Chapter 4 - Under the Surface
Back at the ranch, the silence of the cabin pressed heavily against Elena's ribs. Every creak of the floorboards, every rustle of the wind through the cottonwoods outside, made her flinch. She had spent the morning cleaning the kitchen, chopping firewood, and keeping watch down the trail.
Hours stretched into afternoon. Daniel should have been back by noon.
As she carried an armload of split logs toward the hearth, her mind raced back over the past week. When Daniel had found her freezing and bleeding by the overturned wagon, she had expected a predator, another version of Cole Benton in rougher clothes. Instead, he had offered her a blanket, a locked door, and absolute privacy without demanding a single explanation.
It was the first time in years she had been treated like a person rather than a servant or an asset.
She remembered the night she asked him to help her take off her torn coat. The way he had instantly turned his back, giving her space to breathe without making her feel small or foolish. It was a small act of decency, but to Elena, it was monumental.
Yet, safety in the Arizona territory was always fragile. If Benton had intercepted Daniel in town...
Elena dropped the logs by the fireplace with a sharp clatter. She couldn't just sit here waiting to find out if she had brought ruin upon the only man who had ever shown her kindness.
She walked over to the corner of the room where Daniel’s spare rifle leaned against the wall. It was heavy, well-oiled, and unfamiliar in her hands. She checked the loading gate, making sure a cartridge was chambered, and slipped a box of ammunition into her apron pocket.
If Benton's men came back for her while Daniel was gone, they wouldn't find a helpless captive waiting on the porch.
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As she stepped out onto the porch to scan the horizon, the distinct sound of hoofbeats echoed from the western trail. Elena froze, her grip tightening around the cold steel barrel of the rifle as three riders crested the rise.
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