Vale?”
Gideon nodded.
She sat by the fire.
Suddenly, memories rearranged themselves.
Her father’s strange visits to the doctor.
His insistence that Rosalie never go near the northern ridge.
His anger whenever Gideon appeared in town.
The fifty dollars.
It wasn’t payment for Rosalie.
It was payment to settle a debt.
Rosalie looked
at Gideon.
“Your family wasn’t the only one being controlled.”
Gideon shook his head.
Then he wrote:
Your father chose you.
Those words hurt more than anything else.
PART 4 — THE MAN WHO CAME FOR HIS MONEY
The next morning, a rider appeared.
Gideon saw him before Rosalie did.
The man stopped at the fence.
His horse was black.
His coat was gray.
He carried no visible weapon.
But something about him made Gideon immediately reach for his rifle.
Rosalie stood behind him.
The man called:
“Rosalie Ashford?”
She stepped forward.
