Chapter 46

“This is wonderful,” she exclaimed.

“What’s in it?”

Eliza smiled. “Personal stuff.”

“Personal stuff? Does that mean you’re not going to tell me?”

“Maybe one day….” She tucked it into her own saddlebag, her heart beating a happy tune against her chest. “Let’s get out of here, yeah?”

Ford settled in his saddle, surveying the land around them in the growing light. “How much of this is yours?”

“Jake put in for five-hundred acres.”

“Are you going to keep it or sell it?”

“I…I don’t know. I hadn’t really thought of it. I suppose the money would be nice, and I know that a dug well will probably double it’s worth…”

“Triple, at least. But you don’t need to worry about the money. If you want to keep it, you should.”

“What for? I don’t want to come back…”

“Consider it an investment,” Ford said, wheeling around his horse. He untied the third horse from the hitching post and wrapped its reins around the horn of his saddle. “Maybe your kids will want it one day.”