MacCallister Kingdom Come (27 page)

What did the sunset look like from the vast plains and the towering mountains he had heard about, the ones that lay hundreds of miles farther west across the continent? Such distances were almost beyond Breckinridge's imagining. He had never been more than ten miles from the cabin in which he'd been born.

He felt a stirring inside whenever he thought about such things. Just like that buck had seemed to call to him from the hills earlier today, something was pulling on him from the other direction, from the sprawling wilderness that now made up so much of the American nation.

He remembered Edward talking about another story he'd read, a tale about one of those ancient Greeks or some such who had gone off to fight in a war and then taken the long way home, having all sorts of adventures along the way. One of those adventures involved a bunch of beautiful women on an island who sang songs so pretty that they were irresistible to any sailors who happened to pass by. That was sort of the way Breckinridge felt about the frontier, like it was calling to him so powerfully that sooner or later he would have to answer.

Of course, those sailors who listened to the song the women were singing usually came to a bad end, Breckinridge recollected. But anything in life that was worth doing had some risks that came along with it, he supposed.

With those thoughts occupying his mind, the ride to Knoxville passed quickly. Almost before he knew it, he was entering the outskirts of the settlement, and he soon came to the house of Alonzo Grantham, who owned a successful livery stable and wagon yard. Breckinridge reined in sharply when he spotted the lantern hanging from a hook and lighting up the porch of the Grantham house.

Maureen was already out there, but she wasn't waiting for him to come calling. She was sitting there with someone else, and Breckinridge knew instantly who it was.

From
MacCallister: The Eagles Legacy