Tomas stepped forward.
“For what?”
“To leave.”
Tomas laughed.
“This is our home.”
“It will be company property by sunset.”
Caleb rode beside Tomas.
“You should check your paperwork.”
Vane looked at him.
“And you are?”
“Someone who knows land records.”
Vane smiled.
“You're Samuel Rourke's boy.”
Caleb's hand tightened around the reins.
“You knew my father.”
“I knew many men.”
“My father knew you.”
Vane's smile disappeared.
“He made enemies.”
“So did you.”
Vane looked toward the three sisters.
“Interesting.”
Caleb noticed his gaze.
“Don't.”
Vane laughed.
“You think you can stop this?”
“No.”
Caleb looked around the valley.
“I think all of us can.”
The shooting started moments later.
The first volley struck the rocks.
The second hit the wagons.
Then the Apache riders moved.
Elena led the northern flank.
She rode low, guiding her horse between two ridges before disappearing from sight.
Mara remained near the families, treating wounded defenders as they arrived.
Sofia took the southern trail.
She rode directly into the dust.
Caleb followed her.
“Slow down!”
She shouted back.
“You can't keep up?”
“I can.”
“Then prove it.”
She vanished around a bend.
Caleb grinned despite the gunfire.
He had not smiled during a battle in years.
They reached the southern ridge.
Six company riders were attempting to circle behind the camp.
Sofia raised her rifle.
Caleb did the same.
“On three,” she said.
“One.”
“Two.”
“Three.”
Their rifles fired together.
The riders scattered.
No one died.
That was intentional.
Caleb wanted surrender.
Sofia understood.
“You don't like killing.”
“No.”
“Neither do I.”
“Good.”
She looked at him.
“That's why we're going to win.”
The battle lasted until sunset.
The company withdrew.
But everyone knew they would return.
That night, the sisters gathered around the fire.
Elena studied the map.
“They will come from the east tomorrow.”
Mara shook her head.
“No. They will attack the spring.”
Sofia pointed toward the canyon.
“Then we should move the families.”
Caleb listened.
“You're all right.”
The sisters looked at him.
“What?” Sofia asked.
“All of you.”
Mara smiled.
“We've been waiting all day for you to notice.”
The next morning, they discovered something worse.
A messenger arrived from Mercy Creek.
The territorial judge had signed an emergency order granting Red Mesa control over the spring.
The document was almost certainly fraudulent.
But the company now had legal authority on paper.
Caleb stared at it.
“Where did they get this?”
“Mercy Creek courthouse.”
Elena's expression hardened.
“Then we go there.”
Caleb shook his head.
“No.”
Sofia raised an eyebrow.
“You just said we were all right.”
“You are.”
“Then?”
“You don't need to risk your lives.”
Mara laughed softly.
“Caleb.”
“Yes?”
“You're beginning to sound like a husband.”
He looked at her.
She smiled.
“Don't worry. We aren't impressed.”
That night, they rode to Mercy Creek.
Caleb.
The three sisters.
Tomas.
And eight Apache riders.
They entered town under cover of darkness.
The courthouse was guarded.
The company had expected them.
A gunfight seemed inevitable.
Instead, Elena found another way.
She knew the old courthouse from previous visits.
There was a rear staircase leading to the records room.
Mara had once worked with the town physician and knew the clerk.