She remembered the countless mornings her father helped adjust furniture without making her feel burdensome.
The way he encouraged her to keep studying.
The way he smiled when she corrected an error in his ledger.
She could almost hear him now.
Then she reached the final paragraph.
If I am gone when you find this, understand that nothing Victor Harrow says about you can change what I knew from the day you were born.
You are my beloved daughter. Not a problem to be managed, not a disappointment to be hidden, and not a woman who must accept scraps of affection because she takes up more space than others.
You are the best thing your mother and I ever made together.
And whatever becomes of this ranch, you have never been its least valuable part.
With all my love,
Father.
Evelyn stopped breathing.
For several seconds, she stared at the final words.
Then the letter slipped from her fingers.
She began crying so hard that she couldn't speak.
Caleb remained beside the platform.
His own eyes were wet.
He wanted to reach for her.
But he remembered the anger she'd expressed when he admitted withholding information.
So he asked quietly, “Would you like me to sit with you?”
Evelyn nodded.
He lowered himself onto the hay-covered platform, leaving enough room for her to move comfortably.
For a while, they sat in silence.
Then she whispered, “He knew.”
Caleb looked toward her.
“What?”
“He knew what Victor would say about me.”
Caleb swallowed.
Evelyn continued.
“He knew they'd use my size to make me feel too ashamed to question anything.”
For a moment, her voice broke.
Then she looked toward him.
“And he knew I could do the work.”
Caleb nodded.
“Yes.”
She wiped her face.
For several seconds, she stared toward the leather-bound book.
Then her expression changed.
“Caleb?”
“Yes?”
“He said the original loan was settled.”
Caleb nodded.
“That's what he told me.”
She looked toward the envelope.
“And he said there were altered pages.”
Caleb's jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
Evelyn took a slow breath.
Then reached for the book.
It was heavier than she expected.
Its leather cover was cracked, and several pages had been repaired with strips of paper.
She opened it.