Moonlight painted the desert silver.
They rode for hours.
At dawn, they stopped near an abandoned church.
Elena looked exhausted.
"Where are we going?"
Bob answered:
"An old ranch."
"Whose?"
"My father's."
"You said he died."
"He did."
"Then who owns it?"
Bob looked away.
"No one."
The ranch had belonged to Bob's family before he came west.
He had never told anyone.
He had kept the location hidden.
It was two days away.
If they reached it, they could hide until the marshal arrived.
But Pike was faster.
By noon, they heard horses.
Six riders.
Bob stopped.
"Get behind the rocks."
Elena looked at him.
"What about you?"
"I'll slow them down."
"No."
"Go."
She refused.
Bob grabbed her hand.
"Elena."
She looked into his eyes.
"I am not leaving you."
Something changed between them.
Bob let go.
The riders appeared.
The sheriff raised his rifle.
A shot cracked.
The desert erupted.
Bob fired.
Then another.
The riders scattered.
One fell.
The others retreated.
Bob turned toward Elena.
She was crying.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why would you risk your life for me?"
Bob looked at her.
"Because five dollars was never the price."
She stared.
"What was?"
"Nothing."
"Then why?"
Bob took a breath.
"Because I couldn't walk away."
The Old Ranch
They reached the old ranch the following evening.
It was almost abandoned.
A broken fence.
A dry well.
A collapsed barn.
But there was still a house.
Bob opened the door.
Dust covered everything.
Elena walked inside.
"This was your home?"
"When I was a boy."
She looked at him.
"Why didn't you ever come back?"
"I couldn't."
"Why?"
"Too many memories."
Elena understood.
Sometimes a place could hurt more than a wound.
That night they sat beside a small fire.
Elena asked:
"What happened to your mother?"
"Died when I was twenty."
"And your father?"
"Three years later."
"So you really had nobody."
Bob looked at her.
"I thought I didn't."
She smiled.
He looked away.
Elena moved closer.
"Bob."
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For giving me a road home."
Bob frowned.
"I haven't given you a home."
She looked around.
"Maybe you have."
He stared at her.
Neither spoke.
Then Elena rested her head against his shoulder.
Bob remained still.
He was afraid that if he moved, the moment would disappear.
The Betrayal
At sunrise, they discovered the sheriff was gone.
So were the papers.
Elena panicked.
"He took them."
Bob examined the ground.
Horse tracks.
One rider.
Heading south.
"Pike."
They had been betrayed.
Bob mounted Duke.
Elena grabbed the reins.
"Don't."
"I'm going after him."
"You'll be killed."
"He has the evidence."
"So let it go."
Bob looked at her.
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because your father died trying to protect it."
Elena shook her head.
"My father is dead."
"Exactly."
Bob rode after the sheriff.
Elena followed.
They found him near an old bridge.
He was surrounded by Pike's men.
Pike stood beside him.
"Give me the papers," Pike said.
Reed refused.
Pike struck him.
Bob raised his rifle.
"That's enough."
Everyone turned.
Pike smiled.
"You're becoming troublesome."
Bob dismounted.
"Let him go."
Pike laughed.
"You still think this is about the woman?"
Bob looked at Elena.
"No."
"What is it about?"
Bob answered:
"Justice."
Pike shook his head.
"Justice is whatever the strongest man can afford."
Bob lifted his rifle.
"Then today you may find out what strength looks like."
The gunfight began.
Five Dollars
The battle lasted minutes.
But it felt like hours.
Bob fought from behind the bridge supports.
Elena protected the sheriff.
Pike's men fell one by one.
Then Bob ran out of ammunition.
Pike approached.
"Five dollars."
Bob looked up.
Pike laughed.
"That's all she cost you."
Bob slowly stood.
"No."
Pike raised his pistol.
"Then what did she cost?"
Bob looked toward Elena.
"My fear."
Pike hesitated.
Bob stepped forward.
"I was afraid of losing everything."
He took another step.
"Then I met her."
Another.
"And I realized I'd already lost everything that mattered."
Pike fired.
Bob moved.
The bullet struck his shoulder.