was determined to speak to Grace first.




"How are you feeling, Grace? " she whispered, her voice shivering with


fear.




Grace stared up at the woman towering over her. She couldn't help but


notice there wasn't a hair out of place. Rebecca hadn't come running


to see the fire as everyone else had, dressed in robes and slippers.




No, she was fully attired. The unadorned black dress fit the occasion,


but her face was stark white in comparison.




"I'm feeling much better now, " Grace answered. "I'll be all right,


Rebecca. You mustn't worry about me." Rebecca lifted the hem of her


gown and knelt down next to Dr. Lawrence.




The physician patted Grace's hand. "You're going to be all right, " he


promised. "You're very lucky. I'm still not clear about how you got


hit, but I'm guessing the ceiling caved in on you." The doctor


awkwardly got to his feet. He addressed his next remark to Daniel.




"She should have been killed, Marshal." Rebecca leaned over Grace.




"Do you remember what happened? " "No, I can't seem to remember


anything at all." Rebecca nodded sympathetically. "It's just as well


you don't remember.




You would have horrible nightmares otherwise. Poor Jessica was right


in the thick of the fire, but blessedly you slept through it." Grace


became teary-eyed again. "She saved my life. If it weren't for her, I


would have died." Rebecca grasped Grace's hand. "Please don't cry, "


she whispered. "It's over now and everyone's safe."




"Where is Jessica? " Grace asked.




"She went to the wagon with Marshal Clayborne to fetch some clean


clothes, " Dr. Lawrence said. "I should probably have a look at


her.




" Grace struggled to sit up. Daniel put his arm behind her back and


helped her. Her head was still throbbing so much she could barely


concentrate. "Thank heavens we packed our clothes tonight. Everything


we own is in the wagon except what we were going to wear tomorrow. The


wagon didn't catch fire, did it? " "No, no, it didn't, " Rebecca


assured her.




The fire was still raging, but the street beyond was dark. Someone in


the crowd lit a torch. Caleb was sitting on Tilly's lap when the


stranger started toward the yard with the fiery light. Terrified,


Caleb began to scream for his mama. Rebecca immediately ran to him and


lifted him into her arms, holding him tight as she tried to soothe


him.




Daniel collared the man with the torch and told him to move back.




Grace tried to stand. She held on to the doctor's arm so she wouldn't


fall, but, Lord, she was so dizzy the world was spinning around her.




"What do you think you're doing? " Daniel muttered. "Sit down before


you pass out again."




"You're as white as a sheet, " the doctor told her. "Do as the marshal


says and sit back down. You need to rest."




"I want to find Jessica.




I must talk to her."




"I'll find her, " Daniel promised.




He headed for the field behind the house and saw Jessica coming toward


him. She obviously had heard her son crying, for she'd dropped the


clean clothes she'd only just gathered from the wagon and was running


toward him. Cole was following behind. He noticed the ground was


littered with trash and shouted to Jessica to watch where she was


walking, as there were pieces of glass in the grass that could easily


cut through her soft slippers.




Daniel shouted to Cole and then stopped near the edge of the lot. He


stared down at two empty milk bottles. It had rained hard the past


week, yet the bottles were clean. Curious, he picked one up. The


smell of kerosene was still strong, and when he looked, he could see


the residue in the bottom of the glass.




He showed both to Cole. He took a whiff of one and nodded. "When we


first got here, I noticed there didn't seem to be a starting point.




The back of the house was burning as fiercely as the front. It was


like the whole house was primed."




"Whoever did it must have circled the house with the kerosene."




"You thinking the Blackwater gang's responsible? They might have seen


the article in the paper, and a fire in the dead of night would be a


sure way to get rid of a couple of possible witnesses. Rebecca's lucky


she didn't move in here."




"She could be next on their list, " Daniel said, his voice grim.




"We're going to have to keep close to all three of them, and as soon as


they have had some sleep, they're going to tell us the truth."




"Are you going to tell them the fire was set? " Daniel took the bottle


from Cole and put both of them on the ground next to a tree. "Not yet,


" he said. "I don't want to scare them any more than they already


are.




" Cole looked at the house. "What a hell of a night, " he muttered.




"Let's get everyone settled, " Daniel said. "There's too many people


here. I don't like crowds." The marshals could hear Rebecca issuing


orders as they headed back to the front lawn. She had stepped forward


and had taken charge with a vengeance. She sounded like a military


commander who wasn't going to take no for an answer, and the crowd she


was ordering about responded like new recruits. They did whatever she


told them to do.




Jessica and Grace didn't know what they would have done if it hadn't


been for their friend organizing the townspeople. Neighbors were sent


home to fetch blankets for the women and the baby, Dr. Lawrence was


encouraged to open his home for Tilly until she could make other


arrangements, men were told to bring the wagon to the hotel, and a


brigade was established to haul water and put out the fire before it


spread to the field beyond.




No one was allowed to stand idle. There was work to be done, and


Rebecca was determined to see that it was completed as quickly as


possible.




Less than thirty minutes later, the bone-weary group headed to the


hotel. Although Grace protested vehemently, Daniel insisted on


carrying her. Cole carried Caleb, who was fast asleep before they


reached the street. Rebecca came up with the suggestion that Jessica


and Caleb take one of the marshal's rooms for the night and Grace take


the other one.




Since the hotel was full, the lawmen could sleep outside.




Cole and Daniel had other intentions. They weren't about to let the


women out of their sight. Daniel was going to stand guard in the


lobby, and Cole would stay upstairs to watch the hallways, but their


plans changed when they ran into Sheriff Sloan as he was tiptoeing out


of the hotel.




Daniel told him what had happened and ordered him to sit outside


Rebecca's door. Sloan readily agreed, for he was extremely embarrassed


that he hadn't even known about the fire. He had been otherwise


occupied, and from the smug, sated look on his face, Cole and Daniel


knew exactly what he'd been doing.




The night manager was appalled at the sight of the sootcovered men and


women, but he was also extremely solicitous. He immediately awakened


two maids to help prepare the rooms. Every one took baths. Caleb not


only awakened during his bath, but was also full of energy. The nap on


the way to the hotel had obviously rejuvenated him.




Jessica and Grace were dead on their feet and fell asleep as soon as


they got into their beds. Daniel propped his chair against Grace's


door and was asleep seconds later with his hand resting on the hilt of


his gun.




Cole was across the hall. He too had stretched out in his chair and


had his back up against the door to Jessica's room. He could hear


Caleb chattering away in nonsensical gibberish. After several minutes,


the door opened and the baby came running out.




Cole carried him back to his mother, but stopped short just inside the


door when he saw Jessica. She was sleeping on her stomach with her


arms splayed wide. Apparently she had been too exhausted to pull the


covers up, and her pink nightgown had worked its way around her


knees.




Lord, but she had a shapely backside and legs. Cole noticed she had


nice feet too, and he wondered if she was ticklish.




Her face was turned toward the moonlight streaming in through the open


window. He stared at her mouth, remembering how soft her lips had been


when she'd kissed him. He could still feel her pressed against him,


and all he wanted to do now was get into that bed with her and . . .




He blocked the thoughts racing through his mind. The poorwoman had


been through hell tonight, and he didn't have any business conjuring up


such lustful notions. Besides, he was a U. S. marshal and the job


carried responsibilities with it. He couldn't act on his impulses, no


matter how irresistible they were.




Caleb began to fidget in his arms then, pulling Cole back from his


fantasies. The baby was wet. Cole quickly found his nappies and lay


him on the side of the bed close to Jessica.




"No, " Caleb chanted over and over. He swung his leg up, kicking Cole


in the arm, and tried to flip over so that he could slide down on the


floor.




"Oh, no you don't, " Cole whispered. "You're going to get changed, and


then you're going to sleep." He tied the straps securing the nappy,


picked up Caleb, then grabbed his baby doll and shoved it into his


arms. The baby was grinning and chattering away as Cole carried him