SYRIE'S STRENGTH (SYRIE BOOK TWO) - SMALLWOOD. DENA

Twenty-three years since Syrie and Noah made their vows before family, friends, and their Cayuse community. The Rafter S – their ranch in Rye Valley, Oregon – has seen them raise six children. Lucreta, adopted by Syrie along the Oregon Trail, ranches with husband Noah Crow, son of Ten Crows, and their children. Theresa, the girl carried on the trail, now single-handedly proves up her own ranch – The Rafter T. Their oldest son, Daniel, is in law school at Harvard, near Syrie’s family. Younger sons, Benjamin and Michael, look after the horses and cattle. Early-teen Abigail is finding her place. Noah has long been working a rich placer gold claim in Mormon Basin, providing resources for ranch development, schooling, and other needs as they arise. As this story opens, Noah is caught off-guard at his Mormon Basin gold-panning claim by southern grifters and recent arrivals, Dottie and Billy. Dottie hot-headedly kills him as he offers directions to the town they seek. There are no witnesses as they steal his gold. In the midst of her grieving, Syrie must focus the ranch and her 1860s family on the future. Thomas Hart, a young U.S. Marshal, arrives from Portland to find the killers. It becomes clear who killed Noah, but proof is another story. Noah’s old friend, Ten Crows, has had clear visions of Noah’s killers. The mystery unfolds as family gathers.