PART 2 — THE WOMAN WHO REFUSED TO BE GIVEN AWAY

“Do you?”

Nahimana’s question remained between them.

Ethan Miller had faced angry ranchers, desperate outlaws, and men who believed a loaded revolver made them invincible. Yet he found himself struggling to answer a young woman standing beneath the Arizona sun.

“I have a say in my own life,” he replied.

Nahimana studied him.

“Then perhaps you understand mine.”

Behind her, the Apache chief stepped forward. His name was Takoda, and his authority was evident in the way the warriors immediately straightened.

“You speak boldly, Ethan Miller.”

“I speak honestly.”

“Do you know what I have offered you?”

“No. And I don’t intend to accept until I do.”

Takoda’s eyes narrowed.

For a moment, Ethan wondered whether his answer had just cost him his life.

Then Nahimana spoke.

“Father, tell him.”

The chief looked at his daughter. Something pᴀssed between them—an understanding Ethan couldn’t interpret.

Finally, Takoda turned toward the gathered warriors.

“My daughter was promised a marriage she did not choose.”

A murmur moved through the canyon.

Ethan glanced at Nahimana.

She remained perfectly still.

“Three months ago,” Takoda continued, “a powerful family approached us. They wanted Nahimana to marry their eldest son. The marriage would have ended a dispute over grazing land and brought peace between our families.”

“And she refused?” Ethan asked.

“I did,” Nahimana answered.

Her voice was calm, but there was something beneath it.

“Because I knew the man they wanted me to marry. He speaks of peace when he wants something. He speaks of family when he wants obedience.”

Takoda’s expression тιԍнтened.

“He is the son of a respected leader.”

“And he is still a man who believes my life belongs to him.”

The chief looked away.

Ethan began to understand.

The offer to take Nahimana was not a simple reward for saving her life. It was an attempt to change the course of a dangerous agreement.

But why involve him?

“Chief,” Ethan said, “I appreciate that you believe I helped your daughter. But marrying her to me won’t solve whatever trouble exists between your families.”

Takoda regarded him for a long moment.

“Perhaps not. But you have done something no other man has done.”

“What?”

“You asked whether she had a choice.”

Nahimana stepped closer.

“Most men ask my father what I am worth. You asked me what I wanted.”

Ethan looked at her.

“And what do you want?”

For the first time, her expression softened.

“I want to leave this canyon without being followed. I want to decide where I live. I want to learn whether the world beyond these mountains contains anything other than men making decisions for me.”

She paused.

“And I want to know why the man who saved my life looks as though he regrets arriving here.”

Ethan almost smiled.

“I don’t regret helping you.”

“Then don’t regret asking the question.”

Takoda raised his hand.

“The agreement I offer is not ownership. It is protection. If Nahimana leaves with you, the other family cannot claim she was taken against her will. They cannot force the marriage while she is under the protection of someone outside their dispute.”

“Then why call it marriage?”

“Because our people will respect the arrangement.”

Ethan shook his head.

“That sounds like asking me to solve one forced marriage with another.”

Nahimana’s eyes flashed.

“Exactly.”

A few warriors looked startled.

Takoda exhaled slowly.

“Then perhaps I have explained poorly.”

He turned toward the far end of the canyon.

A rider was approaching.

He wore a dark hat and carried a long rifle across his saddle. Unlike the other men, he did not slow when he reached the gathering.

He dismounted and walked straight toward Takoda.

“Chief,” he said, “the men from Red Mesa are coming.”

Takoda’s face hardened.

“How many?”

“Six. Perhaps more behind them.”

Ethan looked toward the canyon entrance.

“Who are they?”

Nahimana answered before her father could.

“The men who believe I belong to them.”

The newcomers arrived before sunset.

Six riders entered the canyon, led by a broad-shouldered man with a neatly trimmed beard and a silver buckle on his belt.

His name was Silas Crowder.

He was the eldest son of the family seeking Nahimana’s hand, and he looked furious to find Ethan standing beside her.

“Takoda,” Silas called, “you’ve made a foolish mistake.”

The chief did not move.

“You were told Nahimana would not marry you.”

Silas smiled without humor.

“You were told the agreement had already been made.”

“It was never her agreement.”

Silas’s eyes shifted to Ethan.

“And who is this?”

“A man who helped my daughter,” Takoda replied.

Silas looked Ethan over.

“A stranger?”

“A man with a name,” Ethan said.

Silas laughed.

“Then perhaps he should remember where he is.”

Ethan’s hand remained away from his revolver.

“I know exactly where I am.”

Silas stepped closer.

“I’ve heard you’ve been offered something valuable.”

Ethan said nothing.

Silas turned to Nahimana.

“You should come with me. This has gone far enough.”

Nahimana stood her ground.

“I have already answered you.”

“You don’t understand what your refusal will cost.”

“I understand perfectly.”

Silas’s expression darkened.

“Your father knows the consequences. The grazing agreement will be broken. Your people will lose access to the eastern water.”

That caught Ethan’s attention.

Water.

He looked toward Takoda.

The chief’s face had become stone.

“You threatened to close the water?” Takoda asked.

Silas shrugged.

“My father owns the wells on our side of the ridge. He has every right to decide who uses them.”

Nahimana’s voice became cold.

“And the spring beneath the old cottonwood?”

Silas hesitated.

“What about it?”

“It was there before your father’s fences. Before his cattle. Before his house.”

Silas looked toward the chief.

“Enough. She comes with me.”

Ethan stepped between them.

“No.”

One word.

Quiet.

Final.

Silas stared at him.

“You think you’re going to stop me?”

“No. I think you’re going to leave.”

For a moment, the canyon seemed to shrink around them.

Then Takoda stepped forward.

“Silas Crowder, you will leave this place without my daughter.”

Silas climbed into his saddle.

“This isn’t finished.”

He looked at Ethan one last time.

“You’ve made yourself an enemy without knowing what you’ve stepped into.”

Then the six riders disappeared through the canyon entrance.

Ethan watched them go.

When he turned back, Nahimana was studying him.

“You should have left when you had the chance,” she said.

“Probably.”

“You don’t know these men.”

“I know enough.”

“No, Ethan. You know how to stand between a woman and a threat. You don’t yet know what happens after the threat rides away.”

She glanced toward the distant mountains.

“My father has a secret. Silas knows it. And now, because you stood beside me, he knows you may be part of it.”

Ethan looked at Takoda.

“What secret?”

The chief did not answer immediately.

Instead, he motioned for them to follow him toward a narrow pᴀssage in the canyon wall.

“Come,” he said. “It is time you learned why Silas Crowder wants my daughter more than he wants peace.”

And as Ethan followed them into the shadows, he noticed something carved into the stone beside the entrance.

A name.

MILLER.

His own family name.