Gideon stared.
Matthew continued.
Several years earlier, he had begun secretly copying freight documents while working near a northern supply station.
He recognized entries connected with the storm year.
Some used the inverted horseshoe brand.
Others referred to cattle moved under false loss reports.
Then he discovered a letter showing that Rusk's office had instructed the northern workers to prevent him from contacting Cedar Hollow after his injury.
The letter included a payment record.
Matthew preserved it.
But he couldn't find the original cattle ledger.
Not until recently.
An elderly clerk who had worked for Rusk before retiring contacted him after learning he might be Matthew Hale.
The man was dying.
He wanted to correct something he'd helped conceal.
He gave Matthew a packet of copied records and told him the original ledger had been kept at Crow's Landing for years before being moved into Rusk's private office.
Matthew understood that the records could establish what happened.
He traveled south.
Found a way to enter Cedar Hollow quietly.
And went to Elena's bakery because the old business records linked Lydia Whitmore with the freight shipments.
He knew Lydia had died.
But he hoped her niece might still possess the ledgers.
Gideon looked toward Elena.
Their eyes met.
She smiled through tears.
Matthew followed his gaze.
His expression softened.
“So you're the woman who delivered the watch.”
Elena nodded.
“Yes.”
He studied her.
Then smiled.
“I hoped Gideon would trust you.”
She looked surprised.
“Why?”
Matthew glanced toward his brother.
“Because when I asked about him, everybody said he'd become a frightening man who lived alone.”
Gideon's expression tightened.
Matthew continued.
“But you didn't talk about him that way.”
Elena's cheeks warmed.
“What did I say?”
Matthew smiled.
“You told me he was the kindest man you knew.”
Gideon went completely still.
Elena looked toward him.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Matthew laughed softly.
“Reckon I made a good choice.”
Gideon reached for Elena's hand.
She placed hers in his.
Matthew looked at them.
His smile became tender.
For the first time since the brothers reunited, he seemed able to imagine something beyond the terrible years they had lost.
A future.
But before they could discuss what came next, hoofbeats sounded outside the warehouse.
Matthew's expression changed.
Gideon rose immediately.
Elena turned toward the entrance.
Through a crack in the wooden wall, she saw three riders approaching the station.
One wore a dark coat.