Silas Vane ran.
He made it three steps.
The sheriff tackled him into the dust.
Gideon was released before sunset.
He walked out of the sheriff’s office expecting freedom.
Instead he found Mabel waiting.
His face changed.
“You didn’t leave.”
“I tried.”
He nodded.
“I wouldn’t blame you if you still want to.”
She studied him.
“You should have told me about Samuel.”
“I know.”
“You should have told me about the ranch.”
“I know.”
“You should have told me about the money.”
“I know.”
Mabel stepped closer.
“Is there anything else?”
Gideon thought carefully.
“Your youngest daughter hides biscuits beneath her pillow.”
Mabel blinked.
“What?”
“She says they’re for emergencies.”
Despite herself, Mabel laughed.
Gideon smiled.
It vanished quickly.
“I’m sorry.”
She looked at him for a long time.
“Samuel trusted you.”
“I failed him.”
“No.”
She thought of the untouched money.
The preserved ranch.
The hidden ledger.
The three girls who had gone from sleeping beneath wagons to chasing chickens across green pasture.
“You were afraid.”
“Yes.”
“So was I.”
Gideon swallowed.
“Mabel, what I feel for you isn’t because of Samuel.”
“I know.”
“I need you to know that.”
“I do.”
“And if you decide to leave, I’ll give you the deed, the account and anything else—”
“Gideon.”
He stopped.
“You talk too much when you’re nervous.”
His eyebrows rose.
“I don’t talk much at all.”
“You’re making up for lost years.”
Mabel stepped closer.
Then she did something she had not planned.
She kissed him.
The crowd erupted.
Mabel jumped backward in horror.
She had forgotten they were surrounded by half the town.
Elsie clapped.
June cheered.
Lottie covered her eyes.
Amos yelled, “About time.”
Gideon looked stunned.
Mabel touched her mouth.
“That was not a marriage proposal.”
“I know.”
“Good.”
“Wasn’t planning to ask.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“You weren’t?”
“Not with three girls watching.”
He glanced toward them.
“And not before asking their permission.”
Lottie lowered her hands.
Gideon approached her first.
He crouched.
“Charlotte.”
She crossed her arms.
“Yes?”
“I care about your mother.”
“I know.”
“I’d like to court her properly.”
Lottie studied him with Samuel’s gray eyes.
“If you lie to her again, I’ll shoot you.”
Mabel gasped.
Gideon nodded solemnly.
“Fair.”
“Then yes.”
June agreed immediately.
Elsie demanded clarification.
“Does courting mean you get married?”
“Maybe,” Gideon said.
“Then can President be in the wedding?”
“The cat?”
“Yes.”
Gideon sighed.
“We’ll negotiate.”
Spring came green and bright across the prairie.
Vane was convicted in territorial court after six ranchers came forward with matching forged loans.
Families received land back.
Amos became foreman at Cross-Harlo Ranch.
Ezra Pike insisted Mabel learn exactly how every dollar in her trust had been earned, invested and protected.
She did.
No man would ever again explain her own property to her as though she were a child.
Gideon discovered that having a woman who owned half his ranch meant losing arguments on a regular basis.
