"Then he can pursue them in court."
Crowe cursed.
The calmer man spoke again.
"Mr. Hart, we don't want trouble."
Caleb almost laughed.
"Then stop pounding on my door."
For a moment, the wind was the only sound.
Then Crowe shouted, "You're protecting a thief!"
Caleb's jaw tightened.
He raised his voice.
"You're standing on my land. You've got no warrant, and the woman isn't coming out to men who threaten her."
Silence.
Then the calm voice returned.
"You're making a serious mistake."
Caleb moved closer to the door.
"Wouldn't be my first."
The man hesitated.
Caleb continued.
"Take your horses down the southern trail. There's an abandoned line shack three miles below. You can wait out the storm there."
Crowe laughed.
"You giving us orders?"
"I'm giving you a way to leave without somebody getting hurt."
For several seconds, nobody answered.
Then a heavy boot struck the door.
The frame shuddered.
Clara gasped inside the pantry.
Caleb's expression hardened.
He moved toward the window and struck the wooden shutter with the butt of his rifle.
The sudden crash startled the horses outside.
One whinnied sharply.
Crowe cursed.
Caleb shouted, "Next man who kicks my house can explain himself to the sheriff."
The calm man spoke urgently.
"Silas, enough."
Caleb heard an argument.
Then footsteps moving away.
Horses shifted.
A saddle creaked.
For nearly a minute, there was no further sound except the storm.
Then a voice called from farther away.
"This isn't finished, Hart!"
Caleb remained motionless.
He listened until the horses began moving down the trail.
Only when their hoofbeats faded did he lower the rifle.
He checked the windows.
Waited.
Then set the weapon safely aside.
The cabin was quiet again.
But it no longer felt peaceful.
He approached the pantry.
"Clara?"
No answer.
He opened the door carefully.
She was sitting on the floor behind the table, arms wrapped around herself, trembling.
When she saw him, she tried to stand.
Her knees nearly gave way.
Caleb knelt.
"Easy."
She looked up.
Her eyes were filled with terror.
"Are they gone?"
"For now."
She began crying.
He reached toward her.
Then stopped.
For a moment, he remembered the scene before the knocking.
Her sitting in his lap.
Her hands holding his face.
Her voice asking him to stop pushing her away.
The intimacy felt like it belonged to another lifetime.
Then Clara leaned forward and threw her arms around his neck.
Caleb caught her.
She pressed her face against his shoulder.
He held her tightly.