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