Chapter 4: The Secret Beneath My Land
I had lived on that ranch for twenty years.
Every corner of it carried a memory.
The old barn where I repaired my first saddle.
The oak tree near the fence where my father used to sit with a cup of coffee every morning.
The well where I drew water every day.
I knew that land.
Or at least I thought I did.
But when Aiyana said there was something hidden there, suddenly every piece of ground felt unfamiliar.
“What exactly are they looking for?”” I asked.
Aiyana remained silent.
That worried me more than anything.
People lie when they are afraid.
But silence usually means the truth is worse.
Tahoma approached us.
“We should move everyone inside the ranch house.””
I looked toward him.
“Everyone?””
His expression was serious.
“The attack may not come from the direction we expect.””
I looked at Aiyana.
“You knew about this.””
Her eyes lowered.
“I suspected.””
“That is not the same thing.””
“No.””
Her voice was quiet.
“It is not.””
I stepped away.
For years, I had survived because I trusted my instincts. I repaired my own fences, guarded my own land, and depended on nobody.
Now, within twenty-four hours, my life had been turned upside down by a woman who appeared at my fence carrying secrets.
I looked at her.
“You should have told me.””
“Yes.””
The honesty caught me off guard.
No excuses.
No defense.
Just the truth.
“I thought if I told you everything, you would refuse to help me.””
I looked around at the warriors.
“And you thought this was better?””
“No.””
She looked at the ground.
“I thought I could leave before my problems reached you.””
I almost laughed.
Almost.
“Apparently that worked.””
Aiyana accepted the anger in my voice.
“You have every right to blame me.””
Before I could answer, a sound came from behind the barn.
A horse.
Everyone turned.
A warrior raised his rifle.
But it was only my neighbor, Thomas Bell.
He rode toward us with a worried expression.
“Corvin!””
I stepped forward.
“Thomas, what are you doing here?””
He slowed his horse.
Then stopped when he saw the warriors.
“What in heaven’s name happened?””
Before I could answer, Aiyana suddenly moved.
Fast.
She stepped between us and Thomas.
I noticed.
She recognized something.
“What is it?”” I asked.
She stared at Thomas.
“Who told you to come here?””
Thomas frowned.
“Nobody. I saw all these people from my property. I thought you were under attack.””
Aiyana did not relax.
“Your property is three miles away.””
“Yes.””
“So how did you arrive before the smoke signals reached the southern ridge?””
The question confused me.
Thomas looked confused too.
“I don’t understand.””
But Aiyana was watching him carefully.
Then she looked at his hands.
At his boots.
At the horse.
Something changed in her expression.
“Corvin.””
Her voice was low.
“Do not let him near the house.””
My body reacted before my mind did.
I stepped between Thomas and the ranch.
Thomas looked hurt.
“Corvin, what are you doing?””
I stared at him.
“I’m asking the same question.””
The silence became unbearable.
Then Thomas sighed.
“You really think I’m your enemy?””
“No.””
I looked at Aiyana.
“But someone is.””
Suddenly, a warrior shouted from the eastern side.
Everyone turned.
A small group of men had appeared beyond the fence line.
Not Apache.
Not neighbors.
Strangers.
And they were carrying shovels.
Aiyana stared at them.
“They found it.””
My heart sank.
“Found what?””
She looked at the strangers digging near the edge of my property.
Then at me.
“Your father’s secret.””
I froze.
“My father?””
I had not heard that name connected to anything in years.
My father had died when I was twenty-two.
Before he died, he told me only one thing about the ranch.
Protect it.
Never sell it.
Never leave it.
I had always thought it was because the land mattered to him.
But now, watching strangers tear into the earth, I wondered if he had been hiding something else.
Aiyana stepped closer.
“Corvin, listen to me.””
Her voice became urgent.
“Whatever your father buried here…”
She looked toward the men digging.
“They are willing to kill everyone in this valley to find it.””
A gunshot cracked through the morning air.
The bullet struck the wooden fence beside me.
Everyone moved at once.
Warriors raised their weapons.
Thomas reached inside his coat.
And Aiyana grabbed my arm.
But what happened next stopped me completely.
Because the person who pulled out a weapon…
was not Thomas.
It was someone standing behind me.
May you like
Someone who had been inside my house all morning.
Someone I thought I could trust.
