Thomas looked at Mercer.
"What happens now?"
"If you run, it looks like guilt."
"And if I stay?"
"You'll be arrested."
Thomas nodded.
"Then I'll stay."
Clara stared at him.
"You can't."
Thomas looked at her.
"I'm not running from something I didn't do."
"But they'll hang you."
"Not if the marshal arrives."
Mercer lowered his voice.
"Voss has men watching the road."
Thomas understood.
The marshal might never reach them.
He looked toward the mountains.
Then he made a decision.
"We're going to meet him."
"Where?"
"At Dry Wash."
Mercer frowned.
"That's twenty miles north."
"Exactly."
Clara stepped closer.
"I'm coming."
Thomas looked at her.
"This could be dangerous."
She smiled sadly.
"So is everything worth doing."
Dry Wash
They left before sunrise.
Thomas.
Clara.
Copper.
Boone.
The road to Dry Wash was rough.
By noon, they saw riders.
Six men.
Voss.
Thomas stopped.
Clara's hand moved toward the rifle.
Voss called out.
"Thomas Hale!"
Thomas dismounted.
"What?"
Voss smiled.
"You should have taken my offer."
Thomas looked at Clara.
Then at Voss.
"I don't sell people."
Voss drew his pistol.
"Nobody asked you to."
The gunfight lasted less than a minute.
Thomas fired twice.
One of Voss's men dropped his weapon.
Mercer, who had secretly followed them, appeared from behind a ridge with two honest deputies.
"Drop your guns!"
Voss turned.
"You betrayed me."
Mercer answered:
"I never belonged to you."
The men surrendered.
But Voss smiled.
"You don't understand."
He reached inside his coat.
Thomas saw the movement.
Voss pulled out the missing documents.
"I still have the evidence."
Clara stepped forward.
"No."
She pointed toward the ridge.
A rider was approaching.
A U.S. marshal.
Voss's smile disappeared.
The marshal dismounted.
"I'll take those papers."
Voss stared at him.
Then slowly surrendered them.
Clara began to cry.
Not because she was afraid.
Because for the first time, her father's death might mean something.
What Was Left
Voss was arrested.
The forged deeds were examined.
The land claims were investigated.
Several officials were removed.
The story spread through the territory.
People called Thomas a hero.
Thomas hated it.
He returned home.
The barn was half destroyed.
The fence needed rebuilding.
The crops were dying.
The pantry was empty.
Thomas looked at the damage.
"Lots of work."
Clara smiled.
"You don't sound disappointed."
"I'm tired."
"You could sell."
Thomas shook his head.
"No."
"You could leave."
"No."
"You could start over somewhere easier."
Thomas looked at the ranch.
"I don't want easier."
Clara smiled.
"Then what do you want?"
Thomas was silent.
For eleven years, nobody had asked him that question.
He looked at her.
"You."
Clara stopped breathing.
Thomas immediately looked embarrassed.
"I mean..."
She stepped closer.
"I know what you mean."
"I've never been good at this."
"Neither have I."
He looked at her.
"Your father asked me to help you."
"He did."
"I think I did."
"You did."
Thomas swallowed.
"But somewhere along the way, I stopped helping you because he asked."
Clara's eyes filled with tears.
"Why?"
Thomas took her hand.
"Because I love you."
She closed her eyes.
Then she whispered:
"I was hoping you would eventually figure that out."
The House With Two Names
Spring came slowly.
Thomas rebuilt the barn.
Clara planted vegetables.
Boone recovered.
Copper grew fat.
And the mesquite tree remained exactly where it had always been.
One morning, Thomas returned from town carrying a small wooden box.
Clara opened it.
Inside was a ring.
Not expensive.
Not polished.
But beautiful.
"Thomas."
"I know it's not much."
She looked at him.
"Neither am I."
Thomas smiled.
"You are everything."
Clara touched the ring.
"When did you buy this?"
"Three months ago."
"You've had it all this time?"
"I was waiting."
"For what?"
"Courage."
She laughed.
"You rode into a gunfight."
"That was easier."
Clara put her arms around him.
"Yes."
They were married beneath the mesquite tree.
There was no church.
No grand celebration.
Only Sheriff Mercer, two neighbors, and a few ranch hands from nearby farms.
Thomas wore his best shirt.
Clara wore a simple white dress.
Afterward, they ate beans, bread, and roasted beef.
Thomas stood beside her as the sun set.
"Do you regret coming here?"
Clara looked at the ranch.
"No."
"Even after everything?"