Steel Coleman sinned in his heart the day he saw fifteen-year-old Riley Spencer. Driven by lust he couldn't acknowledge or control, he encourages his mother to marry Riley's father, joining the two families and creating a living hell for Steel in the process. In an attempt to spare his sanity, he goes for long rides from the family ranch, and he's not home to protect the family when bandits strike. Riley survives but their parents are murdered. Haunted by grief and guilt, Steel flees to catch the men responsible, promising his younger stepbrother he would return. He never does. When they meet again ten years later, Riley is a far cry from the boy Steel left behind. And he needs his former stepbrother to pay for the very real sin of abandoning him when he needed Steel the most. But their fateful meeting sends Riley running. Leaving Steel is the hardest thing he's ever done, but Riley understands what Steel knew all along -- it's too dangerous to stay. Will he be prepared to face the consequences when Steel inevitably catches up with him? Can forgiveness be possible?

Steel's Redemption

“I’m Riley. My traveling companion is Black Sue,” Riley said, nodding at his mare.


“Been riding alone for a while?” Jesse asked.


“Why’d you leave Deadwood?” Jesse spat out on the ground between his boots. “Trouble?”


“Nothing serious. Didn’t like the looks of somebody. We exchanged words.”


“No.” But he couldn’t speak about any bounty hunters. Steel could be hunting him down at that very moment, burning with anger and humiliation and hungry for revenge. And if Steel was on his tail, none of these men would be long for this world. But Riley didn’t see as how they warranted any sort of warning to that effect. “Words were all we exchanged.”


Chapter 11