Your business? She laughed once. You don't want my business? No. His honesty made her stop.
I want this situation settled. What situation? My dispute with Hail. You mean the ditch? Edwin's expression tightened.
I mean a disagreement over water rights. You dug a new channel in the dark. Can you prove I ordered it? Rebecca said nothing. Edwin extended the envelope.
There's enough there to purchase this shed from Sloan. Your equipment, your recipes if you choose to sell them, and still leave you with passage east and a comfortable amount besides. Rebecca looked at the envelope, then at him. You want to pay me to leave Wyoming? I want to pay you for something you built, and my leaving is included free.
Edwin lowered the envelope. The valley was quieter before you became involved. The creek wasn't. His jaw moved. You think this is simple because Hail listens when you talk.
I don't think it's simple at all. Then understand this. Edwin stepped closer, though he remained outside. Hail's cattle are already losing weight. A formal water fight means surveys, hearings, witnesses, perhaps months without dependable access.
That costs money. He has money. Land isn't money. Rebecca's hand remained on the door. Edwin continued, “I've known Everett 20 years.
He's stubborn enough to spend every dollar he has proving a point. Then maybe you shouldn't have given him one worth proving.” Something cold entered Edwin's expression. “Do you think people will blame me if Hail Creek fails?” Rebecca did not answer. They'll say he destroyed himself over a woman. The words landed differently from Claudia's.
Edwin saw it. Rebecca hated that he saw it. He continued quietly. They'll say a man who managed that ranch perfectly well for years stopped thinking clearly once Rebecca Foster came along. Get off Harvey Sloan's property.
I'm trying to give you a way out. I didn't ask for one. No. Edwin put the envelope on the wooden counter beside the door. But perhaps by morning you'll understand I'm offering hail one, too.
He walked away. Rebecca stared at the envelope. She left it untouched for nearly an hour. Then she carried it to Harvey. Return this if Mercer comes by.
Harvey looked at the name. You leaving? Rebecca did not answer. That night sleep would not come. She kept hearing Everett in the line shack.
I wasn't entirely talking about the food. Then Edwin, they'll say he destroyed himself over a woman. Near 3:00 in the morning, Rebecca lit her lamp. She dressed, folded two work dresses into her trunk, wrapped her knives, then she took out the small wooden recipe box that had crossed half the country with her. She held it for a moment.
At 4, she wrote Harvey a note. At 4, Rebecca was on the road. She did not go east. She rode toward Hail Creek first. Dawn had not yet reached the mountains when she tied her mare near the ranch kitchen.