“I Thought Nobody Would Come,” She Said. The Cowboy Had Ridden All Night to Find Her
Chapter 10
They found Thomas the next morning.
He was lying beneath an oak tree two miles from the farm.
Alive.
Barely.
Clara knelt beside him.
“Uncle.”
His eyes opened.
“Clara.”
“Where is Harrow?”
“Gone.”
“What happened?”
Thomas coughed.
“He wanted the ledger.”
“Why didn’t you give it to him?”
Thomas looked away.
“Because I knew what he would do.”
Samuel knelt beside him.
“You were working with him.”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
Thomas closed his eyes.
“Two years.”
Clara’s face hardened.
“You stole from my father.”
“Yes.”
“You lied about the debt.”
“Yes.”
“You tried to force me into marriage.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Thomas began to cry.
“I was drowning.”
“You chose to drown me with you.”
He looked at her.
“I thought Harrow would save us.”
“He was saving himself.”
Thomas nodded.
“He wanted your land because of the river.”
“What river?”
“The eastern boundary.”
Samuel frowned.
Thomas continued.
“There is a new trade route being planned.”
“In this region?”
“Yes.”
“By whom?”
“Merchants from the coast.”
Samuel understood.
The land wasn’t valuable because of crops.
It controlled the safest crossing.
Whoever owned it could charge travelers and traders for passage.
Harrow wanted the property before anyone knew its true value.
Thomas reached inside his coat.
He pulled out a small folded map.
“The original survey.”
Samuel unfolded it.
A river crossing was marked.
Then another line.
An old road.
A route used by traders for decades.
Clara stared.
“My father knew.”
Thomas nodded.
“He refused to sell.”
“Why?”
“Because he believed the land belonged to you.”
Clara’s eyes filled with tears.
Samuel looked at her.
Her father had been protecting her future.
Even when she had not known it.
Thomas whispered:
“Take the map to the magistrate.”
Then his eyes closed.
Clara touched his shoulder.
“Uncle?”
He was still breathing.
But barely.
They carried him back to the farm.
That afternoon, they rode for the village.
This time, they were not running.
They were bringing proof.
