"We want him to wake up, " he roared.

She had had enough of his temper and started for the door. "I won't let you shout at me, Daniel. I know what I did was wrong, and if you want to arrest me, then do so."

"Grace . . . " "I realize I should have tried harder to convince my friend to tell the truth, but I can't change the past."

"Come back here." She was too tired to argue and did as he ordered.

"I'd like to go to bed."

"You're too upset to sleep."

"How do you know how I feel? " "I can see it in your face.

I know I shouldn't have raised my voice to you, and I'm sorry about that, but I'm damned well not going to apologize for my anger. I lost the only two women I'm ever going to love, and I don't care how scared Jessica was. She and you should have come forward." The impact of what he had just said was devastating, and she realized for the very first time just how much his opinion had come to matter to her. He had just told her he could never love again, and, dear God, she was already falling in love with him. She wouldn't let that happen. Only a fool would love a man who couldn't open his heart to her.

i "Why did you kiss me? " The question caught him off guard. "I wanted to." She folded her arms across her waist. "Don't ever do it again. Promise me you won't." He wouldn't make a promise he had no intention of keeping, and so he said nothing at all, until she pushed him.

"I want your word, Daniel."

"No."

"No? Do you mean . . . after what just happened . . . you would want to kiss me again? " "Yeah, I would and I will."

"Have you figured it all out yet, Daniel? " Cooper's raspy voice intruded.

Daniel jumped to his feet. "You're awake." Grace rushed to his side.

"How do you feel, Marshal? " "Like I'm in the middle of a war.

What's the matter with you two, fighting with a dying man between you?

" Daniel was so relieved to see his friend awake a huge grin crossed his face.

Grace was teary-eyed. "I'm sorry we disturbed you."

"You shouldn't shout at a lady, " Cooper told Daniel before turning to Grace. "And you should have told us what you knew. Now, don't cry, darling'."

"You're not dying, are you, Cooper? " Daniel asked.

Cooper would have laughed, but he didn't have the stamina. He felt as weak and used up as a hundred-year-old plow horse. "I don't suppose I am, " he said. "I asked you a question, " he reminded him. "Help me sit up, fetch me a glass of water, and then tell me if you've figured it out yet." Grace hurried to place two pillows behind the marshal's back while Daniel lifted him up. A moment later, Daniel handed him a glass of water, then pulled his chair closer to the bed.

Grace felt Cooper's brow, smiled because it didn't feel overly warm to her, and then politely excused herself and tried to leave the room so that they would have privacy for their talk.

"Grace, come back here, " Daniel ordered.

When she went back to the chair across from him, Daniel shook his head at her and motioned for her to come to him.

"Are you going to introduce me to the lady? " Cooper asked.

"My name is Grace Winthrop, " she said, and instinctively started to curtsy.

"She's Lady Grace Winthrop, " Daniel told his friend. "She already knows who you are, Cooper." He patted the side of the bed next to Daniel. "Sit with me, darling'."

"She isn't your darling'."

"She isn't? " he asked before taking a long swallow of the cool water.

"No, she isn't, " Daniel replied. "She's mine." Grace stumbled and fell on the foot of the bed. She was too astounded by his comment to argue. Did all men make so little sense? Daniel had kissed her, then shouted at her, and then he said the most ridiculously romantic thing she'd ever heard.

She simply had to get away from him as quickly as possible before he turned her mind into mush.

"Cooper fancies himself a lady's man, " Daniel remarked.

"I am a lady's man, " Cooper corrected.

Daniel settled back in his chair and relaxed. His friend was going to make it. Now it was time to talk about what had happened. He was pretty sure he had it all figured out, but he wanted confirmation.

"So tell me, Cooper, did Rebecca shoot you or was it someone else? "

Grace was so taken aback by the question, she jumped to her feet to protest. "You cannot be serious, Daniel. You can't possibly believe that sweet Rebecca had anything to do with this." Images of Rebecca cuddling little Caleb flashed in her mind. She remembered how worried and frightened Rebecca had been when she first arrived at Tilly's house after the fire. What would they have done if she hadn't stepped forward to take charge in their time of need? No, Grace thought, Daniel was wrong.

"Rebecca did the shooting, " Cooper said quietly. "I never l saw it coming, never once suspected. There was a man there, but I only got a fleeting glance at him before I was blown into the hallway. I was going down when she shot at me again. The last thing I remember is the sound of glass breaking." Grace was too stunned to speak.

Cooper told Daniel every detail he could recall, including the fact that Rebecca had been naked. "I opened the door and was so surprised by the sight of her, I think I hesitated before I went for my gun.

Those seconds almost cost me my life. I should have been prepared for any eventuality." Grace fell back on the bed. "She's one of them? "

she gasped, trying to come to terms with the truth. "The fire, " she cried out. "Did she start the fire? Did she hit me? " By the time she finished her questions, she was shaking.

Daniel nodded. "Most likely, " he said. "Unless one of the other men stayed behind, but I don't think that happened. All Rebecca had to do was sprinkle some kerosene around the house and light a match. She was real sure of herself, " he told Cooper. "She went inside the house"

Grace jumped to her feet again. "And helped herself to an apple, " she blurted out. "She tried to kill all of us . . . Tilly and Caleb and Jessica . . . and she wore black, Daniel. Didn't she? She was dressed all in black." Daniel noticed that Cooper grimaced in pain when Grace sat on the bed again. She didn't realize that every time she moved, she was causing him discomfort. Knowing Cooper the way he did, he also knew he wouldn't say anything to her. Daniel gently pulled Grace toward him and deposited her on the arm of his chair.

She barely noticed she'd moved, so caught up was she in the horror of Rebecca's treachery.

"She's a good actress, " Cooper remarked.

Grace tried to stand again, but Daniel put his arm around her waist and held her down. "Yes, she is a good actress, " she agreed. "She was complacent and smug, and I thought she was my friend. Can you believe that, Marshal Cooper? I believed she was my friend." Cooper nodded.

"I felt sorry for her."

"Everything was a lie, wasn't it? She pretended to be so worried about Jessica and me, and she kept telling us we had to stick together."

"When you were locked in the jail together? " Daniel asked.

"Yes, " she answered. "She told us what she was going to say to you.

She went over it again and again until we had all but memorized it. "

"Did she try to find out which one of you was the witness? " "No, she didn't."

"She had probably already made up her mind to kill both of you ."