"No."
She smiled faintly.
"But sometimes it keeps people from feeling alone."
Calder stopped.
He had not heard kindness in a woman's voice for a long time.
He finished bandaging her.
"Who taught you to ride?"
"My father."
"Fight?"
"My father."
"Track?"
"My father."
Calder smiled slightly.
"Your father sounds like a busy man."
"He was."
"What about your mother?"
Elena's smile disappeared.
"She died when I was twelve."
"I'm sorry."
"Everyone says that."
"Do you believe them?"
"No."
Calder nodded.
"Neither do I."
They returned to the ranch after dark.
But someone had been there.
The barn door hung open.
Calder dismounted.
He walked inside.
Everything was destroyed.
Saddles cut.
Feed scattered.
Tools broken.
Then he saw something carved into the wooden wall.
A wolf inside a circle.
Elena stood behind him.
"They're sending a message."
Calder stared at the symbol.
"No."
"What?"
"They're telling me this isn't about you anymore."
Elena looked at him.
"Then what is it about?"
Calder touched the carving.
"It's about unfinished business."
Before they could say more, a horse appeared on the ridge.
One rider.
Calder raised his rifle.
The rider lifted both hands.
"Don't shoot!"
Calder recognized him.
Deputy Amos Reed.
"What happened?" Calder asked.
Amos rode closer.
"Gideon Voss has filed a warrant."
"For what?"
"Kidnapping."
Calder laughed without humor.
"Of course."
Amos looked at Elena.
"They say she is wanted for murder."
Elena stepped forward.
"I didn't murder anyone."
"I believe you."
"Then help us."
Amos hesitated.
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because Voss owns the judge."
Calder's eyes hardened.
"Then we'll find another way."
Amos looked at him.
"There is one."
"What?"
"The old mission."
Calder understood.
"The priest?"
Amos nodded.
"Father Elias keeps records."
"Records of what?"
"Everything Voss has done."
Elena's eyes widened.
"If those records exist..."
"We can prove the land transfer was forged."
Calder mounted.
"Then we ride."
The Mission at the End of the Valley
The old mission stood beyond the valley.
Its walls were cracked.
Its bell tower leaned toward the west.
Father Elias was nearly seventy, but his eyes remained sharp.
When he saw Elena, he crossed himself.
"Your father's daughter."
Elena nodded.
"You knew him?"
"I buried him."
Calder watched the priest carefully.
"Tell us what happened."
Father Elias closed the chapel door.
"Tomas discovered that Voss had been stealing land through forged documents."
"How many?"
"Dozens."
Elena whispered, "My father knew?"
"He knew everything."
"Why didn't he go to the law?"
Father Elias looked at her.
"Because the law belonged to Voss."
He led them into a storage room.
Behind several wooden crates was a metal box.
Inside were documents.
Names.
Dates.
Signatures.
Payments.
Bribes.
Everything.
Elena stared.
"This can prove it."
Father Elias nodded.
"But there is more."
He pulled out a letter.
"This came from your father."
Elena unfolded it.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Her hands began shaking.
Elena,
If you are reading this, I may already be gone.
Do not trust anyone who tells you that surrender is the same as survival.
There is a difference between living and allowing fear to choose your life.
Protect the land.
Not because it belongs to you.
Because it belongs to those who will come after you.