A Valley Beyond The Hills

Book excerpt: Mike Jeffers is a young cowboy trying to make a living off a tumbledown, rock-strewn piece of land he bought because he liked the views. An orphan, Mike grew up as a ward of the state. Living with different families he has learned what hard work is and isn't afraid of it. What does scare him is losing some of his steers or heifers to the cattle rustlers who are working the area. One evening on his way to visit another rancher who has lost some steers, his horse is spooked by stepping on a dead body lying in the path and Mike is caught up in a murder mystery he must solve before he loses some of his own cattle. But while Mike and the Sheriff team up to find the killer some complications arise involving a little boy lost in the wilderness across the road from Mike's ranch and an old abandoned mine there Meantime, Mike marries and settles down to a happy and prosperous life. He buys more land and hires cowboys, but despite how rosy the future looks, suspicion keeps on growing inside Mike that something weird is going on in the old mine. When he investigates, he learns that old ghosts cast long shadows, a lesson that nearly costs him his life.