“Or what?” Wilder asked. “You’ll come out here and face me? That Colt on the wall yours now? Think you’ll use it better than your pa did?”
“We ain’t got your gold,” Blaze said, fists clenched. “You’re wasting your time.”
“Maybe,” Wilder said. “But I got time to waste. What I don’t got is patience. So here’s my offer. Step out. Hand over the chest. We ride away.”
“No chest,” their mother said. “No gold. Nothing here for you.”
“Then I’ll take something else,” Wilder said, silver tooth gleaming.
Blaze heard boots scrape near the barn. Horses stamped restlessly in the corrals. Wilder’s men were moving, circling like wolves.
“Don’t open that door,” his mother said. “We’ll hold ’em from inside.”
“They’ll burn us out,” Blaze whispered.
“Better smoke than a bullet,” she said, jaw set. “Rachel, under the bed. Now.”
“Mama—” Rachel began.
“Now.”
Rachel scrambled off without hesitation. Their mother gripped the rifle tightly.
“You listen here, Wilder,” she called. “You took my husband. You won’t take my children. Whatever lies you tell about gold, they’re just that—lies.”
“You callin’ me a liar?” Wilder’s voice sharpened.
“I’m callin’ you a coward. A thief. A killer.”
The yard went silent. Then Wilder’s laugh rang out. “You hear that, boys?” he asked. “Widow’s got a tongue. Think I oughta cut it out.”
Riders whooped. A shot cracked, splintering a fence post.
Blaze flinched. His mother yanked him low. “Keep down.”
Another shot shattered glass, spraying shards across the floor. The lantern toppled and went out, plunging them into darkness.
“Flush ’em out,” Wilder ordered. “Smoke ’em like rabbits.”
Blaze’s gut twisted. He smelled kerosene in the air, faint but growing stronger. He pictured torches circling outside, fire waiting to bite.
“Ma,” Blaze whispered, “they’re fixing to burn us.”
Her hand squeezed his shoulder fiercely.
“You take Rachel,” she said. “You listen to me. If it comes to it, you run. Don’t argue.”
“I can fight,” Blaze replied.
“Not tonight,” she said. Her eyes met his in the dark. “You’ll fight when the time’s right.”
Outside, hooves thudded and men cursed. The Riders tightened their circle. Every sound seemed to press closer. He felt Rachel’s small hands trembling in his.
“What does he want with us?” Rachel whispered from under the bed.
“The gold,” Blaze said. He tried to sound braver than he felt. “He thinks Pa took it.”
“Did he?” Rachel asked, wide-eyed.
