Chapter 10 - The Night the Barn Nearly Came Down
The document was wet but readable.
Elias carried it into the house and spread it beside the stove.
Sarah placed heavy cups at the corners.
At the top were words neither of them expected:
Assignment of Agricultural Note.
The document appeared to transfer Elias's bank debt.
Not to Victor Hale.
To Crowe Holdings Company.
Sarah read it twice.
“Silas owns your debt?”
“Apparently.”
“But the bank letter came from Helena Territorial.”
“Maybe they service the note.”
She pointed at the date.
“Six months ago.”
Elias stared.
“I was never told.”
“Would they have to tell you?”
“I don't know.”
Below Crowe's signature was another.
Morris.
The former bank clerk.
Sarah felt cold despite the stove.
“This is why someone broke in.”
“To recover this.”
“But why hide it in your barn?”
Elias considered.
“Maybe they couldn't get away with it.”
“Because we returned?”
“Or they planned to come back.”
Lahi sat at the table coloring with a piece of charcoal.
She looked up.
“Bad paper?”
Elias almost laughed.
“Possibly.”
Sarah folded it carefully.
“We need Sheriff Bell.”
“We need the road open.”
Snow continued for two more days.
The barn roof could not be properly repaired.
Elias moved the horses into an equipment shed.
Food supplies dropped.
Sarah stretched everything.
Potato soup.
Biscuits.
Beans.
On the third morning, the sky finally cleared.
The world outside was white and silent.
Elias saddled a horse.
Sarah stopped him.
“Road isn't safe.”
“I need to reach town.”
“And if your horse breaks through a drift?”
“I'll manage.”
“You say that too often.”
He smiled faintly.
“You worry.”
“Occasionally.”
“About me?”
“Mostly about the horse.”
He laughed.
Sarah hated that she liked his laugh.
He became serious.
“I'll be back before dark.”
Lahi appeared with her rag doll.
“Promise?”
Elias looked at Sarah.
Promises.
“I'll do everything I can.”
Lahi accepted that.
Then she surprised him.
She reached up.
Elias bent.
She kissed his cheek.
He looked stunned.
Sarah turned away, giving him the dignity to recover.
He returned after sunset.
Sheriff Bell came with him.
They studied the document.
Bell whistled.
“This changes things.”
“Enough to stop foreclosure?”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“I am a sheriff, Elias, not an attorney.”
Sarah sat opposite.
“Can you arrest Crowe?”
“For owning a debt?”
“For fraud.”
“Need proof.”
Bell tapped Morris's signature.
“If I find Morris, things become easier.”
“Where is he?”
“Helena.”
Elias straightened.
“You know?”
“I sent telegram inquiries before the storm.”
Bell looked grim.
“He's using another name but not very creatively.”
“When can we go?”
“Road to Helena isn't exactly a Sunday drive in December.”
Elias swore.
Sarah frowned.
Lahi was nearby.
“Sorry.”
Sheriff Bell smiled.
“Never thought I'd see you afraid of language.”
Elias glanced at Sarah.
“Times change.”
Bell stood.
“I'll send word.”
At the door he stopped.
“Keep that paper safe.”
Sarah nodded.
After he left, Elias locked it inside a metal box.
Then he looked at Sarah.
“St. Louis.”
She sighed.
“You really aren't going to let that go.”
“No.”
“Why?”
He thought.
“Because I need to know.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“Fine.”
He stepped closer.
“I don't want you to leave.”
Sarah's heart beat faster.
“Because of Lahi.”
“Yes.”
The quickness of his answer hurt more than it should.
“And?”
Elias hesitated.
That hurt worse.
Sarah smiled politely.
“Understood.”
She walked upstairs.
Elias stood alone, furious with himself.
He did not sleep.
The following morning he found Sarah packing fabric into the cedar trunk.
Panic hit him.
“You're leaving.”
She looked up.
“What?”
“The trunk.”
“I'm putting Elizabeth's clothes away.”
“Oh.”
Sarah watched him.
The relief on his face was unmistakable.
She should have ignored it.
Instead:
“Would it matter?”
“Yes.”
The answer came immediately.
Sarah's hands stopped.
Elias continued.
“It would matter to Lahi.”
There it was again.
Lahi.
Sarah looked down.
“And to me.”
Her eyes lifted.
He swallowed.
“I don't know what that means yet.”
Sarah's throat tightened.
At least it was true.
Elias stepped into the room.
“I loved my wife.”
“I know.”
“I still love her.”
“I know.”
“I don't know how a man carries that and…”
He stopped.
Sarah could barely breathe.
“And what?”
He looked at her.
Before he could answer, Lahi rushed into the room.
“Sarah! Come!”
The moment shattered.
They followed her downstairs.
A rider waited outside.
Not Sheriff Bell.
Victor Hale.
He carried a telegram.
“Morris is dead.”
Elias stared.
“What?”
Victor dismounted.
“Found in Helena yesterday. Pneumonia.”
Sarah felt the floor shift beneath her.
“Then our witness is gone.”
Victor handed Elias the telegram.
“Yes.”
His expression was grim.
“And there's something else.”
“What?”
“Before he died, Morris sent me a letter.”
Victor reached inside his coat.
“He claimed Silas Crowe forged your signatures.”
Elias stared.
“Why would he write to you?”
“Because Crowe used my name to frighten you.”
Victor's jaw tightened.
“And I don't enjoy being used.”
He handed Elias the letter.
For the first time, the man they had suspected might become their best chance to save the ranch.
But Sarah had learned enough about powerful men to know help always had a price.
May you like
The question was what Victor Hale wanted in return.
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