Free The Stafford Collection, Historical Western Romances by Lynn Hubbard Page B

mentally, she sank into the mud and sobbed in anguish. She could hear people yelling and shouting around her but she did not care. She felt numb to emotion but she still felt the rain and the cold mud she was laying in. She lost track of everything as her mind reeled.  Star was gone as was her job and all the money and belongings she had. For the second time in her life, Sabrina watched as her home burn to the ground.
    She was barely aware when strong arms reached down for her and picked her up. She wept as she was carried off into the cold darkness.
     

 
     
    Chapte r 7
     
     
    B rock again sat watching Will sleep; it had become a pastime of his.  He remembered the terror he felt when he arrived in town and saw the barn aflame. His heart almost stopped as he heard Jack yelling that Will was still inside. He saw horses escaping and when Will did not emerge, he ran in.  He followed Star’s fearful whinnies, as he knew that Will would be close by. Seeing him fumbling with the broken latch as the ash fell around him Brock ran forward grabbed him and pulled him out.  Outside in the fresh air he was taken off guard by his immense sense of relief that Will was not burned.  Will’s screams had torn at his very soul and he wasn’t certain why.
    He carried the boy to the jail and laid him on an empty cot. His breathing was shallow but steady; he was exhausted and Brock left him to sleep as he went back out to secure the town.
    Brock wiped his eyes wearily; they still burned from the smoke and ash in the air. Of course, the fact that he was up all night did not help matters either.  Luckily, the barn was the only building that was totally destroyed. A couple of others were damaged by the wind and rain but were repairable. There were some injuries, but so far the only loss was the horse. He sighed---what was the boy thinking, risking his life for a horse that wasn’t even his?
    A soft knock on the doorframe roused Brock from his thoughts. Mr. Swanson came in to see how Will was feeling. Brock stood to greet him. 
    “I see you achieved a great deal in the last couple of months,”  Mr. Swanson said, looking around.
    “Yes, thanks to Will and his help.  He is very industrious, ” Brock said, shaking his hand.
    “He’s a good boy, a hard worker but a bit stubborn. Thank you for saving his life last night. There is no way he would have left on his own---not without Star, ” Mr. Swanson said desolately.
    “I was going to ask about the boy’s well-being, his future.  It couldn’t have been good for him to be living in the stables.”
    Mr. Swanson smiled sadly, “No, no it wasn’t but Will is as stubborn as a billy goat. As I’m sure you’ve seen, he can be downright ornery at times. I have plenty of room at my house but he refused to stay with me and the Mrs., ‘didn’t wanna put us out’ he said.”
    “I was thinking about having him stay at my place since it looks like I’m gonna be here a while,” said Brock. “Having Will stay with me would be no problem.”
    “Well, Will is his own man; it’d be up to him.” As he left, he muttered, “Good luck trying to convince him, though.”  Brock’s next visitor wasn’t as welcome.
     
    Sabrina awoke and the events of the night before crashed into her consciousness. Her lungs burned as she drew in a breath, and her throat was parched.  She was lying on a cot, facing a stark wooden wall, very disoriented. She could hear male voices behind her. Then suddenly a voice stood out: it was Brock’s deep baritone. The other voice sounded familiar but she could not place it. She shut her eyes and pretended to still be asleep.
    “I came by to check on Will,” Thomas Reynold stated.
    “He’s resting, he shouldn’t be disturbed.”
    “He should still be checked out. Since my father is tied up with patients, I figured I would come by and examine the boy.”
    Sabrina stiffened involuntarily. She did not want anyone examining her, much less Thomas. She hoped