"You sent the letter."
"My father arranged the advertisement."
"You signed it."
Elias frowned.
Caleb grinned.
"Same thing."
The stage door opened.
A woman stepped down.
She was younger than Elias expected.
Perhaps thirty.
She wore a dark brown traveling dress beneath a gray wool coat, and her black hair was pinned beneath a simple hat. She carried one leather suitcase and a small wooden trunk.
She looked at the rancher standing beside the wagon.
"You must be Elias Ward."
"I am."
"You're taller than your letter suggested."
Elias blinked.
"I don't remember mentioning my height."
"You didn't."
For the first time in days, Elias almost smiled.
"Then I suppose we're already even."
Her eyes studied him.
"You look tired."
"So do you."
"I've been on a train for three days."
"I've been fighting a drought for six months."
Clara's expression softened.
"Then perhaps we both need somewhere quiet."
Before Elias could answer, the wind picked up.
Clara looked toward the mountains.
"What is that?"
"Winter."
She stared at him.
"You say that like it's a person."
"In Red Creek, sometimes it feels like one."
Elias loaded her trunk into the wagon.
As they rode toward Ward Ranch, Clara remained silent.
She watched the prairie.
She watched the cattle.
She noticed the empty hay barn.
And she noticed that Elias did not try to hide any of it.
"How bad is it?" she finally asked.
"Bad."
"How bad?"
"If the winter comes early, we could lose half the herd."
Clara turned toward him.
"And the ranch?"
"Maybe all of it."
She studied his face.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you could have stayed on the stage."
"And gone where?"
"Anywhere."
Clara smiled faintly.
"I've already spent too much of my life running away."
That sentence stayed with Elias long after they reached the ranch.
That evening, Clara unpacked in the small bedroom beside the kitchen.
She found the house clean but sparse.
There were no flowers.
No curtains in the kitchen.
No woman's touch anywhere.
Yet everything was repaired carefully.
Even the broken chair had been fixed with precision.
Elias had not built a comfortable home.
He had built a place that refused to fall apart.
At supper, Clara asked about his family.
"My father died six years ago."
"And your mother?"
"Before him."
"Any other family?"
"My brother Caleb."
"That's all?"
Elias nodded.
Clara looked down at her plate.
"Then I suppose we're both starting with very little."
Outside, the wind struck the walls.
A long howl passed over the roof.
Elias looked toward the window.
Snow began falling.
Three days early.
The Empty Hay Barn
By sunrise, Red Creek was covered in white.
Not deep snow.
Not yet.
But enough to warn everyone.
Elias rode through the ranch with Caleb.
The cattle crowded together in the lower pasture.
"They're hungry," Caleb said.
"I know."
"We need hay today."
"I know."
"There's no hay in town."
Elias looked at him.
"How do you know?"
"Because I checked."
They rode toward the barn.
A man was waiting near the gate.
His name was Silas Boone.
He owned the largest ranch in the valley and the largest hay operation.
He also owned a controlling share of the Red Creek bank.
Silas wore an expensive black coat and a silver watch.
"Morning, Ward."
Elias dismounted.
"What do you want?"
"To make you an offer."
"I don't need one."
Silas smiled.
"You haven't heard it."
"I don't have to."
Silas looked toward the cattle.
"Your ranch is in trouble."
"My ranch is none of your business."
"Everything in Red Creek becomes my business sooner or later."
Caleb stepped closer.
Silas ignored him.
"I'll buy the southern six hundred acres."
"No."
"Three hundred."
"No."
"Two hundred and fifty."
Elias stared at him.
"You've been waiting for this."
Silas's smile disappeared.