THE IMPERIAL ENGINEER by Judith B. Glad

felt good.
    He did his best. Crazy images danced through his mind, but no coherent memories
surfaced. Shaking his head, he said, "A fire, and I was helping fight it. But I don't
remember where or why." He started to run his fingers through the hair dangling across his
eyes and stopped when his hand refused to open. Air hissed between his teeth as he inhaled
to keep from yelling. He cradled the hand against his chest.
    "Your hand? Let me see." Gently she pried his protective fingers away. "It's too
dark. I'll open the blind."
    He squinted against the bright light when she ran the roller shade up.
    "Now," she said, settling herself on the side of the bed, "let me see."
    His fingers were glued to his palm. He could move his thumb, but that was all.
Only after Lulu had soaked the whole hand in tepid water was she able to pry the fingers
open. They both stared at the imprint of an ornate doorknob burned into his palm. Serum
from the blisters on his fingers had held his hand closed.
    "Now I remember. Mrs. Tompkins was trapped! She was screaming. I went to her,
practically threw her out the window." While Lulu gently laved the hand, and he tried to
ignore how much her ministrations hurt, he told her of his living nightmare. His hand was
wrapped with soft cloth and she had laid a fresh compress across his back when he
concluded, "We worked like demons, getting all those horses and mules out. I don't think
many of the rigs were saved, though. When I left, they were still checking for smoldering
places on the roofs across the alley and on the south side of the street.
    "All I could think of was going home. And you were as close to home as I could
get."

Chapter Six
About half past two o'clock yesterday morning an alarm of fire sounded
through the streets of Hailey proceeding both from the cries of men and the fire bell in
front of Coffin Brothers' hardware store.
The Wood River News-Miner
    ~~~
    Lulu bit her lip, wondering if taking him in wouldn't turn out to be the worst
mistake she'd ever made. She wanted to hold him in her arms and comfort him, to assure
him that this was indeed home.
    She wanted him as far away as he could possibly be, as soon as he could get there.
"You probably shouldn't stay here."
    Confusion showed in his eyes, then comprehension. "Oh, hell, Lulu. I never
thought..." He started to lift himself, paused when he realized he was naked under the
sheet. "My clothes?"
    "I took them off of you," she admitted. "They were burned, filthy." The blush she
could feel reddening her face should have brightened the room. "I'll go to the Merc--"
    "Wait!" Moving carefully, he rolled to his side and sat up with only a few soft
grunts and hisses.
    She kept her eyes carefully averted from the sight of his broad chest.
    "My trunk-- Damn that smarts! My trunk's in the storeroom at the office. My room
at the boarding house was too small, so I just took the bare essentials and left the rest
packed. I'm pretty sure I left some britches and a couple of shirts in it. And my 'skins." He
glanced up at her, looking like the boy she'd once loved. "Your pa made them for me.
Remember?"
    "I'll bet they don't fit," she said, keeping her tone light, as her traitorous memory
showed her a picture of him in sleek, clinging buckskin. "How do I get into the storeroom?
Do you have a key?"
    "There's one in my pocket. But Mr. Eagleton should be there." He paused, as if
he'd recalled something important. "Great God. We're supposed to test the whole system
today. I've got to go--" Holding the sheet around his waist, he stood. Swayed. Sat back on
the bed. "Lulu, go to Eagleton's office. Tell him--" Breath hissed through his clenched
teeth. "Tell him I'll be there as soon as I can."
    "It's almost four. Too late to do anything today. But if you'll promise to stay in
bed, I'll go talk to Mr. Eagleton and see if I can find you something to wear."
    "But--"
    "Promise!"
    Slowly he let himself down onto his side. She could see the knots at the corners of
his jaw that