Caleb groaned as he shifted in the hay. Jeremy's hand on his arm stilled him. "Take it easy, pal."

He coughed and curled into a ball as his ribs seemed to explode. Blackness met his gaze as he opened his eyes. "Can't see."

"It's the middle of the night. Rangers are looking for whoever was involved. It's lights out til tomorrow."

"Dani? Sam?"

"They're safe. Sleep. We'll get outta here in the morning. Everything's packed and ready."

"Horses?"

"No. We'll get 'em in the next town. Everybody'll just ride in the wagon for now."

Caleb groaned and moved around until he was comfortable again.

"Did you find my horse?"

"How do you think I found you?"

"What happened?"

Jeremy chuckled. "You got the tar beat outta ya."

Caleb moaned, wishing he could either wake up or go back to sleep.

"Your horse took off running down the street without you. I saw you get up so I wasn't too concerned. I went after the stupid beast. By the time I made it back to you, you were on the ground about to get your throat slit. I shot the man. The knife slipped and cut your shoulder some. I brought you back here and stitched you up."

"Dani's okay?"

"Yeah. The chloroform wore off. She's got a headache but says nothing else hurts. Sam has a bit of a scratch where the bullet grazed him."

"Bullet?"

"He stepped in between you and a man with a gun."

Caleb breathed for several moments. "The rangers came?"

"Yeah. We got outta there. They'd have shot Sam for killing the one man even if it was self defense. Slaves don't have any rights. Besides, I'm pretty sure they'd have thrown the book at us for this one. Two brawls in the same day is more than any man should be involved in. Even if they were hunted down."

"We got off lucky on the boat."

"I'll say. There were enough witnesses to what the man said in the hold that when he changed his story..."

"Yeah."

"It was almost like a circus for a while with people flying. I'm almost glad Dani took Sam like she did."

"I told her to."

"That was smart. Get some sleep, Caleb. We got a long day ahead of us."

"Mmm." Caleb let the ever-elusive sleep overwhelm him.

When he opened his eyes, the blackness had given way to a pale gray. Lanterns lit up the barn. Jeremy stood close, giving orders. The slaves worked quickly, harnessing the horses.

"Rasmus, I want you on the bench. You're gonna learn how to drive. All of you are, but we'll start with Rasmus. Everyone else in the bed of the wagon." He turned and helped Caleb to his feet. "Hope you don't mind sitting in the wagon box."

"As long as you don't think of me as a slave," Caleb teased. He winced as the stitches pulled.

"Get on up in there, boss. I don't get paid unless you get your ranch."

"You get paid plenty. Whiskey isn't cheap."

Jeremy laughed as he swung into the wagon. "Everybody ready? Hup, team. Get on there."

He cracked the reins over the team's back. Caleb watched as his horse walked along behind. He wished he were riding instead of sitting like an infant. His head spun as he tried to sit up. Caleb groaned and lay back down.

Sam's strong arms pulled him close, cradling his head on his lap. Caleb looked up to see Dani watching him, something that looked like concern flashed across her face. He sighed and relaxed to the rocking of the wagon.