Jess reached into a second pocket and pulled out a small bound book with yellowed pages, most of which were blank, though some were covered with faded handwriting. “An old-fashioned logbook used by sea captains to keep track of their journeys. It’s from Dad.”

Ross slid the compass into one of his pockets and held the red leather-bound book with a combination of awe and skepticism. “This is from Dad?” He flipped through the pages, looking at the handwritten words, then raised his gaze to meet Jess’s. “Somehow I don’t believe that. He wouldn’t give this to me. In fact, all the gifts you’ve brought over the past several years are just family treasures you smuggled out from Plumas, aren’t they?”

Jess could not maintain an innocent expression. “Would you have it any other way?” Ross held the logbook, pretending not to care, but Jess could see that the gift meant a great deal to him, even if it came from his brother rather than his father.

They both knew Bram Tamblyn very well. He was a stern and inflexible family leader, and for all his life he’d insisted on having everything precisely his own way. That attitude worked well enough with his employees in the water-mining operation under the ice sheets of Plumas. However, Bram Tamblyn’s firstborn son had turned out to be just as stubborn as his father. The two had gotten into frequent shouting matches for years, until finally, after he reached the age of twenty-two, Ross had had enough.

Old Bram had threatened to disown his son if he didn’t bow to his wishes, and the young man astonished his father by calling his bluff. Tempers were high. Outraged, Bram vowed he would excise Ross from their clan, so Ross offered to save him the embarrassment. He requested the portion of the family inheritance that was due him and swore he would make his own success.

Jess had been there, along with Tasia. Though they intervened, trying to make peace between the two, the old man would have none of it. Bram had gotten a calculating look in his eye—his clan’s fortunes were increasing year by year, and if Ross took his inheritance now and quit his claim to all future income, he would surely come out the loser. So Bram tallied up his son’s share and gave it to him, telling Ross never to ask for another penny.

And Ross had not. He had invested his inheritance wisely, taking over the operation of the Blue Sky Mine, which he ran with such grace and skill that it had nearly climbed out of debt by the time Ross turned twenty-eight. Old Bram pretended anger and chagrin but was secretly proud.

When Jess came to visit the skymining station, there was never any animosity between the brothers. On the other hand, thanks to Ross’s stubbornness, Jess would someday become the official head of the Tamblyn clan and inherit the lucrative Plumas water mines, becoming a powerful man in his own right. He didn’t want it, but he would not let anyone down.