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When Julia Lindstrom and her sister, Suzanna, made the decision to move to Deadwood, South Dakota in 1879, Julia never suspected that she would meet her future husband, secretly befriend the madam of a brothel, or jump in to assist when disaster strikes the turbulent mining town. Can she survive all three?
Daniel Iverson followed the gold rush to Deadwood back when it was in its heyday, only to discover gold prospecting wasn’t the life for him. Now working as a lawyer, a case falls into his lap regarding a rash of recent illnesses affecting the men visiting the town’s saloons and brothels. Is it a disease or something more sinister?
Will a secret tear them apart or bring them together?
Shouting, screams, and bells ringing jerked him from a dream of kissing Julia. He peeled his eyes open. He rubbed them with the back of his hand and squinted across the room. The room was hazy, making the lantern light barely visible. Smoke? He coughed and sank to the floor.
Voices yelled from the street. “Fire! Fire! The town’s on fire.”
Shit. It had to be bad if there was smoke in his room. As he stood an explosion rocked the building, sending him flying to the floor. What the hell? It sounded like cannons going off. Had they gone to war again while he was sleeping? He crawled across the floor, grasped the doorknob, and twisted. Nothing. He jerked the knob. Stuck. Damn landlord. The angry, swirling smoke thickened. He needed to get out of here before he couldn’t see or breathe, stuck doorknob or not.
He kicked at the door. Luckily, he’d left his boots on. On the third kick, the door crashed open. There’d be hell to pay when his landlord saw the damage. Taking the steps three at a time, he got to the street in record time. People were running toward the hill, carrying whatever they could hold in their arms. Horses ran wild down the street. Over on Sherman Street, flames shot into the air, making the night sky glow. From what he could tell, the fire was heading toward downtown.
King ran down the street toward him. Soot covered his face. “The fire set off kegs of gunpowder at Jensen and Bliss’ Hardware Store.”
The old miner Daniel had seen on and off ran up alongside King. Gone was the stooped back. His hat was absent, revealing blonde hair draped over his shoulder. Daniel did a double take at the miner. Long, blonde hair? His face was as dirty as always, but beneath the grime, womanly features became apparent.
“Julia?”
She nodded.
“What the hell are you doing here dressed in those old clothes?”
King glanced over his shoulder. “There’s no time to question her. Right now, we need to help people from the buildings and up the hill.”
“I’ll go to Hattie’s and help them get out.”
Daniel captured her elbow. “You’ll do no such thing. Go back to your house. The fire isn’t headed toward it.”
Julia yanked her arm from his hand. “I’ll do no such thing, Daniel Iverson. You can’t tell me what to do.” Without another glance, she ran toward Hattie’s.
“Damn woman,” he muttered, chasing after her.
“You got that right,” King said, racing behind him. “A damn fine woman.”
Daniel had no idea fire roared. In a fireplace, flames snapped and crackled cheerfully, but the fire hot on their heels snarled and growled like a hundred bears being attacked by thousands of bees. A woman, dressed in nothing but a sheer nightgown, screamed as she raced past them, a cat wrapped in her arms.
“Head to the hills,” he shouted after her, praying all the other residents of the town would make it to safety.
The heat seemed to sear through his clothing. Taking a chance, he looked over his shoulder. Flames were devouring buildings three doors away. How was anyone going to get out alive? He and King threw open the doors to Hattie’s as Julia disappeared up the stairs. Shit. Now he not only had to help the women, but make sure Julia was safe, too. Already windows were bursting from the heat.
When they reached the second floor, Julia had already pounded on the first two doors to the right of the stairway.
“You follow Julia, I’ll take these rooms.” King nodded in the opposite direction. “Fire! Get out now,” he yelled, pounding on the first door.
Hattie’s girls popped from their rooms holding thin wrappers to their chests, some followed by men wearing nothing but their long johns.
In front of him, Julia coughed, still yelling for the women to get out. “Run! Fire! The entire town’s on fire!” She shoved two of the girls toward the back stairs.
“Hattie,” a woman he recalled was Dorrie, shouted. “You have to get Hattie out of here. She took something to help her sleep.”
“We’ll get her out, Dorrie. Help the other girls. You don’t have much time to get to the hills before the entire town is gone.”
He pounded on a few more doors, making sure the inhabitants escaped, barely registering that one of the emerging men owned the haberdashery, was married, and had five children.
“Hattie! Wake up! The town’s on fire.” Julia beat on the last door and tried the doorknob. “It’s locked. Hattie!” She turned to him. “You have to help me get her out.”
Like he’d done in his room, Daniel kicked at the door, sending splinters of wood flying.
“She’s not going to be happy about us breaking her door down,” Julia said, entering the darkened room.
The scent of lilacs mixed with smoke hit him when he raced behind Julia to the still form beneath a pile of blankets.
Julia shook the woman. “Hattie,” she coughed. “Hattie, wake up.”
Daniel pushed Julia to the side, threw back the blankets, and scooped Hattie into his arms. The woman didn’t weigh more than a bird, making his task easier. The window shattered. Cinders struck the drapes, instantly setting them on fire.
“Toss a blanket over her,” he shouted over the increasing roar. Fire raged outside the window, lighting up the city like it was high noon. “Put one over your head, too, then let’s get out of here.”
Making sure Julia was in front of him, they ran down the smoke-filled hallway. “Where’s the back stairs?”
“Here,” Julia called then disappeared into the darkness.
“It figures she’d know where to go,” he muttered to himself, hoisting the limp Hattie over his shoulder, giving him a free hand to follow the railing down the stairs.
“This way,” Julia yelled, emerging from the building as a large beam swung down from above, blocking the stairwell behind them. She seized his hand.
With all the smoke, it was difficult to follow the shadows of people charging up the hill. At the top, out of breath, eyes stinging and legs burning, he lay Hattie on the ground. The smoke stung his nose. Would he ever be able to stand the smell of smoke again?
“What the hell?” Hattie whispered, her eyes fluttering open. “What am I doing outside?”
Julia sat beside her. Tears made muddy rivers down her sooty face. “The town is on fire.” She stared in the direction of the schoolhouse. “The school looks safe. I hope Suzanna is.”
Daniel eased himself to the ground. He rested his elbows on his raised knees. Around him people cried, calling for friends or loved ones. Had everyone gotten out? Down below, the fire raged, consuming building after building like a starving monster. Buildings men had purposely burned as a firebreak hadn’t stopped the conflagration. Like children playing hopscotch, the blaze skipped from building to building, eating everything in its path.