Prologue

      My name is Kate Rebel. I married John Rebel when I was eighteen years old and bore him seven sons. We worked the family ranch, which John later inherited. We put everything we had into buying more land so our sons would have a legacy. We didn’t have much, but we had love.

      The McCray Ranch borders Rebel Ranch on the east, and the McCrays have been a source of stress for my family. They’ve cut our fences, dammed up creeks to limit our water supply and shot one of our prized bulls. Ezra McCray threatened to shoot our sons if he caught them jumping his fences again. We tried to keep our boys away, but they are boys, young and wild.

      One day John was out working and two of our youngest, Jude and Phoenix, were riding together bareback. When John heard shots, he immediately rode to find his boys. They lay on the ground, blood oozing from their heads. Ezra McCray was astride a horse twenty yards away with a rifle in his hand. John drew his rifle and fired, killing Ezra instantly. Both boys survived with only minor wounds. Since my husband was protecting his children, he never spent one night in jail. This escalated the feud that still goes on today.

      The man I knew as my husband died that day. He couldn’t live with what he’d done and started to drink heavily. I had to take over the ranch and the raising of our boys. John died ten years later. We’ve all been affected by the tragedy, especially my sons.

      They are grown men now and deal with the pain of losing their father in different ways. One day I pray my boys will be able to put this behind them and live healthy normal lives with women who will love them the way I loved their father.