His Quiet Bride Never Mentioned She Could Cook—Now His Ranch Hands Won’t Miss Supper
Chapter 7
The ranch hand’s name was Matthew.
He was twenty-two.
He had worked for Samuel for nearly a year.
When the letters were found, Matthew denied everything.
“I never hurt this ranch.”
Samuel stared at him.
“Then why are these letters here?”
Matthew’s face went pale.
“I didn’t write them.”
Clara examined the handwriting.
She recognized it.
“That’s not Matthew’s writing.”
Samuel looked at her.
“You’re certain?”
“Yes.”
Matthew nodded desperately.
“Someone left them there.”
Samuel turned toward the men.
Nobody spoke.
Clara picked up another letter.
It contained information about the ranch.
Cattle numbers.
Supply shipments.
When Clara cooked.
When Samuel left.
Who guarded the barn.
Someone had been watching them closely.
“Who had access to Matthew’s cabin?” Samuel asked.
Everyone looked at everyone else.
Then Elijah spoke.
“His cousin.”
“Who?”
“John Pike.”
Samuel’s expression changed.
John Pike had left the ranch two weeks earlier.
He had claimed to be visiting family.
Samuel sent two riders after him.
They returned the next evening.
John was gone.
But they found something else.
Silas Crowe’s men had been seen near his family’s farm.
Samuel understood.
Silas had threatened Matthew’s family.
Matthew finally confessed.
“I was scared.”
Samuel’s anger softened.
“What did he make you do?”
“Tell him about the shipments.”
“And the recipes?”
“I never gave him any.”
“Who did?”
Matthew lowered his head.
“I don’t know.”
Clara looked at the letters.
There was one thing that bothered her.
The latest letter had been written after the kitchen fire.
Whoever sent it knew about the surviving recipe pages.
She suddenly remembered something.
A woman had visited the ranch two days before the fire.
A peddler.
She had asked about Clara’s cooking.
Samuel had been away.
Clara described her.
Elijah recognized her.
“She sells cloth in Red Creek.”
Samuel mounted his horse.
“I’ll find her.”
Clara stopped him.
“No.”
He turned.
“What?”
“Silas wants us angry.”
Samuel looked at her.
“If we rush after him, we make mistakes.”
He nodded reluctantly.
“So what do we do?”
Clara thought.
“We give him what he expects.”
“What?”
“A shipment.”
Samuel understood.
“You want to bait him.”
“Yes.”
The plan was simple.
They would announce that a large shipment of preserved food was leaving the ranch.
But the wagons would contain empty crates.
The real food would travel another route.
Samuel agreed.
Three days later, the bait wagon left.
Silas’s men followed.
Samuel’s riders followed them.
The trap worked.
The smugglers were caught with stolen cattle, weapons, and forged documents.
Silas escaped.
But the evidence was enough to expose his operations.
The sheriff issued a warrant.
For the first time, Samuel believed the danger might be ending.
That evening, he returned to the ranch.
Clara had prepared supper.
He entered the dining room.
The men cheered.
“Mrs. Carter!”
Elijah shouted.
“Best supper yet!”
Samuel laughed.
Clara shook her head.
“You say that every night.”
“Because every night it’s true.”
Samuel sat beside her.
“I owe you an apology.”
“For what?”
“I thought I needed a wife to manage the house.”
She looked at him.
“And?”
“I was wrong.”
Clara smiled.
“What do you need?”
Samuel reached for her hand.
“You.”
She stared at him.
He squeezed her fingers.
“Not because you cook.”
Her eyes softened.
“Then why?”
“Because you make this place feel like home.”
She looked down.
Samuel leaned closer.
“I think I fell in love with you.”
Clara didn’t answer immediately.
Then she smiled.
“I think I did too.”
