The mountain man wasn't expected until the following evening.
She listened.
The hoofbeats stopped outside.
Then came voices.
Two men.
She froze.
One laughed.
Another spoke sharply.
She couldn't make out the words.
Then someone struck the front door.
Three heavy blows.
Her heart began pounding.
"Open up!"
She remained still.
Another blow.
"We know she's in there!"
Her blood turned cold.
She looked toward the rifle resting beside the fireplace.
Then toward the documents inside the chest.
The men outside called again.
"Open the door, woman!"
She took a slow breath.
Then asked, "Who is it?"
A voice answered.
"Friends of your father."
She closed her eyes.
That was worse than anything she expected.
"What do you want?"
"Just a conversation."
She looked toward the locked door.
The man outside laughed.
"Don't make this difficult."
Another voice spoke.
"We've traveled a long way to bring you home."
Her hands began trembling.
Home.
The word had never sounded so threatening.
She stepped away from the door.
"I don't want to go."
Silence.
Then a man answered.
"That isn't your decision."
She looked toward the chest.
Her inheritance.
Her letters.
Her mother's name.
She suddenly understood.
They hadn't come to bring her home.
They had come to retrieve whatever evidence she now possessed.
The door shook.
She backed away.
Then heard the sound of a boot striking wood.
The first kick cracked the frame.
She gasped.
Another kick.
A hinge strained.
She grabbed the lantern.
Then hurried toward the rear entrance.
But before she reached it, the front door burst open.
Two men entered.
Both wore heavy coats.
One carried a revolver.
The other held a short club.
Their faces were unfamiliar.
But their intentions were not.
The taller man smiled.
"There you are."
She backed toward the kitchen.
"Get out."
He laughed.
"Now, that's no way to greet visitors."
The second man glanced around the cabin.
"Where are the papers?"
Her stomach tightened.
"What papers?"
The taller man stepped closer.
"Don't play stupid."
She raised the lantern.
"Stay back."
He laughed.
"Put that down before you hurt yourself."
She held it higher.
For the first time in her life, fear did not immediately turn into obedience.
She had spent years allowing people to frighten her into compliance.
Not tonight.
"Leave."
The man's expression hardened.
He stepped closer.
She threw the lantern toward the floor between them.
The glass shattered.
Flame flared briefly across the wooden boards.
The men jumped backward.
One cursed.
She turned and ran toward the rear door.
Her enormous body moved with difficulty through the narrow passage, but desperation carried her forward.