“You should meet my sisters.”
Caleb frowned.
“Why?”
“Because Father has an idea.”
“That usually isn't good.”
“No.”
She smiled.
“It isn't.”
The sun had barely risen when Tomas summoned Caleb.
The chief stood beneath the largest cottonwood.
His three daughters stood behind him.
Elena.
Mara.
And Sofia.
Tomas looked at Caleb for a long moment.
“Our people are going to war.”
Caleb glanced toward the ridge.
“Against thirty men?”
“Against more than thirty.”
“How many?”
“Enough to destroy this valley.”
Caleb looked at the three women.
Tomas continued.
“My daughters have been trained to survive without a husband.”
Caleb frowned.
“That sounds sensible.”
“It is.”
Tomas's expression became serious.
“But this war will change everything.”
Caleb waited.
Tomas looked at Elena.
Then Mara.
Then Sofia.
“I need to know who will stand beside them.”
Caleb understood before the old man finished.
“You want me to marry one of them.”
The sisters exchanged glances.
Tomas nodded.
“I was told you would understand quickly.”
Caleb looked at the three women.
Elena stood calmly.
Mara looked embarrassed.
Sofia looked almost amused.
Caleb rubbed his jaw.
“I don't think marriage should be decided like buying a horse.”
Tomas's eyes narrowed.
“Good.”
Caleb blinked.
“Good?”
“If you chose one because I told you to, I would distrust you.”
“Then why ask?”
“Because I wanted to see what kind of man you were.”
Caleb looked at each daughter.
“I'm not choosing any of them.”
Tomas raised an eyebrow.
“I thought so.”
Caleb continued.
“Because none of them should be treated like a prize.”
The three sisters looked at him differently now.
Tomas remained silent.
Then he smiled.
“You misunderstand.”
Caleb frowned.
“I do?”
“I asked you to choose one.”
“Yes.”
“You refused.”
“Yes.”
Tomas nodded.
“Then choose all three.”
The valley became completely silent.
Caleb stared at him.
“You can't be serious.”
“I am.”
Elena stepped forward.
“Father.”
“I know what I am doing.”
Mara shook her head.
“This is madness.”
Sofia crossed her arms.
“It certainly is.”
Tomas looked at Caleb.
“I am not asking you to possess my daughters.”
He pointed toward the distant ridge.
“I am asking you to become family.”
Caleb understood.
It was not the strange marriage proposal he had first imagined.
It was an alliance.
A bond between people who would fight together, protect one another, and share responsibility for the future.
Still, it was an enormous commitment.
Caleb looked at the three sisters.
Elena was strong and disciplined.
Mara had the hands of a healer.
Sofia looked like she could outride half the men in the territory.
None of them needed rescuing.
Perhaps that was exactly why he respected them.
“I will stand with them,” Caleb said.
Tomas nodded.
“All three?”
“All three.”
Elena smiled.
Mara looked relieved.
Sofia laughed.
“Well,” she said, “at least he has courage.”
Caleb smiled.
“I might regret this.”
Sofia shrugged.
“So might we.”
The following morning, the war began.
The Red Mesa riders appeared before sunrise.
There were nearly forty.
They came in two lines.
Their leader was Silas Vane, a wealthy land speculator whose name had become synonymous with corruption across the territory.
Vane stopped his horse at the edge of the valley.
“You have until noon,” he called.