The weather.
The elk he'd hunted.
A horse Walter had recently purchased.
Gradually, her breathing settled.
Then she looked toward him.
"Do you ever get frightened?"
He smiled faintly.
"Often."
She seemed surprised.
"You don't look frightened."
Elias glanced toward his hands.
"That doesn't mean I don't feel it."
Loretta studied him.
He continued.
"The night at Alder Pass, I thought I was going to die. I was frightened even after you found me."
Her eyes softened.
Elias looked up.
"But I remember feeling less alone when you spoke to me."
For several seconds, she was quiet.
Then she whispered, "That's how I feel now."
Elias became still.
She looked down.
"I know the fire is over. I know we're safe tonight. But it helps knowing you're nearby."
He nodded.
"Then I'll stay nearby."
Loretta smiled faintly.
"Thank you."
He remained until she fell asleep.
Then he extinguished the lantern and returned quietly to his own room.
He didn't consider the night a romantic triumph.
He considered it a responsibility she'd trusted him to carry.
And that trust was becoming more precious to him than anything he'd ever owned.
The first major break in the financial dispute came from the company's outside supplier.
A merchant named Franklin Webb had been delivering meat, flour, coffee, and other provisions to Red Dog for years. He kept careful shipping records because freight costs in winter were high and losses could ruin a small business.
When Walter asked him about the Copper Pot's disputed charges, Franklin agreed to review his invoices.
He was surprised by what he found.
Several shipments had been billed to the cookhouse at quantities greater than what he'd actually delivered.
Other deliveries had been charged twice under slightly different descriptions.
And a portion of the meat supposedly supplied to Loretta had been sent directly to a company storage building instead.
The merchant brought the records to Samuel Fitch.
Loretta examined them.
Her hands began trembling.
The differences were substantial.
Not enough to explain every dollar of the alleged debt, but enough to show that the company's statements required a complete reconciliation.
Samuel compared the documents.
Then he prepared a summary identifying the specific invoices and entries that didn't match.
He did not accuse the company of fraud merely because the numbers differed.
He requested the original receipts.
The freight acknowledgments.
And the records showing who authorized the charges.
That careful approach gradually revealed more than an angry confrontation would have.