He Gave A Homeless Woman A Job — Months Later, She Saved His Ranch
Chapter 7
Jonathan wanted Mary to leave.
She refused.
“You can’t stay.”
“I work here.”
“They’re dangerous.”
“So are you.”
He stared.
“What?”
“You’re stubborn.”
“That isn’t dangerous.”
“It is when you think you can fight everyone alone.”
Jonathan almost smiled.
“I’m trying to protect you.”
Mary’s voice softened.
“I know.”
“Then leave.”
“No.”
“Mary.”
“You gave me a job when no one else would.”
“That doesn’t mean you owe me your life.”
“I don’t.”
She looked directly into his eyes.
“I am staying because I choose to.”
Jonathan had no answer.
That evening, they discovered another problem.
Their grain stores were nearly empty.
The records showed full supplies.
Mary checked the barrels.
Several were filled with damp husks.
The real grain was gone.
Jonathan cursed.
“How long?”
“Two months, perhaps.”
“How did we miss it?”
“Because the records were altered.”
She looked at him.
“Someone inside the ranch helped.”
Jonathan summoned every ranch hand.
No one admitted anything.
Then Mary noticed one man avoiding her gaze.
Elias Ward.
A young stable hand.
She approached him.
“Elias.”
“Yes?”
“Did you move the grain?”
“No.”
“Did someone ask you to?”
Silence.
Jonathan stepped forward.
Elias looked frightened.
“They threatened my sister.”
“Who?”
“Mr. Pike.”
Jonathan’s face darkened.
“Where is he?”
Elias pointed toward the western woods.
“They meet at the old mill.”
Jonathan immediately reached for his coat.
Mary caught his arm.
“Don’t go.”
“Why?”
“If Pike is there, he expects you.”
“I can’t let him steal everything.”
“He wants you angry.”
Jonathan looked at her.
“You think this is a trap.”
“Yes.”
“So what do we do?”
Mary thought.
“We let him believe it worked.”
Jonathan understood.
They sent a message that Jonathan was leaving Bellmere for several days.
Then they waited.
That night, three men entered the ranch.
They expected the house to be empty.
Instead, lanterns appeared all around them.
The ranch hands surrounded the men.
Pike ran.
Jonathan chased him.
Mary stayed near the house.
Then she saw another figure slip through the rear door.
She followed.
The stranger entered Jonathan’s study.
Mary stopped outside.
He opened the locked chest.
He was searching for the Virginia papers.
Mary quietly closed the door behind him.
The man turned.
She held a fireplace poker.
“Looking for something?”
