The Mountain Cowboy Appeared Once Every Winter—Until One Woman Followed Him Home
Chapter 6
They returned to Bellmere three days later.
Anna rode beside Elias.
Neither spoke much.
But something had changed.
She no longer saw him as a stranger.
He no longer treated her as a woman who needed to be kept away from danger.
They arrived just before dusk.
Bellmere looked different.
A notice had been nailed to the door of Anna’s store.
She pulled it free.
The paper declared that her property was subject to seizure because of an unpaid debt.
Anna laughed bitterly.
“My father never borrowed this.”
Elias examined the seal.
“Forgery.”
“How do you know?”
“The wax is wrong.”
He touched it.
“Mercer’s clerk uses this mark.”
Anna looked toward the tavern.
Mercer stood in the doorway.
“You came back,” he said.
Elias dismounted.
“So did she.”
Mercer smiled.
“I suppose you’re both feeling brave.”
Anna stepped forward.
“You forged this.”
“Careful.”
“My father’s records prove it.”
Mercer’s smile disappeared.
“What records?”
Anna realized her mistake.
He did not know exactly what she had.
She smiled.
“Enough.”
Mercer took one step toward her.
Elias stepped between them.
Mercer looked at him.
“You’ve caused trouble for a long time, Ward.”
“I’ve avoided it.”
“You can’t hide forever in those mountains.”
“No.”
Elias’s hand rested near his pistol.
“But I can wait.”
Mercer stared at him.
Then he smiled.
“You’ll regret coming down.”
“Perhaps.”
Mercer walked away.
That night, the store windows were broken.
No one saw who did it.
But Anna found a message carved into the wooden counter.
LEAVE BELLmere.
She touched the letters.
Elias stood behind her.
“They’re frightened.”
“Of us?”
“No.”
“Then of what?”
He looked at the hidden room beneath the floor.
“The truth.”
