But something must be very, very wrong with her, she thought. Daniel was a strong man, seasoned in war and widowed in love, yet he ran like a rabbit at the first round being fired. He'd done his duty and kissed her. Maybe all her relatives should give him a medal for that. After all, it was the first time she'd gotten a kiss since her parents died. A few times kinfolk had almost kissed her, but the affection had been lost in the air a few inches from her cheek.

But Daniel had really kissed her. Once on the cheek when they'd been in the kitchen and once fully. In her life, these few days in Texas could be classified as a regular epidemic of affection.

Karlee crawled into bed. She couldn't wait for tomorrow to come. Good or bad, it was bound to be interesting.

Her prayers had been answered. Adventure had found her at last.

Deep into the night, Daniel raised his head. Strong winds circled across the creek and harassed branches above him. The far away smell of a campfire danced in the wind, and the creek rustled with tiny ripples as if irritated by a change in nature.

Daniel stood, sensing trouble. He glanced toward the quiet town like a knight of old would have watched a sleeping dragon.

At first, all looked well, the outline of buildings along the water. Jefferson was a small village with wide streets and gas lights on every corner, just like a real city.

Then he saw it. A flame too great to be lamplight. A flame that lit the midnight sky to early dawn.

“Fire!” he yelled as if there were someone to hear.

He broke into a dead run toward the flames that seemed to grow as he identified them. Orange and gold flickers danced along a two-story structure and jumped to other buildings as though escaping the blaze. By the time he reached the outskirts of Dallas Street, the flicker had grown to a monster.

The dragon had awakened.

Several buildings were ablaze. People ran everywhere, some saving their property, some in fear, some looting warehouses in the dawn-like light of chaos. In this town of wealth and trade, no one had thought to organize any kind of fire department. Panic spread faster than flames.

Daniel watched a whirl of ashes climb toward Heaven like a mini-tornado. The twister caught in the wind and funneled high in the sky. Ashes, still red with life, scattered across rooftops like crimson rain. The fire was spreading. In a few blocks it would reach his church. Another block his house. Daniel turned and ran.

He plowed through his kitchen door without slowing down. “Karlee! Get the twins. You've got to get out of here.”

He was halfway up the stairs before she opened her door. “Will it spread?” She was buttoning her blouse, telling Daniel the fire had already awakened her. “How long do we have?”

“I'm not sure. It looks like at least a block of downtown is already burning. I'll hitch the wagon. Can you drive to the Buchanans' place? Most of the men are gone, but Deut and his younger sons are still home. You'll be safe there.”

“I can,” Karlee answered as she ran for the twins' room.

He hoped she wasn't lying. There was no time for discussion. He hitched the team and pulled it to the back of the house. She hurried out with a twin in each arm. A large bundle hung over one shoulder like a cotton picking sack.

“I threw what I could of clothes in a sheet.” She surprised him with her calm. “We're ready.”

Daniel helped them into the wagon. The fires pushed midnight away. The air was summer hot even though it was only early March. As he kissed each child, he thanked Heaven for the cradle he'd attached to the back of the wagon's bench. The twins would be safe as Karlee gave her full attention to driving.

“Aren't you coming?” She lifted the reins with skill.

“I have to do what I can here,” he answered. “I'll be all right.” He closed his hand around hers in reassurance. “Take care of the girls, Karlee. Don't worry about me.”

Before she could answer, a rider pounded into the small yard on a horse that looked half-mad from the flames. The horseman reined with expert skill, fighting the animal's desire to remain at full gallop.

Wolf yelled for Karlee to wait as he climbed off his mount and slung a body he carried over his shoulder.

“Hold up,” he stormed toward them. “I got something you need to get out of town.”

He slammed the figure wrapped in a saddle blanket into the back of the wagon. “You're going to Deut's, right?”

Karlee nodded, speechlessly watching the blanket wiggle.

“Tell Deut to watch him close, and whatever he does, don't untie him.” Wolf stepped back and wiped his brow. “And if he can, be gentle with the man. Don't hurt him.”

Daniel raised an eyebrow as a bare leg kicked free of the blanket, but asked no questions of his friend.

“Tell Deut I'll explain more later. He already knows some.” Wolf slapped the wagon team into action and yelled, “Remind him if the fellow gets free, it'll take ten men to hold him back down.”

Karlee had her hands full fighting the reins. The horses smelled the fire now and were edgy. She glanced back at the twins riding in their box. They were both watching the blanket tossing in the back of the wagon with a mixture of curiosity and fear.

Another bare leg kicked free. She drove the team faster than she'd ever driven horses. Luckily, the road was clear and smooth. The girls were safe. She didn't want to even think about what might happen if whoever was under the blanket managed to get uncovered.

She tried to ignore the noise from the back of the wagon. Finally, she slowed and dared a glance.

Standing in the center of the wagon bed, balancing as best he could was a full-grown, mostly-naked Indian. He fought wildly against the ropes binding him.

Karlee let out a cry and slowed more. She knew what he was. She'd heard of Plains Indians and how they were wild cold-blooded killers. This must be one. His hair was long and black, his eyes fiery coals, his body, all that she could see, which was most of him, was the warm brown of the earth.

“I'm going to be killed,” she mumbled even though the man's hands were tied behind his back and his mouth gagged. “We'll be murdered right here on the road and no one will find us because of the fire and we'll be buzzard meat. I've read the dime novels, I know,” she said to herself. “The wild savages have to kill a few people and the women and children are always the first to go.”

She glanced again. He'd taken a step toward her and the twins. One arm was almost free of the ropes.

“Sit down!” she yelled the order as if she expected to be obeyed.

He looked like he could beat them all to death even with his hands tied.

“I got a gun!” She tried to make her words a growl.

He didn't show any sign of understanding, or caring. His eyes blazed through her with such hatred the stare might kill her. His chest heaved up and down like a bull preparing to charge.

Her grip of the reins tightened. She stared back at him and tried not to look frightened out of her skin.

The twins began to cry.

He had no right to scare the children. Anger mixed with the fear in her blood. “Stop frightening the children!” she screamed at him.

The twins cried louder.

Wolf had told her to be gentle with the monster he'd so carelessly thrown into her wagon. She'd not have the girls frightened out of a year's growth by any man, monster or not.

“I said sit down!” She slapped at the horses. Maybe she could make it to the Buchanans before he killed her. She'd never win in a fight, but she could drive.

A sudden jolt shook the wagon, but Karlee didn't slow down. She slapped the horses again and glanced back to see how near death hovered.

The man was gone!

Karlee pulled the leather so hard she felt it cut into her palms. “He must have jumped out,” she said aloud. “I'll tell Wolf that's what happened and we'll be done with the wild man.”

She looked at the girls, who were both shaking their heads as though they'd come loose during the ride.

“He didn't jump out?” Karlee shook her head at the same rate.

“He bounced up,” one said with a sniffle.

“And over,” the other finished.

Karlee turned the team and headed back. After a few yards, she stopped and tied the reins. “Stay still, girls,” she ordered as she climbed down from the bench. “I'd better go the rest of the way back alone.”

Clinching her fingers around the derringer in her pocket, she ventured forward. If he wasn't already dead, she might just shoot him for being such a bother.

She hadn't gone twenty feet behind the wagon when she saw the prisoner lying in the center of the road. The moon shone off his bare skin. He lay flat with his arms and legs outstretched, his ropes circling his body loosely.

“I've killed him! Wolf said be gentle, so I killed him.” She ran to the man and lifted his mud-covered head. “First, I almost kill Wolf. Now, I murder his bloodthirsty savage.”

“No one in their right mind jumps out of a traveling wagon on their head,” she reprimanded, as if he'd had a choice. “I didn't kill you. You killed yourself. I told you to sit down.”

She leaned down into his face and felt his slow breathing against her cheek. He was still alive!

Karlee gripped his arm and dragged him back to the wagon. He didn't seem to weigh all that much. He must be her height, but he was thinner than a lean crop scarecrow. Now that he was limp as a rag doll, he didn't seem nearly so frightening.

When she reached the wagon, she dropped his arm and tried to think how to get him in the flat bed. It didn't seem right to put her arms around his bare body. He wasn't a child she could just pick up. But there was no help. Unless she planned to be on this road all night, she had to do something.