“Who are you?”
“Silas sent me.”
Her blood turned cold.
“My father?”
The man smiled.
“Your father wants you home.”
Gideon moved between them.
The stranger’s expression hardened.
“He sold her to you,” he said.
“The agreement can be undone.”
Gideon pointed toward the road.
The man remained still.
Then he said:
“Dr.
Vale knows what’s beneath your ranch.”
Rosalie felt the world become silent.
The man continued.
“He’s willing to pay.”
Gideon’s face changed.
Rosalie realized the stranger wasn’t there to retrieve her.
He was there for the land.
The man turned his horse.
Before leaving, he called:
“Your father regrets the deal.”
Rosalie shouted:
“He doesn’t regret selling me!”
The man looked back.
“He does now.”
Then he disappeared into the snow.
That night, Rosalie couldn’t sleep.
She sat by the fire.
Gideon joined her.
