Reed woke first, moving with the quiet steps of a man used to living alone. He found Olaine still asleep on the pallet. One arm folded across her chest, the other resting by her side. Her breathing was steady, but her face carried the tightness of someone who never truly let her guard down, even in rest. For a moment, Reed watched her, uncertain if he should feel uneasy or relieved that she had spent the night under his roof.
When she stirred awake, she sat up quickly, eyes scanning the room as if to confirm she was still safe. Reed offered her coffee, black and bitter, poured into a tin cup. She accepted it, her hands wrapping around the metal to draw in the warmth. The silence between them carried weight, but it wasn't empty. It was full of questions neither of them had asked yet.
After the meal of beans and bread left over from the night before, Reed stepped outside to check the yard. The mare shifted restlessly in her stall, ears twitching. Beyond the corral, dust drifted from the town road. Two men stood near the general store, their hands in their pockets, talking low while glancing in the direction of the Walker place. Reed had noticed them the evening before, loitering with nothing to do.
He knew the look. They were spreading word already. By mid-morning, the town's gossip had made its way to Sheriff Ezra Pike. Pike wasn't a man to waste time on rumors, but Silver Creek was small, and when a stranger showed up, an Apache woman no less, the council expected him to pay attention. Pike saddled his horse and rode slow toward the edge of town, not rushing but not ignoring either.
His presence was meant to calm talk before it boiled over. Reed was repairing a loose hinge on the yard gate when Pike rode up. The sheriff dismounted with the steady gait of a man who had seen more disputes than he cared to count. His voice was calm but direct. "Morning, Reed.
Heard you've got company. " Reed stood straight, the hammer still in his hand. "You heard right. " Pike's eyes flicked past him, catching sight of Nolan near the wash line, pinning up the towel she had used the night before. She looked back at him, her face calm, neither hiding nor challenging. Pike tipped his hat in her direction, then turned back to Reed. "Some folks are uneasy," Pike said.
"They think trouble follows where it isn't wanted. " Reed's jaw tightened. "She asked for water. That's all. I don't see a law against it. " "There isn't," Pike answered, his tone even. "I just need to make sure this doesn't turn into something bigger.
You know how this town gets when folks don't understand a thing. They talk it into a fire. " Reed set the hammer down and looked the sheriff square in the eye. "I opened my door because no one else would. She's not causing trouble. If anyone comes here looking to start it, that's on them, not her. " Pike studied him for a long moment, then nodded once.