Chapter 7 - The Canyon Trap
They found Caldwell's abandoned wagon near the canyon.
Too easily.
Abigail knew immediately.
"Stop."
Caleb raised his hand.
The riders halted.
A second later, rocks crashed onto the road ahead.
Ambush.
Shots echoed from the ridge.
The Whispering Pines riders took cover.
Abigail crawled behind a boulder.
Caleb reached her.
"You hurt?"
"No."
Caldwell's men held the high ground.
But Abigail knew the canyon better than they did.
She had helped build the road.
"There."
She pointed toward an old construction path.
Wyatt understood.
Twenty minutes later, three Whispering Pines riders appeared behind Caldwell's position.
His hired men surrendered.
Caldwell ran.
Caleb caught him beside the river.
For several seconds the two men faced each other.
Caldwell reached for his pistol.
Abigail shouted.
"Don't!"
Caleb could have killed him.
Instead he stepped back.
The territorial marshal arrived before sunset.
Caldwell was arrested.
The witness survived.
The ledgers were recovered.
For the first time in years, the valley belonged to nobody.
Which meant everyone finally had a chance.
Abigail returned home expecting peace.
Instead she discovered fifty cattle drovers waiting outside her kitchen.
Wyatt grinned.
"They heard supper was good."
Abigail stared at him.
Then laughed.
"Get more tables."
The war with Caldwell was ending.
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The real story of Whispering Pines was just beginning.
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