A sudden wind came up and blew dirt and gravel like sharp needles into my face. Grit struck my eyes and I blinked them open and shut. I wore no bandanna, as the ranch hands did to cover their faces, and I didn’t dare let loose the reins to wipe the gravel and dirt away. As I rode on, the sky turned dark, signaling a rainstorm. Lightning would no doubt come next, and then thunder. Terror replaced panic, and I began to pray aloud.

Thunder struck behind me, loud as galloping hooves. It was gaining on me, drawing closer. I prayed louder, shouting the words into the wind. I heard someone calling my name. Maybe it’s God, I thought, letting me know it’s my time to die. But it wasn’t God. It was Aidan. He drew alongside me, shouting, but I couldn’t make out his words. He rose up in the stirrups and leaned over to seize the reins from me. Just as he did, my horse jumped over a narrow creek, which had suddenly appeared in front of him. I screamed and let go of the reins. A sharp pain tore through me as I hit the ground. Then the world turned black.

* * *

I heard distant voices and I opened my eyes. Blurred faces hovered above me. Someone was wiping my forehead with a damp cloth. A vicious pain shot through my left leg and shoulder, and a sticky substance flowed down my cheek. I closed my eyes again.

A gentle voice at my side called my name.

“Delia? Oh, Delia, what on earth made you do this? You gave us all such a scare. Why did you run away from us—from me—that way?”

The voice sounded like Aidan’s—not the recent, angry voice, but the gentle, loving voice I remembered from before. I’m dreaming, I thought. They must have given me some medicine. It’s made me hallucinate. I must sleep.

“Nothing broken, the doc says.” Mayflower sat beside my bed. “Do you realize what a lucky girl you are? I swear, if I didn’t know better, I’d have said you were trying to kill yourself.”

Maybe I was, I thought.

Hans stood behind his wife. “Leave the girl alone, May.”

“I’m so sorry I scared you. I-I felt sick all of a sudden and needed to get away before I made a show of myself.”

“You scared more than Hans and me,” Mayflower said. “Jeb was scared to death. He shouted that you were riding too fast. He was fixin’ to go after you, but Aidan beat him to it. He pushed that Francine out of the way and jumped on his horse to follow you. You were well out of sight by then. I’m amazed that he caught up with you. I would say he saved your life.”

“That’s enough, May,” Hans said. He turned to me. “Rest now, fräulein.”