Paxton and the Lone Star by Kerry Newcomb Read Free Book Online Page A

than his brothers. He often had imagined himself as Jason Brand Paxton, facing the raw wilderness with no more than a gun, a cutlass, and courage. Instead, almost a hundred years later, there were a warehouse and office in Charleston, and a small fleet of four Paxton ships plied the world’s oceans. In addition, there was property in Brandborough and the surrounding countryside, horses, crops, and the home plantation with Solitary at its center. All of this was easily inventoried and assigned a value in dollars and cents. What was less tangible was the Paxton name itself, and what it meant to those spirited men and women who had, over the years, carried it with pride and upheld its honor.
    â€œTrue!” Andrew called from horseback. “You ready?”
    â€œCome on, True,” Joseph added. “Hell, you peppered me this far with a burr in your blanket to get home, so what’s doused your fires? Damned sure can’t be common sense.”
    â€œJust daydreaming, I guess,” True said, shoving his boot into the stirrup and mounting Firetail. “It’s hard to ride by this place without stopping.”
    Andrew watched True as he slowly wheeled Firetail and started down the trail. True had a quiet, contemplative streak that Andrew didn’t understand, and often wondered about. “What is it, True?” he asked as his older brother caught up with him.
    â€œIt’s as if they talk to me.”
    â€œThey’re dead,” Andrew said, his skin prickling.
    â€œAre they?” True asked, half smiling as he urged Firetail into a canter. “Sometimes I wonder.”
    The expanse of clear ground after the ominous darkness of the swamp was more than Firetail could bear. Frisky, smelling home, he tossed his head and bolted across the meadow, followed in short order by Joseph’s and Andrew’s horses. “Jesus! Doesn’t he ever get enough?” Joseph called, reining in beside True.
    â€œNope,” True said. He slapped the stallion’s neck and grinned boyishly. “Be glad he doesn’t.”
    â€œBe glad you don’t have to ride like that with a hangover.”
    â€œNot my fault. He’s just feeling his oats. Been gone a long while.”
    â€œAre we gonna talk or ride?” Andrew asked. “I smell something cooking.”
    True and Joseph sniffed the air. “A pig!” Joseph whispered, his mouth watering. “A double eagle says Vestal’s put on a whole pig!”
    â€œA lousy bet,” True said, lifting one foot and booting Joseph’s horse on the rump. “Lead the way, big brother. Age before beauty.”
    â€œLet’s go, then!”
    Only one mile left! With a wild cry in their hearts, the sons of Thomas Gunn Paxton galloped up the broad winding path that cut clearly through the forest. Branches looped with thick brown vines left shadowed patterns on the dark red earth. Clods of rich dirt flew from beneath their horse’s hooves as they neared the final gentle curve at whose end stood the massive hewn ornamental fence posts that announced the entry to Solitary.
    Solitary! True restrained Firetail, reined him in while his brothers raced ahead. He had never been gone so long, and the idea of returning home had taken on meanings beyond all proportion. Now, for the moment, he sat in stunned silence as the expected surge of emotion failed to materialize. He was glad to be there, of course, but in a quiet, contemplative way that left him feeling he’d been gone no longer than overnight.
    Nothing had changed. The great, whitewashed two-story house sat on a flattened terrace and was surrounded by magnolias, catalpas, chestnuts, and the twin white oaks whose trunk-sized main branches together spanned almost two hundred feet of lawn. A circular drive led to the front entrance that was set under a pillared portico and flanked to either side by a deep, shadowed veranda that ran the width of the house. White board