The first flame crawled blue across the snow.
Then orange.
Kerosene burned in a widening circle outside the dugout entrance.
The earth walls could not catch fire.
The timber framing could.
More dangerous was the smoke.
Wind pushed it directly toward the door.
Men coughed.
Jo grabbed wet cloth.
“Cover your mouths.”
Gideon peered through a crack.
“I count eight riders.”
“Voss bring friends?” Clayton asked.
“Looks like it.”
Another burning bottle struck the hillside.
Silas shouted, “Tunnel!”
Jo nodded.
“Everybody into the mine.”
Amos tried to protest.
“No.”
Jo pointed at Levi and Ezra.
“Blanket stretcher. Move him.”
They carried Amos through the rear passage.
The others followed with provisions.
Gideon stayed near the entrance.
Jo caught his coat.
“You too.”
“I can hold them here.”
“No.”
“If they enter—”
“They won't.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Voss doesn't want our bodies. He wants us gone.”
Clayton coughed.
“Comforting.”
Jo looked toward the smoking entrance.
“He expects us to panic and flee east.”
Gideon understood.
“Then he'll take the herd.”
“Yes.”
“So what do we do?”
Jo smiled.
“We let him think it worked.”
Within ten minutes the dugout was empty.
They moved through the mine toward the eastern exit.
Jo ordered the men to carry only weapons, food, medical supplies, and blankets.
Everything else stayed.
At the eastern opening they emerged into moonlight.
The storm had cleared.
Stars glittered over the frozen country.
Jo divided the group.
“Silas, Tommy, Amos, and the injured men stay at the line shack.”
Gideon frowned.
“And the rest?”
“We circle south.”
Clayton understood first.
“To the herd.”
Jo nodded.
“If Voss thinks we've fled east, he'll ride straight into the valley.”
“And then?” Levi asked.
Jo looked toward the ridge.
“We make sure he doesn't ride out with Lazy K cattle.”
Gideon's mouth curved.
“Josephine, remind me never to make you angry.”
“You're learning.”
They moved quickly.
Snow remained deep, but the cattle had packed paths through the lower valley.
Jo, Gideon, Clayton, Levi, Ezra, and three others reached the western ridge before midnight.
From there they could see the faint glow of the dugout fire.
Voss waited.
Eventually figures approached the entrance.
One man kicked the door open.
Another shouted.
Empty.
Minutes later, riders headed toward the cattle.
Exactly as Jo expected.
She positioned the Lazy K men along a narrow pass.
The cattle valley had only two practical exits.
Voss entered from the north.
Jo held the south.
At dawn, the Broken Crown riders began driving cattle.
They moved perhaps two hundred head before Gideon stepped onto the ridge.
“Morning, Voss.”
Eight heads snapped upward.
Voss froze.
Jo emerged beside Gideon.
Clayton and Levi appeared from the trees.
Then Ezra.
Then the others.
Voss stared.
“I thought—”
“You thought wrong,” Jo said.
His face darkened.
“You're trespassing on my salvage.”
Jo looked at the cattle.
“Those brands seem clearer in daylight.”
One of Voss's hired riders shifted uneasily.
Voss snapped, “Move the herd.”
Nobody moved.
Jo studied the men.
“Harlan tell you he was stealing?”
Voss turned.
“Don't listen.”
Jo raised her voice.
“These cattle belong to the Lazy K. Amos Tucker is alive. His crew is alive. You've now seen us twice.”
One rider named Finch lowered his rope.
Voss glared.
“I'm paying you.”
Finch replied, “You said they were dead.”
“I said presumed dead.”
“You said dead.”
A second rider looked uncomfortable.
The situation was changing.
Jo knew men like Voss depended on certainty.
Remove certainty and money stopped buying courage.
Voss reached for his gun.
Gideon's rifle came up.
“Don't.”
Voss stopped.
Jo said, “Ride away.”
His eyes found hers.
“You ruined me.”
“No. You made a bad plan.”
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
His laugh sounded broken.
“The Lazy K was finished before the storm.”
Amos had hinted at debt, but Jo had not known how bad it was.
Voss continued.
“Tucker owes the Wyoming Cattle Bank seventeen thousand dollars. Payment due in three weeks.”
Clayton stared.
“Seventeen?”
Voss smiled.
“The herd was his only chance.”
Jo's stomach tightened.
Even twelve hundred surviving cattle might not cover the debt after winter losses and transport costs.
Voss saw her understand.
“That's right.”
His confidence returned.
“You saved cattle for a ranch that's already dead.”
Gideon looked at her.
Voss continued.
“I offered Tucker ten thousand for the herd two months ago. He refused.”
“So you waited for weather.”
“I waited for reality.”
“You filed salvage claims before anyone confirmed the crew was dead.”
Voss said nothing.
Jo nodded.
“There it is.”
Voss's hand moved again.
This time the shot came from someone else.
Clayton.
His bullet struck the snow inches before Voss's horse.
The animal reared.
Voss nearly fell.
Clayton's face was hard.
“Next one doesn't hit snow.”
Everyone stared.
The old Clayton would have enjoyed the fear he caused.
This Clayton looked sick about holding the rifle.
But he held it steady.
Voss slowly raised his hands.
Jo said, “Leave.”
One by one, Voss's hired riders turned.
Finch went first.
The others followed.
Voss remained.
“You think winning a gunfight solves your problem?”
“No.”
“The bank will take the Lazy K.”
“Maybe.”
“And then I'll buy it from them.”
Jo stared.
Voss smiled.
“See you at the auction.”
He rode away.
The victory felt hollow.
They returned to the line shack.
Amos was awake.
Jo told him everything.
When she mentioned the debt, he closed his eyes.
“You should've told us,” Gideon said.
Amos stared at the ceiling.
“Wouldn't change anything.”
“It would've changed whether we risked our lives saving cattle.”
Amos flinched.
Jo stepped in.
“Enough.”
Gideon looked at her.
She sat beside Amos.
“How much exactly?”
“Seventeen thousand six hundred.”
“What does Lazy K have besides cattle?”
“Ranch outside Sheridan. Four hundred acres deeded. Grazing rights on another three thousand.”
“Equipment?”
“Some.”
“Debt on the land?”
Amos nodded.
“The bank holds it all.”
“When's payment due?”
“January thirty-first.”
They had less than a month.
Clayton leaned against the wall.
“We can't move twelve hundred cattle through this snow.”
Amos said, “No.”
“Could sell where they stand.”
“At winter prices?”
Amos gave a bitter laugh.
“We'd get slaughtered.”
Jo became thoughtful.
Gideon recognized the expression.
“What?”
She looked toward Silas.
“You lived around here twelve years.”
“Yes.”
“Nearest settlement besides Sheridan?”
“Red Creek. About eighteen miles southeast.”
“Rail?”
“Branch line.”
Jo looked at Amos.
“When was the last time the Lazy K sold cattle directly to a rail buyer instead of through an agent?”
“Never.”
“Why?”
“Agents handle the contracts.”
“And take a percentage.”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Eight. Sometimes ten.”
Jo started calculating.
Twelve hundred head.
Even at depressed prices.
Minus losses.
Minus transport.
Still not enough.
But closer.
“What else does the ranch produce?”
Amos shrugged.
“Hay.”
“Land good?”
“Best river bottom in the district.”
Silas suddenly spoke.
“Coal.”
Everyone looked at him.
“What?” Amos asked.
Silas pointed toward the mine.
“Coal seam runs under Lazy K grazing land.”
Amos stared.
“That's worthless rock.”
Silas shook his head.
“Wasn't when I worked it.”
“You said this mine failed.”
“Silver failed.”
He held up black-stained fingers.
“Coal didn't.”
Jo's heart began pounding.
“How much?”
Silas shrugged.
“Enough that a railroad company asked questions years back.”
Amos sat straighter.
“What company?”
“Dakota & Western.”
Jo turned to Gideon.
“Railroads need fuel.”
He understood.
“You think the land's worth more than Amos knows.”
“Maybe.”
Clayton laughed in disbelief.
“So we survive the blizzard, save the cattle, fight off Voss, and now the fat cook is going to save the ranch with rocks?”
Silence.
Clayton's face changed immediately.
“I didn't mean—”
Jo looked at him.
His shoulders dropped.
“Old habit.”
“Expensive habit.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
Then Jo smiled.
Everyone relaxed.
“Let's find out whether those rocks are worth anything.”
They returned to the ranch ten days later.
The journey was slow because Amos traveled in a wagon, but the surviving cattle followed lower ground toward winter pasture.
News reached Sheridan before they did.
Fourteen Lazy K cowboys had been presumed dead.
Their return turned into a spectacle.
Families ran into the street.
Tommy's mother slapped him before hugging him.
Levi's wife cried so hard she could not speak.
Men crowded around Amos.
But the greatest surprise came when people recognized Jo.
Someone had already told the story.
How she had saved supplies.
Splinted Amos's leg.
Controlled rations.
Crossed the storm for medicine.
Stopped Harlan Voss from stealing the herd.
A reporter from the Sheridan Sentinel approached her.
“Mrs. Miller?”
“Miss.”
“Could I ask you about the storm?”
“No.”
He blinked.
“No?”
“I haven't bathed in two weeks.”
Gideon laughed.
The reporter stepped back.
“Tomorrow?”
“Maybe.”
At the Lazy K ranch house, Jo finally stood in warm water.
She scrubbed smoke from her skin.
Washed her hair.
Then dressed in a clean blue gown she had left behind before the cattle drive.
When she entered the kitchen, Gideon was waiting.
He stared.
Jo became self-conscious.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“That's clearly something.”
“You're beautiful.”
She looked away.
“You've seen me before.”
“I've seen you every day for seven months.”
“And suddenly I'm beautiful?”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“I suddenly have permission to say it.”
Jo's throat tightened.
He took her hand.
“I meant what I said.”
“About courting me?”
“Yes.”
“No blizzard required?”
“Preferably no.”
She laughed.
Then he kissed her.
Gently.
No audience.
No grand speech.
Just a kiss that asked instead of claimed.
When they separated, Jo whispered, “That was proper enough.”
“Good.”
“Could improve.”
He smiled.
“I'll practice.”
Three days later, Silas returned from the mine with samples.
A railway engineer visiting Sheridan examined them.
Then examined Silas's old maps.
By sundown, the man requested a meeting.
Dakota & Western wanted mineral rights.
Not ownership.
A lease.
Upfront payment: twelve thousand dollars.
Annual royalties after development.
Amos nearly fell from his chair.
Combined with a direct cattle sale, the Lazy K could pay the bank.
Barely.
But they could pay.
Jo smiled for the first time in days.
Then the front door opened.
The bank president entered.
Beside him stood Harlan Voss.
Voss placed a document on the table.
“I'm afraid you're too late.”
Amos went pale.
“What is that?”
Voss smiled.
“Your note.”
The banker cleared his throat.
“Mr. Tucker, Broken Crown Holdings purchased your debt this morning.”
Jo stared at Voss.
He smiled at her.
“And I don't want payment.”