“Notary ledger.”
“Notary dead.”
“Widow may have books.”
“She had this deed.”
“Good.”
“Bring ledger.”
“She lives where?”
The clerk named a settlement two days north.
The mountain man frowned.
“I thought she moved east.”
“No.”
“Moved to mining camp with daughter.”
The stable woman folded deed.
“What about mortgage?”
The clerk pulled records.
There it was.
Recorded six months earlier.
Her name.
Signature.
She stared.
Forgery technically not forged signature—it was real signature applied under false pretenses. The mortgage document page had been folded beneath feed authorization perhaps.
The stable woman felt sick.
The clerk said:
“If you signed, lender will argue consent.”
“I did not know.”
“Court decides.”
“Foreclosure date?”
“Twenty days.”
The stable woman looked at mountain man.
He asked clerk:
“Can she enjoin sale while title disputed?”
The clerk shrugged.
“Judge might.”
“Judge in?”
“Tomorrow.”
They stayed at boardinghouse.
Separate rooms.
At supper, mountain man asked:
“Do you want help with debt?”
The stable woman’s head snapped.
“No.”
“I mean legal.”
“Not money.”
She relaxed slightly.
“What help?”
“I know a lawyer.”
“Good?”
“Expensive.”
“I don’t have expensive.”
“You have upcoming lease income.”
She stared.
“That’s mine.”
“Yes.”
“You aren’t offering pay?”
“No.”
She almost smiled.
“Good.”
He continued.
“If you want, I can ask him to meet.”
“What do you want?”
He blinked.
She repeated.
“You keep asking me.”
“What do you want?”
The mountain man thought.
“My contract.”
“My horses.”
“My stalls.”
“That’s business.”
“And outside business?”
He looked at her.
For the first time, silence felt personal.
“I’d like to know you again.”
Her chest tightened.
She stiffened.
He immediately added:
“But I won’t turn that into another thing you owe.”
She looked down.
“Town thinks nobody wants me.”
“I heard.”
“You think they’re wrong?”
“Yes.”
“Because?”
He looked almost uncomfortable.
“Do you want flattery?”
“No.”
“Then because town is stupid.”
She laughed.
Unexpected.
Loud enough people looked.
He smiled.
She covered mouth.
“That is not good answer.”
“It was honest.”
She shook head.