And the strange experience of remembering home without knowing how to reach it.
Gideon spoke about the ranch.
The difficult winters.
The cattle.
And the scar he'd received while searching the north pass.
Matthew touched the old injury gently.
“You got that looking for me?”
Gideon nodded.
The younger man's eyes filled.
“I'm sorry.”
Gideon shook his head.
“No.”
He caught Matthew's hand.
“None of this was your fault.”
For several seconds, they looked at each other.
Then Matthew whispered, “Neither was it yours.”
Gideon closed his eyes.
The words he'd waited ten years to hear finally reached him.
And for the first time since the blizzard, he began believing that he might be allowed to stop punishing himself.
Elena watched from the doorway.
Her eyes filled.
Then she stepped into the room carrying fresh bread.
Matthew smiled.
“There's the woman who found us.”
Elena laughed softly.
“I only delivered a watch.”
He shook his head.
“You did more than that.”
He looked toward Gideon.
Then back at her.
“You made my brother listen.”
Gideon frowned.
“I listen.”
Matthew burst out laughing.
Elena smiled.
“Of course you do.”
The two exchanged amused looks.
Gideon stared.
Then shook his head.
“Wonderful. I've got both of you against me now.”
Matthew grinned.
“Just like old times.”
For a moment, the room became quiet.
Then Gideon laughed.
Not because the years could be erased.
They couldn't.
But because the future was finally beginning to feel larger than the past.
The investigation into Elias Rusk's business lasted most of the following year.
It did not conclude with a dramatic confession in the town square.
There was no single document that explained everything.
Instead, the truth emerged slowly through freight invoices, livestock records, old correspondence, witnesses, and the testimony of people who had remained silent because they feared losing their livelihoods.
Matthew's account became an important part of the case.
So did Lydia Whitmore's ledger.
The entries established that Crow's Landing received substantial supplies during the period when Rusk's company publicly claimed the station was no longer operating.
Other records connected the station with livestock transfers that hadn't been properly accounted for.
Investigators examined the alleged cattle losses and compared them with shipping records from northern markets.
Some discrepancies resulted from poor accounting.
Others were much harder to explain.
Several transactions showed cattle being moved under altered descriptions after their original owners had reported losses.