“I’ll Take Her!” – The Mountain Man’s Choice Shocked the Entire West

Chapter 2

They rode out of Bitter Creek before the hour was done.

Simon purchased a dappled gray mare from the livery stable at three times its value without haggling, saddled her with practiced efficiency, and handed Elena the reins with the same wordless economy he seemed to apply to everything. The townspeople gathered on the boardwalks to watch them leave, standing in tight clusters with their coat collars turned up against the wind, their expressions caught somewhere between pity and relief. A few of the miners removed their hats.

No one tried to stop them.

The journey into the Wind River Range began as an ordeal and escalated from there. For three days they climbed, the trail narrowing from road to track to suggestion as they ascended into terrain that seemed to resent human passage. The temperature dropped steadily — not the dry cold of the valley floor, but a wet, bone-penetrating cold that found every gap in clothing and exploited it. Ice sheeted the switchbacks. The horses moved with careful, sliding steps, their breath steaming in thick clouds.