He had forged water rights.
And there were names.
The sheriff's name.
The judge's name.
Three ranchers.
Elias turned page after page.
"This is enough."
Mara stared at the ledger.
"We can take it to the territorial marshal."
"If we reach him."
Ruth looked up.
"When?"
"Tomorrow."
They prepared to leave before sunrise.
But Vane was waiting.
He had twenty men.
They surrounded the property.
Mara whispered, "We're trapped."
Elias looked toward the hills.
"No."
"How?"
"We're not trapped."
He pointed toward the creek.
"They are."
He explained the plan.
The old irrigation channel could flood the lower pasture.
If they opened the gate upstream, the creek would rise quickly.
It wouldn't hurt anyone.
But it would turn the valley floor into mud.
The horses could cross.
The wagons could not.
At dawn, Elias opened the water gate.
Mud swallowed the road.
Vane's riders became stuck.
Mara and Ruth rode hard toward the northern trail.
Elias stayed behind.
Vane found him.
"You think you can outrun twenty men?"
"No."
"Then why stay?"
Elias looked at him.
"Because somebody has to make sure they get away."
Vane drew his revolver.
Elias did the same.
The valley became silent.
Vane fired first.
Elias moved.
His shot struck Vane's shoulder.
Vane fell.
The other men hesitated.
Then distant gunfire echoed from the ridge.
The territorial marshal had arrived.
Ruth had reached him.
Within an hour, Vane's operation began collapsing.
The ledger was evidence.
The sheriff was arrested.
The forged claims were seized.
And the Bell homestead was finally safe.
But Elias was gone.
The Road Out
Ruth found him at the old trail by sunset.
Ranger stood beside him.
"You were going to leave."
Elias looked at the horizon.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because it's over."
Ruth shook her head.
"No. You're just afraid."
Elias smiled faintly.
"You sound like your sister."
"Maybe she's right."
He mounted.
Ruth stepped in front of Ranger.
"You can't leave."
"I can."
"You promised to fix the fence."
"I did."
"That wasn't what I meant."
Elias looked at her.
She took a breath.
"You came here because a fence was broken."
"Yes."
"But the fence wasn't the real thing that needed fixing."
Elias looked away.
Ruth continued.
"You were."
The words hit harder than any bullet.
For years, Elias had believed leaving made him strong.
Now he wondered whether it had simply made him lonely.
He remembered his brother.
He remembered the cabin.
He remembered the graves he had never visited.
Then he looked at Ruth.
"I don't know how to stay."
She smiled.
"Then learn."
He laughed quietly.
"I've never learned anything easy."
"Neither have I."
Mara approached from behind.
She carried his saddlebag.
"You forgot this."
Elias took it.
"Thank you."
Mara looked at him.
"You still leaving?"
Elias looked down the road.
Then back at the homestead.
"No."
Mara smiled.
"Good."
Ruth stepped closer.
"You don't have to promise forever."
Elias looked at her.
"I won't."
"Why?"
"Because forever scares me."