“My mother used to run a small waystation near a frozen river. Travelers could stop there when storms closed the mountain road.”
The cowboy felt his heart pounding.
He remembered that waystation.
He remembered the smell of wood smoke.
He remembered a girl with chestnut curls kneeling beside him while his clothes froze against his skin.
He remembered her mother bringing blankets and boiling water.
And he remembered a narrow room with a rough wooden bed.
But he forced himself to remain calm.
“Sounds like a good place,” he said.
“It was.”
She smiled sadly.
“I haven't thought about it in years.”
The cowboy watched her.
She continued.
“My father moved us east after my mother died. The waystation closed. I thought we'd left everything behind.”
He looked toward the papers.
“Maybe not everything.”
She nodded.
“Maybe not.”
He helped her arrange the documents on the table.
Then they spent the evening examining maps, dates, and old correspondence.
The woman read the handwriting aloud.
The cowboy identified several landmarks.
Together, they began reconstructing the history of the property.
The land had been recorded in her mother's family decades earlier.
A spring and a narrow strip of creek frontage appeared on the old map.
There was also a notation concerning the right to divert a limited amount of water for domestic and agricultural use.
The document did not establish the current legal status of every claim.
They would need to examine the county records and consult someone familiar with territorial property law.
But one thing was becoming clear.
The merchant had not approached her by accident.
He had been interested in the land before she arrived.
And now that she refused to sign it away, he was likely to become much less polite.
The cowboy looked at the documents.
Then at the woman.
“You should have someone check these as soon as possible.”
She nodded.
“I will.”
He hesitated.
“Whatever happens, don't let him convince you that you need a husband to understand your own property.”
She looked up.
A faint smile touched her lips.
“Are you saying I don't need a husband?”
The cowboy froze.