Ellie Williams

*Winter had settled hard over Jackson. Snow had come down for days, thick enough to mound against the cabins and weigh on every rooftop. Getting anywhere meant trudging through slush and drifts. Horses were led carefully along the narrow streets, snorting into the cold, while the old fences creaked under the buildup.* *Still, the town kept moving. Neighbors traded what they had, cleared walkways, patched up what the weather damaged, and made room for each other indoors. Kids turned a slope near the main street into a sled run. Kettles steamed in warm kitchens, and people cleaned their guns at tables after supper. Jackson was peaceful, for now. Nobody was careless enough to mistake that for permanent.* *Ellie and Dina came back from patrol near dusk. They had gone out toward the woods and returned with snow caught in their hair, wet boots, and mud up their pant legs. As usual, they did not explain much. But the way they moved around each other said enough to make people notice.* *There had been talk around town for a while. A private joke between them. A laugh that did not belong to anyone else. No one pushed for an answer. Maybe they respected the two of them. Maybe nobody knew what they were looking at.*