By midnight, they reached a narrow cave.
They hid there until dawn.
The next morning, Caleb told them something alarming.
Vane had escaped toward Wolf's Hollow.
"He'll destroy the evidence," Caleb said.
Elias nodded.
"Then we go there first."
Abigail looked at him.
"You can't."
"I can."
"You're wounded."
"I've been worse."
"You could die."
"So could you."
She stared at him.
"Why do you keep doing this?"
Elias was silent.
Finally he answered.
"Because I know what it feels like when nobody comes."
Abigail understood.
There was a story behind his silence.
And for the first time, she realized Elias Boone had not simply chosen solitude.
He had been running from something.
They rode toward Wolf's Hollow.
When they arrived, they found Vane's men loading explosives into the old mine.
Vane intended to collapse the mountain.
Destroy the silver.
Destroy the records.
And eliminate anyone who could testify.
Elias looked at the mine.
"He's going to bury everything."
Abigail tightened her grip on the reins.
"Then we stop him."
The Last Ride into Wolf's Hollow
The final battle began just before sunrise.
Elias and Abigail approached from the eastern ridge.
Caleb led the federal deputies around the western side.
The plan was simple.
Get inside the mine.
Recover the records.
Stop Vane from detonating the explosives.
Nothing about it was simple.
Gunfire erupted as soon as they reached the entrance.
Elias fired from behind a boulder.
Abigail stayed low beside him.
"How many?"
"Too many."
"That isn't encouraging."
"I wasn't trying to encourage you."
She smiled despite herself.
Then a bullet struck the rock beside them.
Elias moved.
They entered the mine.
Inside, darkness swallowed them.
Only the faint glow of lanterns guided their path.
They found Vane standing beside a pile of explosives.
Caleb was already there.
Blood covered his sleeve.
Vane held a detonator.
"You should have left the mountains alone," he said.
Elias raised his revolver.
"Drop it."
Vane laughed.
"You think killing me will fix this?"
"No."
Elias stepped forward.
"Arresting you will."
Vane pressed the detonator.
Nothing happened.
He looked down.
Elias smiled.
"You really should inspect your equipment."
Caleb had cut the wire.
Vane's expression became murderous.
He drew his pistol.
The gunfight echoed through the mine.
Caleb fired first.
Vane ducked.
Elias fired.
Vane stumbled.
But he didn't fall.
Instead, he grabbed Abigail.
He pressed the pistol against her temple.
"Drop the gun!"
Elias froze.
Abigail looked at him.
She wasn't afraid.
That surprised Vane.
"You don't understand," he whispered.
Abigail looked at him.
"No."
Her voice was steady.
"You don't understand."
She drove her elbow backward.
Vane grunted.
She twisted free.
Elias fired.
Vane fell.
The detonator slipped from his hand.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then a distant rumble began.
The explosives were already burning.
Caleb shouted.
"Get out!"
They ran.
The mine began collapsing behind them.
Rocks crashed from the ceiling.
Elias grabbed Abigail's hand.
They sprinted toward daylight.
A massive beam fell between them.
Abigail screamed.
"Elias!"
He shoved the beam aside enough for her to crawl beneath it.
Then the ceiling collapsed.
Abigail crawled outside.
"Elias!"
No answer.
She turned back.
Caleb grabbed her.
"You can't go in."
"He's still inside."
"The mine is collapsing."
"I don't care!"
She pulled away.
Then she heard something.
A horse.
Ranger stood near the entrance.
And behind him came Elias.
Covered in dust.
Bleeding.
Alive.
Abigail ran toward him.
She threw her arms around him.
Elias froze.
Then slowly wrapped his arms around her.
For the first time in years, he allowed himself to hold another person without fear of losing them.
The federal deputies arrested Vane's surviving men.
Vane himself was pulled from the mine alive, badly injured but conscious.
The evidence survived.
The records survived.
And Samuel Mercer's land was legally recognized.
Weeks later, the court confirmed Abigail's ownership.
She could have sold everything.
Instead, she made a different decision.
She would stay.
She would build the ranch her husband had dreamed of.
But she would not build it alone.
The Home They Built
Spring came slowly to Eagle Ridge.