Elias seized the fallen rifle.
"Leave it!"
The man froze.
Elias's voice was cold.
"Get back on your horse. Take your friend. And tell Voss he's going to have to do better than this."
The rider stared.
Then slowly raised his hands.
Clara emerged from behind the log.
Her legs trembled.
Elias looked toward her.
"Are you hurt?"
She shook her head.
He looked again.
"Clara."
"I'm all right."
His shoulders lowered slightly.
Then he turned back toward the men.
"Go."
The riders gathered themselves and retreated down the trail.
Elias watched until they disappeared.
Only then did he lower the rifle.
Clara rushed toward him.
She stopped directly in front of him.
For a moment, she could not speak.
Then she struck his chest with the flat of her hand.
Elias blinked.
"What was that for?"
"You could have been killed!"
He stared.
She struck his chest again, less forcefully.
"You went outside without telling me!"
"I was checking the creek."
"And those menβ"
"I didn't know they'd be there."
Clara's eyes filled.
"You frightened me."
Elias's expression softened.
He lowered the rifle.
"Clara."
She shook her head.
"I heard the shots. I thought..."
Her voice broke.
He stepped closer.
"Thought what?"
She looked up at him.
For a moment, she could not bring herself to say the words.
Then whispered, "I thought I'd lost you."
Elias went still.
Clara realized what she had admitted.
Her cheeks flushed.
She stepped backward.
"I'm sorry. That was foolish."
He caught her hand gently.
"No."
She looked at him.
His voice was low.
"It wasn't foolish."
Snow drifted from the branches above them.
Neither moved.
Then Elias pulled her carefully into his arms.
Not possessively.
Not with the force of a man claiming something.
But with the tenderness of someone who had been frightened too.
Clara rested her forehead against his chest.
She could hear his heartbeat.
Strong.
Steady.
Alive.
His hand moved gently over her back.
"You're all right," he whispered.
She nodded.
He held her a little longer.
Then, softly, he added, "I was frightened for you too."
Clara closed her eyes.
And for the first time in six years, she allowed herself to rest against a man without preparing for the moment he might use her vulnerability against her.
The encounter changed their plans.
Elias had hoped to remain hidden until the roads improved.
Now that was impossible.
Arthur Voss knew where to find him.
The banking syndicate knew about the ledger.