Walter stepped forward. Father accepted the money before he died. That made the agreement lawful. Evelyn looked at him. Their father had been dead for 12 years.
Cyrus had barely known their family then. "You forged his name," she said. Walter's face tightened. He reached for her arm, but Gideon moved between them so quickly that Walter nearly walked into the barrel of his rifle. "She has been ordered to appear in court," Gideon said.
"She has not been ordered to leave with you." Sheriff Beck nodded. "He is right." Cyrus Vain finally spoke from his horse. His fine black coat looked strange beside Gideon's rough fence and muddy yard.
You are protecting a woman who lies, Cyrus said. You should be more concerned about protecting your land. He held up a second paper. It claimed Gideon's ranch stood on property purchased by the Vain Cattle Company. According to the document, Gideon had 30 days to leave the mountain.
Gideon's face stayed calm, but Evelyn saw his grip tighten around the rifle. My deed has been registered for 11 years, he said. Then you had better find it, Cyrus replied. The county record says something different. Walter smiled at Evelyn.
Come home now, and Cyrus may forget this trouble. That was when she understood. Walter had not only come to drag her back. He had brought a weapon aimed at the first man willing to stand beside her. Evelyn walked to the gate and stopped inches from her brother.
I would sleep beneath a tree before entering your house again. She said, "I would marry a man I met 7 days ago before spending 1 hour with Cyrus Vain." Walter's smile disappeared. Evelyn turned toward Gideon. His dark eyes searched her face as if he needed to know whether she understood the weight of what she had said.
"I choose Gideon Shaw," she said clearly. No one else. Cyrus gave a cold laugh. Then you can lose everything together. Sheriff Beck ordered Walter and Cyrus to leave.
They rode down the trail, but Walter looked back once. The hatred in his eyes followed Evelyn long after the trees hit him. Inside the cabin, Gideon placed his rifle on the table. "You do not have to marry me to stay here," he said. I meant what I told you.
This is your choice. I know 7 days is not enough time to know a man. It was enough time to learn that you ask before deciding my future. She stepped closer. Walter lived beside me for years and never learned that.
Gideon looked toward the window. If we marry, I will not claim anything from you. Your room remains yours. Your money remains yours. If you ever want to leave, I will take you wherever you choose."
Those words settled the last doubt inside her. They rode to Red Pine the following morning and stood before Reverend Miles in the small wooden church. Gideon wore a clean white shirt. Evelyn wore her brown traveling dress and her mother's silver comb. Walter appeared before the vows began.
You will regret this," he warned from the church doorway. "When Shaw loses that ranch, he will have nothing." Evelyn faced her brother without lowering her eyes. "Then I will have nothing with a man who respects me. That is still more than I ever had with you."
Sheriff Beck forced Walter outside. Reverend Miles finished the ceremony, and Evelyn Mercer became Evelyn Shaw. Gideon kissed her forehead, not her lips. It was a small act, but it told her he had remembered every promise he made. That evening, Evelyn found Gideon carrying blankets toward the barn.
Where are you going? The loft. You own a cabin with two rooms. You might feel safer if I sleep outside. Evelyn took the blankets from his arms and carried them back inside.
I married a mountain man, not a frightened boy. You can sleep beside the fire. A faint smile appeared beneath his beard. Over the next several days, they worked on the threat against the ranch. Gideon brought out his deed, tax papers, and every receipt he had saved.
Evelyn covered the kitchen table with records and studied them late into the night. The deed was real. The payments were correct. Yet, the copy filed at the county office showed an unpaid land fee from three years earlier. That fee never existed, Gideon said.
Evelyn examined the ink. The false entry was darker than the writing around it. Someone had added it later. She remembered the mistake she had found in Gideon's ledger. A payment of $14.20 had vanished from the ranch accounts.
The same amount appeared on the county paper as an unpaid fee. Someone had removed the payment from both records. Evelyn rode into Red Pine and searched the public books. She found the same dark entry beside four other mountain properties. Three of those ranches had already been purchased by the Vain Cattle Company after their owners were forced away.
Cyrus had been stealing land for years. Douglas Hail, the storekeeper, gave Evelyn copies of old receipts. Claraara found two ranchers willing to speak. Even Sheriff Beck admitted that the county clerk had recently bought a new house despite earning a small wage. When Evelyn returned to the ranch, Gideon was waiting near the gate.
"You found something," he said. "Enough to prove Cyrus is lying, not enough to prove who changed the records." Gideon took the papers from her, but his eyes stayed on her face. You should not have to fight my battle. It became ours when I said yes.
Something changed between them. Then Gideon touched her cheek with the back of his fingers slowly enough for her to move away. She did not move. He kissed her with the same care he used when holding an injured animal, but the warmth behind it made her grip the front of his shirt. For the first time, Evelyn understood that safety did not have to feel cold.
Then Gideon pulled back. "Someone is watching the east fence," he said. A rider disappeared between the trees before Evelyn could see his face. "That night, smoke woke her. The barn was burning."
Gideon ran outside without his boots and rushed through the flames to release the horses. Evelyn carried water from the well, but the fire climbed the dry walls too quickly. A burning beam crashed across the barn doorway. Gideon, she screamed. His voice came from somewhere inside, followed by the terrified cry of a trapped horse.
Evelyn grabbed an ax and ran toward the flames. Then a gunshot tore through the darkness. A man stood near the eastern trees with a rifle raised, and Evelyn recognized the shape of her brother's coat. Walter fired before Evelyn could reach the axe. She dropped beside the water barrel as the bullet passed over her shoulder.