B. N Rundell

"Two friends committed to one another and their destiny of exploring the wilderness known as French Louisiana. A land that would soon become the Louisiana Purchase and a part of the growing nation of the United Colonies. But another man, wealthy, influential and vindictive is determined to see Gabriel Stonecroft pay the ultimate price for the death of his son, a ne’er do well troublemaker who surrendered his life in a duel with Stonecroft....

"Osage, Kansa, Otoe, were all tribes west of the Mississippi and dwelt directly in the path of the two friends determined to escape the bounty hunters from Philadelphia and to explore the uncharted wilderness of the west. But when they encounter former French Voyageurs turned slave traders that take Pawnee women captive, their purposes take a turn. But slave-traders are nothing compared to the Omaha and Ponca tribes that have the market cornered on...

Jeremiah returns from the wild mountains of the west to keep a promise to his adopted father and mentor, Ezekiel. The journey allows for a visit with Jeremiah's only living relative, his sister. Jeremiah finds himself obligated to make and keep another promise.

"The making of a man is a challenging metamorphosis by any standard, but when it's in the wilderness and among the Arapaho people, the standards are raised. Such was the challenge of Caleb, the adopted son of Jeremiah Thompsett and Laughing Waters. With his Pa a proven warrior and leader for the people and his Ma becoming the new Shaman for the village, Caleb naturally wonders about his future and the possibility of marrying his sweetheart and spending...

"Tate Saint, man of the mountains, was grieving his wife when Jim Beckwourth brought word from Kit Carson that he was needed at Bent's Fort. Eager to put his loss behind him and anxious to know what his mentor and friend needed, Tate set out for the fort. He had been summoned to help a young woman, Maggie O'Shaunessy, find her father, a man that was searching for gold and riches in the high country of the Rockies. Begrudgingly accepting the job as...

"The mountains had become his home. He made them his home after fleeing the hypocrisy of civilization in Missouri at the graveside of his father and mother and began fulfilling the life long dream held dear by his father and himself. When he first came to the mountains, he was a younker and a greenhorn, but now he was a seasoned man of the mountains. Returning from a quick trip back to St. Louis, he was again determined to never leave his beloved...

"The Overland Stage line had become the target of raids by the Dog Soldiers, a confederacy of Cheyenne, Arapaho and Lakota, that sought to regain the land stolen from the Indians by the new government of Colorado Territory. A bitter cold winter added to the danger of the continued assaults on wagon trains, stage stations and stages. But when Colonel Chivington launched his retaliatory attack on the peaceful Cheyenne village that resulted in a massacre...

"When a marauding band of Cheyenne Dog Soldiers attack a wagon train and take two women and a boy captive, Talon Thompsett is surprised when no one is willing to go after the Indians and try to rescue the captives. But the young man is reminded of his father's counsel that "Whenever a task falls to you, don't question the why of it, just get busy with the doin' of it!" Now he must set aside his new job as Shotgun for the Overland Stage and gear up...

The family had never been separated before, but now there was just Tate and his son, Sean. The trader, John Richards, had convinced them to join him and to scout for a brigade of buffalo hunters, but this was no ordinary brigade. This was more like a room full of spoiled rich city kids that wanted a grand adventure in the west.

As the war back east rages, farmers and pilgrims choose to flee and exchange a life of uncertainty for the possible dream of free land ...