“I think the signature is his.”
“That sounds bad.”
“It is.”
“But?”
“The date is six months after Mateo died.”
Gabriel set down his spoon.
“Well.”
“Yes.”
“That seems important.”
“You would think.”
“Judge?”
“Rafael says the clerk wrote the date incorrectly.”
“And the judge believes him?”
“The judge says it requires a hearing.”
“When?”
“Six weeks.”
“But the sheriff comes tomorrow.”
“To inventory disputed collateral.”
“The cattle?”
“Some.”
“How many?”
“Four hundred head.”
Gabriel stared.
“That would cripple you.”
“That is the point.”
Samuel had stopped eating.
He was listening.
Gabriel looked at him.
“Keep eating.”
Samuel obeyed.
Gabriel returned to Isabella.
“And the missing cattle Rafael mentioned?”
“Forty-two disappeared over two months.”
“Rustlers?”
“I don't know.”
“Any tracks?”
“Workers blamed broken fence.”
“You believe them?”
“Not anymore.”
“What changed?”
“One cow was found yesterday on Varela land.”
Gabriel leaned back.
“Brand?”
“Ours.”
“Altered?”
“Partially.”
“That’s not subtle.”
“No.”
“Who found it?”
“My foreman.”
“Where is he?”
Isabella became quiet.
Gabriel noticed.
“Where is your foreman?”
“He left this morning.”
“Why?”
“He said his mother was ill.”
“You believe that?”
“No.”
Gabriel sighed.
“Anything else?”
“Yes.”
“Of course.”
Isabella folded her hands.
“Rafael proposed marriage two months ago.”
Gabriel’s eyes lifted.
“What exactly did he offer?”
“Marry him.”
“He pays the disputed debt.”
“Combines the ranches.”
“Protects Santa Esperanza.”
“And you said no.”
“Repeatedly.”
“Why?”
Isabella’s eyes sharpened.
“Do you need a reason?”
“No.”
Gabriel shook his head.
“No.”
Something softened.
She continued.
“Mateo respected me.”
“We were not always passionate.”
“But we were partners.”
“He never treated my judgment as a thing to tolerate until he had time to make the real decision.”
“Rafael would own me by sunrise.”
Gabriel understood.
“And marrying me?”
She looked at him.
“Does not solve the debt.”
“You said that already.”
“But it changes one thing.”
“What?”
“Rafael has been telling people I am frightened.”
“Lonely.”
“Unable to manage the ranch.”
“That eventually I will accept his protection.”
Gabriel’s mouth tightened.
“You married a hungry stranger to prove him wrong?”
“Partly.”
“Partly.”
He did not like that word.
“What else?”
Isabella hesitated.
Gabriel waited.
Then she said:
“My attorney in Denver believes Rafael may try to have a receiver appointed.”
“What is that?”
“Someone to manage the ranch until the debt case is resolved.”
“And?”
“He argues I am emotionally unstable since Mateo’s death.”
Gabriel stared.
“Three years later?”
“Yes.”
“What evidence?”
“Letters.”
“What letters?”
“Private ones.”
Her face changed.
“Letters I wrote my sister after Mateo died.”
Gabriel understood.
Grief.
Despair.
Words never intended for court.
“How did Rafael get them?”
“I don't know.”
“Your sister?”
“Dead.”
Gabriel lowered his eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
“She died last winter.”
“Her husband sold their house.”
“Some papers disappeared.”
Gabriel nodded slowly.
“So Rafael plans to show a judge that a grieving widow cannot manage her own property.”
“Yes.”
“And a husband makes that argument harder.”
“Possibly.”
“Because?”
“Because my attorney says if I can show stable household management, continued ranch operations, and another competent adult overseeing the herd, the emergency receiver argument weakens.”
Gabriel laughed once.
“Competent adult.”
She looked at him.
“You said you were a ranch hand.”
“I am.”
“Years?”
“Twenty.”
“Cattle?”
“Yes.”
“Dairy?”
“Some.”
“Accounts?”
“Enough to know when someone is stealing.”
“Then competent.”
Gabriel rubbed his face.
“So that is the truth.”
“Most of it.”
His hand stopped.
“Most?”
Isabella looked toward Samuel.
Then Emma.
Gabriel’s voice lowered.
“What else?”
She answered:
“Someone tried to enter my bedroom last night.”
Silence.
Gabriel’s entire posture changed.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Where were the workers?”
“Some asleep.”
“Maria heard the window.”
“Person ran.”
“Footprints?”
“Yes.”
“Boot size?”
“Large.”
“Anything taken?”
“One drawer opened.”
“What was inside?”
“Mateo’s ledger.”
“Still there?”
“Yes.”
“What is in it?”
“Original payment notes.”
Gabriel stared.
“So your dead husband’s own books might prove the debt was paid.”
“Maybe.”
“And somebody tried to steal them before the sheriff comes.”
“Yes.”
Gabriel stood.
Isabella looked up.
“Where are you going?”
“Windows.”
“What?”
“I’m checking every window.”
“You have not agreed to marry me.”
Gabriel looked at her.
“You announced it in front of three armed men.”
“That was tactical.”
“So is checking windows.”
He walked through the house.
Isabella followed.
One rear window showed scratches around the latch.
Gabriel crouched.
“Fresh.”
“Yes.”
He looked outside.
Mud.
Footprints partly trampled.
He went around the house.
Found the track beneath the window.
One man.
Heavy boots.
Spur mark on right heel.
He followed toward the barn.
Track disappeared among others.
Gabriel stood.
“Which worker wears one spur?”
Isabella frowned.
“What?”
“Print has one spur mark.”
“Right foot.”
She thought.
“Tomás Ortega.”
“Who?”
“Night herd supervisor.”
“Where is he?”
“Supposed to be in the bunkhouse.”
Gabriel looked toward the worker quarters.
“Get Samuel and Emma inside your bedroom.”
Isabella stared.
“Gabriel.”
“Lock the door.”
“You're giving orders in my house.”
“Yes.”
Her eyes narrowed.
Then, unexpectedly:
“I like it less than I expected.”
“Good.”
“Do not become comfortable.”
“I already am.”
She almost smiled.
Then he said:
“And bring Mateo’s ledger.”
That erased the humor.
Isabella did as he asked.
Gabriel walked toward the bunkhouse.
Tomás Ortega was gone.
His bed empty.
Trunk gone.
Nobody knew when he left.
One worker said before dawn.
Another said after breakfast.
Gabriel returned.
“Your foreman leaves.”
“Night supervisor disappears.”
“Cattle vanish.”
“Debt records burn.”
“Someone enters your bedroom.”
Isabella crossed her arms.
“Yes.”
“You have a larger problem than Rafael’s marriage proposal.”
“I know.”
“And you still invited two strangers and a baby into the middle of it.”
Isabella looked toward Samuel.
“He is not a stranger anymore.”
Gabriel’s face softened despite himself.
Samuel sat beside the fireplace with bread in both hands.
Emma slept after finally eating.
Isabella continued quietly.
“I watched you at the gate.”
“You would have walked away before allowing Rafael to threaten your children.”
“Yes.”
“I need that kind of man here.”
Gabriel looked at her.
“I am also the kind of man who gets angry when somebody uses my children in a plan without telling me.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
She stepped closer.
“I am sorry.”
Gabriel had not expected that.
Isabella continued.
“I was afraid.”
“You didn't look afraid.”
“I have had three years of practice.”
Gabriel studied her face.
Now he could see it.
A woman who had survived too long by never allowing anyone to see uncertainty.