Unless, he added, turning back to face Gerald directly, you'd like to call off the sale entirely and take your daughter home with the dignity she deserves. It was a challenge plainly spoken. Keep your daughter and admit you were wrong to sell her. Or take the dollar and live with the shame of it. Gerald Morland had never been a man who chose dignity over profit, no matter how small.
His hand shot out and snatched the silver dollar from the platform. "She's yours," he said horarssely. "And good riddance! Papers will be drawn up by sundown. " The tall man nodded once, then turned to Eliza. "I'm both Thatcher.
I have a ranch about 8 mi northeast near the canyon rim. I need help with my children. They're hurting and I can't reach them the way their mother could. I can offer you a room of your own. Three meals a day and a dollar a week for personal necessities.
In exchange, I need you to care for the house and the children. Just that, nothing else. The way he emphasized those last two words made his meaning clear. Eliza felt tension she hadn't known she was carrying released from her shoulders. "I understand, Mr.
Thatcher," she said softly. Can you ride? Yes, sir. Not well, but I can stay on a horse. Good enough.
I've got a wagon. Collect whatever belongs to you. We're leaving now. Now? Eliza blinked.
But the papers. We'll be delivered to my ranch when they're ready. I'm not leaving you here 1 minute longer than necessary. Bo Thatcher's voice was firm, brooking no argument. Eliza looked toward her mother, hoping for what?
A goodbye, a moment of reconciliation. But her mother had already turned away, disappearing into the crowd with her shoulders rigid and her head held high, as if she could walk away from the shame of this day through sheer force of will. Her father had pocketed his dollar and was already heading toward the saloon, no doubt planning to drink away his humiliation. "I'll just," Eliza's voice faltered. "My things are at my parents house.
It's just a few minutes. I'll come with you," Bo said. So there's no trouble. They walk through the parting crowd in silence. Eliza acutely aware of the eyes following them, the whispers starting up like wildfire in their wake.