Cowboy Found a Widow and Her Son Sleeping in His Stable. He Made One Quiet Decision
Chapter 9
They returned to Grey Hollow at dawn.
Not secretly.
Caleb rode straight down the main road.
Anna and Samuel followed.
People stared.
Whispers spread through town.
Silas Boone came out of the saloon.
“You’re supposed to be dead.”
Caleb dismounted.
“Disappointed?”
Silas reached for his gun.
Caleb was faster.
He pointed his rifle.
“Not here.”
Silas smiled.
“You think a few papers will save you?”
“No.”
Caleb stepped closer.
“The truth will.”
Silas’s smile disappeared.
The town sheriff emerged.
Caleb threw the ledger at his feet.
“Read it.”
The sheriff did.
His face changed.
Names.
Payments.
Bribes.
Murders.
Everything was there.
Then the sheriff looked at Silas.
“You’re under arrest.”
Silas laughed.
“You think these people will testify?”
A voice came from the crowd.
“I will.”
Reverend Hale stepped forward.
Then the shopkeeper.
Then three ranchers.
One by one, people who had remained silent stepped into the street.
Silas looked around.
For the first time, he was alone.
But before the sheriff could reach him, Silas pulled a hidden pistol.
He fired.
Caleb shoved Anna aside.
The bullet struck his shoulder.
He fell.
Anna screamed.
Silas ran.
The sheriff chased him.
Samuel knelt beside Caleb.
“Don’t die.”
Caleb looked at him.
“That’s becoming a habit.”
Samuel began crying.
Caleb reached for his hand.
“I promised you breakfast tomorrow.”
Samuel nodded.
“You better keep it.”
“I will.”
But Silas Boone had one last secret.
He had not come to Grey Hollow merely to silence Caleb.
He had come for the final page.
The page Anna had hidden.
