PART 3 — THE SECRET SARAH MILLER HAD KEPT FOR THREE YEARS

Garrett read the telegram twice.

Then he folded it and placed it inside his coat.

Sarah was in the kitchen when he entered.

“Mrs. Miller, I need to ask you something.”

She looked up from the bread dough.

“Of course.”

“Where did your husband work before he died?”

Sarah’s hands stopped moving.

“On a small farm outside Cheyenne.”

“Who owned it?”

“Thomas did. It belonged to his family.”

“Did he ever work for anyone named Vain?”

Sarah’s expression changed.

“Why are you asking?”

Garrett placed the telegram on the table.

Sarah read it.

For several seconds, she didn’t speak.

Then she pulled out a chair.

“I was hoping nobody would ever ask me that.”

Garrett sat opposite her.

“Tell me the truth.”

Sarah looked toward the doorway.

Penny was outside with the barn cat, talking to it as though it were an old friend.

Then Sarah began.

“Thomas worked for the Vain family before we married. He managed their cattle records and knew their land boundaries better than anyone. One winter, he discovered that someone had been changing the property records.”

“Who?”

“Rosalie’s husband. Charles Vain.”

Garrett leaned forward.

“What did Thomas discover?”

“He found evidence that Charles had been claiming land that didn’t belong to him. Several families had lost grazing rights because of those false records.”

“Did Thomas report him?”

“He tried.”

Sarah’s voice became quieter.

“But Charles was wealthy, and Thomas was only a rancher with a handful of documents.”

Garrett looked at her carefully.

“What happened next?”

“Thomas was threatened. He was told to destroy the papers and forget what he had found.”

“Did he?”

Sarah shook her head.

“No. He hid them.”

“Where?”

“Before he died, he told me that if anything happened to him, I should never let the Vains find the original records.”

Garrett’s expression darkened.

“Why didn’t you tell me this when you applied for the position?”

Sarah looked down at her hands.

“Because I didn’t know whether you could be trusted.”

The honesty of the answer surprised him.

She continued.

“I had a little girl to protect. I couldn’t afford to make enemies with people who had money, influence, and friends in town.”

Garrett rose and walked toward the window.

“Rosalie has been trying to buy my northern land for two years. She always offers more than it’s worth, but refuses to explain why she wants it.”

Sarah looked up.

“That land borders the old Vain property.”

“Yes.”

“Then Thomas may have discovered something about that land.”

Garrett turned.

“Where are the documents?”

Sarah hesitated.

Then she reached into the pocket of her apron and removed a small brᴀss key.

“Thomas gave me this before he died.”

Garrett examined it.

“What’s it for?”

“A deposit box at the Cheyenne bank. I never opened it.”

“Why not?”

“Because the man who witnessed Thomas hide the papers disappeared shortly afterward. I was afraid someone was watching me.”

Garrett looked at the key.

“Why bring it here?”

“Because I thought your ranch was somewhere nobody would look for me.”

He studied her for a long moment.

“Mrs. Miller, someone already knows you’re here.”

Sarah nodded.

“I know.”

Garrett arranged for a trusted ranch hand to accompany Sarah into town.

They returned that afternoon with a small locked box.

Inside were property maps, copies of land agreements, and a handwritten statement signed by Thomas Miller.

But there was something else.

A letter addressed to Garrett’s father.

Garrett opened it carefully.

Dear Mr. Thorne,

I have found proof that Charles Vain has been altering the county records to claim grazing land that belongs to the Thornwood family.

The original boundary line runs along the northern creek, not the southern ridge.

If the false records are accepted, the Vains will eventually control the entire valley.

I have also discovered that someone inside your ranch has been helping him.

Garrett stopped reading.

Sarah looked at him.

“Someone inside your ranch?”

He continued.

I cannot yet prove who it is. But I believe the person has access to your father’s private papers.

If anything happens to me, please protect my wife and daughter. They know nothing of this agreement.

Garrett lowered the letter.

“Thomas was trying to protect my family.”

Sarah nodded.

“He believed your father was an honest man.”

Garrett looked at the final page.

There was a name written beneath the statement.

EDWARD THORNE.

His own father.

For years, Garrett had believed his father had been a poor businessman who lost part of the family land through careless decisions.

Now it appeared that he had been fighting to protect it.

And someone had betrayed him.

Garrett gathered the documents.

“We’re taking these to the sheriff.”

Sarah nodded.

But before they could leave, a commotion sounded outside.

A ranch hand came running through the doorway.

“Mr. Thorne! There’s a fire near the north barn!”

Garrett rushed outside.

Smoke was rising behind the stable.

Workers were already carrying buckets from the well, but the flames had spread to the hay stored beside the building.

Garrett shouted orders.

Sarah immediately took Penny into the house and kept her away from the commotion.

Within an hour, the fire was under control.

The barn was damaged, but the animals were safe.

Then one of the ranch hands found something near the rear gate.

A broken lantern.

And a piece of paper.

Garrett read the message.

RETURN THE DOCUMENTS OR THE NEXT FIRE WILL REACH THE HOUSE.

He looked toward Sarah.

She was standing in the doorway with Penny in her arms.

For the first time since she had arrived, she looked frightened.

Garrett walked toward her.

“They won’t touch you.”

“You can’t promise that.”

“I can promise they will have to go through me first.”

Sarah looked at him.

“Thomas said something similar before he died.”

Garrett’s expression softened.

“What?”

“He told me that if I ever found a man who protected Penny without asking for anything in return, I should trust him.”

Garrett glanced at the little girl.

Penny was holding Thunder тιԍнтly.

“Mr. Grumpy,” she whispered, “are the bad people coming?”

Garrett crouched so that he was level with her.

“Not if I can help it.”

Penny studied his face.

Then she reached into her pocket and handed him a peppermint candy.

“For being brave.”

Garrett accepted it.

“Thank you.”

She patted his shoulder.

“Don’t make your eyebrows mad.”

He almost smiled.

But that night, the ranch was placed under guard.

And just after midnight, Garrett heard a knock at the study window.

He opened the curtain.

A young boy stood outside, holding a folded letter.

“Mr. Thorne?”

“Who are you?”

“My name is Samuel Vain.”

Garrett froze.

The boy looked frightened.

“I’m Rosalie’s son. I wasn’t supposed to come here, but I found something in my mother’s room.”

He pushed the letter through the narrow opening.

Garrett unfolded it.

It was written in Rosalie’s handwriting.

And the first sentence made his blood run cold:

The child must be removed from the house before the land papers are found.

Garrett looked toward the hallway.

Penny was asleep upstairs.

Then he read the next line.

Sarah Miller’s daughter is the only witness who can expose what happened to the Thorne heir.

Garrett slowly raised his eyes toward the boy.

“Samuel, what do you know about this?”

The boy swallowed.

“Mr. Thorne, I think my mother has been lying about your son’s death.”

To be continued in Part 4…