She continued.
"When Father got sick, I was busy keeping the house and fields going. He never mentioned this box. Perhaps he thought I'd already seen it."
Her voice trembled.
"Or perhaps he was too tired to explain."
Caleb reached across the table.
Placed his hand beside hers.
Clara looked down.
He waited.
Then she slipped her fingers into his.
"You're not alone with it now," he said.
Her eyes filled.
She turned toward him.
For a moment, she wanted to lean into his arms.
But another thought stopped her.
"Caleb."
"Yes?"
"Do you think I ought to challenge Amos?"
He considered the question.
"If the records raise a fair question, yes."
"People will say I'm trying to take his business."
"Some might."
She looked down.
"I don't want that."
He nodded.
"I know."
Clara stared at the book.
"But if the reserve belongs to the valley, we need to know."
Caleb squeezed her hand.
"Then that's the question you ask."
She looked up.
He smiled faintly.
"Not whether he's a bad man. Not whether people like you. Just what the records say."
Clara returned the smile.
"That sounds like something my mother would have said."
He nodded.
"Then she was sensible."
Clara laughed softly.
For a moment, she studied his face.
The heavy beard.
The weathered skin.
The gray strands near his temples.
The surprising kindness in his eyes.
Then she asked quietly, "Why have you never married?"
Caleb went still.
The question seemed to surprise him.
He looked toward the stove.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Clara regretted asking.
"You don't have to answer."
He shook his head.
"No. It's fair."
He took a slow breath.
"I nearly did once."
Her heart tightened.
"Nearly?"
He nodded.
"Years ago, when I worked in a logging camp near Leadville."
Clara waited.
"There was a woman in town. We courted for a while."
"What happened?"
Caleb looked toward his hands.
"She wanted a different life."
Clara studied him.
"Different how?"
"Town house. Regular work. Sunday visits. A husband who didn't disappear into the mountains for weeks."
He gave a small, sad smile.
"Reasonable things."
Clara nodded.
"Did you love her?"
He considered the question.
"I cared for her."
"And?"
"One day, she told me she didn't want to spend her life waiting for a man who loved the mountains more than he loved her."
Clara looked down.
"Was she right?"
Caleb was silent.