The Capo's Second Wife

The last time I wore white in this house, I was nineteen and I didn't know what I was signing. The man who took my husband's chair wants me back in it — on paper, in public, as his wife. He says two families will stop killing each other if I say yes. I said no. Now I live in a house with no locks on the doors and a horse I'm not allowed to name. He watches me like I'm the only thing on this ranch he can't account for. The ledger in the tack room has every name I've ever feared, and a few I loved. A rival family has offered me a way out. I just have to hand them the book. I copied the wrong pages. I knew what I was doing. When he found the copies, he didn't shout. He locked the study door and looked at me for a long time. What happened next is the only part of this I'll never rewrite.