Prologue
The night Theodare Disappeared
The small farmhouse had never been so quiet.
Jace Callahan lay awake beneath his thin wool blanket, staring into the darkness above him while the wind rattled the shutters against the side of the house. Somewhere downstairs, the old clock ticked steadily through the night, each sound marking another minute that refused to pass quickly enough.
He couldn’t explain why he was awake.
Perhaps it was the uneasy feeling that had settled in his stomach before supper. Perhaps it was the way Theodore had barely spoken at the table, keeping his eyes lowered while their father talked about the weather and their mother complained about the price of flour.
Something had been wrong with his brother all evening.
Jace had noticed.
He always noticed Theodore.
At twenty years old, Jace had spent most of his life looking up to his older brother. Theodore had been five years ahead of him in everything, always the first to climb a fence, the first to break a horse, and the first to step between Jace and trouble.
But tonight, Theodore had looked like a man carrying the weight of something far too heavy.
Jace rolled onto his side. Then he heard it—a floorboard creaking sharply downstairs, followed by another slow, heavy shift against the wood.
He sat up instantly. He pushed the blanket aside, slipped quietly from bed, and crept across the room. He cracked the bedroom door open just enough to peer into the dark hallway.
The house was silent, save for an icy night draft blowing up from the stairs.
He crept down the steps, his heart beginning to thud against his ribs as he reached the parlor.
The heavy front door stood wide open. Cold night air swept through the room, making the curtains stir like ghosts in the shadows.
“Theodore?” Jace called out into the dark.
There was no answer. He hurried outside onto the wooden porch steps. His brother’s favorite horse was completely gone from the hitching rail.
So was Theodore.
Jace stood barefoot on the porch, shivering as he stared into the pitch-black darkness where the trail disappeared beyond the trees. He didn’t understand the silence. Not then.
He didn’t know that by sunrise, the whole valley would be shouting his brother’s name. He didn’t know angry men with rifles would arrive at their modest homestead with furious accusations.He had no idea Theodore had been framed for stealing a fortune from Augustus Harrow and murdering a ranch hand. And he certainly didn't know his brother had already been declared a wanted man.
He didn’t know that by sunrise, the whole town of Silver Creek would be shouting his brother’s name. He didn’t know angry men with rifles would arrive at their home with furious accusations.
He had no idea Theodore had been framed for stealing a fortune from Augustus Harrow and murdering a ranch hand. And he certainly didn't know his brother had already been declared a wanted man.All Jace knew was that Theodore had disappeared without saying goodbye.But something unyielding inside his chest knew his brother hadn’t run because he was a thief. Theodore would never leave his family to face a storm alone, not unless he believed he had no other choice.
The Callahan family lived on a modest homestead a few miles outside Blackwater Ridge, where their father worked the land and raised horses.
