The Town Laughed at Her Empty Market Stall. One Lonely Cowboy Bought Everything
Chapter 5
Anna could not sleep.
She searched through her father’s old papers.
Most were ordinary.
Bills.
Receipts.
Letters.
Tax records.
Then she found a sealed envelope.
Her father’s handwriting was across the front.
“For Anna, if the farm is ever threatened.”
She broke the seal.
Inside was a single page.
“Your farm is worth more than the soil beneath it. The western road will eventually pass through our land. Whoever controls the crossing will control the trade.”
Anna read the sentence again.
The western road.
She knew about it.
For years settlers had crossed the river near her farm.
But recently Crowe had proposed building a private road farther south.
Why?
She continued reading.
“I fear Silas Crowe knows what the land is worth.”
At the bottom was another sentence.
“If I cannot protect this place, trust Thomas Hale.”
Anna dropped the paper.
Thomas.
She suddenly understood.
He had not bought her stall out of pity.
He had known her father.
He had known about the land.
And he had been watching.
The next morning, Anna went to Thomas’s house.
He was repairing a saddle.
“You knew my father.”
“Yes.”
“He trusted you.”
Thomas stopped.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you were not ready.”
“I am now.”
He looked at her.
She placed the letter on the table.
“My father told me to trust you.”
Thomas read it.
Then closed his eyes.
“I hoped you’d never find that.”
“Why?”
“Because once you know, Crowe will know you know.”
Anna stared at him.
“What does he want?”
Thomas looked toward the hills.
“Everything.”
