Written in 20 minutes. No time for typos or rereads.

It was another two days before Jason could put together a plan that would not only see Ric Lansing arrested and convicted of theft, but that might have a chance of protecting Elizabeth and her ranch from anything the jackass might try as revenge.

He should have realized that Elizabeth would be making her own plans — that she hadn’t asked him for help, only advice. He should have remembered that it had been a long time she’d looked to him to solve her problems.

The first warning that matters might not proceed according to his carefully constructed plan came when Patrick Drake rode into town and stopped at the local hotel to check in for a few days.

He’d known Patrick and his family since childhood, but Drake hadn’t wanted to stay in Diamond Springs. He’d gone to one of the new schools that opened in San Francisco and taken up the study of medicine. Last Jason had heard he’d stayed in the city and married. He frowned when he saw the long-legged doctor hitch a horse outside of the hotel.

“Patrick Drake?”

Patrick turned at Jason’s call and grinned. “Look at you. Jason Morgan, sheriff!” He held out a hand and Jason shook it. “Never thought you’d come back to Diamond Springs. Thought you were smart like me and got out while you could.”

“My grandfather passed away,” Jason explained. “My grandmother doesn’t have anyone other than Dillon.”

Remembering Dillon as a youth, Patrick nodded. Nothing more was needed. He squinted, looking around the dusty main street. “Amazing how much worse this place is. I can’t wait to get home.”

“What brings you back?”

Patrick hesitated, tipped his hat back on his hat—not the wide-brimmed hats the other men in town wore, but a fashionable one that looked out of place. “I probably shouldn’t say, but a friend is looking to sell some horses. She raises good stock, and I have some friends in the area still looking to get into breeding.” He shrugged. “I said I’d help.”

“She,” Jason repeated, his mouth sour. “Elizabeth.”

“Uh, yeah, but if you wouldn’t mind keeping that to yourself—I’m not supposed to tell anyone. I’m pretty sure she means Lansing and his ilk, but—” He jerked an elegant shoulder. “Lizzie and I have been writing since I went away to school, and she came to the wedding. Truth be told, I’m glad she’s finally leaving this place. Robin can’t wait to help her get set up—”

Jason cleared his throat. “When is—when is she planning to go?”

“Well, that’s why I’m here. Elizabeth is planning to go to San Francisco on the first train tomorrow,” Patrick told him. He furrowed his brow. “I’d heard you married some years ago. What’s the interest in Lizzie and her ranch? You had your chance—”

“It’s complicated,” Jason said shortly. “Excuse me.”

He returned to the jail, grabbed the reins of his horse, and swung himself up on the back.

—

Elizabeth grimaced and looked apologetically at her housekeeper. “I’m so sorry, Gail. I know this is quite short notice. I just—” She folded her hands, looked around her parlor and sighed again. “Patrick Drake is staying for a few days to take care of transporting my things—”

“I just don’t understand the rush,” Gail muttered as she set a tea tray down in front of Elizabeth. “Or the selling of the horses—” She stared at Elizabeth. “If your grandmother were here, she’d have the truth of it from you—”

“She’s not here,” Elizabeth said softly. “And I must make the best choices I can from the options given to me.”

She heard the thunder of a horse as it galloped up the drive. She frowned, got to her feet as she crossed to the window and drew back a curtain. Surely Ric couldn’t have learned about her plans—

But no, it was Jason in her front yard, his brow furrowed and his jaw set. Elizabeth took a deep breath. She was sure he felt sorry—even guilty—for what was happening, but once she explained it to him, surely, he’d understand that this was the best way to prevent Ric from doing more damage.

She met him on the front porch, holding up her hand. “Please. Cameron is napping.” She lifted her chin. “How did you find out?”

“I saw Patrick in town,” Jason said. He stared at her for a long moment. “You’re leaving.”

“Yes. I—I have little choice. There’s no point in fighting him, Jason. His forgeries will stand up in a court. Cameron and I—” Her voice trembled with the memory. “He fought Ric with everything he had. By the end, he knew what had happened to his sons, and he was determined to prevent Ric from stealing little Cameron’s future as well. But he couldn’t—we lost the house in town, and everything in it.”

“I can help—”

“I’m sure you think you’ve got an idea,” Elizabeth said softly. “But you are not the first. Cameron thought he could help me. After Alexander and Peter died, he offered for me. He thought if I were married, Ric would lose interest, and I—” She looked away. “I wasn’t ready to leave yet. My grandparents loved this ranch. I wanted to save it, their dream, for myself—for my children.”

She stepped past him to look over the land. “But I couldn’t. And it’s time to stop pretending that anyone can stop Ric.”

“I can—”

Elizabeth turned back to him. “I’ve never asked you about your wife,” she realized. “She didn’t come with you,” she continued as Jason frowned. “And I just—I suppose I didn’t allow myself to think of it—” She’d put away that terrible conversation with Lila and dragged it out now only to remind herself that Jason’s concern was platonic.

That he wanted to rescue her because of his hatred of Ric Lansing.

“I’m not—I never—my grandmother lied to you,” Jason said shortly. Elizabeth’s mouth dropped slightly as he continued. “He forged her mortgage papers, too. Elizabeth—she lied to you because Ric blackmailed her. And I can stop him.”

“No one can.” Elizabeth’s hands trembled as she turned away from, starting towards the door.

“I know you don’t have a reason to trust me, but I’ll stop him—”

She turned back to him. “No! You can’t—” Elizabeth shook her head, panicked now. “No! Just—just let it go, Jason. He’s already tried to hurt you through your family—he’ll take away everything you ever loved if you don’t stop—”

“He already did.”

+2

Written in 20 minutes. No time for rereading.

Elizabeth stared at Jason for a long moment, then slowly shook her head. “No. You don’t get to—” She fisted her hand and raised it slightly, trying to gather herself. “No. Ric is guilty of many things, but what happened with you—with me—you don’t get to lay that at his feet.”

Jason scowled, took a step towards her. “He kept you from getting my letters—he made sure I never got yours. He blackmailed my grandmother into lying to you—”

“And none of that explains why you never came back.”

Her flat statement, devoid of any emotion—her empty, betrayed eyes—had Jason swallowing hard. He looked away.

“I should have.”

“But you didn’t. I wrote you for two years before I gave you. You—you wrote for one. You never came home, Jason. You gave up on me first,” she reminded him. “You feel guilty, I understand that. And maybe—”

Elizabeth closed her eyes, took a deep breath. “We were young. And I can understand you giving up. You were out there in the world, and maybe it just—it was easier. I don’t know, but I can forgive it, Jason. And I do. Jason, look at me—”

She waited until his eyes focused on hers. “I forgive you for not coming back, for letting me go. I had to let you go, too. And maybe if it was just as simple as my father keeping our letters from each other—if that were the only thing standing between us, we could see if there was a future for us.”

Her lips twisted. “You want to rescue me from Ric, but I don’t need you to do it. I haven’t wasting away here, you know, married to a man twice my age and unhappy. It might be hard for you to understand this—but I let you go. I may not have loved Cameron the way I loved you, but I cared for him. He loved me, and he loved our son.”

“I’m glad—” Jason took a deep breath, looked at the ground for a moment, then raised his eyes to look at her. “I’m glad. And you’re right. It’s easy to blame Ric for everything. He was part of it—but I should have come back. I’m sorry I didn’t.”

He waited a long moment. “But you’re wrong that I just want to rescue you. I do—if you want to leave Diamond Springs, that’s okay. I can understand that. But—” He shook his head. “You are’t the only person who deseves justice. Your grandparents, my grandmother—Ric used them. And if you’re right about the Lewis family, he’s responisble for what happened to Alexander and Peter.”

“If you know what Ric is capable of and you still want to go after him, I can’t stop you. I just don’t want you to risk yourself on my account.” Elizabeth folded her arms tightly at her waist. “I’ve loved this ranch my whole life, but it’s not all there is. And I think I’ll enjoy living in San Francisco. The sale of my horses, the money I’ve put away from the ranch—I’ll be okay.”

“Can you wait a few days?” Jason asked. He took a step towards her, his voice softening. “I’ve got a plan—and you should be here to see it—”

“I need to make sure my son is safe. Ric can take the ranch, but he couldn’t take my horses. They’re owned by me free and clear. So I’m leaving tomorrow morning.”

“All right.” Jason nodded. He reached out, tucked a curl that had come loose from her top knot behind her ear. “I’ll let you know what happens.”

“I’m glad you came home,” Elizabeth told him. She leaned up to kiss his cheek. She lingered near him, her cheek brushing his, remembering the sweetness of their childhood, the bright future they’d planned. “I’m glad to know the truth.”

“I am, too.” His voice was low, husky. He brushed his fingers down her cheek. “And when Ric isn’t a threat anymore—maybe we can—”

“Don’t make promises,” she murmured. Elizabeth clasped her hand over his, held it to her cheek for another moment, then slowly drew it away.

“I won’t,” Jason told her. He kissed her forehead. “I need to get back to town. I have a lot to do, and I don’t have a lot of time.”

“Okay.”

He walked away from her, their hands clasped until the last moment as he walked backwards towards her steps. Elizabeth watched as he mounted his horse and rode towards the entrance to her ranch.

Then went back inside.

—

Jason had planned to take action the next day, but he couldn’t risk Ric learning of Elizabeth’s flight to San Francisco and going after her or causing her any more pain.

He returned to the jail and found his cousin reading another one of his Twain novels. “Dillon, let’s go. We’ve got an arrest to make.”

Dillon straightened in his chair, dropped the book to the desk and furrowed his brow. “Oh, yeah? Who?”

“You’ll see. I might need help bringing him in.” Not that Dillon would be much help, but there were some strength in numbers.

Dillon shrugged, and followed Jason out of the jail. They walked across the street, then Dillon gulped as they reached the bank. “Uh, Jase—”

“I know what I’m doing,” Jason muttered. “Stop looking like you’re about to faint. You’re a deputy, damn it.”

“Right. Right. Man of law. Man of action. Deputy.” Dillon squared his shoulders, then attempted to adopt a tough expression. Jason fought the urge to roll his eyes — it was better than he’d looked before.

He stalked into the bank and ignored the tellers working who tried to stop him as he went to Ric’s office.

“Sheriff.” Ric got to his feet, arched his brow. “I didn’t think we had any business—”

“You were wrong. I’m arresting you for forgery, exhortion, and theft.” Jason rounded the desk, put a hand on the gun holstered at his side. “Do me a favor, Lansing. Try to run.”

Ric searched Jason’s eyes for a moment, and Jason was gratified to see the flicker of fear in them before it smoothed out. “William,” he called out. “Please cable Holt in Sacremento. He’s a state legislator,” he informed Jason coolly. “He’ll have your badge.”

“Really? Is that James Holt? I grew up calling him Jimmy Lee.” Ric’s eyes narrowed, and Jason sneered, grabbing Ric’s arm and shoved him to the exit. “He’s a Quartermaine cousin, or didn’t you know that?”

+3

Written in 20 minutes.

The arrest of Ric Lansing by the still relatively new sheriff spread through Diamond Springs like wildfire, even to the ranches outside of the town proper. Patrick had brought the news to Elizabeth himself when he’d come out to take a look at the horses whose sale he was arranging on Elizabeth’s behalf.

Elizabeth had been stunned that Jason had not only meant it when he said he was taking on Ric directly, but that he’d followed through. She was sure the charges wouldn’t stick — Ric had stolen enough money over the years to keep him out of trouble—but no one had stood up to Ric like that before. She’d tried to report him — had tried to talk the previous sheriff into helping her and Cameron — but no one had believed her.

Jason had.

She wondered if Jason had planned to arrest Ric that day or if he had done so more quickly because she was leaving in the morning. She wondered if he’d come to see her, if he’d try to stop her again.

And believing he might, Elizabeth waved Gail Baldwin goodbye one last night as her son picked up for the ride back to town, tucked Cameron in tight for his last night in his room, then went to sit on her porch.

The moon was high over her head, after midnight when she caught sight of his horse in the distance. When Jason tied up the reins, Elizabeth stood and walked into the pool of moonlight. He blinked at her, then took a deep breath.

“You’re…awake.” He stepped onto the first step as she stood at the top of the staircase.

“I thought you might come.” She stepped down one step, then arched a brow. “What were you planning to do if I wasn’t?”

“Sit there.” Jason nodded at the bench. “Until morning. To stop you from leaving. I arrested Ric—”

“Patrick told me.”

They met on the middle step, but he didn’t touch her. Didn’t reach out to take her hand. She could only dimly see him in the moonlight.

“He’ll bribe someone,” Elizabeth told him, but she smiled faintly. “But he’ll spend a day or two in jail. That—that brings me more joy than it ought to—”

“He won’t buy himself out of this,” Jason insisted with a shake of his head. “He already tried to contact someone—but he didn’t remember something important.”

Elizabeth frowned, tried to search his gaze, but she couldn’t in the dark. “What?”

“My family—your family—the Lewises—they’ve been here longer. You remember Jimmy?”

“Jimmy? Your cousin?” Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “Not really. He only visited a few times from San Francisco—”

“He’s a politician. And he remembers Dr. Lewis. And your grandparents. He also—” Jason exhaled slowly. “He was one of Ric’s victims. In exchange for political favors, Jimmy got to keep his house.”

“Then—”

“When he realized I could arrest Ric, he contacted two others in the legislature who had been exhorted by Ric. Ric played too many games. Went after too many people. He got greedy.” Jason reached for her hand. “They were just waiting for someone to stop him.”

Her lips trembled as she took that in, then she closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. I wish I could—I know you believe it. I know you’re not lying to me, but I—”

“You’ve lost too much,” Jason finished. “I know. And no one else in this town stood up to Ric. You still plan to leave.” He rubbed his thumb over her palm. “I know.”

“I thought it would be enough to save the ranch,” Elizabeth admitted, “but I can’t. It’s not. Every where I look, I see something he destroyed. I want to start over. I want something new. I just—” She touched his jaw. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” he told her, roughly. “It’s not enough to fix it now. I should have came home when you didn’t answer the telegrams. I should have done more a long time ago.” He stepped closer to her, their bodies just brushing. “I should have taken you with me.”

Elizabeth bowed her head, her forehead leaning against his chest. “But I wouldn’t have my son. I can’t think about what ifs, Jason. I don’t have that luxury.”

“So we won’t talk about before anymore.” Jason tipped her head up, resting his fingers under her chin. “I know you have to leave tomorrow. I came here to tell you I understood. That it won’t stop me from making sure Ric pays, but that I—I think you deserve more. You deserve that new start.”

“Thank you,” she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. He caught a tear with his thumb, then brushed it away. “But that’s tomorrow. There’s—” She cleared her throat, then licked her lips as their eyes met, somehow connected in the darkness and shadows. “There’s still tonight.”

They were standing so close that she felt his breathing change—the way his chest moved against hers. “Are you—Do you mean—”

“I just—I want a memory with you,” she told him.” Elizabeth leaned up to brush his lips against his. Once, then twice—and on the third time, Jason crushed her against him. “Cameron’s asleep, but his room is in the back of the house,” she told him when they parted, their breathing shallow and raspy. “Mine is in the front. Will you—”

He answered her with another kiss, then lifted her in his arms and started up the stairs.

+3

Written in 20 minutes. No time for rereading.

Elizabeth stirred, feeling the bed beneath her sink and shift slightly. She opened her eyes, then rolled over to find Jason pulling on his clothes. She blinked blearily, then smiled lazily for a moment—

Then remembered. The smile faded, and she slowly sat up, holding the coverlet to her chest, watching Jason fasten the buttons on his pants, then tug his shirt over his bare chest. “Is it dawn?”

Jason nodded with a regretful smile. He slid the curtain away from the window a bit and Elizabeth could see the gray light creeping over the horizon in the distance. He rounded the bed and sat on the edge of it to lean forward and kiss her softly. She wrapped her arms around his neck to hold him there—

SHe wanted to stay in this moment, live here forever—pretend that this could be her life, her future—

“I didn’t want anyone to see my horse,” he murmured against her lips. Jason pulled back slightly, dancing his fingers over her temple. “Unless…” he tipped his head to the side, searched her eyes. “Stay,” he said. “Last night…Elizabeth—”

“Part of me wants to,” she admitted. “But I just—” Elizabeth bit her lip, touched his lips. “I want to, but I can’t live here—with all these memories. I stayed because I was terrified of what Ric might try if I left.” She sighed. “Until he tried to take my son, and I realized there was a line. There was a limit. I’d run forever if it meant Cameron was safe.”

Jason dipped his head, then nodded and stood, starting to button his shirt again. Elizabeth winced, slid her legs onto the floor, her toes brushing the cold hardwood. “Jason. I know you think this will work. I want it to work. I want Ric to pay—”

“But you can’t trust it.”

“I can’t.” Elizabeth’s throat tightened. “I don’t want to have the same argument again. Please. I—”

“You have no reason to trust me. To trust anyone,” Jason told her. He pulled her to her feet, framed her face in his hands and kissed her again. “And maybe you’re right—maybe this won’t work. You need to make sure you’re safe—that Cameron is safe. So go to San Francisco.”
‘
Elizabeth closed her eyes, let her head fall against his chest as he held her in his arms. “Will you—will you send me word? Tell me what happens?”

“Yeah. I will.” He kissed her one more time. “I’m not giving up on us yet,” he told her softly. “But I understand why you are.”

Elizabeth’s lips curved into a smile as she tightened the coverlet around her bare body. “Clearly, I didn’t give up after everything else that happened. So—maybe I’m not giving up either. I’m…just taking a break.”

“I promise that I will find a way to make this right and give us the chance we deserve,” he told her — then went to the door and left.

—

Jason didn’t go to his rooms after leaving the ranch — he knew he wouldn’t be able to find any more sleep, not after spending a few hours in the bed of the woman he’d loved all his life.

He’d let her down in so many wany ways — he wasn’t going to let anything come between them again.

When the clock on the court house rang that morning at eight, Jason was in the jail, pouring over documents that they’d taken from the bank after the arrest, looking for the evidence he knew the circuit judge was going to need.

Then he heard the train—the whine of the locomotive as it pulled out of the station on the other side of town—

He knew Elizabeth and Cameron were on board—he knew she wouldn’t change her mind at the last minute, so it was important to make sure this counted—

That Ric Lansing paid for everything he’d ever stolen from Elizabeth and anyone else.

“Hey, Jase—” Dillon came in, shoved his hat up his head. “Something very strange is happening outside.”

Jason blinked, then got to his feet. He walked over to his cousin, then stepped out of the building onto the sidewalk. There was a crowd lining up down Main Street, and first line — his grandmother.

Lila lifted her chin, met his eyes. “I heard that you’ve arrested that scoundrel.”

“I did—” Jason blinked, looked down the line to see Lucas Jones, his aunt Felicia, and some of the bank tellers—twenty or thirty more people behind them. “What is this? Did he threaten you?”

“Yes. And that’s why I came. I paid a few visits after I received word yesterday.” Lila leaned heavily on her cane. “I thought I was the only person Ric Lansing terrorized, blackmailed, but I wasn’t.”

Jason frowned, looked at the line again. “Are all of these people—”

“We’ve all been scared,” Felicia Jones murmured. “He threatened to take my home—”

“He threatened to take my mother’s store,” Lucas reported.

“I wasn’t strong enough when you needed me to be,” Lila told Jason. “And I think that I helped Ric take something very precious from you. I don’t want to help him anymore.”

“But—but why now?” Jason shook his head. “Why didn’t anyone say anything before?”

“We all thought we were the only ones,” Felicia admitted. She folded her arms. “But we’re not.”

“Sometimes, dearest,” Lila said, touching his arm. “It just takes one person to stand up first.”

+2

Written in 20 minutes. No time for rereading.

Two days after the town of Diamond Springs lined up outside of the jail, Jason walked back to the cells, keys in hand.

Ric looked disheveled—his shirt was wrinkled and dirty, stubble on his face. He scowled, rising off the thin cot in the corner. “It’s about damned time you let me out! I’ll have your job for this—”

“No need,” Jason said simply. He unlocked the cell. “I’ve already submitted my resignation. Circuit judge is out front, waiting for you.”

Ric narrowed his eyes as he walked towards Jason who slapped a pair of handcuffs on his wrists. “Who’s the judge?”

“No one you know,” Jason told him. He grabbed his upper arm and shoved him towards the front of the jail. “You’ve been charged with sixteen counts of forgery and twelve counts of extortion. You know what that means if convicted, don’t you?”

Ric’s face paled as he turned to look at Jason. “Extortion—”

“Same sentence as stealing a horse, and out here, that’s still hanging offense.”

“No—”

“Did you really think that no one was ever going to stop you? You stole people’s homes, their life savings—”

Jason steered the banker into the room where the judge held his hearings when he came to town once a month. “And now it’s time to pay.”

—

He sent a telegram to Elizabeth as soon as the judge passed sentence on Ric—with the testimony of the people in town, the documents that he and Dillon had unearthed from the bank, including the mortgage foreclosure papers he’d prepared for the Webber ranch—

It had only taken the judge twenty minutes to convict Ric and sentence him to hang. Ric’s face had turned a ghastly white—he’d never expected anyone to come for him—to turn on him. But as his grandmother had told him—sometimes it just took one person to stand up and say no.

Elizabeth had responded to his telegram with a brief message — simply Thank You. He didn’t know how to take it—how to interpret it. She’d boarded that train with her son, and now he wondered if she really had meant that night to be one last memory—if she’d really intended it to be a goodbye.

“I am deeply unhappy to learn you won’t take back the resignation,” Lila declared as she swept into the jail the day Ric was due to be executed. “Clearly, we have a need of you here—”

“Grandmother.” Jason got to his feet. “I came home to take care of you, but to be honest, once I got here—” He looked around. “I’m not sure this is where I’m supposed to be.”

“Nonsense. Who is going to do this job as well as you? Barely two months back home and you’ve already freed this town from the clutches of that dreadful man.” Lila sniffed. “I won’t hear of it.”

Jason shook his head, walked over to the post and took down his hat. “Elizabeth can’t live here anymore,” he said quietly. He met his grandmother’s eyes. “She made that clear before she left. She knows the ranch is hers again, free and clear. Patrick is coming back to arrange a sale. She’s not coming back.”

“I can understand why she would be reluctant to stay, but surely, you could speak some sense into her. If she doesn’t want the ranch, why, you’ll inherit my home here in town—”

“I can’t ask her to come back, so I’ll go to her.” Jason put on the hat. “If you’ll excuse me, Grandmother, I have to attend the execution.”

“I do wish we didn’t have these in public,” Lila grumbled as she followed him out of the jail. She wrinkled her nose at the lot next door where the gallows had been erected. “Such things should be done in private.”

“Well, you try to tell this crowd that they don’t get to see Lansing swing from the rope.” Jason looked at the crowd already gathered. It didn’t sit well with him—he’d never been a fan of sentencing a man to death for anything less than murder — but maybe Lansing deserved it nonetheless for what he’d done to the Lewis family. Alexander and Peter would likely still be alive if Ric hadn’t stolen their inheritance.

“How soon will you go to San Francisco?” Lila asked.

“This is my last official duty.” Jason unpinned the badge, handed it to her. “I’ll be boarding the train tomorrow morning—”

Lila sighed. “Well, if I can’t talk you out of it—”

“You can’t—” Jason started to walk over to the lot, then stopped as someone stepped out of the crowd, towards him. He stared at her for a long moment. “Elizabeth.”

“Well, perhaps you may need this after all—” Lila took his hand and put the badge in it, then walked away as Elizabeth approached.

+2

Written in 20 minutes. No time for rereading.

Elizabeth hadn’t planned to return to Diamond Springs — ever — but when she’d received the telegram from Jason about Ric’s sentence, she’d asked Patrick to follow up and find out when the execution was planned.

Part of her felt uneasy at the idea that Ric would executed for what he’d done—but there was also a part of her that thought that some people were too evil for the world. If Ric were still alive, maybe he’d find a way to do this again one day. Elizabeth didn’t want to feel like she had any more blood on her hands—not after what had happened to the Lewis family for simply trying to help.

When Patrick had given her the execution date, Elizabeth found herself buying a train ticket and arranging for his wife, Robin, to look after Cameron for a few days. She still wasn’t sure why she was going back until she saw Jason and his grandmother step out of the jail.

He looked at her, blankly, almost in shock as she approached him. Elizabeth frowned when she saw Lila hand something back to him, then walk away. “Is that your badge?” she asked as she reached him.

Jason exhaled slowly, looked down at his hand. “Yeah. Today is my last day.” He rubbed his finger over the gold star. “You—” He looked up, met her eyes. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here. Not today.”

“I wonder if part of me just couldn’t believe it would really be over. I saw the telegram, and Patrick brought back some newspapers, but…” Elizabeth turned to look at the gallows, at the noose that hung from the strip of wood. “There was no other ending, was there?” she murmured. “Once he was charged with theft.”

“No,” Jason said. “But—”

“He’d only hurt someone else one day,” Elizabeth cut in. “I know that’s true. But I suppose after Alexander and his brother, after my grandfather, Cameron, even my father for all his faults—” She sighed. “There’s been enough death.”

“I’m sorry—”

“No, don’t—” Elizabeth touched his arm—just a brush of her fingertips against his sleeve. “He knew the penalty for theft as much as anyone else. He simply never thought he’d get caught.”

“Do you want to—Are you sure you want to watch?” Jason asked. He grimaced as he saw his cousin leading the sullen Ric towards the gallows where the judge and the executioner were standing. Dillon’s face also looked pasty and pale.

“No, I think—” Elizabeth bit her lip. “Can we go somewhere? Or do you have to—”

“They won’t notice if I’m not here.” Jason took her arm and they turned their back on Ric Lansing to walk across the street to the house where Jason rented a room. His landlady would normally not countenance an bachelor escorting a woman to his rooms, but Faith Roscoe had never turned down the chance to go to a public execution.

When he opened the front door, he heard the trapdoor across the street drop down and he closed the door—not even looking to see what happened to Ric.

Elizabeth pressed a hand to her stomach as the crowd’s cheers rose. “I’ll never understand it,” she murmured. Jason agreed and led her upstairs to his rooms.

“If you didn’t come back for the execution,” Jason asked, “then why—”

“You’re leaving your job,” Elizabeth interrupted. She licked her lips. “Where are you going? Back to the marshals service?”

“Maybe.” Jason took her hand in his. “I was actually planning to go to San Francisco first. To see you.” He searched her eyes. “I want a chance.”

“I—I came back to see you. To see if there was a way—” She swallowed hard. “I don’t want to spend my life running away. I still don’t know if I can live here, in town, but I don’t want to look back one day and regret—”

He tipped her chin up and kissed her. After a moment, Elizabeth slid her arms around his neck and kissed him back. He drew back slightly, brushed his fingers over her cheek. “I love you.”

Elizabeth smiled, kissed him again. “I love you, too.”

——

Three Years Later

Elizabeth laughed as her son picked himself up from the mud puddle and brushed at his trousers. “Mama!” Cameron said with a glare. “You said you wouldn’t laugh.”

“I didn’t say any such thing, Cam.” She opened the gate to the paddock, the reins of her horse in her hand as she led Penny inside. “I told you to slow down and not to run when we’ve had all that rain—”

Cameron stomped his foot. “I’m gonna tell Papa—”

“Tell Papa what?”

Elizabeth turned, her smile broadening as her husband strode towards her, their two-year-old son in his arms. “Oh, you’re just in time! I’m putting Cameron on Rusty for the first time.” She nodded at the pony tied to the post.

“I’m glad I’m didn’t miss it.” Jason stopped just outside the gate and leaned over to kiss her. “We just came back from seeing Grandma Lila.”

“Candy!” Jake proclaimed with a grin. He had his father’s sunny blonde hair and his mother’s bright smile.

“I can see the chocolate,” Elizabeth said. She looked at Jason again, her own smile matching his. “She can’t help herself.”

“Mama, I wanna ride!”

“Better go help him,” Jason said, “or he’ll skip Rusty and move on to Penny—”

“He wouldn’t—” Elizabeth whirled around just as Cameron stopped, his hands dropping from Penny’s reins. He turned an innocent grin towards his mother. “Cameron Hardy Lewis—”

“Fine,” Cameron said with a huff as he stomped back towards the smaller pony.

“That boy will be the death of me,” Elizabeth muttered as Jason laughed. “And don’t start. I know he’s exactly like I was at that age.”

“As long as you know it.” Jason leaned over to kiss her. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

+3