PART 5 — THE NAME ON THE ENVELOPE

Sarah recognized the handwriting before Garrett even handed her the envelope.

Her fingers trembled.

It was Thomas’s.

She had not seen his handwriting in more than a year.

The envelope was yellowed at the edges, with a small tear near the seal.

“Where did this come from?” she whispered.

Garrett looked toward the rider.

“An attorney in Cheyenne sent it. He says it was found among the papers of a man who died last month.”

Sarah opened it carefully.

Inside was a letter addressed to her.

My dearest Sarah,

If this letter reaches you, something has happened that I could not prevent.

There are things I never told you because I wanted to keep you safe. I thought I could settle everything before you ever needed to know.

I was wrong.

Years ago, before Penny was born, I worked for a man who wanted to purchase the land around Thorne Ranch. I discovered that the papers he intended to use were false.

I refused to help him.

I kept a copy of the original records because I knew he would come looking for them.

The records are hidden where you once promised never to look.

Forgive me for leaving you with questions.

Thomas.

Sarah read the letter twice.

Her throat тιԍнтened.

“What land?” Garrett asked.

She shook her head.

“I don’t know.”

Then she reached the final line.

There was a small mark beneath Thomas’s signature.

A drawing of a little wooden bird.

Sarah recognized it immediately.

Thomas had carved one for her on their first wedding anniversary.

He had hidden it inside the old sewing chest in their cabin.

The same chest she had been forced to leave behind when the debt collectors took the property.

“Where is the chest?” Garrett asked.

“I don’t know. The bank sold everything after Thomas died.”

Garrett turned to the ranch hand.

“Send someone to Laramie. Find out who purchased the Miller cabin’s contents.”

By afternoon, Garrett had received an answer.

The sewing chest had been purchased by a man named Everett Pike, a local trader who dealt in furniture and household goods.

But when Garrett’s messenger reached Pike’s shop, the trader was gone.

His shelves were empty.

His back door stood open.

And on the counter lay a second note.

Tell Sarah Miller that her husband should have stayed silent.

Sarah felt the room tilt.

Penny, sitting on the rug with her wooden horse, looked up.

“Mommy?”

Sarah quickly wiped her eyes.

“I’m all right, sweetheart.”

Garrett crouched beside Penny.

“Would you like to help me with something?”

Penny nodded.

He handed her a small piece of paper.

“Can you draw me a horse?”

Penny immediately began drawing.

Garrett waited until Sarah was standing beside him.

“Your husband found something dangerous,” he said quietly. “Someone believes those records are still valuable.”

“Why would Thomas have hidden them from me?”

“Perhaps he thought he could protect you.”

Sarah looked at the letter.

“He should have trusted me.”

Garrett nodded.

“Perhaps he should have.”

For a moment, they stood in silence.

Then Garrett said something Sarah never expected.

“I know what it’s like to keep a secret because you believe you’re protecting the people you love.”

She looked at him.

“Is that what happened to your wife and son?”

Garrett’s face тιԍнтened.

“No.”

He turned toward the window.

“But the truth about their deaths is not the truth people in this town believe.”

Sarah waited.

Garrett continued.

“My wife, Eleanor, and our boy were traveling to visit her sister. Their wagon was found near the creek after a storm. Everyone said the current took them.”

He paused.

“I never believed the whole story.”

“Why?”

“Because the horses were gone. The wagon had been unloaded. And the sheriff closed the investigation before anyone had properly examined the crossing.”

Sarah looked at him carefully.

“Do you think someone caused the accident?”

“I think someone wanted that wagon to disappear.”

Before she could respond, the front door opened.

Mr. Collins entered with a young woman wearing a dark traveling cloak.

Garrett turned.

“Who is this?”

The woman removed her gloves.

“My name is Eleanor Pike.”

Sarah frowned.

The woman looked directly at Garrett.

“I was your wife’s companion on the journey.”

Garrett went completely still.

“That is impossible.”

Eleanor reached into her coat and removed a folded pH๏τograph.

It showed Garrett’s wife holding little Daniel.

But behind them stood a man Sarah recognized from Thomas’s letter.

Everett Pike.

Eleanor placed the pH๏τograph on the table.

“Your family did not die in that creek, Mr. Thorne.”

Garrett’s face went pale.

“They were taken.”