She Came to Claim Her Grandfather’s Ranch With Two Children — The Poor Rancher Offered Them a Home
Chapter 4
Elias moved first.
He shoved Anna behind him.
“Take the children.”
The largest man raised his pistol.
“We’re here for the papers.”
“You’re leaving empty-handed.”
The man smiled.
“That’s not your decision.”
Elias reached for the rifle above the fireplace.
The intruder fired.
The shot shattered the lantern.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Anna pulled Matthew and Rose beneath the table.
Elias tackled the gunman.
A second man lunged at him.
They crashed against the wall.
Anna heard a child scream.
She reached for the poker beside the stove.
Then came a loud crack.
The third man dropped his pistol.
Matthew had thrown the wooden horse at him.
“Run!” Elias shouted.
Anna grabbed both children.
They fled through the rear door.
Elias followed seconds later.
They ran into the woods.
The men didn’t chase far.
By the time they returned, the cabin had been searched.
The old letters were gone.
Anna stood in the doorway.
“We lost the proof.”
Elias shook his head.
“Not all of it.”
He reached inside his coat.
The first letter was still there.
Anna stared.
“You hid it?”
“Your grandfather’s handwriting looked too important to leave behind.”
She smiled weakly.
“Thank you.”
Elias looked at her.
“Thank Matthew.”
The boy stood proudly.
“I saved the letter.”
“You threw your horse at a gunman.”
Matthew nodded.
“It was my best horse.”
Elias laughed.
For the first time, Anna laughed too.
The tension broke.
But the danger hadn’t.
That night, Elias moved them to his own house.
It was small for a rancher’s home.
Two rooms.
A kitchen.
A loft.
But it was warmer.
Anna objected.
“We can’t take your bedroom.”
“You’re not.”
“Where will you sleep?”
“The barn.”
“No.”
Elias looked at her.
“I’ve slept in worse.”
“You shouldn’t have to.”
He smiled.
“Neither should you.”
That night, the children slept in the loft.
Anna sat beside the fire.
Elias entered carrying two cups.
“You need rest.”
“So do you.”
“I’ll rest after this is over.”
She looked at him.
“You’re risking everything.”
“It was already at risk.”
“Because of us?”
“No.”
He sat down.
“Because of a lie my family has carried for twenty years.”
Anna was silent.
Then she said:
“I’m afraid.”
Elias nodded.
“So am I.”
She looked surprised.
“You admit it?”
“Being afraid isn’t the same as being weak.”
Anna lowered her eyes.
“My husband used to tell me I was weak.”
Elias’s face changed.
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to leave when he drank.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
“Then you weren’t weak.”
She looked at him.
“You don’t know me.”
“I know you crossed three days of winter roads with two children.”
Silence.
Anna smiled faintly.
“So you think I’m brave?”
“I think you’re stubborn.”
She laughed.
“That too.”
Outside, a horse whinnied.
Elias rose.
He looked through the window.
A lantern moved in the distance.
Then another.
Then another.
Someone was surrounding the house.
