saw it.
That tiny flash in Buck’s face.
Not anger.
Fear.
He was not afraid she would fight him.
He was afraid she remembered something.
Something from before her mother died.
Something from the mountain.
Buck stepped closer.
“You listen to me, Lily June Hart. Your mama filled your head with ghost stories. There’s nothing up there but rock, snakes, and old mines that kill stupid girls.”
Lily tilted her head.
“Then why do you keep buying land around it?”
Buck did not answer.
But Sheriff Mercer did.
“That’s enough.
