Her head dropped down to the crook of his neck, and she began to sob.

All the pent-up emotion inside of her seemed to erupt then. His chin rested on top of her head as she whispered her thank-you again and again.

He gently kissed her forehead. "You're welcome." The moment would never be forgotten, for the photographer captured the couple embracing so passionatelyhe, covered in soot, and she, wearing only a thin nightgown.

The photograph was on the front page of the Rockford Falls Gazette the following morning. /ebecca was sickened by the sight of Grace. The left side of her temple was severely swollen from the blow to her head.

It was a miracle her friend had survived.

Daniel had placed her on a blanket one of the neighbors provided and knelt by her side while the doctor examined her. Rebecca wasn't usually timid, but the seriousness of the injury took her breath away.

Daniel thought she was going to faint and told her to sit down, but she 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 . . .