That is different." Nashoba's voice was firm. "Emma died because evil men did evil things, not because you failed her. You must stop carrying that weight." "I don't know how."
"Then learn, because your child will be born in a few months, and they will need a father who is here, present, not a ghost haunted by the past." The words hit hard. Ethan knew Nashoba was right. He'd spent 5 years drowning in guilt and grief, using it as an excuse to hide from life. But he couldn't hide anymore.
He had people depending on him now. A woman he loved, a child on the way, a kid who looked up to him, a people who'd risked everything to save him. He owed them more than ghosts. They reached the camp by mid-afternoon. Ayla was waiting at the edge, her face tight with worry.
When she saw Ethan, something broke in her expression. She ran to him and he caught her, holding on like she was the only solid thing in a world that kept trying to pull him under. "I thought you were dead," she said into his chest. "Not yet." "Do not joke."
"I'm not. I'm just stubborn." She pulled back looking him over, her hands checking for injuries. "You are hurt." "I've been worse."
"That is not comforting." Kael appeared then, limping slightly, his face still showing the bruises from his captivity. When he saw Ethan, his whole face lit up. He said something in Apache, rapid and emotional. "He says you are the bravest man he has ever known," Ayla translated.
"And the most foolish, and he is honored to call you brother." Ethan looked at the kid, this fierce, loyal, impossible kid, and felt something shift inside him. "Tell him the honor's mine, and tell him if he ever gets captured again, I'm going to be really annoyed." Kael grinned and threw his arms around Ethan in a crushing hug. The camp celebrated that night, a small fire and quiet songs, the kind of celebration people have when they've survived something terrible and know more terrible things are coming.
Ethan sat with Ayla, his arm around her shoulders, and watched the flames dance. "Morrison will send more soldiers," Ayla said quietly. "They will not stop until they find us." "I know." ""So, what do we do?"" "We disappear, deep into the mountains where they can't follow. And we wait for winter to do what we can't, drive them back to their warm barracks and leave us alone."
"And in the spring?" "In the spring, I'm going to Prescott." She stiffened. "Why?" "Because Morrison and men like him need to be stopped.
And the only way to do that is to expose what they've done, what Vance did, all of it." "They will kill you." "Maybe. Or maybe I'll find someone who cares about the truth more than the convenient lie." He looked at her.
"I can't keep running, Ayla. And I can't let my child grow up in a world where monsters like Vance and Morrison go unpunished." "You cannot fight the whole territorial government." "I'm not trying to fight them. I'm trying to make them fight each other.
There are good people in Prescott, people who believe in law and justice. If I can get the truth in front of them, they will ignore it. They always do." "Then I'll make so much noise they can't ignore it." Ethan's jaw set.