“I usually stick close to home in case I’m needed, but whenever I get the chance, I come up here and stay a few days, do some hunting and fishing. Sometimes getting back to basics feels really good.”

“So you keep the buildings maintained.”

He nodded. “Seems like I owe that much to my family, the men and women who came before me. It took a lot of hard work to build the homestead into the ranch it is today. Besides, it’s good to have a place to get away once in a while.”

“You ever bring anyone up here with you?” she asked, though she didn’t think the cabin sounded like Heather’s kind of place.

He sliced her a look from beneath the brim of his hat. “You mean like a woman? No. Heather would have hated it, and there hasn’t been anyone else I wanted to spend that much time with.”

She didn’t say more as the pickup began to climb a steep gravel road that wound through a narrow canyon. Kade pulled up in an open area in front of a group of wood and metal buildings and braked to a stop. Off to one side, Ellie could see the mine entrance, a dark hole in the steep side of the mountain.

“It’s a small operation,” Kade said. “The claim started producing in the 1890s. It closed after World War Two for about thirty years. When prices went up, Mountain Ore Mining bought the Red Hawk, renewed the lease, and started production again.”

He cracked open the pickup door and stepped out of the truck. Ellie got out and walked around to his side of the vehicle.

“I assume this is a silver mine,” she said as they crossed the open area toward a wooden building with a sign that read OFFICE above the door.

“Mainly silver, lead, and zinc. Also some sphalerite, galena, and pyrite, a little gold.”

“Gold?”

“Not enough to be profitable. It’s the other stuff that makes the money.”

She glanced around the operation, watched a group of miners at work. A skip loader rolled one way and then another, picking up rocks and carrying them from place to place. One of the workers, a tall, lanky man with curly red hair, broke away from the others and strode toward them.

“Kade, thanks for coming.” He stuck out a hand Kade shook.

“You wouldn’t have called if you hadn’t thought it was important.”

“The mine is on your land. That gives you a certain liability. This wasn’t an accident. I figured you’d want to know.”

Kade turned. “Will Turley, this is Ellie Bowman. Will’s the supervisor here. Ellie works for me at the ranch. She was with me in town. Faster to come straight here.”

Turley tipped his head in her direction. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Bowman.”

“Ellie,” she corrected.

Turley smiled. “Ellie.”

“Where’d this happen?” Kade asked.