Elias didn't look at her, but he stepped half a foot forward, placing himself between her and the men. "Visitors are rare," Elias said calmly. "So let's get to why you're here." The second man spat into the dirt. "Word in town is you're keeping an Apache woman on your land."
Ayoka stiffened. She didn't step back, and she didn't step forward. She stayed still, eyes locked on their faces. Elias didn't flinch. "You heard right."
The third man frowned. "That ain't safe. Folks are saying she might be tied to trouble. Bandits, scouts, could bring the wrong people this way." Ayoka kept her face steady, but Elias felt the tension radiating from her.
He had predicted this confrontation the moment she recovered enough to stand outside. What he didn't expect was the simmering anger rising in him. Not dangerous, but deeply protective. "She's not tied to trouble," Elias said. "She's recovering from injuries and exhaustion.
That's all you need to know." The tallest man shifted uncomfortably. "Elias, people trust you. But bringing someone like her here, alone, makes folks nervous." Elias had a reputation, not of violence, but of reliability.
And men like these didn't want conflict with him. Elias's voice remained even. "What happens on my land is my business. She stays as long as she needs." The man frowned.
"And if someone comes looking for her?" "Then I'll handle it." The certainty in Elias's tone left no doubt. He wasn't posturing, wasn't trying to intimidate. He simply meant every word.
Ayoka felt it, too. She watched him, the way he moved nothing but his jaw, the way he kept his rifle low, but ready. He wasn't defending her because she was helpless. He was defending her because she deserved safety, and he wasn't letting anyone take it away. "Elias," the shopkeeper's nephew said, "you're risking a lot for her."
Elias just shook his head. "There's no risk in doing what's right." The men exchanged uneasy glances. None wished to press further. They weren't brave enough or foolish enough to challenge a man who spoke with that kind of conviction.