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“Think You Can Handle All Three of Us?” the Three Sisters Asked the Cowboy in His Barn — What Happened Before Dawn Changed the Whole County

Chapter 8

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"Get off my land!" Ethan shouted back, drawing his Colt revolver and pointing it straight at Rourke’s heart.Rourke spat into the mud, wheeled his black horse around, and kicked his spurs into its flanks. "Fallback! Back to the ridge road!"The seven riders turned their horses and tore away through the rain, their hooves churning the mud into a frothing storm as they vanished into the gray fog toward the south.Ethan stood alone in the center of the yard, his Colt held ready, his breath coming in slow, measured cycles. He kept his eyes fixed on the southern trail until the sound of galloping hooves faded entirely into the storm.Only then did he lower his revolver.He turned toward the eastern ridge. Standing near a tall granite outcrop two hundred yards away was a lone figure wearing a long oilskin duster, holding a repeating rifle across his chest.It was Sam Houston—Ethan’s nearest neighbor, a sixty-year-old veteran of the range wars who lived three miles up the valley. Sam gave Ethan a brief, sharp nod, raised his rifle in silent greeting, and stepped back into the shelter of the rocks to maintain watch over the approach road.Ethan let out a long breath, holstered his weapon, and walked back toward the barn.When he stepped inside, the three women were waiting for him near the stove. Ruth still held her iron pry bar, but her eyes were wide with genuine shock. Mae was crying quietly, her hands clutching the black satchel so hard her knuckles were white. Clara took a step toward him, her face filled with a mixture of immense relief and profound guilt."Who was that on the ridge?" Clara asked softly."Sam Houston," Ethan said, wiping water from his face with his sleeve. "Neighbor. He doesn't like Silas Harrow any more than I do."Ruth looked at him, her sharp tongue silenced for once. "You just drew a gun on Cal Rourke for three strangers you met an hour ago.""I drew a gun on a trespasser," Ethan corrected her, walking over to the iron stove to pour himself another cup of coffee. His hands were completely steady. "Now... are you three going to tell me what's in that bag, or am I going to have to guess?"Clara looked at her sisters. Ruth gave a small, resigned nod. Mae slowly lowered the satchel onto a clean bale of hay.Clara walked over to the satchel, pulled a small silver key from a chain around her neck, and inserted it into the heavy brass lock. With a sharp click, the lock gave way, and she pulled open the leather flap.Inside the bag were three thick leather-bound ledgers, stacks of hand-written land deeds, and several sealed letters bearing the official gold crest of the Territorial Land Office."Silas Harrow isn't just buying up land," Clara said, her voice trembling with quiet fury. "He’s forging patents. He’s bribing the tax assessors to declare small ranches bankrupt, then buying the land at auction for pennies on the dollar. These ledgers contain the complete records of every illegal land grab Copper Ridge has carried out in the last ten years."She looked up at Ethan, her dark eyes flashing with fierce intensity."And it contains the names of every judge, sheriff, and politician on his payroll," she added softly. "Including the men responsible for ordering the raid that burned our family’s homestead three weeks ago."Ethan felt a cold chill run down his spine. The hesitation he had heard earlier when Clara spoke their surname suddenly made sense."You're not Bennetts," Ethan said quietly.
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“Think You Can Handle All Three of Us?” the Three Sisters Asked the Cowboy in His Barn — What Happened Before Dawn Changed the Whole County

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