Rescue

DJ Dubois

January 2020

Notes Part 1: This story diverges from "A Time to Laugh, A Time to Cry." I am thinking of making it a series….

Notes Part 2: The High Chaparral and its characters belong to NBC and other copyright holders. Please send any feedback to dante0220 .

Preface

[High Chaparral Ranch, Arizona Territory mid-1870s]

Donna Victoria Montoya Cannon records….

Love is a curious thing. For years it played games with our family. Papa misses Mama but will not take another wife. Papa brought many suitors to the Hacienda Montoya to marry me. And Manolo? ¡Madre de Dios! That one takes after the mustaño, the untamed mustang stallion, who resists taming at all costs. For years, nuestra familia passed on potential partners and lovers. They all seemed nice enough but something was missing from each of them. They lacked inner strength or some other character trait. While they certainly had resources, they were not genuine. Papa would not take such a woman. I would not sell myself for a fortune. And Manolito needed a especially fine woman to turn his head from the taverns.

Just when we resigned ourselves to the Rancho, Love shook things up for me. I do not know why Fate brought John into my life. Whatever hesitation I felt for others evaporated at the sight of him. I admit that life at the High Chaparral has been different than my expectations. What started out as a political alliance is developing into so much more. John and I have so much more than the aristocracy of Mexico have. We have love and mutual respect. Our bond is a large part of our own rancho's bedrock.

Manolito rescued a pair of Papa's guests from Comancheros. It was at that point that Love finally caught him. Our childhood friend, Mercedes Vega de la Granada, caught his interest. How far will this go? And can Mano make it last?

Fate, however, had other challenges as did those Comancheros.