The bitter wind that had carried Maria across the plains now whipped around Silas Oakridge, standing framed in the cabin doorway. Snowflakes clung to the shoulders of his expensive city coat.
His face was a mask of cold fury, a stark contrast to the quiet warmth of the small home behind me.
“You will return to Cheyenne,” Silas snarled, his voice cutting through the silence. “You will fulfill your contract. My contract.”
I felt Grayson’s hand on my arm, a steadying presence. His quiet strength gave me the courage to look Silas directly in the eye.
“No,” I said, my voice firm despite the tremor in my chest. “I will not.”
Silas’s lips thinned. “You forget yourself, Maria. Every penny your mother left you is tied to my management. Every stage, every costume, every note you sing.”
He took a step closer, his shadow falling over me. “And if you refuse, your backwoods husband here will face charges. Charges of larceny, embezzlement. One hundred thousand dollars in theater assets, missing.”
My breath hitched. One hundred thousand dollars. The sum was staggering, impossible.
“That’s a lie,” Grayson said, stepping forward. His voice was low, dangerous.
Silas merely smiled, a cold, predatory baring of teeth. “The Cheyenne Sheriff’s office will disagree, carpenter. They’ll have a warrant by week’s end.”
He glanced at me, his eyes gleaming with malicious triumph. “Think on it, girl. Do you want to see him rot in a territorial prison? Or will you be a dutiful stepdaughter and sing?”
My gaze met Grayson’s. His eyes held no fear, only resolute determination. He squeezed my hand gently.
“Get out,” I told Silas, my voice gaining strength. “This is our home. You are not welcome here.”
Silas stared for a long moment, his chest heaving with suppressed rage. The silence stretched, thick with unspoken threats.
Then, with a final, contemptuous glance that promised ruin, he turned.
“You’ll regret this, Maria,” he called back over his shoulder, his words carried away by the wind as he stomped down the snowy path. “By the end of the week, I promise you, you’ll regret everything.”
The cabin door clicked shut, sealing us in the sudden quiet, but the chill of Silas’s words lingered.
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