"Evenin' partner," said the cowboy, his voice low and rough from years of smoke and whiskey. "I reckon you ain't from around these here parts, are ya?"

"I'm just passing through," replied the stranger, eyeing the cowboy's weathered boots and worn leather saddle. "Looking for a place to lay my head for the night."

The cowboy nodded, his eyes twinkling in the moonlight. "Well, there ain't no lodging for miles 'round. 'Less... you're willin' to take a risk."

"What sort of risk?" asked the stranger, his curiosity piqued.

"You could come back to my spread," the cowboy drawled. "But I warn you, there be secrets in them there hills. The kind that'll keep you up all night, wonderin' what's real and what's just your imagination playin' tricks."

The stranger hesitated, his heart pounding in his chest. But something about the cowboy's words called to him, like a siren's song in the dark. "Alright," he said finally. "Lead the way."