“They're targeting us.”
Sam looked at her.
“I won't risk your life.”
“And I won't abandon yours.”
He shook his head.
“I married you to give you safety.”
“No.”
She stepped closer.
“You married me because you loved me.”
Sam's expression softened.
“Yes.”
“Then don't decide for me what I'm willing to risk.”
He looked away.
Clara touched his hand.
“I was afraid when I came here.”
“I know.”
“I still am.”
He looked at her.
“But I'm not running anymore.”
Sam closed his eyes.
Then he pulled her into his arms.
“I don't know what I did to deserve you.”
Clara smiled against his chest.
“Perhaps you waited.”
The next morning, they rode to Julesburg.
The sheriff had discovered that a man matching Edwin's description had purchased supplies in town before the fire.
But there was more.
A banker remembered Edwin asking about Cross Creek's mortgage.
And the banker had records.
Sam's ranch was not merely in debt.
Someone had purchased the debt.
An anonymous investor had been trying to force Sam into foreclosure.
The investor's name was hidden behind a legal company.
But Clara recognized the initials.
E.W.
Edwin Whitmore.
“He wants the ranch,” Sam said.
“No.”
Clara looked at the documents.
“He wants more than the ranch.”
“What?”
“My father's land.”
Sam frowned.
She pointed to the papers.
“My father owned mineral rights beneath the western pasture.”
Sam stared.
Coal.
Gold.
Possibly silver.
A fortune.
Clara's father had never told her.
But Edwin knew.
And now he intended to own everything.
That night, while they stayed at a hotel in Julesburg, Clara woke to the sound of footsteps outside their room.
She sat up.
Sam was already awake.
A shadow passed beneath the door.
Sam reached for the revolver beneath the bed.
The door handle turned.
He moved silently.
The door opened.
A man entered.
Sam struck him before he could raise his weapon.
The struggle lasted seconds.
The intruder escaped through the window.
But he left something behind.
A silver pocket watch.
Clara recognized it.
Edwin had given it to her father.
She picked it up with trembling fingers.
“He was here.”
Sam nodded.
“And now he knows we have the documents.”
Clara looked toward the dark window.
“He's coming.”
Sam loaded his revolver.
“Let him.”
The Truth Beneath the Land
The documents revealed a secret that changed everything.
Clara's father had discovered silver deposits beneath the western portion of Cross Creek.
He had refused to sell.
Edwin had discovered the information and attempted to force him into bankruptcy.
When Clara's father refused, Edwin forged documents.
Then Clara's mother found out.
She threatened to expose him.
Six months later, she died.
The official cause was pneumonia.
But one of the old household servants had left a statement hidden in a bank deposit box.
According to the statement, Clara's mother had been poisoned.
The servant had been too afraid to speak while Edwin controlled the family.
Now, twenty years later, the truth was finally coming to light.
Clara read the statement twice.
Then she cried.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just quietly.
Sam stood beside her.
She whispered:
“She knew.”
“Who?”
“My mother.”
Clara touched the paper.
“She knew what he was capable of.”
Sam put an arm around her.
“She tried to protect you.”
Clara closed her eyes.
“I was sixteen.”
“You survived.”
“I should have known.”
“No.”
Sam's voice was firm.
“You were a child.”
She looked at him.
“You always know what to say.”
“No.”
He wiped a tear from her cheek.
“I just know what I believe.”
“And what do you believe?”
“That none of what happened to you was your fault.”
Clara leaned against him.
For the first time in years, she believed it.
The next morning, Edwin arrived.
He came with two hired men.
He stood outside the ranch house and called for Clara.
She walked onto the porch.
Sam stood beside her.
Edwin smiled.
“You have something that belongs to me.”
“No,” Clara said.
“It belongs to my father.”
“It belonged to yours,” Edwin replied.
“My father left it to me.”
Edwin laughed.
“You think a piece of paper makes you powerful?”
Clara held up the statement.
“No.”
She looked him directly in the eyes.
“The truth does.”
Edwin's smile vanished.
“You don't understand what you're doing.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“You'll ruin this family.”
“You ruined it.”
Edwin's face twisted.
“You ungrateful little—”
Sam stepped forward.
“Choose your next words carefully.”
Edwin laughed.
“You think you're protecting her?”
“Yes.”
“You're standing between me and millions of dollars.”
“No.”
Sam's voice was calm.
“I'm standing between you and my wife.”
Edwin raised his gun.
Everything happened at once.