Chapter 13 - The Camp That Could Not Feed Itself
The plan was simple.
Which meant Maggie distrusted it immediately.
Boone would be allowed to leave after dark.
Cole and Levi would follow at a distance.
Silas wanted to go.
Levi refused.
“You're sixty-one.”
“Fifty-eight.”
“Then you're an old fifty-eight.”
Silas looked offended.
Cole hid a smile.
Maggie said, “You also can't disappear without Boone noticing.”
That ended it.
Before sunset Maggie packed food for Cole and Levi.
Cole took the cloth bundle.
“Enough for one night?”
“Two.”
“We won't be gone two.”
“That's what people say before being gone two.”
He tucked it into his saddlebag.
“Maggie.”
“Yes?”
“If something goes wrong—”
“Come back.”
“I was going to say move the camp.”
“That's Levi's decision.”
“Then what do you want?”
She looked at him.
“Come back.”
His expression softened.
“I will.”
No dramatic embrace.
No kiss.
Just those words.
Some promises mattered more when spoken quietly.
Boone left after midnight.
Cole and Levi followed.
Morning arrived with no news.
Maggie cooked.
Silas paced.
Noon.
Still nothing.
By evening he had become impossible.
“Maybe we should send riders.”
“And lead Boone straight back to us?” Maggie asked.
“He may already know.”
“Then sending more men won't help.”
Silas glared.
“You enjoy disagreeing with me.”
“No.”
“You do it frequently.”
“That's because you give me frequent opportunities.”
Pete turned away to hide laughter.
Silas walked off.
The next morning, a rider returned.
Not Cole.
Levi.
Alone.
Maggie's stomach dropped.
“Where is he?”
“He's fine.”
“Where?”
Levi dismounted.
“They found Harlan.”
“Then why isn't Cole here?”
“Because Harlan had company.”
Silas approached.
“What kind?”
“Two men working for Boone.”
Silas's expression hardened.
Levi continued.
“Cole stayed near the line shack. Sent me back with papers.”
He handed Silas a packet.
Inside were copies of contracts.
Boone had promised Harlan five percent of the profit if Whitaker cattle were sold below a specified price.
There were also letters detailing supply theft and falsified expenses.
Enough to destroy Harlan's credibility.
Enough, likely, to prove fraud in court.
Maggie asked, “Why did Cole stay?”
“Harlan left before dawn. Cole followed.”
“Alone?”
Levi looked away.
Maggie's temper flashed.
“You left him alone?”
“He ordered me back.”
“He isn't your boss.”
Levi raised an eyebrow.
“Technically he is.”
“You know what I mean.”
Silas read the last letter.
“We have what we need.”
Maggie stared toward the southern trail.
“Then Cole doesn't.”
Silas looked up.
She continued.
“He thinks he has to bring Harlan back because you wanted him.”
Silas's face shifted.
The truth landed.
His demand had set everything in motion.
“I'll send men.”
Before he could, hoofbeats sounded.
Maggie turned.
Cole rode into camp.
Alone.
Relief nearly weakened her knees.
He looked exhausted.
Dust covered his clothes.
But he smiled when he saw her.
Maggie walked toward him.
Then stopped herself from running.
Barely.
Cole dismounted.
“You came back.”
“I said I would.”
“Where's Harlan?”
“Gone.”
Silas approached.
“You let him go?”
Cole looked at his uncle.
“Yes.”
Silas's old anger surfaced.
Then Cole handed him another envelope.
“He left this.”
A confession.
Not complete.
Not noble.
Harlan blamed Boone for most of the scheme.
But he admitted altering receipts, diverting supplies, and manipulating the company books.
He had fled south rather than face prosecution.
Silas finished reading.
“You could've caught him.”
“Maybe.”
“Why didn't you?”
Cole looked at Maggie.
Then back to Silas.
“Because I finally learned something.”
Silas waited.
“Not everything has to be won.”
Silas's expression changed.
Cole continued.
“We have evidence. We have the herd. We have men willing to work. I wasn't risking my life over your need to watch Harlan lose.”
Silas stared at him for a long moment.
Then, surprisingly, he nodded.
“Good.”
Cole blinked.
Silas walked away.
Maggie approached.
“You look terrible.”
“That's the welcome?”
“You smell worse.”
“Better.”
She handed him coffee.
He drank.
Then quietly said, “I thought about you the whole way back.”
Maggie's breath caught.
“Cole.”
“I know.”
“Know what?”
“That this is a bad time.”
“Yes.”
“There's never a good time with you.”
She tried not to smile.
Failed.
Cole moved closer.
“I meant what I said about after the drive.”
Maggie looked at him.
Before she could answer, shouting erupted from the river.
A rider galloped toward camp.
“Water's falling!”
Levi ran past them.
“How fast?”
“Fast enough. Sandbar's showing.”
The crossing had opened.
They had one day—perhaps less—before another storm.
Silas shouted orders.
The camp exploded into motion.
Maggie looked at Cole.
He smiled.
“Later?”
She nodded.
“Later.”
Neither of them knew that before they reached the opposite bank, the drive would face its greatest crisis yet.
And this time the problem would not be greed.
May you like
It would be hunger.
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