“You know,” he said, “I once kept my mouth shut when I should’ve spoken.”
Elise looked at him through wet lashes.
Jake stared past her, at nothing, seeing something old.
“My wife needed a doctor,” he said. “And the man in town turned us away because we couldn’t pay enough.”
His throat tightened, but he kept going.
“I walked out of that office without saying a word,” he said. “She died two days later.”
The words dropped into the cabin like stones.
Jake’s hands clenched, then loosened.
“I’ve had to live with that silence every day since,” he said.
He leaned forward, eyes steady on Elise.
“So believe me when I tell you this—if you’re brave enough to speak… I’m not going to let you stand there alone.”
Elise’s crying eased into something quieter. She wiped her face with the blanket, embarrassed like she still thought she owed the world composure.
Jake stood and went to the window, looking out at his land.
Quiet prairie. Big sky.
He had spent years minding his own business. Years choosing peace because peace was easier than fighting old ghosts.
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