"You are a rancher. You belong here. Do not throw your life away for a saloon girl who is dragging you down to hell. Send her out. We will treat her fairly.
She will get a trial. " Inside the dark house, Clara leaned her back against the rough logs of the wall. She closed her eyes. The words seeped into her like cold water. Saloon girl, dragging you down. She looked at Eli.
He was crouched by the window, his profile sharp and hard in the sliver of light. He looked exhausted. He looked like a man who had aged 10 years in 10 days. "Eli," Clara whispered. He turned to her.
"He is right," she said. Her voice broke just once before she clamped it down. If I go out there, if I give them the book, you survive, you keep the ranch, you can rebuild. No, Eli said. I am poison to you, Clara said, stepping toward him.
Look at this. Look at what I brought to your door. Violence, sieges, ruin. I ruin everything I touch. Eli, it is what I am.
Eli stood up. He walked to her, ignoring the danger outside. He took her face in his broad, calloused hands. He forced her to look at him. "Listen to me," he said fiercely.
"Before you came here, I was not living. I was hiding. I was a ghost on my own land. Terrified of my own shadow. Terrified of my father's blood.
I was waiting to die. " He brushed a tear from her cheek with his thumb. "You did not ruin my life, Clara. " He said, "You woke it. You made me a man who stands up. If you go out that door, you take my life with you. I would rather die with you in this house than live a 100 years without you. " Clara stared at him.
The shame that had defined her for so long. The belief that she was dirty, disposable, a burden cracked under the weight of his absolute certainty. He saw her. He chose her. "Okay," she breathed.
She gripped his wrists. "Okay, we stay. We stay, Eli said. He turned back to the window. Pike, go to hell, Pike sighed, a theatrical gesture visible even from the house.
He turned to Sheriff Miller. Do your duty, Sheriff. Serve the warrant. Open fire, Miller shouted. The world exploded.