“Morning.”
Lily said nothing.
“I'm Caleb.”
Still nothing.
He slowly removed his hat.
“I don't mean any trouble.”
June peeked around her sister.
Lily whispered something to her.
Caleb couldn't hear it.
Then Lily spoke.
“We didn't steal anything.”
Caleb looked at the biscuit in her hand.
“No.”
“We found it.”
“I figured.”
“Mr. Vane says everything behind the saloon belongs to him.”
Caleb raised an eyebrow.
“Silas Vane owns the garbage?”
June answered before Lily could stop her.
“He says he owns almost everything.”
Caleb's expression changed.
He had heard the name Silas Vane before.
Everyone in the territory had.
Vane owned the Lucky Star.
He owned the freight company.
He had money invested in cattle.
He lent money to farmers.
And somehow, whenever a family couldn't repay a loan, Vane ended up owning their land.
Caleb looked at the girls again.
“Where are your parents?”
Lily's expression hardened.
“We have parents.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere.”
“That's a large place.”
June giggled.
Lily glared at her.
Caleb almost smiled.
Instead, he reached into his saddlebag.
The girls immediately stiffened.
“Easy.”
He removed a wrapped piece of bread.
Then another.
“I bought too much.”
Lily stared.
“Why?”
“Because I have terrible judgment when it comes to breakfast.”
June's eyes widened.
Caleb held the food out.
Neither girl moved.
“It's not a trick.”
Lily studied him.
Finally, she stepped forward.
She took the bread.
Then immediately broke it in half.
She gave June the larger piece.
Caleb noticed.
He didn't say anything.
But something inside him tightened.
He had seen children hungry before.
He had never seen a child so practiced at hiding it.
“What's your name?”
The girl hesitated.
“Lily.”
“And that's June?”
June nodded.
Caleb looked toward the town.
“Where do you live?”
Lily's face closed again.
“Home.”
“Where is home?”
She didn't answer.
Caleb understood.
These weren't ordinary children.
They were frightened.
And frightened children rarely feared monsters.
They feared adults.
Caleb placed another loaf of bread on the crate.
“I'll leave this here tomorrow.”
Lily frowned.
“Why?”
He looked at her.
“Because somebody should.”
Then he walked away.
He didn't realize Lily watched him until he disappeared.
June smiled.
“I like him.”
“You like the bread.”
“I like both.”
Lily shook her head.
“He asks questions.”
“So?”
“Mama said questions can be dangerous.”
June thought about that.
“Bread isn't dangerous.”
Lily didn't answer.
Because deep inside, she knew something June didn't.
The stranger with the black hat hadn't just noticed them.
He had noticed their fear.
And that made him dangerous in a completely different way.
The next morning, Caleb returned.
There was bread on the crate.
Two apples.
And a small bottle of milk.
But Caleb wasn't there.
Lily looked around.
Nothing.
She took the food.
The following morning, there was more.
On the fourth morning, Caleb waited across the street.
He deliberately looked away.
Lily noticed.
She whispered to June.
“He's pretending not to watch.”
June waved.
Caleb finally looked over.
He smiled.
Lily didn't wave.
But she smiled too.
Only for a second.
Then Caleb saw something that erased his smile.
Across the street, a man was watching the girls.
Silas Vane.
He stood outside the Lucky Star wearing an expensive cream-colored vest.
Beside him stood Sheriff Abram Holt.
And behind them was a tall, narrow-faced man with a silver tooth.
Boone Clegg.
Caleb had seen men like Boone before.
Men who smiled when they should have been nervous.
Men who enjoyed making other people afraid.
Boone looked directly at Caleb.
Then he smiled.
Caleb's hand drifted toward his gun.
Not because he wanted trouble.
Because trouble had already noticed him.
That evening, Caleb asked around town about the Bell girls.
Nobody wanted to talk.
The bartender changed the subject.
The storekeeper suddenly became busy.
A rancher told him to mind his own business.
Finally, an older woman named Mae Dawson whispered the truth.
“Those children belong to Clara Bell.”