Her eyes met his.
There was no pride left in them.
Only exhaustion.
"Please... do it quick."
Jonah didn't understand what she meant.
Then he saw the man behind her raise the rope.
The woman wasn't asking Jonah to buy her.
She was begging him to do something before they moved her again.
Jonah's expression changed.
He threw the dollar onto the ground.
"Deal."
The rifleman bent to pick it up.
That was his mistake.
Jonah moved.
His fist struck the man's jaw.
The rifle fell.
The second man reached for his gun.
Jonah kicked his knee.
The man collapsed.
The third ran.
Jonah grabbed the woman's rope and pulled her behind him.
A gunshot cracked through the night.
Wood splintered beside Jonah's head.
He fired once.
The fleeing man's gun flew from his hand.
Silence returned.
Jonah breathed heavily.
The woman stared at him.
"You bought me."
"No."
He cut the rope.
"I bought time."
She rubbed her wrists.
"Why?"
Jonah holstered his gun.
"Because you asked."
She looked toward the road.
"You should leave."
"So should you."
"I can't."
"Why?"
Her expression hardened.
"Because they aren't the only ones looking for me."
Jonah studied her.
"What's your name?"
"Ayanna."
"Last name?"
She hesitated.
"Redfeather."
Jonah nodded.
"All right, Ayanna Redfeather."
He pointed toward his horse.
"You can ride?"
She looked at him suspiciously.
"Where?"
"My ranch."
"I don't know you."
"Good."
Jonah mounted.
"You shouldn't trust strangers."
She stared at him.
"You're taking me somewhere?"
"I'm giving you a choice."
That word surprised her.
Choice.
Jonah extended his hand.
"You can come with me."
She looked at his hand.
Then at the dark street behind her.
Then at the men lying unconscious beside the warehouse.
Finally, she took it.
She climbed onto the horse behind him.
Jonah felt her hesitate before placing one hand against his shoulder.
"Hold on."
"I know how to ride."
"I wasn't talking about the horse."
For the first time that night, she almost smiled.
They disappeared into the darkness.
Neither knew that the one-dollar coin Jonah had thrown onto the ground would become the least important thing he had ever given her.
Because freedom was not something a man could purchase.
And Jonah would eventually learn that love was not something he could keep simply because he had been brave enough to rescue it.
The road ahead would demand something far harder.
He would have to let Ayanna choose him.
Jonah's ranch sat twelve miles outside Red Hollow.
It wasn't much to look at.
A small house.
A barn.
A corral.
A well.
Several acres of dry pasture surrounded by low hills.
Jonah had bought the property after returning from the war.
He had repaired it himself.
He had built the fences himself.
He had buried his younger brother beneath an oak tree behind the house.
After that, he stopped letting people get close.
Ayanna noticed everything.
She noticed the empty chair at the kitchen table.
The second plate that Jonah kept but never used.
The old photograph above the fireplace.
She noticed the way he avoided looking at it.
She didn't ask.
That made him trust her more.
Jonah gave her the bedroom.
He slept in the barn.
The next morning, Ayanna found him repairing a saddle.