Then, in late summer, a fire started near the eastern hay shed.
It was discovered shortly before midnight by the young stable hand who had spotted the damaged headgate months earlier. He smelled smoke, followed it behind the shed, and found flames climbing through dry brush toward the stacked timber. His shouting woke the yard. Within moments the rancher and several workers were carrying buckets while others led frightened horses from the nearby stable.
The bride heard the alarm from the upstairs bedroom. She dressed quickly, pulled on sturdy shoes, and went to the broad porch where she could see the yard. Firelight flashed against the black sky. Her husband was directing workers near the shed, his dark hair loose around his shoulders. The wind was driving sparks toward the barn roof.
She called to the foreman's widow, who had come running from her cottage, and asked her to organize a water line from the kitchen pump. Then she sent two workers to wet the barn roof and another to keep the livestock gate clear. She had no intention of charging into flames to prove courage. People needed to know where the animals were moving, where clean water could be found, and how to prevent panic from blocking escape routes.
The fire spread quickly through brush but did not reach the main barn. The rancher and his men cut a break ahead of it, then beat down the remaining flames while rain began falling from a passing cloud. By dawn the shed wall was scorched and several stacks of hay were damaged. The horses were safe. The workers were exhausted. One man had singed his sleeve; another had a minor burn that the physician treated promptly. No one had been seriously injured.
The bride found her husband beside the smoking remains of the shed. His face was blackened with soot. One sleeve had torn at the shoulder, and his hands were raw. She looked at him for a long moment before saying, "You promised me you'd come home."
He stepped closer. "I did."
She touched his cheek, then wrapped her arms around him. He held her with such relief that she felt his entire body trembling. For several minutes they stood together while the crews finished checking for embers. Then he whispered that he'd seen the fire climbing toward the stable and remembered his brother.
"I know," she said. "You were frightened of losing someone again."
He nodded against her hair. "I nearly forgot to think."