There was life in it now. Hope, affection, a reason to stay. Then the sound of approaching hoof beatats shattered the piece. One strike against the earth, then another, closer, heavier. Wade was on his feet at once.
He crossed to the window and looked toward the main road. A thick cloud of dust was rising beyond the fence line. He recognized the riders almost immediately. Silas Crowe and the Fort Rusk soldiers were coming back and Wade knew exactly why they were looking for Cella. He turned toward her.
Fear had returned to her eyes, but it was different now. This was not the helpless fear of someone waiting to be taken. It was the controlled tension of a woman ready to fight for her own life. They're coming, Wade said quietly. They'll be asking about you.
Cella gave a small nod. She did not need to say anything. Her expression told him she understood the danger perfectly. If the soldiers discovered her inside the cabin, they would take her without hesitation. And Wade had no doubt they would punish him for hiding an escaped Apache prisoner.
He stepped outside alone and pulled the door shut behind him. Then he waited on the porch, calm, still. Silas Crowe and his men rode into the yard moments later. Silas dismounted slowly. His cold gaze moved over Wade before shifting toward the cabin door.
Suspicion was written plainly across his face. "Mr. Harland," he said sharply. "You seen an Apache woman around here? A runaway." Wade waited a moment before answering as though searching his memory.
"No." His voice remained even. "Been here all day, just me and my horses." Silas did not believe him. We found tracks headed this direction.
She may have doubled back and taken shelter somewhere close. Wade remained calm on the outside. Inside, something pulled hard against him. He had spent years believing silence could protect a man from making the wrong choice. "This time, silence would not be enough.
He needed a lie. A lie strong enough to save a life." "I don't know anything about the woman you're hunting," Wade said without hesitation. "But my wife is inside. She just made me coffee.