the door behind him. He paused
outside the office and wondered whether he should return. Maybe it would be
best to surprise Nick when he arrived home with his new family.

* * *

By the time Nick was able to
search for Jake, he was nowhere around. When he suddenly heard the roar of an
engine, he bolted from the barn in time to see the dust rise. Jake took off
down the dirt road in his Dodge Ram. Nick was too late. He shook his head in
disappointment.

Jake had asked him for a leave of
absence for an unknown amount of time. He promised he’d be back, but wasn’t
sure when that would be. All Nick knew was what he overheard the ranch hands
discussing. Jake was leaving for Russia in the morning. Nick stood with one
hand clasped at the back of his neck and slowly shook his head. He didn’t know
what he’d do without Jake. He was also worried about him. Why would he have had
such a strong desire to go to Russia?

Jake’s abrupt change in mood over
the past few months left Nick puzzled. His nasty divorce had been hard on him.
If something was bothering him now, what kept him from having a talk? He always
had before. Jake knew how close Nick was to his employees, and that he’d help
him out in any way he could.

He closed up the stable and
decided to walk over to Art’s cottage. When he noticed Lillie’s car was there,
he turned toward his own house. He’d speak to him in the morning before the
other ranch hands arrived.

Arthur James Browning, whom everyone
knew as Art, lived in the two-bedroom cottage at the edge of the woods, one
block north of the stable. He’d been working with the Colburn Stables Ranch for
as long as Nick remembered. His father hired him as a ranch hand when Nick was
a small boy. Art helped him through the pain of losing both of his parents to a
fatal car accident when he was sixteen years old. Appointed in their will as
Nick’s legal guardian, he helped and guided him among the difficulties of
growing up. He taught him the secrets of how to run the Colburn Stables Ranch
the way it should be run, just as his father had done.