“Get back to the house,” Bash ordered from the other side of the fence.
They turned to stare at him. He was holding Randy’s rifle. Grace started toward him when she caught a slight movement out of the corner of her eye. Bash raised the rifle and pointed it in the same direction. Grace’s heart jumped into her throat as Pete and his two henchmen walked out of the stable heading slowly toward her.
“Stay where you are Pete.” Bash cautioned in a deep voice, “Or I’ll put a hole in your head.”
Pete turned toward Bash. He raised his hand and pointed a gun at Grace. “You brought this on Bash. You squealed to that cop of yours, and he raised a stink that I got to end.”
Bash moved closer to the fence, keeping his gun trained on Pete. The two men behind Pete raised their guns and pointed them at Bash.
“She’s not in this, Pete,” Bash said glancing at the lock on the gate. “I didn’t tell the cops anything. I kept my mouth shut.”
Pete flashed Bash a wicked smile, “You’re a liar. My face is on the news. They know all about me. I’m done here now, because of you.”
“Pete, I don’t know how they got your name, but I swear to you it wasn’t from me.” Bash said calmly. “Why don’t we talk it out and maybe we can figure out what happened.”
“Not a chance,” Pete’s smile vanished, “I’m going to kill you and your pretty sister. Then I’m taking your little girlfriend and her bike for a long ride.”
He slowly turned his gun toward Bash. Amy screamed in rage and yanked her gun out from behind her back. She fired point blank at Pete and hit him square in the chest. Grace dove for cover behind Flo. Bash fired at the closest henchmen and missed. Amy kept firing, screaming in rage. She hit the second henchmen in the head. He fell lifeless to the ground. Bash fired again at the first henchman as he turned his gun on Amy.
“No!” Bash screamed and fired again and again. He wasn’t going to let him hurt Amy.
The first henchman staggered backward as blood squirted from his chest and neck. He fell back into the darkness of the stables and went still. Bash stared at him. His gaze moved to the second henchman, then to Pete.
They were dead. All three of them were dead. He couldn’t breathe. Everything moved in slow motion. Grace and Amy ran toward him. He watched them climb over the fence. He gazed blankly at Amy’s tear filled face as she yanked the gun from his hands. He felt Grace grab hold of his arm as he sank to the ground. He could feel the cool, wet grass beneath his back. He frowned at the flashes of red and white light that bounced off the stable. Then everything went dark.
Amy turned and ran toward the driveway as Randy’s SUV roared into view, its siren wailing and lights flashing. Josh’s truck was right behind him. Amy reached the driveway as Randy slid to a halt. He jumped from the truck and ran toward her pulling his gun. Amy dove into his arms sobbing.
She quickly pushed back from him and said, “I killed them! Those men shot Flo and were going to kill Bash, so I shot them. I shot them, Randy! I killed them!”
Josh jumped out of his truck as Beth rushed out onto the porch with Emma in her arms. Jake and Molly stood behind her as Josh ran toward them. Randy pulled Amy to him and surveyed the scene. He asked quickly, “Where are Bash and Grace?”
Amy turned and started to run toward the stables. “No, Amy!” Randy ran after her and grabbed her arm. He shoved her behind him and said, “Stay here!”
Randy ran toward the stables releasing the safety on his gun. As he neared, he could see Grace sitting on the ground cradling Bash in her arms. Randy could see Flo and three other bodies on the ground near the stables. He asked Grace, “Is Bash shot?”
Grace stared up at him with tear-filled eyes and said, “I don’t think so. I can’t find a wound.”
Randy pressed against Bash’s throat; his pulse was fast but steady. He glanced at Grace and said, “He’s alive, stay here.”
Randy climbed over the fence and kicked the guns away from the three men before he checked their pulse. They were gone. He moved to Flo and knelt beside her. He placed his hand on her chest. She was still breathing.
Chapter Fourteen
“I want him arrested for assault!” Joanne’s date leaned over Randy’s desk.
Randy rose and glared at him. “Bob, its four o’clock in the morning, my wife just killed three men in self-defense. My horse nearly died, and I’ve spent the last five hours documenting, interviewing and cleaning it all up. In fact, I’d really like to be home holding her right now instead of looking at your ugly face. I’m going to say this once, so you had better listen. I don’t care that you sat here all night waiting for someone to talk to you. I don’t care that Josh beat the crap out of you in front of the bar. Frankly, you had it coming. What I do care about is the kid who suffered a black eye at your hand. I love that kid. I’ve helped raise that kid since he was a baby. So, if you want to press charges against Josh, that’s your right. However, if you do, I’m booking you for child abuse. You know how that works don’t you Bob? Once you go down for child abuse it doesn’t matter what you actually did, you’re labeled. It will ruin your life, Bob. But, if that’s what you want to do, then I’m all for it. I’m willing to make that deal. In fact, I’d love to make that deal. So what’s it going to be Bob?”
Bob’s face went blank. He turned to Joanne, who was standing beside him and said, “We’re done.”
“You know what Bob,” Randy’s patience was gone. He moved swiftly around the desk and added, “I’m going to book you anyway.”
Randy grabbed Bob by the collar and hauled him into the processing room. He shoved him up against the white board that stood behind the mug shot camera and said, “Empty your pockets.”
Bob stammered, “I…I don’t want any trouble. I won’t press charges. I didn’t even touch the kid. I pulled Joanne off of him!”
“If I have to empty your pockets…” Randy growled at him.
“Okay, okay,” He dug into this pockets and laid the contents on the fingerprint table that stood in the center of the room.
“Stand up against the wall,” Randy ordered as the glanced at the items. Randy hesitated and reached over to pick up a small pocketknife. He pushed a button on the side and the blade opened. He glanced up at Bob and asked, “Zero Tolerance knife. Where did you get this?”
********
Josh’s head jerked up as the front door opened. Randy slipped quietly inside and glanced over at him. Josh was trying to sleep in the recliner. Beth slept on the sofa. Jake and Molly were sound asleep on the floor. Randy smiled at Josh as he rose and stretched his back.
Josh grinned and whispered, “You’re recliner sucks.”
Randy chuckled and said, “The suns coming up. Let’s go out on the deck.”
They sat down in the wicker chairs at the center of the deck and gazed the morning sky as the sun up over the mountains. Randy glanced at Josh and said, “I found out who robbed your build site.”
Josh turned to stare at him in surprise. “Who is it?”
Randy locked eyes with him. His face turned to stone. “You’re not going to like this Josh. Bob Childress was using Joanne to get information about your build sites.”
“Joanne?” Josh turned and stared into the trees beyond the deck. “She’s part of this?”
Randy explained, “I don’t think she was at first. He romanced her and got her back on the booze to get the information he wanted. When she discovered what Bob and his friends were doing, she wanted a piece of it. For lack of a better word, she blackmailed him. He paid her a wad of cash from the build site theft, and she told him about the records in your office. I’m sorry Josh.”
Josh couldn’t speak. The idea of Joanne’s betrayal was insignificant to the pain that Jake and Molly would experience from losing their mother again. “Will she go to prison?”
“I hope not,” Randy said softly, “She confessed to everything when I confronted her. Bob’s in jail.”
“How did you figure it out?” Josh look
ed at him.
Randy said, “You remember that pocket knife you man found at the build site? Bob had one just like it. I looked it up; that’s a two-hundred dollar knife. Bob works part-time at a gas station.”
“What am I going to tell the kids?” Josh said softly.
“Nothing,” Beth’s voice came from behind them. “They don’t need to know.” She walked across the deck and sat down on Josh’s lap. “You’ll wait to see if Joanne is prosecuted. If the prosecuting attorney doesn’t press charges then it’s over. The kids won’t ever know. If she ends up going to jail, then we’ll address it with them.”
Josh wrapped his arms around her, and she leaned against him. He said, “Things are going to change. Joanne’s drinking again, so she can’t be trusted with the kids. Jake’s black eye is proof of that. We’ll have to go back to supervised visitation.”
Beth sat up and said, “She can come to the house to see the kids. We can clean out the storage room in the basement and turn it into a family room. The kids need a place to play with their friends, and that would give her some privacy with the kids. We can put in a sofa bed so she can spend the night if she likes. Joanne may not like it, but it would give her unlimited access to the kids. That’s much better than forcing her to meet the kids in a sterile office environment under the eyes of social workers.”
Josh smiled at Beth, “Baby that’s an incredible idea, but it’s also going to be a lot of work. Are you sure you can handle Joanne walking in and out of our house on a regular basis? We’ll have no privacy. The kids will always be with us; we’ll never be alone again.”
Beth reached out and touched Josh’s unshaven face. She explained, “The kids need to see their mom. We need to make sure Joanne is sober when she’s with them. If this is what it takes to make that happen, then that’s what we need to do. Besides once we have a baby of our own, alone time is going out the window anyway. We’ll simply need to put more effort into ensuring we get a date night a couple times a month. ”
*********
A golden glow spread across the guest room creeping up the bed until it reached Bash. The warmth of the sun urged him to wake. He opened his eyes and tried to sit up. He moaned as the pain in his side surged through him.
Grace slept curled up at the bottom of his bed. She sprang up and rushed to his side. “Lay still, the paramedics said you were exhausted from the walk to the stables. When you combined that with the pain meds and a surge of adrenaline, it knocked you out when the fight was over.”
“Amy!” He gasped reaching for her, “Is she okay?”
“I’m fine.” Amy’s voice came from the doorway. She moved to the side of the bed and smiled at him through her tears. “What is it with you and guns anyway?”
He smiled at her, “I could live the rest of my life without seeing another gun.”
Amy sat down on the edge of the bed and hugged him. “Well if you’re going to be a member of this family, then you better get used to them. Randy’s going to want to take you hunting this fall, I just know it.”
Bash’s eyes filled with tears as he gazed at her. “Then you still want me around after everything that happened?”
Amy reached out and took his hand, “You’re my brother. I will always want you near me, no matter what.” She glanced at Grace and added, “But you have to promise me this is over.”
He looked from Amy to Grace. He felt like he was seeing Grace for the first time. Her long, blonde hair fell wildly around her shoulders. Her green eyes sparkled with tears of joy from Amy’s declaration. He squeezed Amy’s hand and reached out to Grace. She placed her hand in his and sat down beside Amy. He gazed deeply into her eyes and said, “I promise no more excitement, no more danger just plain, simple boredom.” He flashed a dazzling smile at Amy and said, “And if you truly don’t want the money from dad’s car. I’ve got a great investment idea you’re going to love.”
*********
It took three months and a few favors for Josh to find the small patch of lake front property, but it was worth it. The hard part was convincing Bash and Grace to wait until the spring to build.
The three of them stood on the shore on the low bluff overlooking the lake.
“I know you’re anxious to get this going.” Josh began, “But the summer season will be over by the time we finish the build and get the store stocked with product. I think we should switch gears and head up to Snow Bird and take look at a couple of storefronts that have recently become available.”
Bash and Grace exchanged confused glances. Bash frowned at Josh and said, “We used everything we had and then some to get this property. We can’t afford …”
Josh smiled and said, “I told you this was a good investment. You’ve got a solid plan. You open this storefront in the summer to support watersports on the lake and stock snowboards, etc. at a second property near the ski slopes for the winter season. Beth and I are behind you on both projects. I’m suggesting we switch to the winter project at this point. Let’s put the summer project on the back burner. You’re quickest financial return at this point is the winter store. So let’s set this build aside for next March and find a good location at Snow Bird for your store front.”
Grace smiled and said, “He’s right, if we can find a property fast, we’ve got enough time to get it up and running by the first snow of the season.”
Bash locked eyes with Josh and said, “This is new territory for you Josh. Are you sure you want to do this? It will take us a long time to pay you back.”
Josh smiled and said, “Jake and Molly want to take ski lessons. I’ll have a built in partner, one I can trust who’ll make that happen. Now let’s get going. We’ve got an appointment to see those stores in an hour.”
Grace laughed, “You’re not someone who takes no for an answer are you Josh?”
They laughed and headed back toward the road where Josh’s pickup sat.
Grace added, “How is Beth feeling?”
Josh sighed and shook his head, “She’s got it bad. If she’s not throwing up, she’s exhausted and just wants to sleep. It’s the worse morning sickness I’ve ever seen.” Josh stopped and turned back to them. “By the way, how did your parents react to Bash moving into your apartment?”
Grace rolled her eyes and said, “They aren’t happy about it, but Emmett’s return to school has distracted them. I’m sure we’ll get plenty of lectures for years to come about it.”
Josh shrugged, “They love you.”
He headed to his truck as Bash and Grace turned back to look at their new property. Bash smiled and wrapped his arm around Grace’s waist. “Since we are putting this build off a bit why don’t we talk about a two-story with an apartment over the shop?”
The End
Other books by Alaina Stanford
http://www.authoralainastanford.com
The Rule Series
Three Year Rule, Book 1
When renown psychologist and bestselling author Elizabeth Stewart first noticed Joshua Miller standing at the back of her audience she thought the tall, muscular man dressed like a lumberjack was in the wrong room. Little did she know, Joshua would defy everything she ever wrote about relationships. Little did she know, he was also the key to her survival.
Seven-Year Rule, Book 2
Beth and Josh befriend a young couple. Whitney and Mason's life was perfect. They scoffed at the idea of the seventh year of marriage being the make it or break it year for most couples. That theory didn't apply to them. They were the perfect couple. Their brand new house overlooked the lake. Their brand new cars were state of the art. Their careers were taking off at an accelerated rate. Their sex life was incredible. Their lives were exactly the way they intended. Perfect. When Whitney's widower brother-in-law dies, leaving them three small children, their perfect lives are torn apart. Raising children was never part of their plan. Raising children requires sacrifice. A sacrifice they never intended to make. A sacrifice that could end their perfect way of life. A sacrifice that co
uld end their perfect marriage. A sacrifice, if not done correctly could end a child's life.
Twenty-one Year Rule, Book 3
As a young boy Bash sacrificed everything to save his sister Amy’s, life including his freedom. After years in juvenile detention, he’s finally free and ready to start over. Meeting Grace is the last thing he expected. Her kindness and uninhibited lifestyle lead him toward a life he never knew existed. He can see his future in her eyes, but his past won't let him go.
Termination Rule, Book 4
Everyone lives their lives by a certain set of rules. For some, those rules are outside the law.
Jake never ran from a fight. He also never started one. When a jealous rival sends him to the hospital, he questions his choices. Suddenly he finds himself in the center of chaos. When people begin to die all around him Jake realizes sometimes you can't walk away from a fight. Sometimes you have to stand and fight to survive.
Treborel Series
Tempest Rise, Book 1
Lysette could not ignore the intense attraction she felt for Katar, the mountain Prince of Treborel. The very moment their eyes met the sharp grip of excitement and anticipation ran through Lysette’s entire being. Katar felt the same sting of emotion despite the knee Lysette shoved into his groin in an effort to be free of his iron grasp. Attracted by her beauty and stubborn intellect Katar knew there was no chance for a future with Lysette. She was a surgeon from the modern world. His people relied strictly on the ancient art of the Empathic Healers. They had no need for modern medicine. Yet he could not resist pursuing Lysette. His only hope was to find some common ground the two could share.
As their romance blooms, an assassination attempt on Bantor's pregnant Queen Elsebeth sparks a chain of events that lead to continental war. The war escalates. Lysette befriends several of Treborel’s Empaths determined to learn more about their mysterious healing techniques. She accompanies the Empaths a medical unit near the front lines where Bantor’s Elite Guard captures them. Lysette’s worse fears come to life as the psychotic Commander Connor, bent on vengeance against Katar tortures and kills the transport crew before her eyes. While in captivity, Lysette races against time to save Queen Elsebeth’s newborn twins. Forced to witness the torture and death one by one of those around her, Lysette realizes each was killed once their usefulness ran out.
Twenty-one Year Rule Page 15
