Keep your weapons close. Don't work the far pastures alone. And Morrison hesitated. I know this isn't what you want to hear, but consider staying in town for a few days. Let them think the place is empty.
See if they're stupid enough to try again when we can catch them in the act. Silas wanted to refuse immediately. The ranch was his home. Walking away felt like surrender. But Norah's hand on his arm stopped him.
"That's not a bad idea," she said quietly. "We can stay at the boarding house. Mrs. Chen has rooms." Norah said, "It's tactical, not cowardice," she said firmly. "Sometimes the smart fight is the one you don't have.
Let the sheriff do his job. Let the law handle what should have been handled 6 years ago." She was right, though it graded against every instinct. They arranged a board at Mrs. Chen's establishment, a tidy house on the edge of town where Frank Chen's mother rented rooms to travelers and occasionally to locals who needed temporary lodging. Then they sent word to Tom about their plans and settled in to wait.
The first day passed in restless tension. Silas couldn't shake the feeling that he was abandoning his post, that hiding in town while others protected his property was just another form of the cowardice that had killed James. Norah seemed to sense his spiraling thoughts because she kept him busy, helping Mrs. Chen repair her back porch, running errands for the general store, anything to keep his hands occupied and his mind from eating itself alive. The second day brought unexpected company. They were sitting in Mrs. Chen's parlor after breakfast when someone knocked.
Tom and his wife Sarah along with Frank and three other ranchers Silas knew by sight but had never really talked to. "Heard you were staying in town," Tom said when Mrs. Chen showed them in. Wanted to check on you both. Make sure you weren't thinking of leaving permanent like. Why would we leave?
Norah asked confused. Sarah Chen, no relation to Frank, despite the shared name, just one of those coincidences common in small communities, stepped forward. She was a tiny woman with steel in her spine and a reputation for speaking her mind. Because that's what happened last time, she said gently. After James died, Silas shut everyone out, stopped coming to town except for supplies, stopped accepting help.
"We worried you might do the same now." "We're not leaving," Silas said firmly. "We're just letting the sheriff do his job." "Good," Frank said. He pulled out a chair and sat uninvited, the others following suit.
Because we've been talking, those of us who ranch in this valley, about the rustling problem, about how it's getting worse, and about how maybe it's time we stopped waiting for them to pick us off one by one and started working together. What are you proposseng? Norah asked. A valley association, Tom explained. Formal like with rules and responsibilities.