"They've got numbers and experience. We're just farmers trying to survive winter."
"Then we make ourselves harder to attack."
"We..."
"No."
Harlon's voice went hard.
"I won't put this family in more danger by antagonizing criminals. We keep our heads down. Hope they move on to easier targets."
"And if they don't move on? If they come back?"
"Then we deal with it when it happens."
"That's not a plan. That's hoping."
"It's all we've got."
Norah wanted to argue, but the fear in Harlon's eyes stopped her.
He wasn't being cowardly.
He was being practical.
Calculating odds.
Trying to protect his sons the only way he knew how.
But practical wasn't going to save them if Black Hollow decided this ranch was worth taking.
The boys were sent to bed, though Norah doubted any of them would sleep.
She could hear them whispering upstairs, probably planning what they'd do if the outlaws came back.
Harlon sat at the kitchen table cleaning his rifle, even though it was already clean.
Thomas paced.
Eli watched the windows like he expected an attack any second.
"We should at least warn the other ranches," Thomas said.
"And tell them what? That Black Hollow's scouting? They already know that. Everyone knows."
Harlon didn't look up from the rifle.
"Knowing doesn't help if you can't do anything about it."
"So we just wait to be victims?"
"We're not victims yet."
"But we will be if we do nothing. What would you have me do?"
Harlon's voice rose.
"Ride out and challenge a gang of killers? Get myself shot and leave you boys alone? That what you want?"
"I want you to fight instead of just accepting that bad things are going to happen."
"I am fighting. I'm fighting to keep you alive. Sometimes that means knowing when to back down."
"That's not fighting. That's surrendering before the battle even starts."
They were heading toward another explosion.
The kind that had been building since those men appeared.
Norah stepped between them.
"Stop," she said. "Both of you. This isn't helping."
"Stay out of this," Harlon said.
"No."
Norah's voice stayed calm but firm.
"You're both scared, and you're taking it out on each other. That's exactly what men like Black Hollow want. They want you divided, scared, fighting among yourselves so you can't fight them."
"You don't understand."
"I understand that three men showed up at your door and you sent them away. That took courage. But now you need to follow it up with action, not hope."
She looked at Harlon.
"Thomas is right. You need to warn the other ranches. You need to organize, because isolated families are easy targets. But families working together are an army."
"We're not an army."
"Not yet. But you could be."
Norah moved to the window, looking out at the darkness.
"Those men will talk. They'll tell Black Hollow about this place. About the boys. About me. They'll assess whether we're worth attacking. And if we're alone, the answer will be yes. But if they know we're connected to other ranches, if they know an attack here means retaliation from the whole valley, they'll choose easier targets."
Thomas finished.
Harlon was quiet for a long moment.
"You're asking me to put this family in the middle of a range war."
"I'm asking you to make this family part of something bigger than just survival."
Norah turned from the window.