Ethan stood beside Clara.
Judge Hollis entered wearing a black robe.
Silas Vane followed.
He smiled when he saw Ethan.
“You should have left.”
Ethan answered:
“You should have stopped stealing.”
Vane laughed.
“This town belongs to men who understand business.”
“No.”
Clara stepped forward.
“It belongs to the people who live here.”
The judge struck his gavel.
“This hearing concerns unlawful possession of county property.”
Clara opened the ledger.
“No. It concerns fraud.”
She began reading names.
Ranchers recognized them.
Payments.
Bribes.
Forged signatures.
Land transfers.
Judge Hollis demanded silence.
Clara produced Samuel Cole's records.
Then Daniel Bennett's notes.
Then the photograph.
The courtroom erupted.
Vane drew his gun.
Ethan moved faster.
So did Sheriff Reed.
“Drop it!”
Vane froze.
Then gunfire exploded from outside.
Men loyal to Vane opened fire.
Windows shattered.
People screamed.
Ethan pulled Clara behind a desk.
Sheriff Reed returned fire.
Tom entered through the rear door.
“More men coming!”
Ethan looked at Vane.
“You planned this.”
Vane smiled.
“You should have stayed on your ranch.”
Then he escaped through a side door.
Ethan followed.
Clara grabbed his arm.
“Ethan!”
He turned.
“Don't go alone.”
He nodded.
Together they ran into the street.
The Chase
Vane fled north.
Ethan followed.
Clara rode beside him.
The chase carried them through the dry riverbed, across open prairie, and toward Cold Creek.
Vane knew the country.
But so did Ethan.
“He's heading for the old mine,” Ethan said.
“Why?”
“There's a wagon trail beyond it.”
They reached the mine near sunset.
Vane's horse was waiting.
But Vane was gone.
Clara looked around.
“Where?”
Ethan dismounted.
He saw footprints.
One set.
Leading toward the cabin.
His father's cabin.
They entered cautiously.
Vane stood beside the old table.
He held Samuel Cole's revolver.
“You look like him,” Vane said.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“Did you kill him?”
Vane smiled.
“Your father was stubborn.”
Ethan raised his gun.
“Answer.”
“He wouldn't stop.”
“That isn't an answer.”
Vane lifted the revolver.
“He died because he believed truth mattered more than power.”
Ethan's jaw tightened.
Clara stepped beside him.
“Daniel died for the same reason.”
Vane looked at her.
“You should have stayed gone.”
“No.”
She raised her rifle.
“You should have stopped killing people.”
Vane fired.
The bullet struck Clara's shoulder.
Ethan fired back.
Vane fell.
Silence filled the cabin.
Clara dropped to her knees.
Ethan caught her.
“Clara.”
She opened her eyes.
“I'm still here.”
He pressed his hand against the wound.
“I know.”
Outside, thunder rolled.
The storm had returned.
The Last Ride
Vane was not dead.
He escaped during the storm.
Ethan and Clara returned to Cedar Ridge with the evidence.
Judge Hollis was arrested.
The remaining men were taken into custody.
But Vane disappeared.
For two weeks, there was no sign of him.
Then cattle began disappearing again.
Ethan knew what it meant.
Vane was coming back.
One morning, Ethan found a note nailed to his barn.
COLD CREEK. MIDNIGHT. COME ALONE.
Clara read it.
“You're not going.”
“I am.”
“No.”
“He'll keep running.”
“He wants you.”
“I know.”
“That means it's a trap.”
“Yes.”
She looked at him.
“Then we go together.”
They rode north.
At midnight, Vane waited near the old cabin.
His horse stood beside him.
He looked tired.
Older.
Defeated.
But still dangerous.
“You brought her.”
Ethan dismounted.
“She chose to come.”
Vane laughed.
“You think this is about love?”
“No.”
Ethan raised his gun.
“It's about ending this.”
Vane fired.
The gunfight lasted seconds.
Vane's bullet struck Ethan's shoulder.
Ethan's shot struck Vane in the chest.
Vane fell beside the cabin door.
Clara ran to Ethan.
“Are you hurt?”
“Yes.”
“Bad?”
“No.”
She looked at Vane.
“He's dead.”
Ethan nodded.
Then he looked toward the cabin.
“My father died here.”
Clara stepped beside him.
“Then maybe this is where the past ends.”
Ethan looked at her.
“I hope so.”
Spring
Spring came slowly to Cedar Ridge.
Snow disappeared from the mountains.
The creek rose.
Grass returned to the valley.
The ranches that had nearly been lost were restored.
Judge Hollis faced trial.
The stolen records were sent to federal authorities.
Sheriff Reed remained in office.