The Dark Land

By Bob Sharpe and Bobbi Lynn Zaccardi

In 1920 near the bustling city of Colorado Springs Jack Maldanor believed he had left his old life far behind him. For over a decade he and his Wife Beth raised their family in seclusion, far from the troubles of the past. Soon an unexpected turn of events would lead Jack and his family down a road of atonement. A road he hoped his son would forever avoid. Some sins are never washed away and you can never run far or fast enough escape you past. One of which his young son was going to find himself tangled in as he seeks revenge and redemption.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 15, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469176109

Book preview

Copyright © 2012 by Bob Sharpe and Bobbi Lynn Zaccardi.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2012903775

ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4691-7609-3

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4691-7608-6

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4691-7610-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

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Contents

Acknowledgments

1  The Letter

2  The Long Road

3  The Train

4  New Jersey

5  The Coward Allen Crow

6  Evilyn

7  Five Years Later

Author’s bio

Acknowledgments

Thank you to my amazing and wonderful family for all your support. A special thank you to my dad Bob, without you I would never have had such a wonderful story line, or the motivation or courage to write this book. Special thank you to my mom Debbie, who had the patients, and inspiration to help me. A very special thank you to my wonderful husband Joseph, for all your help, encouragement and inspiration in this novel.

1

The Letter

The sun crept slowly over the Colorado Mountains.. The pink and orange tinge of the sky gave way to a golden light as Jack Maldaner fell into his daily routine. His ranch was a simple affair—a small house having white painted windowpanes with a light brown finish, a modest coral and a fair size range, and old barn in need of repair but functional just the same.

It had been a late start today but he was hardly worried. A small problem with wolves had been dealt with the night before. During the night Jack had waited patiently among the cattle, rifle loaded and ready. It had been well past midnight when the first calls of the pack echoed eerily through the hills.

The thought of it brought a small smile to his face. The wolves had cost him five heads over the past month or so, and he doubted he’d have trouble any time soon. Three of the pack was dead, the other two long gone.

Jack looked back at the house—a thin line of smoke drifted lazily from the chimney, a window was open slightly despite the morning chill. Elizabeth would have breakfast ready soon, he knew, and the bell would be ringing.

Where’d the boy get to now? Jack mumbled to himself as he unbarred the coral gate. Before he brought in the horses, his son was to bring the saddles out from the barn; but as with most ten-year-old boys, he often seemed to get sidetracked.

Knows damn well we have fences that need fixin’! he growled.

With a determined stride he made his way toward the barn, spurs clanking noisily.

Jack paused as he arrived at the doors which were slightly ajar. It was dark inside, and for a moment he felt a familiar sickness creep over him—a cold knot in his stomach.

Swallowing hard he went inside, pushing the feeling aside.

Boy! Where are ya? he called.

There was no response except for the creak of the barn doors in the breeze.

All right, that’s enough! No time for messin’ around! Angry now, he stalked over to the lantern hanging close by. Quickly lighting it, he took it and searched the stables—empty.

Hey, Pa! Pa! You have to see what I found!

Jack started slightly. His son came running into the barn, eyes wide in wonder.

He was a skinny kid and not too tall either. Plain looking, save for his gray eyes and dark brown hair, he was his father’s son all right. His button-down shirt was disheveled and a dirty mess; his britches were also filthy and a little too small.

All right, what exactly are you goin’ on about? And why ain’t you done muckin’ in here? Jack crossed his arms and gave his son a hard look.

Sorry, Pa, it’s just that… that, well just come see! He grabbed his pa’s hand and began to pull.

With a sigh Jack blew out the lantern and set it back on its hook. Well, all right.. Best make this quick. We got a long day ahead, and don’t think for a second anything but Jesus himself is gonna be reason enough for dodging your chores.

The boy just nodded and pulled harder. Obviously whatever this was he thought it more than worth the trouble. He led his father around their home, passed the kitchen