Now there were people around him.

People he cared about.

"I don't want to fight."

Takakota nodded.

"Neither do we."

Sam raised his eyes.

"But I'll defend my home."

Takakota smiled.

"Then you understand."

The ranch began preparing.

The barn was reinforced.

Supplies were hidden.

Lookouts were posted.

Sam built a concealed observation platform on the ridge.

The warriors created signals using lanterns and mirrors.

No one spoke of war.

They spoke of protection.

Then, one evening, Kale came running into the yard.

"Riders!"

Everyone turned.

"How many?"

Kale looked toward the western ridge.

"Fifty."

Sam reached for his rifle.

Takakota stood calmly.

"Let them come."

The riders appeared at sunset.

They stopped outside the property.

Their leader was a heavyset man wearing a black coat.

He called out.

"We're here to purchase this land."

Sam stepped forward.

"It's not for sale."

The man laughed.

"Everything is for sale."

"Not this."

The man's expression hardened.

"Then perhaps you'll reconsider after we make you an offer you cannot refuse."

Sam stared at him.

"Try."

The man looked at the warriors surrounding the ranch.

He hesitated.

Then he turned his horse.

"This isn't finished."

"No," Sam said.

"It isn't."

The riders left.

That night, Takakota stood beside Sam on the porch.

"They will return."

"I know."

"You are afraid."

Sam smiled faintly.

"Of course."

Takakota nodded.

"Good."

Sam looked at him.

"Good?"

"Only fools feel no fear."

Sam looked toward the stars.

"Then what makes a brave man?"

Takakota answered quietly.

"Knowing fear is there—and standing anyway."

Three days later, the attack came.

It began just before sunrise.

A rifle cracked from the southern ridge.

A bullet struck the barn door.

Sam was already awake.

He grabbed his rifle and ran outside.

The ranch erupted into movement.

Horses screamed.

Warriors rushed into position.

Kale shouted warnings from the watchtower.

"There!"

Sam saw them.

The land hunters had returned.

This time there were nearly seventy.

They believed numbers would be enough.

They were wrong.

Takakota raised one hand.

The warriors disappeared into the landscape.

Sam understood the strategy.

They were not going to meet the enemy in an open field.

They were going to make the land fight for them.

The attackers advanced.

They expected resistance from the barn.

Instead, they found nothing.

The silence made them nervous.

Their leader shouted.

"Come out!"

No answer.

He ordered his men forward.

Then the first rifle shot came from the ridge.

A horse reared.

Another shot followed from somewhere behind them.

The attackers turned.

Confusion spread.

The warriors had positioned themselves in a wide circle.

They struck from one direction, disappeared, then appeared somewhere else.

The land hunters couldn't determine how many opponents they faced.

Sam remained near the barn.

He fired only when necessary.

He watched.

He learned.

He realized that Takakota's warriors were not fighting for revenge.

They were fighting to force the enemy away.

That difference mattered.

When one attacker dropped his weapon and raised his hands, Takakota ordered his warriors to stop.

Sam stared.

"You could have killed him."

Takakota looked at him.

"We are defending a home."

He pointed toward the retreating men.

"We do not need their deaths."

By noon, the attackers were gone.

The ranch remained standing.

There were broken fences.

A damaged water trough.

Several wounded horses.

But no one from Sam's group had been killed.

Sam sat on the porch afterward, exhausted.

Kale joined him.

"You fought well."

Sam laughed.

"I mostly hid behind a barn."

"You survived."

"That's the important part."

Kale smiled.

"You sound like my father."

Sam looked at him.

"That's not an insult, is it?"

"No."

They laughed.

Then Takakota approached.

His face was serious.

"This was only the beginning."

Sam sighed.

"How many more?"

"We do not know."

"What do they want?"

Takakota looked toward the mountains.

"Everything."

That night, the warriors gathered around the fire.

The atmosphere was different.

The first attack had changed something.

They now knew the enemy would return.

Sam stared into the flames.

"I thought this place was supposed to be peaceful."

Takakota sat beside him.

"Peace is not a place."

Sam looked over.

"What is it?"

"Something people protect."