He Warned Her He Came With Four Children — The Cowgirl Said, “Good This Ranch Needs a Family”
Chapter 12
The fight was over by noon.
Whitfield was arrested.
The sheriff finally turned against him.
The forged warrants were destroyed.
The stolen deeds were recovered.
The ledger was delivered to the territorial authorities.
But one mystery remained.
Clara’s father’s name.
She returned to the church alone.
Thomas followed.
“You don’t have to come.”
“I know.”
She smiled.
“You say that often.”
“So do you.”
They found the hidden compartment beneath the altar.
Inside was another letter.
Clara recognized the handwriting immediately.
Her father’s.
She read it slowly.
He had never worked for Whitfield.
He had spent years gathering evidence against him.
The payment beside his name had been a bribe Whitfield had recorded falsely to make it appear that Clara’s father was part of the scheme.
Her father had died protecting the evidence.
Clara cried.
Thomas put his arm around her.
“I knew he wasn’t guilty.”
“You didn’t know.”
“No.”
“But you believed.”
Thomas looked at her.
“Sometimes that’s what family does.”
She leaned against him.
“Are we family?”
He smiled.
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
