Chapter 3 - The Man the Sheriff Called a Killer
Sheriff Harlan entered Jasper’s cabin with his hand resting on his revolver.
Two deputies followed.
Ellie stepped between them and the bed.
“You’ll keep your weapons holstered.”
Harlan stared at her.
“Move aside.”
“No.”
“Eleanor.”
“He can barely stand.”
“I’m not here for his health.”
“I am.”
Behind Ellie, Jasper spoke.
“Let him through.”
She turned.
His face had changed.
The gentle patient who teased her about broth was gone.
In his place sat a hard-eyed mountain man who seemed to have expected this day for years.
Harlan produced a folded notice.
“Jasper Cain, you’re wanted for the murder of Silas Cain in Montana Territory.”
Ellie looked at Jasper.
He didn’t deny the name.
“Your father?” she asked.
“Yes.”
The answer struck harder than she expected.
Harlan smiled grimly.
“So our nurse crossed a blizzard to save a murderer.”
“I didn’t murder him,” Jasper said.
“Poster says otherwise.”
“Posters can lie.”
“Dead men can’t.”
Ellie looked from one to the other.
“What happened?”
Harlan ignored her.
“You’re coming with us.”
“He’s not medically capable of traveling.”
“That’s convenient.”
Ellie’s anger rose.
“You can dislike me as much as you please, Sheriff. But you will not put a severely wounded man on horseback after a three-day fever because it suits your pride.”
“My pride?”
“You questioned my competence publicly. Now either accept my medical judgment or admit your objections were never about my ability.”
One deputy looked away to hide a smile.
Harlan’s jaw tightened.
“How long?”
“At least a week.”
“Three days.”
“Seven.”
“Five.”
Ellie folded her arms.
“Seven.”
Harlan stared at her.
“Seven.”
He left a deputy behind.
That evening Jasper sat silently beside the fire.
Ellie waited.
Finally she said, “You owe me the truth.”
“Yes.”
“Did you kill your father?”
“No.”
“Then tell me.”
Jasper stared into the flames.
“My father owned a ranch outside Helena. Silas Cain. Meanest man I ever knew.”
His voice remained controlled, but Ellie saw his hand tighten around the chair.
“My mother died when I was fourteen. After that, there was nobody between him and the rest of us.”
“Us?”
“My younger sister, Rose.”
The name from his fever.
“She was twelve.”
Jasper swallowed.
“One night my father was drunk. Rose tried to stop him from beating one of the ranch hands. He turned on her.”
Ellie said nothing.
“I stepped between them. He pulled a gun.”
Jasper looked toward her.
“I fought him. The gun went off.”
“Your father died?”
“No.”
Ellie frowned.
“Then who killed him?”
“Someone came back later.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
He stood carefully and walked toward a small chest.
From inside he removed a faded ribbon.
“Rose disappeared the same night.”
Ellie stared at it.
“The authorities found my father dead the next morning. My blood was on his shirt from the fight. Witnesses heard us threatening each other.”
“And Rose?”
“Gone.”
“You think she saw something.”
“I know she did.”
“Why?”
“Because she left me this.”
He unfolded a tiny piece of paper hidden inside the ribbon.
Three words had been written in faded ink.
I saw him.
Ellie’s skin prickled.
“Why didn’t you show authorities?”
“I did.”
“And?”
“They said I wrote it.”
“So you ran.”
“I searched for Rose first. Months. Then years.”
“Never found her?”
Jasper shook his head.
“I stopped believing she was alive.”
Ellie sat opposite him.
“Why Copper Falls?”
“I heard someone mention a woman matching her description had passed through Wyoming.”
“Who?”
“A trader named Elias Boone.”
Ellie knew the name.
Everyone did.
Elias Boone owned half the freight contracts in Copper Falls and had recently begun buying ranches from struggling families.
“When?”
“Six months ago.”
“And the bear?”
“I was tracking Boone’s wagon route north.”
Ellie’s unease deepened.
“Jasper, why would Boone know your sister?”
“I don’t know.”
A knock interrupted them.
Samuel entered holding an envelope.
“This was nailed to the door.”
Jasper opened it.
His face drained of color.
Ellie took the paper.
There were only seven words.
Stop looking for Rose or Ellie dies too.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Jasper took the note and threw it into the fire.
“You’re leaving tomorrow.”
Ellie stared at him.
“No.”
“This isn’t a discussion.”
“It certainly is.”
“They know your name.”
“And?”
“And that means they’ve been watching.”
“Then sending me alone down a mountain seems an interesting strategy for keeping me safe.”
Jasper swore softly.
Samuel cleared his throat.
“She has a point.”
Jasper glared at him.
“Not helping.”
Ellie stepped closer.
“Someone threatened me because I helped you. I am already involved.”
“I won’t let you become involved.”
“You don’t get to decide that.”
His voice rose.
“I watched everyone I loved disappear!”
Silence.
Jasper’s anger vanished as quickly as it came.
He looked away.
“That’s why.”
Ellie understood then.
He wasn’t trying to control her.
He was terrified.
She softened.
“Jasper.”
“I couldn’t save my mother. Couldn’t save Rose. Couldn’t even save myself from a damn bear.”
“You survived.”
“Because of you.”
He faced her.
“And I will not repay that by getting you killed.”
Ellie walked closer.
“You once told me you didn’t think anyone would come.”
Jasper said nothing.
“I came.”
“Yes.”
“Then stop deciding you have to fight everything alone.”
Something broke open behind his eyes.
For a second, Ellie thought he might reach for her.
Instead, hoofbeats thundered outside.
Samuel rushed to the window.
A rider had already disappeared into the trees.
But something remained in the snow.
A small wooden box.
Inside was a silver locket.
Jasper picked it up with trembling fingers.
He opened it.
A tiny painted portrait rested inside.
A young girl.
“Rose,” he whispered.
Ellie’s breath caught.
Beneath the locket lay another note.
This one contained an address.
And two words.
May you like
She lives.
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