Stories
Stories

He Saved a Wounded Man Then Was Ordered to Marry His Daughter

Chapter 4

Theme:
Font Size:
24px
Ethan looked down at the map, his brow furrowing in genuine confusion.The paper was an official territorial survey map dated 1872, bearing his father's bold signature—Diego Cole—in the lower right corner. Running across the center of the valley were several thick, dark red ink lines that cut straight through the willow flats, through the camp, and directly across the northern bluffs.Ethan had carried that map in his saddlebag for three years, ever since his father had died of the lung fever. He had looked at it a hundred times, but he had never understood what those dark red lines meant.He had always assumed they were timber boundaries. He had never known they were the planned right-of-way for a railroad.

Ethan stared at the dark red lines drawn across his father's map, feeling a cold, sickening knot form in the pit of his stomach."My father was a surveyor twenty years ago," Ethan said, his voice quiet as he looked up at Elder Tahna. "He worked for the territorial government before the rail company ever came into this valley. He never told me what those red lines meant. On my honor as a man, I didn't know.""Honor is a cheap word when the snow turns red," Aiyana said coldly, rolling the map back into its leather case."Aiyana," Elder Tahna commanded softly.The young woman stopped, her mouth pressing into a thin, tight line, but she obeyed her grandfather, stepping back toward her brother's bed.By nightfall, the mountain storm outside had reached its peak, howling against the heavy timber walls of the lodge like a wild beast. But inside, the heat of the central hearth had done its work. Kip’s breathing had stabilized, growing deep, rhythmic, and clear as the old woman's herbal poultices drew the fever out of his bullet wound.Ethan stood near the heavy oak door, pulling his sheepskin coat tight around his shoulders, gathering his saddlebag."He's going to live," Ethan said, looking over at Aiyana. "The blood has stopped, and his skin is warm. My work here is done."He reached for the iron latch of the door, preparing to step out into the freezing storm to sleep in the horse shelter."Stop, Ethan Cole," Elder Tahna's voice boomed across the room.Ethan paused, his hand resting on the iron latch. He turned around to face the old man. "Sir, I've brought your grandson back, and I've shown you my map. There's nothing more I can do for you tonight. I'll take my horse and leave.""You will not leave," Tahna said flatly.Ethan frowned. "I'm not a prisoner here, Elder.""You are something far more dangerous," Tahna replied, leaning forward on his wooden bench, his dark eyes burning with an ancient, unyielding resolve. "You are a witness. And before the sun rises tomorrow, you will take my daughter as your wife."Ethan froze. He stared at the old man, convinced for three seconds that the whistling mountain wind outside had distorted the elder's words.
PREV NEXT

News in the same category

He Saved a Wounded Man Then Was Ordered to Marry His Daughter

15 Part