You never owed me a thing. Not then. Not now.
She looked at Calder and saw that he was watching her, not with impatience, but with quiet attention.
Her fingers curled into the front of her dress.
“I'm staying,” she whispered.
He nodded. “Then stay where you feel safe.”
The storm continued to rage outside, but inside the cabin, Naya stood upright. Her hands still trembled. Her heart still raced. Yet she no longer felt that fear had to make every decision for her.
Harlan shouted one final threat from the porch.
Then, through the narrow gap between the shutters, Naya saw a movement on the trail below. A rider was approaching through the snow, hunched beneath a heavy coat, leading a second horse behind him.
Calder noticed the movement too.
He did not lower the rifle, but his eyes narrowed as he tried to identify the newcomer.
The rider stopped beyond the edge of the clearing and raised one hand.
“Calder!” a voice called through the storm. “It's Deputy Mercer. I need to speak with you.”
Harlan swore.
For the first time that morning, Naya saw uncertainty cross his face through the frosted window.
Calder kept his position by the door. “Tell me what's happened, Deputy.”
Mercer dismounted and approached the porch, one hand held away from his holster. “The sheriff sent me. We've had a complaint from the settlement about a woman being held against her will.”
Naya's stomach tightened.
Harlan seized the opportunity. “That's right! This man has stolen her from us.”
Mercer looked toward the window. “Then I suppose we'll need to hear from the woman herself.”
Naya stared at the deputy's silhouette.
Calder turned his head slightly. “It's your choice whether you speak to him.”
She considered the words. For weeks, others had decided where she would go, what she would say, and whom she would be allowed to see. Even now, the presence of a lawman could mean safety or another kind of danger. She did not know Mercer, and she did not know whether the sheriff had truly been informed.
But she knew that silence had never protected her from men like Harlan.
She stepped closer to the door, stopping several feet short of it.
“My name is Naya,” she called. “I am here because I chose to stay. The men outside took me from my family. They tied my hands and carried me away. I do not want to go with them.”
Mercer remained quiet for a moment.
“Can you tell me who took you?”
“Harlan and several others. They said a man named Voss had paid them.”
Harlan interrupted. “She's confused. She's been living with Calder for weeks. He has turned her against us.”
Naya's voice strengthened. “I am not confused.”
Calder remained beside her, silent and watchful.
Mercer stepped onto the porch. “Harlan, I want you and your men to put your weapons on the ground.”
“You have no authority to interfere with a private agreement.”
“I have authority to investigate an accusation of kidnapping.”