Lone Valley: A Fresh Start (Mountain Man Book 6) Read online

  Lone Valley

  A Fresh Start

  Sixth and Final Book

  of the Mountain Man series

  By Nathan Jones

  Copyright © 2020 Nathan Jones

  All rights reserved.

  This book or any portion thereof

  may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

  without the express written permission of the author

  except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  The events depicted in this novel are fictional. The characters in this story are also fictional, and any resemblance to anyone living or dead is entirely unintentional.

  Books by Nathan Jones

  BEST LAID PLANS

  Fuel

  Shortage

  Invasion

  Reclamation

  Determination

  NUCLEAR WINTER

  First Winter

  First Spring

  Chain Breakers

  Going Home

  Fallen City

  MOUNTAIN MAN

  Badlands

  Homecoming

  Homeland

  Mountain War

  Final Stand

  Lone Valley

  ISOLATION

  Shut In

  Going Out (upcoming)

  Contents

  Title Page

  Books by Nathan Jones

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Links to Post-Apocalyptic Books

  Prologue

  Leaving

  Horse Jr. was healthy and eager for the coming trip, and Skyler's gear was all painstakingly cleaned, repaired, and packed to take as little space as possible.

  Of course, none of that was particularly noteworthy; he made the same preparations for riding down to New Emery, or ranging out into the mountains. Then again, this was going to be a significantly longer trip than any he'd ever gone on before. Far more so than even that disastrous journey to Newpost, most likely.

  So special care was needed.

  “You sure about this, son?” Trapper asked as Skyler worked to get all his things tied down just right behind Junior's saddle.

  “Sure as I was when you asked me five minutes ago,” he replied, a slight edge to his bantering tone; five minutes ago hadn't been the first time his dad had asked that by a long shot.

  “Guess so,” the mountain man said slowly, although he didn't seem pleased by the answer. Then again, he didn't seem best pleased by much about this situation. As he'd made very clear in that quiet but indomitable way of his. Although he never went so far as to say outright that he disapproved.

  Skyler paused in his preparations and turned to confront his dad face to face. Or at least, face to iron-gray hair; he'd outgrown the old man by more than a few inches in the last three years, a fact that still caught him by surprise sometimes. Trapper had always strode along tall as the mountains he called his home, and twice as solid. So much so that it had taken Skyler longer than it should've to realize his adoptive dad was only a bit taller than his mom.

  Crazy how growing up could change your perspective. For instance, he'd always respected the mountain man's advice, but now he found that it didn't sting his pride as much as it once had to ask for it.

  So he did. “If you don't think I should go, just say it.”

  Trapper snorted. “So you'd end up going anyway, and leaving with bad blood between us to boot? I don't step in a bear trap more than once.”

  As far as Skyler knew, the old man had never even come close to stepping in a bear trap. Literally or metaphorically; you had to get up awfully early in the morning to get the best of Tom Miller. “I don't see why you disapprove so much anyway. You spent most of the years before you met Mom exploring the Southwest. I'm just following your footsteps.”

  “And hoping to find Lisa?”

  The question was gently put, but even so it hit him with unexpected force. He had to try hard not to bristle. “What if I am? We never heard any word of her family one way or another. They're out there somewhere.”

  His dad opened his mouth, then hesitated. Skyler could just guess what he was going to say: something about how the Hendricksons should've returned home after Sangue got pushed back into Texas and New Mexico, then finally across the old US border entirely. Or if not that then they should've at least sent word sometime in the last three years.

  Did the old man think he hadn't thought all that through? Hadn't been kept up nights fretting about where Lisa was, why she hadn't come back? Dreading what might've happened if Sangue had got their hands on her?

  “No doubt they are,” Trapper agreed amiably. “What's the rush to go find them now?”

  That was an . . . unexpectedly difficult question to answer. Skyler wasn't sure he even had one. So he just shrugged. “Well, I suppose I'm ready to head out. Any last words of fatherly advice?”

  Trapper snorted. “Just that if you really do mean to follow in my footsteps, I came home on a regular basis. With family here you've got a good reason to do the same . . . Molly and Miles and Micah are going to miss their big brother, and so are your mom and me.”

  Skyler nodded solemnly. “I'll see where the road takes me, but I always know where home is.”

  “Good to hear.” His dad reached into his belt pouch and pulled out two small but heavy-looking bags that jingled as he handled them. Without a word the mountain man held them out.

  He accepted the bags and hefted them. “My inheritance?” he asked wryly.

  “Pfft, plenty more where that came from. This is just something to help out if you run into trouble, assuming you can find anyone who wants to trade in precious metals.”

  “Sangue's been gone a while, I'm sure I'll find someone. Especially in the Northern League, since I'm headed that way.” Skyler tucked the bags into an inner pocket of his coat. “Thanks.”

  Trapper cleared his throat, almost as if he was struggling with his emotions, and leaned forward to briefly grip his hand. “You take care, son. Bound to be all manner of dangers out there, so remember what I've taught you.”

  He returned the grip firmly. “Couldn't forget if I tried . . . it's practically second nature at this point.”

  “Good.” His dad stepped back. “Go on, then. Your mom and the others are waiting to say their goodbyes.”

  Skyler patted Junior's flank, a silent acknowledgement of the stallion's patience while he finished his preparations. Then he took the reins and led his mount out of the first barn into the dry, chilly late summer dawn. Trapper followed behind, closing the door behind them.

  Their route took them past the second barn, the three sheds, a cluster of other outbuildings, and the training corral before the ranch's four houses and the lodging for the hired hands came into view. On the green between the houses, to his chagrin but no particular surprise, he saw that when Trapper had said “his mom and the others”, he'd meant pretty much everyone living at the ranch.

  In spite of the early hour and the nippy temperatures, they'd all turned out to watch him go. His family, and friends he'd known for years.

  Although Sky
ler was touched by the turnout, he was unexpectedly disappointed to not see a particular face among them. Which was ridiculous, since she would still be in New Emery almost half a day's ride away and he hadn't given warning of his departure, so there was no way she could know.

  In fact, it was his own fault she hadn't been able to come. And it made him a pretty rotten friend to have denied her the chance to say goodbye, just because he was too cowardly to face her with his decision to leave.

  He knew all that, but he was disappointed not to see her all the same. And annoyed at being disappointed, considering that finding Lisa was what was motivating him to leave in the first place.

  Not to mention the monkey wrench his feelings for the young woman he was leaving behind kept trying to throw into his plans.

  His mom strode out alone to meet him, leaving Keri to hold baby Micah and keep Molly and Miles from following. It was obvious she wanted one last chance to say her piece too, and he silently braced himself as Trapper took Junior's reins from him and firmly pushed him forward to meet her.

  She wasted no time pulling him into a fierce hug, holding it for an uncomfortably long half a minute. “My little boy,” she mumbled.

  Well, this was off to a great start. “I think you're getting me confused with Miles or Micah, Mom. I turned eighteen a week ago.”

  His mom looked up at him, smiling tremulously with tears in her blue eyes. “You could be eighty and I'd still see the baby I first held in my arms not so very long after the Ultimatum. My little Skyler, a precious gift when the world was falling apart around me.”

  “Mom,” he protested, although it was hard not to be moved by that. “I'm about to go explore the Northwest for who knows how long. Maybe you could acknowledge I'm old enough to make the trip before I go?”

  “That doesn't make it any less dangerous, although that's never stopped you before,” she shot back, a hint of the heat of old arguments rising in her voice. She paused, took a breath, then continued gently. “But maybe you could at least acknowledge that as self-sufficient as you are, you might not be as ready for this as you think you are.” This time her pause was more pointed. “Or that it might not be as necessary to go as you think it is.”

  He bristled in spite of himself. “You think finding my lost friend,” the girl I love, “and her family isn't necessary? They're out there and they're your oldest friends, too. Practically family.”

  His mom shot him a look that brooked no argument. “Son, I know you've never listened to a single word of advice in your entire stubborn life, but as your mother who loves you and wants you to be happy, please at least hear me out.”

  She took his head in her hands, looking deep into his eyes as she continued. “You have everything you need here. I believe Lisa is still alive, same as you. But wherever she is, after so long at this point she has to be doing fine. She doesn't need you to come riding to her rescue.”

  “You don't-” Skyler began, but she kept going determinedly.

  “Don't throw away what you have here chasing someone you're not even certain is out there waiting for you. You know how Tabby feels about you, and whether you want to admit it or not, I can see how you feel about her.”

  He looked away in spite of himself. “You know how I feel about Lisa, too. How I've always felt.”

  “I do. I just figured after three years you'd finally get your head out of your hiney and see good sense.” His mom pulled back, shaking her head wryly. “If you went to Tabby right now and asked her to marry you, she'd say yes before the words were out of your mouth. That sweet girl loves you with all her heart, and that's saying something considering she has one of the biggest hearts I've ever seen.”

  “Mom-” he started to protest, feeling his cheeks flush.

  She continued relentlessly. “Which is more than you deserve, given what a stubborn fool you've been . . . and I say that with all the love in the world. Tabby's waited patiently, given you every chance to love her back, and you could be happy here with her. Why are you walking away from that?”

  Skyler set his jaw against a rush of guilt. He didn't have a good answer, and that annoyed him more than he could say. So he fell back on his usual response. “I always said I was going to find Lisa.”

  She threw up her hands in exasperation. “Of all the things I wanted to pass down to you, Skyler Dale Graham, my stubbornness isn't one. Don't you know wisdom is learning from other people's mistakes so you don't have to make them yourself?”

  “Since when did not giving up on your loved ones become a mistake?” he shot back, more heatedly than he meant to.

  For a moment he thought his mom was going to blow up, but then she just shook her head with a sigh. “Is that what you're doing?” she asked quietly. “Tabby might disagree.” Without giving him a chance to answer she pulled him into another hug. “Anyway, I've learned from my own mistakes that I can't force you to go one way when you're determined to go another. So all I can do is wish you the best, then hope for the best as you blunder off doing your own thing. Love you, son.”

  Skyler bit back a sigh and hugged her back. When it came to stubbornness, there was a good argument to be made about whether she'd actually learned anything. But then, he was one to talk. “Love you too, Mom. I'll be back to visit when I can.”

  “You'd better.” She leaned up to kiss his cheek, then slipped past him to join Trapper back by the corral, where he'd stopped to wait while they'd been talking. She seemed to be in a hugging mood, because she wrapped her arms around her husband and rested her head on his shoulder as they watched Skyler continue on to where his brothers and sister were waiting with Keri.

  The dark-haired woman had practically become part of the family herself, helping his mom with the children and managing the ranch house. She'd become his mom's closest friend since Aunt Vicky left. “Not sure what to say about you going out exploring the world on your own,” she said in her quiet, warm voice as she gently passed him baby Micah and stepped back.

  “Goodbye should cover it,” he replied lightly as he leaned down to kiss his youngest brother. The one-year-old cooed and looked up at him with a heart-melting smile, and he felt a sudden catch in his throat as he hugged the baby tight.

  Then Molly was there, jumping up one leg to try to get him to hold her, while Miles tried to climb his other one. “Why do you have to go?” his sister demanded with tears in her big blue eyes, wearing that pout he could never say no to.

  Skyler passed Micah back to Keri and picked up his other siblings in either arm. “I'm going to go look for my friend Lisa. You remember Lisa?”

  Molly's eyebrows scrunched up in adorable confusion. “Yeah, you talk about her all the time.”

  “But you don't remember when she lived here?” he asked, feeling oddly disappointed. His sister had adored Lisa back before the Hendricksons left, and he'd sort of hoped at least she'd be on his side about this trip.

  “Nope!” The little girl brightened. “I remember Tabby, though! Is she visiting soon?”

  You too, Molly? Skyler bit back a groan and kissed his sister's light brown curls, then turned his attention to Miles, who was staring up at him solemnly. “You going to be potty trained by the time I get back, bud?” His brother nodded with equal solemnity. “Good. If I'm going to take you out exploring the mountains with me I don't want to be dealing with diapers.”

  “Oh I want to go too!” Molly exclaimed.

  He laughed. “You already go with me, silly. We'll all go when I get back.”

  “Okay, then hurry.”

  “I will.” Skyler reluctantly set his brother and sister down, although they trailed after him hugging his legs as he made his way to the next people waiting for their goodbyes.

  “You're crazy, you know that?” Logan asked as he pulled Skyler into a bear hug. Behind him Mer, who was cradling their baby daughter Linsey, nodded emphatically.

  “Probably,” he replied. “Still going to do it, though.” He stepped past his friend to lean down and tickle Linsey's
tummy until she giggled.

  As he straightened Mer pulled him into a one-armed hug. “That's why you're crazy,” she said, bantering tone unable to completely hide her concern. She stepped back, bouncing her daughter a few times as if in reassurance. “Just be careful out there . . . Sangue may be mostly driven back south of the border, but they left plenty of deserters behind causing trouble. Besides, they were never the only danger in the world.”

  He nodded and glanced down at Linsey. “You'd better be walking by the time I get back, kiddo.”

  “Then you better hurry, because she's already standing,” Logan replied, moving over to put an arm around his wife.

  The relationship between the two had caught just about everyone by surprise. They were both fierce and outspoken in their own ways, but unexpectedly reserved when it came to their personal lives. Even Skyler hadn't known his friends felt that way about each other much before anyone else, and only then because Logan had asked him out of the blue to be his best man.

  He supposed it was something they all should've expected, though. Logan and Mer had both been living on the ranch as practically members of the family since the end of the Mountain War, were around the same age, and had a lot of shared experiences to bring them together. Not generally the most pleasant experiences, unfortunately, but those hardships could often lead to the strongest bonds.

  As was further evidenced by the next couple in line as Skyler continued with his goodbyes: Brandon and Fiona and their two children.

  Brandon had been one of Skyler's strongest supporters when it came to going on this trip, since he'd been a ranch hand during all the years when the Hendricksons lived there, and knew how close Skyler and Lisa had been. On the other hand Fiona had lived with the Knudsens for most of that time, and she was firmly on Team Tabby; she got on Skyler's case about settling down with the young woman almost as much as his mom did.

  Thankfully, his friends seemed to have called a truce for the farewell. They kept their opinions to themselves and focused on giving backslapping or smothering hugs, respectively. Then Thomas, Trapper's namesake, demanded Skyler spin him around for way too long, and last of all he spent a little while holding baby Dot, or Dorothy Gerry, the couple's newborn. Just shy of a month old, she felt impossibly tiny in his arms.