Read Carol Cox for Free Online Page B

managed to completely disrupt his day—first her demand to speak to his deceased uncle, followed by her flirting unconscionably with Will Blake, and then the incident with the half-witted Hatcher brothers.
    Just the thought of the mess the two had created in their mad dash made Caleb grit his teeth. Before shooing them out of the store, he’d assessed the damage they’d done and promised to let Will Blake know he could expect to see that amount added to the Diamond B’s store tab. That brought them back down to earth in a hurry, although both of them left casting sheep eyes over their shoulders at the trouble-making stranger.
    After he finished writing up the order for Mr. Henderson and his expectant wife, the store was quiet again, with theexception of Idalou Fetterman, happily absorbed in looking through his stock of ribbons and notions. It was as good a time as any to deal with Miss Ross—whatever her business—and send her on her way.
    He straightened his vest and cleared his throat.
    The back door flew open and banged against the wall adjoining the mercantile’s small kitchen. Micah Rawlins, owner of the livery across the street, burst inside the mercantile, his eyes wide. “Caleb, you better come quick! There’s a fire in the alley.”
    All thoughts of Miss Ross forgotten, Caleb followed Micah outside at a gallop and saw several townsmen kicking dirt on a small blaze that had engulfed a patch of dry weeds along the edge of the alley. Caleb grabbed several burlap feed sacks from a stack near the back door, tossed them to the other men, and joined them in beating the flames into extinction.
    Andrew Bingham, the town’s barber, staggered around the corner of the building carrying two wooden buckets filled with water. Two men sprang to help him lift the heavy buckets and douse the last embers.
    Chest heaving, Caleb leaned against the wall of the mercantile to catch his breath and surveyed the scorched area, watching to make sure no sparks flickered that would set the fire off again. He shook his head and turned to Micah. “That was too close. If it had spread another five feet, it would have caught the back wall of the mercantile.” He looked around the alley and frowned. “Any idea how it started?”
    Micah’s lips tightened into a grim line, and he nodded toward the opposite end of the alley, where Earl Slocum was holding two small boys by their shirt collars. Caleb’s mouth went dry when he realized Levi was one of them.
    He covered the length of the alley with quick strides and knelt before his son. “What happened?”
    Levi glared back, his lower lip thrust out in a manner Caleb suspected was intended to make him look tough.
    Caleb took the boy by the shoulders and saw the rebellious light in his eyes flicker. “Tell me what happened, son.”
    Levi jerked his head toward the other boy, who stared at Caleb with a frightened expression. “I told Percy I could start a fire with my magnifying glass, and he said I was full of beans. So I showed him.”
    “You showed him.” The words came out in a flat monotone. Caleb swiveled around and pointed toward the blackened patch of earth near the mercantile. “Do you realize you could have set the store on fire?”
    “Not just the store,” added Slocum. “If that building had gone up, it would have spread from there and taken out most of the town.”
    Caleb got to his feet and held out his hand. “Give me the magnifying glass.”
    Levi balked for a moment, then reached into his back pocket and handed it over. “When do I get it back?”
    “You don’t.” Seeing his son’s stricken expression, Caleb pressed his point home. “Not until you’re old enough to use it for the purpose it was intended. Your actions today could have caused grief for a lot of people. You need to spend some time thinking that over this afternoon, and we’ll talk about it at home this evening.
    “For now . . .” He prodded the boy’s shoulder. “You’re going to stay in