Chapter 31
Mercer stepped between him and the bed. “You have no business here.”
“On the contrary, Doctor.” Silas glanced toward the open doorway. “My business is precisely why I came.”
Henrietta saw the paper in his hand.
Fresh paper.
Official paper.
Her eyes dropped to the seal.
Silas noticed.
Something pleased him.
“You should have waited until the roads cleared,” Henrietta said.
“And miss the opportunity to settle matters while everyone is home?” His gaze flicked toward Calvin. “Even our elusive rancher.”
Calvin’s hands clenched atop the blanket. “If this concerns the loan, I paid the delinquent amount.”
“So you did.”
“Then leave.”
Silas’s smile widened by a fraction. “Mr. Brooks, you continue to misunderstand your position.”
Henrietta stepped forward. “We understand it much better than we did yesterday.”
For the first time, Silas looked at her with genuine attention.
His eyes moved toward the table.
The deed packet lay open.
The old survey map rested on top.
Only for an instant, something sharpened in his expression.
Then it vanished.
Henrietta saw it anyway.
Silas put his hat on a peg near the door. “I hope you have enjoyed studying your property.”
Calvin’s voice became dangerous. “What does that mean?”
“It means sentiment is healthiest when exercised before ownership changes.”
Mercer turned toward the deputy still standing outside. “You know Calvin is injured.”
The deputy said nothing.
Silas held up the paper. “His leg has no bearing on the law.”
Henrietta extended her hand. “Let me see it.”
Silas looked down at her palm.
The insult in his face was subtle now. He had learned something from the punch Calvin gave him in the yard. He would not mock her body openly while Calvin could still throw something.
Instead, he offered the document with exaggerated courtesy.
Henrietta took it.
The heading blurred for half a second because her hands had begun shaking again.
Not from cold.
She read the first paragraph.
Then the second.
Dr. Mercer came close enough to read over her shoulder.
Calvin said, “What is it?”
Henrietta could not answer yet.
She read the date.
Read the amount.
Read the authorization.
Silas buttoned one glove. “I regret that circumstances require efficiency.”
Henrietta lifted her eyes. “You regret nothing.”
“Regret is generally expensive.”
Calvin shoved the blankets aside.
Pain stopped him almost immediately, but the movement was enough to make Mercer turn.
“Stay down.”
Calvin ignored him. “Henrietta.”
She crossed to the bed and gave him the paper.