Neither of them interrupted. After I lost Rose Coulter, I believed there was nothing left in this world worth risking my life for. I looked down at my hands. They were still strong, but they carried more scars than I cared to count. After a while, a man learns how to hide his grief behind ordinary work, mending fences, feeding horses, waiting for one day to become the next.
I raised my eyes to Nia. This morning, I finally understood that none of that was living. She remained perfectly still. My father used to say, "Fear kills a man before a bullet ever reaches him." A faint smile crossed my face.
"Your father must have been a remarkable man." Her eyes glimmered for a brief moment. "He was." Jeb ended the silence. And tomorrow, if we're all still breathing, more people will hear his story."
No one answered. We all understood what was at stake. That night, we were not merely defending an old cabin. We were defending the possibility that the truth might survive with us. And somewhere beyond the fire light, hidden within the darkness, spreading across the valley, Silus Crow was patiently waiting for the perfect moment to deliver the blow he believed would finish us.
Night settled completely over the valley beneath a deceptive calm. From outside, anyone might have mistaken the weathered cabin for an abandoned homestead. The wind moved gently through the dead branches. Crickets began their evening song, and the smoke, still escaping through the damaged roof, blended into the darkness. Inside, however, no one slept.
Each of us knew the coming dawn would decide who lived to see another day. I lowered the kerosene lamp until only a tiny flame remained above the table. We could not allow the light to reveal our positions. Jeb Merc Mercer finished inspecting the crude detonator connected to the dynamite hidden in the stable. If they cross that ground, they won't get a second chance.
I nodded. Let's hope we don't need one either. Nia stood beside the northern window. Her eyes searched the darkness with more patience than I had ever seen in anyone so young. Without turning from the glass, she suddenly spoke.
When the land goes quiet, it means someone is moving through it. I listened carefully. She was right. The crickets continued to sing, but the coyotes had gone silent. Even the wind seemed to be holding its breath.
Jeb spoke in a low voice. Silus Crow has started moving his riders. For several minutes, none of us said another word. Every creek of timber sounded like a gunshot. Every shifting shadow resembled an enemy.
At last, Nia broke the silence. Wade. I lifted my head. What kind of man were you before you gave up the badge? The question caught me unprepared.
I looked at the hands resting on the table. Old scars still crossed them. Some had come from knives, others from handcuffs. A few had come from mistakes no amount of time could erase. I was a man who believed he could set the whole world right.