“For now.”
Silas smiled.
“That's an interesting way to describe marriage.”
Caleb didn't like him.
Not immediately.
Silas removed his gloves.
“I came to talk to my cousin.”
“She doesn't have to talk to you.”
Silas looked amused.
“I wasn't asking permission.”
Clara stepped forward.
“What do you want?”
“Your father.”
Her face went pale.
Caleb noticed.
Silas continued.
“He's worse.”
Clara said nothing.
“And the bank is preparing to seize what remains of the Whitmore estate.”
“I know.”
“You promised to help.”
“I couldn't.”
“You married a rancher instead.”
Caleb stepped forward.
“You're done.”
Silas looked at him.
“This doesn't concern you.”
“It concerns my wife.”
Silas laughed.
“Wife?”
He glanced at Clara.
“You actually married him?”
“Yes.”
Silas shook his head.
“You always did surprise me.”
He turned his horse.
Before leaving, he said:
“You can't hide forever, Clara.”
Caleb watched him disappear.
Then he turned toward her.
“Who is he?”
“My cousin.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
She looked away.
“You'll find out.”
“When?”
“When I trust you.”
Caleb stared at her.
“And how long will that take?”
“I don't know.”
She walked inside.
Caleb remained on the porch.
For the first time, he wondered whether Clara had come to Morgan Ranch because her family needed a way out.
Or because she was running from something.
The Secret in the Silver Pendant
Three days later, Clara received a letter.
She read it at the kitchen table.
Caleb entered halfway through.
Her hands were shaking.
“What happened?”
She folded the letter.
“Nothing.”
“That's not true.”
She looked at him.
“It's my father.”
“What about him?”
“He wants me to come home.”
“Then go.”
Her eyes widened.
“You mean that?”
“Yes.”
“Even if it means leaving?”
Caleb paused.
The question hurt more than he expected.
“I won't force you to stay.”
Clara looked down.
“I don't want to leave.”
The words were so quiet Caleb almost missed them.
He sat opposite her.
“Then stay.”
She looked at him.
“You make everything sound simple.”
“No.”
He leaned forward.
“I just don't think you should live your life according to what other people demand.”
She touched the pendant around her neck.
“My father demanded many things.”
“Tell me.”
She shook her head.
“I can't.”
“Can't or won't?”
“Both.”
Caleb didn't push.
But that night, something happened.
A storm came in from the west.
Lightning struck near the barn.
The horses panicked.
One broke through a gate.
Caleb ran outside.
Clara followed.
“Stay inside!”
She ignored him.
A horse bolted toward the road.
Clara grabbed a lantern and ran after it.
“Clara!”
She kept going.
Caleb mounted and followed.
The horse disappeared into the rain.
Clara suddenly stopped.
“Listen.”
“What?”
She pointed.
Hoofbeats.
Several horses.
Not theirs.
Caleb drew his revolver.
“Get behind me.”
Three riders appeared through the rain.
One raised a rifle.
Caleb fired into the air.
The riders turned.
One shouted.
“Next time, Morgan!”
Then they vanished into the storm.
Caleb stared after them.
Clara stood frozen.
“What did he mean?”
She didn't answer.
Caleb looked at her.
“You know them.”
She swallowed.
“Yes.”
“Who?”
She closed her eyes.
“The Whitmores.”
He stared.
“Your family?”
“Not all of them.”
“Which ones?”
“My father. My cousin. Others.”
Caleb lowered his revolver.
“You knew someone was coming.”
“I suspected.”
“And you didn't tell me?”
“I was afraid.”
“Of them?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She looked at him.
“Because they believe something belongs to them.”
“What?”
“My father's land.”
Caleb frowned.
“I thought the estate was gone.”
“Most of it is.”
“Then what remains?”
She touched the pendant.
Caleb looked at it.
“The silver necklace?”
“My mother gave it to me.”
“Why?”
“Because it contains the key.”
“To what?”
Clara stared toward the darkness.
“A land deed.”
Caleb understood immediately.
“Your family hid property?”
“Not property.”
She took a breath.
“Gold.”
The word seemed absurd in the rain.
“What gold?”
“My grandfather owned a mining company.”
Caleb stared.
“He found a deposit before the railroad came west.”
“How much?”
“We don't know.”
“Your cousin does?”
“He knows there was gold.”
Caleb looked toward the hills.
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“You said there's a deed.”
“The deed tells us where the original claim was registered.”
“Then why haven't you used it?”
“Because my father wants the gold.”
“And your cousin?”
“Silas wants it too.”
Caleb understood.
“And they think you know where it is.”
“Yes.”
“Do you?”
Clara hesitated.
“I know where the deed points.”
“Where?”
She whispered:
“Red Hollow.”
Caleb stared at her.
His ranch suddenly felt very different.
The next morning, Caleb rode into town.
He visited the county recorder.
The old clerk recognized him.
“Morgan.”
“Elias.”
“What brings you in?”
“I need to see land records from twenty years ago.”
“Which ones?”
“Whitmore.”
The clerk's expression changed.
“That's trouble.”
“I know.”
He opened an old ledger.
After an hour, Caleb found something.
A property transfer.
Whitmore Mining Company.
A parcel running along the northern ridge.
It overlapped part of Morgan Ranch.
Caleb's blood went cold.
He returned home before noon.
Clara was waiting.
“You found something.”
“Yes.”
She stood.
“What?”
“Your family's original mining claim includes land on my ranch.”
She closed her eyes.
“I was afraid of that.”
“How much?”
“About three hundred acres.”
Caleb stared at her.
“You married me knowing this?”
“No.”
“Did your family arrange this marriage?”
She hesitated.