"I have something else to ask you."
He looked at her.
"What?"
"Do you still need time?"
Elias was quiet.
Then he took her hand.
"Yes."
Her face fell slightly.
"But I don't want you to leave."
Aiyana looked at their joined hands.
"That is a beginning."
For the first time in three years, Elias felt that the future might contain something other than loneliness.
But Rourke had not yet made his final move.
Two nights later, gunfire shattered the silence of the ranch.
Elias woke to the sound of glass breaking.
He grabbed his rifle and ran toward the front door.
Aiyana emerged from the spare room, already carrying her bow.
"Stay behind me," Elias said.
She gave him a sharp look.
"Do not start that."
Despite the danger, he almost smiled.
They moved together toward the porch.
Three riders were approaching from the darkness. Another stood near the barn, holding a torch.
Elias fired a warning shot.
The men answered with a volley.
A bullet struck the porch railing inches from his hand.
Aiyana pulled him down.
"Are you trying to get killed?"
"Not particularly."
"Then stop standing where they can shoot you."
She moved toward the side of the house and fired an arrow. One of the riders cried out and fell from his horse.
Elias covered her while she crossed the yard.
Together, they drove the attackers toward the gate.
The man carrying the torch threw it into the barn.
Flames immediately climbed the dry wooden wall.
Elias swore and ran toward the building.
Aiyana followed.
Inside, two horses screamed in their stalls.
Elias opened the first gate while Aiyana cut through the ropes holding the second.
The animals bolted into the yard.
A beam crashed down behind them.
Aiyana stumbled, and Elias caught her arm.
For one terrible moment, they were trapped beneath the burning roof.
Then he spotted a narrow opening near the back wall.
"Through there!"
They crawled beneath the smoke and emerged into the cool night air.
Elias fell to his knees, coughing.
Aiyana dropped beside him.
"Are you hurt?"
He shook his head.
She touched his face.
"You are bleeding."
A small cut ran along his cheek.
"It's nothing."
She tore a strip from her sleeve and pressed it against the wound.
Their faces were only inches apart.
For a moment, the world seemed to disappear.
Then Chenoa called from the house.
"Elias! Aiyana!"
They hurried toward her.
Nita stood beside the porch with a rifle in her hands.
The attackers had vanished, leaving behind two wounded horses and a trail of blood.
The barn was destroyed.
Elias watched the flames consume the roof he had spent years repairing.
He felt anger rising inside him, hot and bitter.
Aiyana stood beside him.
"We will rebuild," she said.
He shook his head.
"It's not the barn."
He turned toward her.
"It's that he thinks he can take everything from everyone and never pay for it."
Aiyana took his hand.
"Then we make him pay."
By sunrise, word of the attack had spread through Red Hollow.
Several ranchers arrived to help rebuild the barn. Samuel Brooks brought food and blankets. Even the sheriff appeared, accompanied by two deputies.
The sheriff looked at the burned structure.
"I should have acted sooner."
Elias said nothing.
The sheriff removed his hat.
"I was wrong."
It was the first honest thing Elias had heard from him in months.
The sheriff explained that the federal investigator had arrived in Tucson and was preparing to travel to Red Hollow.
But Rourke had disappeared.
His men were searching the surrounding hills, and rumors suggested he planned to cross the border before the authorities could arrest him.
Elias listened carefully.
Then Aiyana approached.
"We know where he is going."
She unfolded the map and pointed toward a narrow mountain pass.
"There is an old mining road here. It leads to a settlement where Rourke keeps his supplies."
The sheriff frowned.
"How do you know that?"
Nita answered.
"We followed his men."
Elias studied the map.
"If he reaches that settlement, he could disappear."
The sheriff nodded.
"Then we need to move quickly."
Aiyana looked at Elias.
"We should go tonight."
The sheriff hesitated.
"This is dangerous."
Aiyana met his gaze.
"So is allowing him to escape."
Elias stepped forward.
"We'll go together."
The sheriff looked between them.
Then he nodded.
The expedition left at dusk.
Elias, Aiyana, Chenoa, Nita, the sheriff, and four deputies rode into the mountains.
The trail was steep and narrow. Moonlight illuminated the rocks, and the wind carried the distant sound of rushing water.
Near midnight, they reached a ridge overlooking the mining settlement.
Below them stood several wooden buildings, a stable, and a large warehouse.
A single lantern burned in the warehouse window.
The sheriff raised his field glasses.
"Looks like someone is home."
Elias watched the buildings.
Then he saw a figure emerge from the stable.
Silas Rourke.
The cattle buyer climbed onto a horse and rode toward the northern trail.
"We have to stop him," Elias whispered.
The sheriff nodded to the deputies.
They began moving down the slope.
But before they reached the settlement, a rifle shot rang out.
The men scattered.
Rourke's guards had spotted them.
Gunfire erupted across the valley.
Elias dismounted behind a boulder and returned fire.
Aiyana moved along the ridge, firing arrows into the darkness.
Chenoa and Nita covered the deputies as they advanced toward the warehouse.