"Life for cowboy Mack Rosenberry was nothing but peaceful in the small town of Texas. But an encounter with mysterious guests threatens the tranquility as they seem to have secrets that endanger the town. As Mack aims to discover the purpose of their visit, he finds there is more to the father-daughter duo than they lead on. Join Mack as he discovers the new world with flying machines and clockwork men. This is my first Steampunk themed story. It takes place post the Mexican-American War, I hope you guys enjoy it!"
October
What started as a routine buffalo hunt, turned out to be a dangerous path to destruction. Of course, in the brand-new state of Texas, such things didn't come as a shock, between fighting the Indians and fighting the Mexicans back in 1846, they had seen their fair share of destruction.
As Mack Rosenberry walked behind his hunting partner on the trail of a mature buffalo, they heard a loud bang, the sound was not from any kind of gun, it was a loud, booming shot from an industrial killing machine. It was at the break of dawn and he could not understand what sort of people carried such heavy machinery to a hunting party. Isaac Garrison paused, with his rifle against his shoulder and Mack could see him shaking his head, his cowboy hat turning one way and the other.
"Those sons of bitches spooked my meat, " he grumbled. They had been stalking that Buffalo for two days and they were going to have to return to their homes empty-handed.
"What do you reckon that is?" Mack asked as he stood beside him.
"Don't know, " Isaac replied. "But it sounds mighty dangerous."
Mack agreed. The sound of machinery was never heard in the lonesome desert. He knew exactly where that sound was coming, he had heard plenty of them during the war.
"Wanna investigate?" asked Mack as he saw smoke in the distance curling up into the air and disappearing. Their hunting trip was cut short and they had nothing to show for, and Mack needed someone to blame it on.
Isaac spat the last piece of tobacco he was chewing on and smiled. "You read my mind."
They took their time getting there, it was three hundred yards from where they stood and the sounds of battle didn't seem to be wanting to stop. They took slow, measured steps, as if stalking an oblivious animal, except that these animals were armed. They climbed the small hill that stood between them and the smoke, the sun was now high up and unforgiving as if the cold morning never happened. Isaac seemed to be unaware of it once they stood at the top of the hill. "What the hell?" he wondered under his breath.
Mack followed his gaze. The sounds came from a heavy piece of brass, almost the size of a small house, except this house, had a barrel that was six meters long and it was meant to shoot cannon balls. They had seen canons before, but none like that. The barrel aimed at the hill far off into the distance. Up close, they could hear the rattling sound from its engine, it was monstrous and it seemed to be growling with hunger.
Beside it, stood a man in a white coat and goggles. He was facing an open panel which Mack assumed was the machine's heart. He yelled something and the long neck of the canon turned red with life, there was a flash and it shot a cannonball out into the air, it went high up into the sky, but it didn't go very far, it landed heavily a few meters away with a loud thump.
"Come on, " said Isaac. Mack nodded and walked down the hill beside him.
Once they reached the bottom of the hill, the tank seemed bigger and ten times noisier. Mack found his strength as he watched Isaac approach the man beside the tank, with the rifle in hand ready to shoot. He was at the prime age of thirty-two like himself, but he sure carried the confidence of a man of fifty.
"Excuse me, " Isaac yelled over the cacophony coming from the machine. "Excuse me, " he yelled again at no response.
The man turned his head, he heard something but he couldn't quite make out where it had come from. Isaac raised his gun and poked the man on the back. The man turned raising his goggles to his forehead, his eyes squinting as they got used to the sunlight.
"Sorry to interrupt, sir, but this here ain't a testing zone, " Isaac said, his voice deep and firm.
The man wiped his black stained hands on his jacket and extended his hand. "Morning, gentlemen, " he said as if he hadn't heard a word that was said to him. "I'm doctor Jericho Sommersagan and this here is Athena the Great, " he said pointing at the machine proudly. "Oh, give me one second." He turned back towards Athena's open panel and seemed to be speaking to it. Isaiah studied the man carefully. The man was probably in his sixties, but his gray beard made him look a hundred. He wore typical clothes, brown wool pants, black shirt and a brown vest under his white coat. His boots were immaculate and seemed expensive. The man turned to them and didn't speak a word until the machine died down leaving their ears ringing.
"Now, " Dr. Sommersagan started as he grabbed a dirty rag from his back pocket and used it to wipe his face. "What can I do for you, boys?"
"This ain't a weapon testing zone, " Isaac replied.
"Oh, we didn't see any signs prohibiting it."
Isaac turned to Mack fighting a smirk that threatened to escape his lips. There was no way that he spoke of Athena as if it was a living thing. "Well, sir, it ain't so you better get on out of here."
The Doctor watched them attentively with an amused look on his face. "Where do you boys come from? We didn't see any towns nearby when we arrived."
"Salt Water."
"Salt Water?"
Isaac and Mack turned at each other unsure if they heard a woman's voice coming from the sleeping machine. Did the thing speak to them?
"I saw it on the map, you are a long way from home, aren't you?" the female voice asked from somewhere they could not pinpoint. A thud from the top of the machine made them look up and that's when a woman slid down the side as if it was a kids' game and landed on her feet. The woman was breathtakingly beautiful, Mack did his best to not stare but her unruly, curly black hair that framed her pretty face made it impossible not to.
"Well, Ma'am, it's hunting season and we are preparing for the winter."
The woman nodded, her light brown eyes studied them carefully, Mack feared she would know what he was thinking by just looking at him.
"Gentlemen, my daughter, Joanne Summersagan, " the doctor introduced her proudly. The woman gave them a dashing smile as she wiped her hands on her brown pants, that was when Isaiah noticed she too was filthy with coal, she was so beautiful it hardly even mattered.
"I'm Isaac Garrison. My friend, Mack Rosenberry and you're ruining our hunt with your little toy here, " Isaac replied completely indifferent to Joanne's beauty.
"Toy?" Miss Summersagan enquired angrily. "I will have you know that Athena is one of the few weapons that carry this kind of technology."
"I don't care what it is. What I care about is my hunt. Winter is a month away and my town is in need of fur. And your little invention is gonna be the cause of a miserable winter, " Isaac replied firmly.
Mack studied the cannon and realized that Isaac was failing to ask the big question. "You working for the government?"
"No, " the doctor replied baffled by the accusation. "We are not."
"Is this some kind of a military practice?"
The man shook his head. "No."
"Then why are you shooting this thing in the middle of the desert? Are you bored?"
Father and daughter turned to each other. "I'm not at liberty to say, " the doctor replied. "It's classified."
Mack nodded turning to the machine and walked beside it, his hand grazed the hot metal. It was unlike any weapon he had seen in the war. Mexicans didn't have that kind of technology, and it was hard to tell who actually did. "You made it, doc?"
"We made it, " Doctor Sommersagan replied.
Mack nodded. That explained Joanne's manly clothes. Her mother was most likely not around anymore. "For what purpose?"
"For security."
"Security?" Isaac scoffed. "From what?"
"You never know, " the doctor replied.
Isaac wiped the sweat from his brow and turned to his friend. Mack shrugged. At the lack of real answers from the strange family, they decided to let them be. The day was still young and they were going to find a new place to hunt.
"Alright, " Isaac said after a moment of silence. "We will leave you now, I suppose there's enough land for the four of us. Doctor, Ma'am, " he tipped his hat and signaled towards his friend. Mack tipped his hat and took one last look at Miss Joanne before walking away.
"August, 1865 The War is over and as America is trying to recover, Nicholas Gregson is trying to get used to his civilian life. But the deep scar on the side of his face will always remind him of the most violent war in America. One windy day, Nicholas gets a visit from his former General with a rare proposition: He wants him to marry one of his daughters. Although Mary is beautiful and well brought up, he hesitates. He doesn't know if he can love her and he is certain she won't ever be able to surpass his war scar. Olivia Clark is happy for her twin sister, marrying a man their father respected dearly was bound to be a good marriage. But she worries. Scars of her own remind her that men can not be trusted. Will Olivia let her guard down and allow love to enter her life? Will Nicholas give himself a chance to be happy with a woman that won't even look at his face?"
"When Adam and Ana Marie meet is love at first sight. But what Ana Marie knows is that Adam is a private investigator from London, what she doesn't know is that Adam is on the hunt of a criminal that turned out to be her distant father. The plans to capture this man goes awry and it forces him to fake his own death leaving Ana Marie devastated. After five years, the criminal reappears and Adam wants to finish what he started. Will Ana Marie find out about the lie and of his father's affairs? Will Ana Marie and Adam get a second chance at happiness?"
"Hi my name is David, and you might've already figured this out but I have a crush. Crush, you say, what's a crush when you are seventeen going on eighteen boy, invisible but sadly, over achiever in high school, who has only two friends and a twin sister that is a snobby bitch? I will tell you in this, my tale of what ifs, could haves and should haves. So sit back and enjoy the ride. "
In the small town of Lakewood in the nineteenth century, the future of Adam Lancaster and Sophia Willis has been set through an arrange marriage, but Sophia is in love with the son of the richest man in town and Adam has never considered marriage as part of his life. Will they give each other a chance or are they destined to live unhappily ever after?
Linsey was stood up by her groom to run off with another woman. Furious, she grabbed a random stranger and declared, "Let's get married!" She had acted on impulse, realizing too late that her new husband was the notorious rascal, Collin. The public laughed at her, and even her runaway ex offered to reconcile. But Linsey scoffed at him. "My husband and I are very much in love!" Everyone thought she was delusional. Then Collin was revealed to be the richest man in the world. In front of everyone, he got down on one knee and held up a stunning diamond ring. "I look forward to our forever, honey."
After three loveless years, Neil's betrayal deeply wounded Katelyn. She wasted no time in getting rid of that scoundrel! After the divorce, she devoted herself to career pursuits. Rising to prominence as a top designer, skilled doctor, and brilliant hacker, she became a revered icon. Neil, realizing his grave mistake, tried in vain to win her back, only to witness her magnificent wedding to another. As their vows were broadcast on the world's largest billboard, Vincent slid a ring onto Katelyn's finger and declared, "Katelyn is now my wife, a priceless treasure. Let all who covet her beware!"
After hiding her true identity throughout her three-year marriage to Colton, Allison had committed wholeheartedly, only to find herself neglected and pushed toward divorce. Disheartened, she set out to rediscover her true self-a talented perfumer, the mastermind of a famous intelligence agency, and the heir to a secret hacker network. Realizing his mistakes, Colton expressed his regret. "I know I messed up. Please, give me another chance." Yet, Kellan, a once-disabled tycoon, stood up from his wheelchair, took Allison's hand, and scoffed dismissively, "You think she'll take you back? Dream on."
My name is Katia, and I am just trying to survive until my fated mate arrives. Which may be easier said than done. Rejectection is the last straw. Whispering my acceptance of his rejection. I run through the pack house, out across the manicured lawn into the forest. "I'm sorry, my sweet girl," I say to my wolf. I'm sorry you have been stuck with me and have had to suffer everything I have. She whispers," it's not your fault, Katia. We came to a cliff with a waterfall. The hurt keeps pounding at me. I need it to stop. My sweet girl, and I just want peace, I keep running and leap off the cliff. Spreading my arms wide, with tears streaming down my face, I fall, not making a sound, waiting for sweet oblivion where we feel nothing ever again. "I love you, my sweet girl! Until we meet again, "My wolf replied just before we hit the water, "I love you too, Katia. I have never regretted a moment with you." The Snow Moon pack is having their last barbecue of the summer next to the waterfall on their land. The adults are laughing and joking while watching the pups play. The alpha, beta, and gamma are swimming with some of the older children and playing a game of Marco Polo. Someone yells, "Oh my goddess, someone just jumped over the waterfall!" Everyone is frozen as they watch what looks to be a child falling arms spread wide, no one makes a sound. The small body hits the water like a plane crashing into the side of a mountain. The alpha, beta, and gamma, spring into action, swimming towards the area the person went under. The alpha is screaming his wolf is going crazy repeating, "Find her. Find her...find her!" They dive and the beta surfaces with a small person in his arms. Alpha takes the girl from his beta, laying her on the ground. The men are shocked by what they see. She is covered in scars and injuries. Her body is twisted and broken. The Beta asks, "Who could have done this to someone so defenseless?" Alpha drops to his knees, repeating, "MATE...MATE...MATE!"
Janice, the long-forgotten legitimate heiress, made her way back to her family, pouring her heart into winning their hearts. Yet, she had to relinquish her very identity, her academic credentials, and her creative works to her foster sister. In return for her sacrifices, she found no warmth, only deeper neglect. Resolute, Janice vowed to cut off all emotional bonds. Transformed, she now stood as a master of martial arts, adept in eight languages, an esteemed medical expert, and a celebrated designer. With newfound resolve, she declared, "From this day forward, no one in this family shall cross me."
"You're a creepy bastard." His eyes smolder me and his answering grin is nothing short of beautiful. Deadly. "Yet you hunger for me. Tell me, this appetite of yours, does it always tend toward 'creepy bastards'?" **** Widower and ex-boss to the Mafia, Zefiro Della Rocca, has an unhealthy fixation on the woman nextdoor. It began as a coincidence, growing into mere curiosity, and soon, it was an itch he couldn't ignore, like a quick fix of crack for an addict. He didn't know her name, but he knew every inch of her skin, how it flushed when she climaxed, her favourite novel and that every night she contemplated suicide. He didn't want to care, despising his rapt fascination of the woman. She was in love with her abusive husband. She was married, bound by a contract to the Bratva's hitman. She was off-limits. But when Zefiro wanted something, it was with an intensity that bordered on madness. He obsessed, possessed, owned. There'd be bloodshed if he touched her, but the sight of blood always did fascinate him. * When Susanna flees from her husband, she stumbles right into the arms of her devilishly handsome neighbour with a brooding glare. He couldn't stand her, but she needed him, if she was ever going to escape her husband who now wanted her dead. Better the devil you know than the angel you don't. She should have recalled that before hopping into Zefiro's car and letting him whisk her away to Italy. Maybe then, she wouldn't have started an affair with him. He was the only man who touched her right, and the crazy man took no small pains in ensuring he would be the last.