“You’re lying,” Rachel said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“You ever wonder why Wilder came after him?” Kane asked, tilting his head. “Why men died for it? You think it was over pride? Nah, sweetheart. It was over gold. A whole chest of it. Your daddy took what wasn’t his...and left the rest of us to burn.”
“That ain’t true,” Rachel said. “You’re trying to turn me against him.”
“I don’t need to,” Kane said. “Truth does that on its own.”
Rachel shook her head, her braid brushing her shoulder. “You’re drunk.”
“Not near enough,” Kane said. “Now listen here, girl. You ain’t got nobody left to protect you. Wilder’s got his claws in half the territory, and your brother’s face is on bounty posters from here to the east. You stay here, and you’ll starve. You go with this rancher, you’ll live comfortably. I’ll even throw in your dowry papers. All tidy.”
“You’d trade me like a horse?” she asked.
Kane leaned in, his voice dropping. “Better than buryin’ you like one.”
That was it. She acted before she knew what she was doing.
Her hand flew out, and Rachel slapped him.
The sound cracked through the barn, startling the horses. Kane’s head snapped sideways, then he looked back at her. His eyes had gone cold.
“That,” he said quietly, “was a mistake.”
Rachel stepped back, her heart hammering. “You stay away from me.”
Kane wiped the corner of his mouth where blood had beaded.
“You got your mother’s temper,” he said. “She had fire too...right up till the day it burned her.”
Rachel grabbed the pitchfork from the wall. “I mean it, Mr. Kane.”
“You gonna stab me, little girl?” he laughed. “You wouldn’t even know how.”
“Try me,” Rachel said.
For a moment, neither one of them moved. Then Kane lunged.
Rachel swung the fork up, catching him across the arm. He grunted, stumbling back. The horses shrieked, kicking against their stalls.
“You damn brat!” Kane roared. “You think you can threaten me in my own barn?”
“It’s not your barn!” Rachel shouted. “It belongs to the town!”
Kane’s hand shot out, grabbing her wrist. His fingers dug deep, twisting until she cried out.
“You best start rememberin’ who keeps the roof over your head!”
Rachel jerked free, stumbling backward into a pile of hay. “You’re nothin’ but a thief!”
“Takes one to know one,” Kane sneered. “Ask your old man.”
“I said stop lying!”
“Ask Wilder,” Kane continued. “He’ll tell you himself. Your daddy took the gold that should’ve been mine. He thought he could hide it, but he died for it. Blaze is followin’ the same road...that boy don’t even know he’s chasin’ his father’s ghost.”
Rachel’s breath came hard and shallow. “You’re sick.”
“Maybe,” Kane said, straightening his coat. “But I’m still standin’. You? You got two choices. Go pack your things and get ready to meet your new husband...or I drag you there myself.”
