The second said the matter would be expensive.
The third told her she would be wiser to accept a settlement and begin a new life.
For two years, she lived with distant relatives and survived on a modest inheritance from her mother's family.
Then those relatives died, and their estate was divided among closer heirs.
Her money dwindled.
Victor learned about it.
He sent a letter offering her a position at Willow Creek Ranch.
The ranch needed someone to organize the old accounts, copy livestock records, and assist with correspondence.
He described the arrangement as an opportunity for Evelyn to return to the place she'd loved.
She hesitated.
Then accepted.
It wasn't merely the money.
It was the chance to see her father's home again.
To walk beneath the cottonwoods.
To smell the hay in the barn.
And perhaps to discover what had really happened to the ranch.
She didn't know that Victor's offer was carefully calculated.
He believed the old paperwork had been destroyed.
And he wanted Evelyn close enough to monitor.
The snowstorm grew worse as the wagon approached Willow Creek.
The driver, a thin man named Thomas Greeley, cursed under his breath and urged the horses forward.
“We're nearly there, Miss Hart.”
Evelyn nodded.
She could barely see the road.
Then a dark figure appeared through the blowing snow.
A man stood beside the fence carrying a lantern.
He was tall.
Broad-shouldered.
And wrapped in a heavy brown coat.
The horses slowed.
The man raised one hand.
“Road's washed out beyond the creek!”
Thomas leaned forward.
“What?”
“Lower bridge won't hold the wagon. Take the western track.”
The driver stared.
“That adds three miles.”
The stranger stepped closer.
“And keeps your passengers alive.”
For a moment, Thomas looked irritated.
Then he saw the condition of the bridge in the lantern light.
He swallowed.
“Fine.”
The stranger turned.
“I'll guide you.”
He walked ahead through the snow, holding the lantern high enough for the driver to follow.
Evelyn watched from beneath the canvas.
His movements were steady.
He seemed completely untroubled by the wind that made the horses nervous and the wagon creak beneath its load.
Then the road dipped sharply.
One wheel slid toward a ditch.
The wagon lurched.
Evelyn cried out.
Thomas struggled with the reins.