Elias and the young tracker climbed toward the upper path.
Two Feathers followed at a distance, keeping watch on the men emerging from the station.
Elias moved carefully.
His ribs protested.
His shoulder ached.
Loose stone shifted beneath his boots.
But the thought of Ren moving alone through the canyon drove him onward.
After several minutes, he reached a narrow bend.
A strip of pale fabric hung from a mesquite branch.
He stopped.
Touched it.
Ren's dress.
He looked toward the trail.
"She's close."
The tracker nodded.
Then a voice came from above.
"Elias?"
He looked up.
Ren stood on a narrow ledge.
Dust covered her dress.
One sleeve was torn.
Her hair had come loose.
A small cut marked her cheek.
But she was alive.
For a moment, he could not move.
Then she spoke again.
"Elias!"
He rushed toward the base of the ledge.
"Ren!"
She began climbing down.
He reached up.
Caught her securely when her foot slipped.
And lowered her onto the path.
The moment her feet touched the ground, she threw her arms around him.
Elias held her tightly.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Ren began shaking.
He felt her breath catch against his chest.
"You're safe," he whispered.
She nodded.
He pulled back just enough to look at her face.
"Are you hurt?"
"Only a little."
He examined the cut near her cheek.
His expression tightened.
"Did theyβ"
She caught his hand.
"Elias."
He stopped.
She looked into his eyes.
"I'm here."
He nodded slowly.
Ren touched his face.
"You came."
His voice broke.
"Of course I came."
She smiled through tears.
Then kissed him.
The kiss was brief, desperate, and full of the terrible relief of finding each other alive.
When they separated, Elias rested his forehead against hers.
"I thought..."
He stopped.
Ren touched his beard.
"I know."
He closed his eyes.
For a moment, the world narrowed to the warmth of her hands and the sound of her breathing.
Then the tracker called softly.
"We need to move."
Elias opened his eyes.
Ren nodded.
"She's right."
She looked toward the station.
"And there's something you need to know."
Ren told them about Crane's demand for the boundary papers.
About the proposed transfer.
About the planned move to the fortified storehouse.
Then she repeated a sentence Crane had spoken without realizing its importance.
"He said the old survey wasn't the only thing he needed."
Elias frowned.
"What else?"
Ren looked at him.
"Your father's sworn statement."
He went still.
"My father's what?"
She nodded.
"Crane said Thomas Whitlock filed a statement that named the men responsible for changing the river boundaries."
Elias stared.
"I've never heard of it."
"Neither had I."
Ren continued.
"He said the original survey was dangerous, but the statement was worse."
Elias looked toward the old station.
"Where is it?"
"I don't know."
She hesitated.
"But he said someone in our camp had kept a copy."