Chapter 13 - The Offer That Could Take Sarah Away
Christmas ended at nine in the morning.
Sheriff Bell stood inside the doorway holding official papers.
“I'm sorry.”
Elias read them once.
Then again.
Sarah took the document.
Crowe Holdings claimed default.
Thirty days.
January twenty-fifth.
“But the bank records are fraudulent,” she said.
“We still have to prove it.”
“What about Morris's letter?”
“Useful.”
“Useful?”
Sarah's voice sharpened.
“A dying man's confession saying Crowe forged documents is useful?”
“It's not notarized.”
Sarah stared.
Bell held up one hand.
“I agree with you. I'm telling you what Crowe's attorney will argue.”
Elias looked at Victor.
“He's coming to Helena?”
“He said he would.”
“Then so am I.”
Travel plans were made.
Elias would leave in three days if weather held.
Sarah would remain with Lahi.
“No,” she said.
Elias frowned.
“What?”
“I am coming.”
“Lahi—”
“Can stay with Mrs. Porter.”
Lahi immediately protested.
“No.”
Sarah knelt.
“Only two nights.”
“No.”
Elias sighed.
“Sarah knows Crowe.”
“That's exactly why she's not going.”
Sarah stood.
“You don't decide that.”
“He threatened you once.”
“And survived the experience.”
“This isn't funny.”
“I am not laughing.”
They argued for ten minutes.
Lahi listened.
Finally:
“Be nice.”
Both stopped.
Sarah pointed toward Elias.
“He started it.”
Elias stared.
“Did you just blame me to a seven-year-old?”
“She seems fair.”
Lahi folded her arms.
“Both.”
Sarah almost laughed.
Elias sat.
“All right.”
They compromised.
Sarah would go.
Lahi would stay with Mrs. Porter, an older widow from a neighboring ranch whom she knew.
The morning of departure was painful.
Lahi clung to Sarah's dress.
“You come back?”
“Yes.”
“Promise?”
Sarah looked at Elias.
Then at the child.
“Yes.”
This promise she could control.
They rode toward Missoula before sunrise.
From there, rail connections and stage routes would take them toward Helena.
It was the first time Sarah and Elias had been alone together outside the ranch.
At an inn in Missoula, the owner assumed they were married.
“One room?”
Elias nearly choked.
“Two.”
Sarah hid a smile.
The owner looked between them.
“Of course.”
Upstairs Sarah whispered:
“You turned red.”
“I did not.”
“You absolutely did.”
“Poor lighting.”
“It is broad daylight.”
He walked away.
Sarah laughed.
The journey east was cold and exhausting.
They arrived in Helena after dark.
Victor Hale waited at the hotel.
Sheriff Bell's contact, attorney Margaret Doyle, joined them.
A woman attorney surprised Elias.
Sarah noticed.
“Problem?”
“No.”
“You made a face.”
“I didn't.”
“Poor lighting again?”
Margaret heard and smiled.
“I like her.”
Elias sighed.
“Everyone does.”
Margaret examined the documents for hours.
Finally:
“You have a case.”
Elias exhaled.
“But?”
“Crowe will argue Morris acted alone.”
Sarah leaned forward.
“Crowe's signature is on the assignment.”
“Yes. Owning the note isn't illegal.”
“What do we need?”
“Proof Crowe knew the debt amount was fraudulent.”
Victor spoke.
“I may have that.”
Everyone looked at him.
He placed letters on the table.
Crowe had offered Victor several properties.
In one letter, he wrote:
The Thorne place will be available soon. Current owner is stubborn but the note can be made burdensome.
Sarah went cold.
Margaret smiled for the first time.
“That helps.”
The hearing was scheduled for the following day.
Silas Crowe entered the courthouse wearing a gray suit.
Sarah recognized him immediately.
Older.
Same eyes.
He saw her.
Stopped.
Then smiled.
“Well.”
Elias stepped between them.
Crowe looked amused.
“Sarah Jenkins.”
She forced herself not to shrink.
“You remember me.”
“Difficult to forget someone who caused such noise.”
Elias's hands clenched.
Sarah touched his sleeve.
Stay calm.
Crowe noticed.
“Found yourself another employer?”
Sarah met his gaze.
“I found people who believe me.”
For the first time his smile weakened.
Inside the hearing room, Margaret presented documents.
Crowe's attorney objected.
Arguments went back and forth.
The judge postponed final determination pending bank testimony.
“Two weeks,” he said.
“Foreclosure suspended.”
Elias released a breath.
Not victory.
Time.
Outside, Crowe approached Sarah alone while Elias spoke with Margaret.
“You always did overestimate your importance.”
Sarah's old fear returned.
For one instant she was back in Missouri.
A servant accused.
A woman nobody believed.
Then she remembered Lahi's hand.
Elias's eyes.
The quilt.
“No.”
She looked directly at Crowe.
“I underestimated it.”
He smiled.
“You think Thorne will keep you once this is over?”
Sarah said nothing.
“Men like him value women when they're useful.”
The words struck precisely where Crowe intended.
“He lost a wife. He has a damaged child. You are convenient.”
Sarah's face remained still.
Crowe leaned closer.
“When the girl heals, you'll become what you've always been.”
He smiled.
“Hired help.”
Then he walked away.
Sarah stood frozen.
Elias approached.
“What did he say?”
“Nothing.”
“Sarah.”
“Nothing that matters.”
She smiled.
But during the entire journey back to Bitterroot Valley, Crowe's words followed her.
When the girl heals, you become unnecessary.
By the time Thorne Ranch appeared beneath the mountains, Sarah had begun doubting everything she had chosen.
And waiting on the porch was Lahi, holding the yellow-and-blue quilt.
The moment she saw them, she ran.
Not toward Elias.
Not toward Sarah.
May you like
Toward both.
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