PART 2 — THE FOUR RIDERS KNEW SOMETHING ABOUT ELIAS ROW THAT JOSEPHINE DIDN’T

“Step away from that man!”

The command cut through the blizzard.

Josephine stood over Elias, her emerald scarf nearly buried beneath the snow. Her legs trembled from exhaustion, and her fingers had grown so numb that she could barely feel the rope tied around her waist.

But she didn’t move.

“Who are you?” she shouted.

The leading rider lowered his rifle slightly.

“Name’s Marshal Daniel Whitaker. We’re looking for Elias Row.”

“Then you’ve found him.”

The marshal glanced at the unconscious man lying behind her.

“Is he alive?”

“Barely. He needs shelter and a doctor.”

One of the other riders dismounted. He was a tall, gray-bearded man with a weathered face and a worried expression.

“Josephine?”

She stared at him.

“How do you know my name?”

“I’m Thomas Bell. I own the general store in Oak Haven. I’ve seen you in town.”

Josephine recognized him now. He had once delivered a sack of flour to their cabin when Elias was recovering from an injury.

Thomas hurried toward Elias.

“What happened?”

“He went to check his trapline. I found him beneath a snowdrift. I don’t know how long he’d been there.”

The marshal crouched beside Elias and examined him.

“We need to get him inside immediately.”

Josephine shook her head.

“Then help me get him home.”

The men worked together, lifting Elias onto a makeshift sled fashioned from a spare horse blanket and two wooden poles. Josephine refused to leave his side.

When they finally reached the cabin, the marshal helped carry Elias inside.

Thomas immediately built up the fire while another rider went to fetch the nearest doctor.

Josephine knelt beside her husband.

“Elias, I’m here.”

She rubbed his hands gently, speaking to him even when he couldn’t answer.

The marshal watched her for a moment.

“You’re his wife?”

“Yes.”

He looked surprised.

“I didn’t know Elias had married.”

Josephine gave him a tired smile.

“Neither did he, at first.”

Thomas chuckled quietly, but the marshal didn’t smile.

Instead, he studied Elias’s face.

“There’s something you should know, Mrs. Row.”

Josephine looked up.

“What?”

“Those tracks we found near your husband weren’t made by our horses. Someone else was out there before we arrived.”

A chill pᴀssed through her.

“Someone left him in the snow?”

“We don’t know yet.”

The marshal stood and removed his gloves.

“But I believe whoever did this was looking for something.”

“Something? What could Elias possibly have that anyone would want?”

The marshal exchanged a glance with Thomas.

Then he said something that made Josephine’s stomach тιԍнтen.

“Twenty years ago, Elias Row witnessed a murder.”

Josephine stared at him.

“My husband is a mountain trapper. He doesn’t get involved in murders.”

“That’s what most people believe.”

The cabin fell silent except for the crackling fire.

Marshal Whitaker pulled a folded document from his coat.

“Elias was working near the northern mining settlements when a man named Caleb Voss was killed. Three men were accused, but the case collapsed because the only witness disappeared.”

“Elias?”

The marshal nodded.

“He gave a statement under another name. He was supposed to testify in court, but someone threatened his family. He vanished before the trial.”

Josephine looked at her husband.

She knew about his scar, his years alone in the mountains, and his reluctance to speak about the past.

But she had never heard this.

“Why are you telling me now?”

“Because one of those men has recently returned to Wyoming.”

Before Josephine could ask another question, Elias stirred.

His eyelids fluttered.

“Josephine…”

She immediately leaned closer.

“I’m here, sweetheart.”

His eyes opened only halfway.

“Don’t…”

“Don’t what?”

He tried to raise his hand, but his strength failed.

“Don’t let them take the box.”

Josephine glanced toward the marshal.

“What box?”

Elias struggled to speak.

“The floor… beneath the stove.”

Then his eyes closed again.

The marshal straightened.

“Mrs. Row, I need to know what he means.”

Josephine looked at the stove.

She had cleaned that floor countless times. She had scrubbed the stones, swept away the ash, and even repaired a loose board near the hearth.

But she had never noticed anything unusual.

Thomas moved toward the stove.

“Perhaps we should look.”

“No,” Josephine said firmly.

Everyone turned.

She looked at the marshal.

“My husband has just survived a terrible ordeal. Whatever is under that floor can wait until he wakes up.”

The marshal studied her.

“You understand this could be important evidence?”

“I understand that my husband is lying there because someone left him to die. I also understand that he asked me not to let anyone take something.”

She stood, using the table for support.

“So nobody touches that floor until Elias tells me what is happening.”

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then the marshal nodded.

“Fair enough.”

The doctor arrived shortly after midnight.

His name was Dr. Samuel Greene, a thin man with silver spectacles and a medical bag that looked older than the cabin itself.

He examined Elias carefully, then turned to Josephine.

“Your husband is in serious condition. He’s severely exhausted and suffering from exposure. The next day will be important.”

Josephine swallowed.

“Will he recover?”

“I believe he has a chance. But he needs warmth, rest, and careful attention.”

“I’ll stay with him.”

The doctor gave her a reᴀssuring nod.

“You’ve already done more than most people could have done tonight.”

Josephine looked down at her snow-covered skirt.

“I couldn’t leave him.”

Dr. Greene glanced toward the marshal.

“Perhaps you gentlemen should give this family some quiet.”

The marshal agreed, but before leaving, he approached Josephine.

“If Elias wakes, tell him I’m here. And please, don’t let anyone enter this cabin unless you know who they are.”

Josephine frowned.

“Why?”

“Because if the men from his past have discovered where he lives, they may already know about you.”

He paused.

“Your husband isn’t the only person in danger anymore.”

By morning, the blizzard had weakened.

Josephine had barely slept. She sat beside Elias’s bed, changing the warm cloth on his forehead and making certain the fire never died.

Just before sunrise, his fingers moved.

“Josephine?”

She leaned forward immediately.

“I’m here.”

His eyes slowly opened.

For several seconds, he simply stared at her.

Then his gaze moved to the bandage around her hand and the torn sleeve of her dress.

“You went outside.”

“I went looking for you.”

“You shouldn’t have.”

Josephine’s expression hardened.

“Don’t you dare tell me that.”

He tried to smile, but the effort exhausted him.

“I could have killed you.”

“You could have died out there. I wasn’t going to sit beside a warm fire and wait for someone to bring me your body.”

Elias closed his eyes.

A tear slipped down his cheek.

“I’m sorry.”

Josephine took his hand.

“For what?”

“For making you prove yourself to me. For thinking you weren’t strong enough for this place.”

She brushed his hair away from his forehead.

“Elias, I didn’t marry you to prove I could survive Wyoming.”

He looked at her.

“I married you because I hoped we could build a life together. And I still do.”

His fingers тιԍнтened around hers.

“I love you, Josephine.”

“I love you too.”

For a little while, the past could wait.

But then Elias remembered something.

“The box…”

Josephine glanced toward the stove.

“The marshal told me about the murder. He said you witnessed it.”

Elias looked frightened.

“Did he tell you who was responsible?”

“No.”

He took a slow breath.

“Caleb Voss wasn’t murdered by strangers. He was killed by men who wanted his land. I saw them bury the evidence.”

“Who were they?”

Elias stared toward the window.

“One of them was the man who brought me here.”

Josephine felt her heart drop.

“What?”

“Thomas Bell.”

She stared at him in disbelief.

“Thomas? The man who helped carry you inside?”

Elias nodded weakly.

“He wasn’t supposed to know where I lived.”

Josephine stood slowly.

“But he came with the marshal. He helped save you.”

“That’s why I’m afraid.”

Before she could respond, three sharp knocks sounded against the cabin door.

Josephine froze.

A man’s voice called from outside.

“Mrs. Row? It’s Thomas. I need to speak with you.”

Elias grabbed her wrist.

“Don’t open that door.”

Josephine looked at him, then toward the entrance.

The voice came again.

“I know your husband has awakened. And I know he’s told you about the box.”

A pause followed.

Then Thomas spoke in a quieter voice.

“Listen carefully, Josephine. Whatever Elias told you, don’t believe him. He’s been hiding the truth about your marriage since the day you arrived.”

Josephine’s blood ran cold.

Elias struggled to sit up.

“Stay away from the door!”

Then Thomas delivered the words that changed everything.

“Your husband didn’t choose you through that marriage agency by accident. Someone paid to send you here.”

Josephine stared at Elias.

For the first time since the day she arrived in Wyoming, she wondered whether their meeting had truly been a coincidence.

And beneath the cabin floor, hidden for twenty years, was a box that might finally reveal who had arranged it all.