They found small footprints near the creek.
Then larger ones.
Someone had carried him.
Caleb wanted to ride directly into town.
Thomas stopped him.
“No.”
“That's my brother.”
“And you're not going alone.”
Mercy studied the tracks.
They led toward an abandoned storage shed.
Thomas reached for his gun.
Mercy grabbed his arm.
“Wait.”
Inside the shed came a child's voice.
“Pa?”
Thomas opened the door.
Peter was tied to a chair.
A man stood behind him.
He held a knife.
“Back away.”
Thomas stopped.
Mercy stepped forward.
The man looked at her.
“This is your fault.”
Mercy recognized him.
He had once worked for Prescott Mercantile.
She had seen him unloading crates.
“You were at the ranch.”
He smiled.
“You notice too much.”
Mercy looked at Peter.
Then at the man's hands.
His right hand was shaking.
He was nervous.
Nervous men made mistakes.
Mercy began speaking.
Not to him.
To Peter.
“Peter, do you remember what I taught you?”
The boy nodded.
“Count.”
He whispered.
“One.”
The man frowned.
“Two.”
Mercy took another step.
“Three.”
The man looked confused.
Peter suddenly kicked the chair backward.
It struck the man's knees.
He fell.
Thomas lunged.
Within seconds the knife was gone.
Caleb rushed inside.
He untied Peter.
Mercy held the boy.
He was shaking violently.
“I knew you'd come.”
Mercy closed her eyes.
“So did I.”
The man eventually talked.
Not because he wanted to.
Because the evidence against him was overwhelming.
He admitted that Prescott's people had been interfering with the Bell ranch.
He admitted that Ruth had discovered financial records.
He admitted that someone had tried to frighten Thomas into selling the ranch.
But one question remained.
Who had ordered Ruth's investigation to be stopped?
The answer came from an unexpected place.
Adeline Prescott's younger brother.
He had been stealing from the mercantile.
Ruth had discovered it.
Adeline had known.
She had tried to protect her family's reputation.
But something had gone wrong.
Ruth became sick after the luncheon.
There was never enough evidence to prove that Adeline had deliberately harmed her.
And Mercy refused to make that accusation without proof.
But the financial scheme was real.
The intimidation was real.
The kidnapping was real.
The threats were real.
The Bell ranch had been targeted long before Mercy arrived.
Because Ruth had gotten too close to the truth.
Thomas struggled with what to do.
Mercy told him:
“Don't become the thing you're fighting.”
He looked at her.
“What do you mean?”
“Don't let anger decide what justice should look like.”
Thomas eventually took the evidence to the county authorities.
The investigation spread through Lark Crossing.
Other farmers came forward.
Other missing payments were discovered.
Other false accounts were uncovered.
Prescott Mercantile lost its influence.
Adeline Prescott left town before spring.
She never apologized.
Mercy did not need her to.
When spring finally arrived, the Bell ranch looked different.
The snow disappeared.
The grass returned.
The broken fence was repaired.
The barn roof was fixed.
The kitchen had new shelves.
Mercy planted flowers beside the porch.
Peter helped.
He planted them crooked.
Mercy left them that way.
Caleb came to her one afternoon.
“You know something?”
“What?”
“You're really staying.”
She smiled.
“I told you.”
“I didn't believe you.”
“I noticed.”
He looked uncomfortable.
Then he said:
“I was wrong.”
Mercy waited.
“About what?”
“About you leaving.”
She smiled.
“I was wrong too.”
“About what?”
“I thought you were going to be impossible.”
Caleb laughed.
“I am.”
“Yes.”
They stood together.
Then he said:
“Can I call you Mercy?”
She looked at him.
“You've been doing that for months.”
“I mean… without feeling like I'm disrespecting Ma.”
Mercy's eyes softened.
“You will never disrespect your mother by caring about someone else.”
Caleb nodded.
Then he hugged her.
It was awkward.
Quick.
Almost embarrassed.
But Mercy held him tightly.
Thomas saw them from the porch.
For a moment he thought of Ruth.