She turned and raced up the three steps to the wooden sidewalk. People spilled out of shops and offices to view the onslaught of cattle. Curses rent the air as some rushed to release tethered horses.

Emily craned her neck, and that was when she saw him a short distance away. Chase. Never could she imagine a more welcome sight.

Calling his name, she started toward him, elbowing her way through the crowd. Realizing, suddenly, that he wasn’t alone, she stopped. Upon seeing a woman in his arms, her heart shattered into a million pieces. Stunned, she stared, oblivious to the frantic chaos around her. It wasn’t just any woman. It was Cassie Decker—the woman Chase was supposed to have wed.

* * *

Icy fear twisted inside Chase as he glanced over Cassie’s head. There was no sign of her young son, but maybe that was a good thing. At least he wasn’t in the street. If the boy stayed on the boardwalk, he should be fine. But then again, there was no telling what a two-year-old would do.

Chaos reigned throughout the town. Shopkeepers pulled their doors shut and inexplicably pulled down window shades. A woman screamed, picked her infant out of the wicker carriage, and ran. Horses whinnied and pawed at the ground. Dogs barked.

Chase’s gaze traveled to the salt wagon, and an idea popped into his head. If he couldn’t find the boy, the next best thing was to stop the stampede. He didn’t know if such a thing was possible, but it was worth a try.

Releasing Cassie, he yelled to be heard. “Stay here!”

Racing across the street, he called to a group of men who had rushed out of a nearby saloon to see what all the commotion was about. “Give me a hand!”

Reaching the dray, he grabbed hold of a side railing and propelled himself into the back, his boots hitting the wagon bed with a thud. He then reached for a salt block.

The first man who ran to the wagon to help was Royce. Chase and his stepbrother locked eyes for a moment, and something like a silent truce passed between them. At stake was something larger than the ranch, something larger than the two of them. For now, their differences didn’t matter.

Chase heaved a twenty-five-pound block of salt over the side and into Royce’s waiting arms. Following Royce’s lead, others rushed to help.

Chase hauled block after block over the side of the wagon, and the men hurled the salt bricks onto the road. Chips of salt broke loose as the blocks hit the ground, scattering snow-like flakes everywhere. Yelling instructions, Royce arranged the chunks to form a barrier. The wagon empty, Chase hopped over the side and ran to help.

“Think it’ll work?” Royce yelled.

“Don’t know,” Chase yelled back as the two worked side by side.

The rumbling grew louder, and the wagon shook like a ship in a stormy sea. A solid wall of snorting longhorns came into view. Behind their clamoring hooves and tossing horns, dust roiled.