body acting as a crowbar. He heard the nails on the top hinge screeching against the wood.
The door gave way and crashed against the foundation. Jake cleared the opening, chased by billows of smoke. He gulped in life-giving air, trying to see where Livy had gone. He stood, lumbering away from the building in the direction he’d last seen her.
“Livy!” His voice was no more than a croak.
A shout from behind him spurred him on. He had no way of knowing who’d spotted him, but if it was Gibbons’s men, they’d shoot first and ask questions later.
He cleared the line of trees and staggered along the edge of the creek toward an alley leading into shantytown, searching for Livy. The sound of breaking ice and a gasping scream galvanized him forward.
Oh, God, help me find her before it’s too late.
He found her more from the sound of thrashing than from sight. He grabbed for her and missed. On his second try he managed to tangle one hand in her sodden skirt and haul her out of the water. She lay in his arms as limp as the corn-husk doll they’d made together. A shot rang out behind them as he ducked into an alley.
The dragon in Jake’s lungs clawed to get out, but he fought the urge to cough. His and Livy’s lives depended on silence. He glanced at the unconscious woman in his arms. Oh, Lord, please save her life. I’ve just found her. I can’t lose her now. We need Your help, Lord.
His heart ripped in two. There wasn’t time to stop and give her his coat. She needed someplace safe and warm and out of harm’s way. Now. And he knew just the place.
Emma’s.
He staggered across the street, stumbled along behind half a dozen shacks, and zigzagged his way to the café, hoping and praying he’d lost their pursuers. He banged on Emma’s back door.
No response.
He pounded the wood again. When Emma didn’t answer, he started fumbling with the buttons on his coat with one hand, holding Livy tight against him with the other.
Finally a feeble light filtered through the crack at the bottom of the door, but Emma didn’t answer.
“Emma, it’s Jake Russell. I’ve got Livy out here and she needs help.”
“Livy, are you there?” Emma asked through the door.
“She’s unconscious. Please, Emma.”
Emma swung open the door, her eyes going wide when she saw Livy’s limp body, her wet clothes already stiffening from the cold. She grabbed for them and hauled them inside. “Oh, my goodness. Get in here, now.”
Without any wasted motion, Emma jerked a curtain aside and pointed to a rumpled bed. Jake deposited Livy on the covers. Emma shoved him out of the small space and yanked the tattered curtain shut. “Stoke the fire.”
The fire grew hot, the minutes long. Jake raked one hand through his hair, scattering the smell of woodsmoke through the room. Rustling sounds of Emma undressing Livy filled the tiny living quarters. A moan sounded, and Jake stopped himself short of ripping the curtain open. “Emma?”
“She’s coming around.” She pushed the curtain back. Livy lay on the bed, wrapped securely in a quilt. “Move her to my rocker, close to the fire.”
Jake did as she instructed. Emma knelt and started rubbing warmth into Livy’s feet. Jake did the same with her hands, cold as blocks of ice.
Shouts reverberated off the walls, and the clatter of boots rushing over the boards in front of Emma’s shattered the silence. Jake heard shouts of fire. The whole town would turn out, not only to save the building but to keep the fire from spreading.
Jake started coughing. His eyes watered, and he thought he’d cough his lungs up. Emma handed him a glass of water.
Emma’s gaze centered on Jake. When he recovered, she asked, “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“The glove factory’s on fire.”
“Oh no.” Alarm caught and held her features. “The whole town could burn.”
He shook his head. “There’s no wind tonight, and it’s far enough away from the other buildings that it shouldn’t spread.”
“Are you sure?” Her voice trembled.
“Yes. But a healthy dose of prayer won’t hurt.”
“Amen to that.” Her gaze swung between him and Livy, still shivering beneath the mountain of blankets and quilts Emma had wrapped around her. He could see the questions in her eyes, but she didn’t voice them.
She cupped Livy’s face in one hand. “Livy, dear, can you hear me?”
Livy opened her eyes, staring at Emma. “Cold. So cold.”
“I know. We’ll have you warmed up before long.”
Jake