But the boundaries didn't match the map Josephine carried.
I studied the signatures.
Then looked toward Pritchard.
"Where's the original?"
He frowned.
"This is a certified copy."
I pointed toward a measurement.
"That creek doesn't run where your drawing says it runs."
Slade smiled thinly.
"Streams change."
I nodded.
"So do dishonest maps."
The smile disappeared.
Pritchard cleared his throat.
"Mr. Walker, accusations won't help your position."
I handed back the papers.
"Neither will imaginary boundaries."
For several seconds, the men stared at me.
Then Slade looked toward the cabin.
"Perhaps the young woman staying with you understands the matter better."
My blood ran cold.
I stepped closer.
"Leave her out of this."
Slade's expression changed.
"She came a long way to find you, didn't she?"
I stared.
"How do you know that?"
He smiled.
And for the first time, I realized someone had been following Josephine before she ever reached my mountain.
The men left after threatening legal action.
I remained outside long after their horses disappeared.
When I finally returned to the cabin, Josephine was waiting.
She had heard enough through the window to understand what happened.
I sat across from her.
"Slade knows you came looking for me."
She nodded.
For a moment, I felt anger rising.
"Did you know he was following you?"
She looked toward the floor.
"Not at first."
I waited.
Then she explained that several weeks before leaving Briar Hollow, someone entered the room where she stored her father's records.
Nothing valuable was stolen.
But the papers were disturbed.
She began receiving letters offering to purchase the documents.
The letters came from representatives associated with Calder Consolidated.
She refused.
Then a man approached her after a church service and warned that old accusations could destroy people who insisted on reopening them.
Josephine became frightened.
She arranged to leave town.
But her travel plans were apparently discovered.
She believed someone followed the sleigh for part of the journey.
When the storm began, she pushed onward rather than returning to the settlement where she'd last seen the man.
I stared at her.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then I asked why she hadn't told me about the threats.
Josephine looked at me sadly.
"Because you already had enough ghosts."
I felt something twist inside my chest.
"Josephine."
She raised her eyes.
I continued.
"You don't protect a man by deciding which truths he's allowed to hear."
Her lips trembled.
"I know."
I took a slow breath.