Chapter 6 - The Child Born Before Dawn
Samuel's letter contained only one page.
That made every sentence worse.
Their father, Jacob Ward, had apparently discovered years earlier that Crowe and several other cattlemen were acquiring land through forged debts and falsified deeds.
The Ward ranch sat beside one of the few reliable year-round water sources in the region.
Crowe wanted it.
Jacob refused to sell.
After Jacob died, Samuel found documents hidden beneath the ranch house proving several properties had been taken illegally.
Samuel had intended to expose Crowe.
He died first.
The brass key opened the compartment.
Elias folded the letter.
“Why didn't Samuel tell me?”
Ruth answered quietly.
“He thought you would get yourself killed.”
Elias looked toward Aayoka.
Her expression said Samuel might have been correct.
“Where's the old ranch now?” she asked.
“Abandoned.”
“Who owns it?”
“I do.”
“Then that's where we're going.”
Elias shook his head.
“We?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Aayoka's eyes narrowed.
He corrected himself.
“I mean, it's dangerous.”
“So is waiting for Crowe to decide what happens next.”
“You have Micah.”
“Exactly.”
Ruth intervened.
“She's right.”
Elias stared at both women.
“Does anyone in this town ever agree with me?”
“No,” they answered together.
Despite the danger, Aayoka laughed.
It was the first time Elias had heard that sound since returning.
And for one brief moment, he remembered why leaving had been the greatest mistake of his life.
The next morning they prepared to travel.
Ruth stayed behind to avoid drawing attention.
Aayoka wrapped Micah securely.
Elias saddled Bramble and borrowed a gentle mare.
They left before dawn.
The old Ward ranch stood ten miles east, beneath a line of red bluffs.
Elias had not returned in years.
When the house appeared, grief struck unexpectedly.
The porch sagged.
Windows were broken.
The corral where Samuel once trained horses had collapsed.
Aayoka watched Elias dismount.
“You all right?”
“No.”
It was an honest answer.
She touched his arm.
Only briefly.
But Elias felt it.
Inside, dust covered everything.
Elias remembered his mother cooking at the stove.
His father repairing tack.
Samuel stealing biscuits.
Ghosts occupied every room.
Aayoka gave him time.
Then Micah cried.
The sound cut through memory.
Life replacing death.
Elias looked at his son.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
Aayoka understood.
They found the trapdoor beneath what had once been Jacob Ward's bedroom.
The brass key opened an iron lock.
Below was a narrow cellar.
Elias descended with a lantern.
Aayoka followed.
Against the wall stood a metal strongbox.
The key opened that too.
Inside were deeds.
Ledgers.
Letters.
Dozens of them.
Elias read one.
Then another.
His face hardened.
“This could destroy Crowe.”
Aayoka examined a property map.
“Not just Crowe.”
Names included Sheriff Bell, a territorial land clerk, and several businessmen.
Aayoka looked at Elias.
“This is why Samuel died.”
“Yes.”
A sound came from above.
Floorboard.
Elias extinguished the lantern.
Aayoka held Micah tightly.
Another creak.
Someone was inside the house.
Elias drew his revolver.
He whispered, “Stay here.”
Aayoka grabbed his sleeve.
“No heroics.”
He nodded.
Elias climbed.
A man stood in the hallway.
Not Crowe.
Sheriff Bell.
“Put it away, Ward.”
Elias kept the revolver low.
“How did you know?”
Bell looked exhausted.
“Crowe followed you.”
Elias's blood chilled.
“Where is he?”
“Coming.”
Bell glanced toward the cellar.
“You found it.”
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“You helped kill Samuel.”
Bell's face collapsed.
“No.”
“You covered it up.”
“Yes.”
Aayoka emerged behind Elias.
Bell saw the baby.
His expression changed.
“You need to leave.”
Elias laughed bitterly.
“You threatening us?”
“Warning you.”
“Difference?”
“Crowe intends to burn this place.”
Aayoka immediately looked toward the window.
Dust rose in the distance.
Riders.
Several.
Elias moved.
He packed as many documents as possible into a saddlebag.
Bell helped.
“Why?” Elias demanded.
“Because I was a coward four years ago.”
The words echoed.
Elias understood them too well.
They escaped through the rear.
Minutes later, smoke rose behind them.
Crowe's men had reached the ranch.
Elias looked back at his childhood home burning.
Pain tightened his face.
Aayoka rode beside him.
“You saved what mattered.”
Elias looked at the documents.
Then at her.
Then Micah.
“No,” he said quietly. “I almost didn't.”
Behind them, riders emerged through the smoke.
Crowe was no longer warning Elias away.
He was hunting them.
May you like
And the nearest safe place was North Ridge.
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