Renegade Ridge

by Arabella Steedly

  “Hello there,” Jake said from a nearby chair as she awoke some hours later.

  “Hey,” she said weakly. “What happened?”

  “You don’t remember?” he asked, with concern in his voice.

  “Bits and pieces, but it is all fuzzy,” she told him.

  “I’m so sorry, Vanessa. I don’t know why someone would do that,” he said, looking down at the floor.

  “What? What do you mean?” she asked, still a bit groggy from the medication and not really comprehending what he was trying to say to her.

  “Someone locked you in the barn and set it on fire. I was just getting dressed after my shower when I heard you screaming. I rushed outside and didn’t see anyone at first, but saw the smoke coming out from under the barn doors. I unbolted the doors as fast as I could and found you unconscious laying there on the floor.” Jake squeezed her hand. “When I started CPR someone I didn’t recognize came out of nowhere and attacked me,” he said, letting the words tumble out as his voice choked up.

  “Did the barn burn down?” Vanessa croaked and started coughing.

  “No, when Tucker saw the smoke from his kitchen window he rushed out and put it out with the hose. I think the damage was minimal, but I left to be with you before the fire was completely out,” Jake explained.

  A nurse came in, disrupting their conversation to give her another breathing treatment. While she was sitting up straight breathing into the mask, she noticed a large vase of a dozen red roses sitting on the side table. She managed to wink at Jake.

  “I hope you like them. There wasn’t a lot to choose from in the gift shop when I got here,” he told her.

  “They’re beautiful,” she whispered through the mask. When the treatment was finished, Jake helped reposition the hospital bed so she could get some sleep.

  During the night, she opened and closed her eyes several times and noticed Jake was sleeping in the recliner beside her. Once, well past midnight, her eye-lids had fluttered open, and she saw how the light from the full moon was falling across his face. For the first time, she realized how incredibly handsome he was. To her, Jake always had been cute and very sexy, but this time it was much different… his chiseled features, and broad chest…

  The following morning, the doctor came in for early rounds. After checking her over, he gave her the good news she was ready to be discharged and go home. Jake’s grin was wide when he said, “I’ll take you home and get one of the guys to drive your mobile unit back to your house. And, of course, I will stay with you.”

  “Hopefully, that means you aren’t going to abandon me,” she smiled.

  Jake shook his head, “No, not hardly!”

  A nurse brought in her discharge papers but before she left Vanessa asked, “Where are my clothes?”

  “Oh, they put those in a bag. It is sitting in the closet. I’ll get them for you,” she replied, walking over to the built-in cabinet area on one side of the room. The nurse pulled out a bag and brought it over to Vanessa.

  When Vanessa opened it up, the acrid smell of smoke filled the room. She made a face and stuffed them back into the bag.

  “They smell horrible,” she groaned.

  “Oh, yeah. Of course, they do. I hadn’t thought about that,” he said. “I’ll go downstairs to the gift shop and find you something to wear.”

  “Thanks, but I don’t have my purse,” she said.

  “Don’t worry I’ll take care of it,” he said, already heading out of the room before she could protest. He returned a short time later with a bag in hand and gave it to her. She reached in to find a pair of pajama pants, a t-shirt, and fuzzy blue slippers.

  “Quite the fashion statement,” she laughed.

  “Hey, it was the best I could do. It’s better than wearing a gown and taking the chance of exposing your ass,” he said, with a wry smile on his face. Then Jake nodded toward the door. “I need to use the phone. I’ll let you get changed.”

  “It won’t take me long. I need a shower, but I guess I’ll just wait until I get home where I can soak.”

  “I’ll be outside when you are ready,” he told her.

  It was only a few minutes later when she stepped out, a bit embarrassed and noticed Jake was leaning against the outer wall texting, but abruptly tucked the phone into his pocket when he saw her. A nurse turned up with a wheelchair, insisting that she get in it.

  “I’ll pull the truck around to the entrance,” Jake said and walked toward the elevators.

  After he had helped her inside and placed her smelly bag of clothes in the bed of the truck, he turned to her and said, “Listen, Vanessa. I don’t think I can tell you enough how sorry I am about this. I don’t know who did it or why, but I’m sure it has something to do with Kessler.”

  “It’s not your fault, Jake.” She looked out the window. Jake was quick to blame Kessler, but her second sense told her not to jump to any quick conclusions. So, she decided to take an optimistic attitude and said, “Whoever did it was unbalanced… you never know about folks these days. The police will find them.” Vanessa reached over and touched his hand and continued choking up a bit, “I’m just so thankful that you came along when you did. You saved my life.” He pulled her to him in a hug, letting her cry on his shoulder for a moment before she pulled away. “I’m sorry. I must smell horrible.” Embarrassed that Jake might find her a bit repulsive, at least for the moment.

  “I don’t care. I’m just really glad you are okay,” Jake said, looking into her eyes just before he turned into her driveway. “I guess we better get you inside. Tucker will be here in a minute with the camper and the medical bag you left behind. I sent him a text while you were getting dressed. I’ll call one of the others to come pick him up and take him back to the ranch.”

  “Thanks, for everything,” she told him as they made their way to her front steps.

  “Do you need anything right now? Food, drinks? Tucker and I can go shopping for you,” he asked.

  “No. I have food in the house,” she told him.

  About that time Tucker pulled into the driveway behind him. Vanessa wasn’t in a hurry for him to leave. Tucker may have more information by now that Jake was not yet aware of and she was curious. “I didn’t see much damage, but I didn’t stick around… so what’s the scoop, Tucker? Is it bad?” Jake asked.

  “Not too bad. It was mostly hay and straw that was burning,” Tucker replied.

  Vanessa put her hand to her mouth and gasped, “Oh God, I just realized. There were animals in there when I was inside.”

  “We got them out while Jake was helping you. That’s why we didn’t notice the guy who jumped him at first,” Tucker said shaking his head.

  “How? The barn was filled with smoke, and their stalls were latched,” she wondered. “Was anyone else hurt?”

  “No. There is a master switch on a post outside the barn that automatically unlocks the door. It is there for just such an event like a fire. Other than the main doors in the front, all you have to do is hit the master switch, and the other doors fly open. So, that’s what I did. From there, it was just a matter of calming them and getting them into pens,” Tucker explained.

  “Thank goodness,” Vanessa replied, feeling relieved.

  Jake looked over at her then turned to Tucker. Throwing his key to him, Jake said, “Take my truck. I’ll call you later.” Vanessa held the roses to her nose while Jake unlocked her front door and followed her inside.

  Later in the evening, Vanessa fell asleep while Jake stroked her hair. It was short lived though. She woke up when he pulled away his arm. He thought she was still asleep while she watched him pull on his boxers and slip out of the bedroom. A few minutes later she snuck out of bed and went to see what he was doing. She laughed when she saw him with his back to her sitting at the table with a glass of milk. The tin of her chocolate chip cookies was open in front of him. “What are you doing,” she asked with a grin.

  “Jesus, woman!” Jake yelled, as he almost jumped out of his s
kin.

  She walked over to the fridge, and poured a glass of milk for herself and sat down across from him. “Jake, now that I’m fully rested tell me again what happened. You said you didn’t get a good look at the person who jumped you…”

  “He was wearing a ski mask. Big guy… I can’t imagine it was one of Kessler’s goons. After all, right now Kessler is happy with me since I’ve been paying on time… even paid ahead a bit.” Jake took another gulp of milk. “Perhaps it was someone who I ruffed up in the past. I just don’t know. And to tell you the truth I don’t have a lot of faith in the sheriff’s department these days. They just see me as another thug. As you know my reputation is…. not the greatest.”

  Vanessa was pleased the way Jake was beginning to open up to him. She too was not convinced that Kessler had been the culprit. But she had nothing to base her assumption on either.

  After another cookie, they wandered back to bed and enjoyed making love again until the wee hours of the morning.

  10

  After a few weeks, the detectives had wrapped up their initial investigation of the incident. They had no one in custody yet but had a few leads. Jake had told the ranch hands to be on high alert for anything suspicious. In the past Renegade Ridge had been a peaceful, bucolic place, but after the recent turn of events, Jake felt he needed to protect himself, the ranch and especially Vanessa. Now, all that was left of the incident was a big black spot in the middle of the barn. Thankfully, Jake still had some cash left over from the sale of the calves to tie him over until the insurance money came in. Getting Kessler entirely out of his life was going to take time, but for the moment he was making progress.

  It was a bright sunny Saturday morning when Jake and Vanessa decided to make a trip into town. When Jake pulled his pick-up into a parking space, he turned to Vanessa and said, “I’m going to duck into the shoe shop and pick up the pair of boots I had him re-sole.”

  Pushing open the passenger door Vanessa replied, “I swear, Jake. Surely, you have enough cash to buy new ones. Why do you keep repairing those old things?” she asked. Then she stepped up on the sidewalk beside him.

  Jake winked at her. “They’re my favorite. I never let my favorite things go.”

  Laughing, Vanessa rolled her eyes. “You’re quite a charmer aren’t you, Jake Morrow?”

  “That's me,” Jake teased. Then he turned and pointed down the street. “Hey, why don’t you go get us a table at Café Verona. I’ll meet you there shortly.”

  Vanessa peered to where Jake was pointing and nodded her head. “Sounds good. On the way, I’ll stop at CVS to grab a few things on my list. If you get there first, go ahead and order us a glass of wine.”

  “Drinking so early in the day?” he asked with a smirk.

  “I have to. You’ve no idea what sort of monster I troll around with,” Vanessa called over her shoulder, laughing as she turned and strolled down the sidewalk. Jake paused for a moment before pulling open the door to watch Vanessa walk away. Her long ponytail swished from side to side keeping time with the swaying of her luscious hips.

  Twenty minutes later, Jake stepped into the restaurant looking for Vanessa. “Jake!” Monica said with a smile as he approached the hostess stand.

  “Hey, Monica. Is Vanessa here yet? She was meeting me.”

  “No, I haven’t seen her, and I’ve been up here all morning.”

  “Okay. Well, got room for us? I’m starving.” Jake asked with a smile.

  “Of course, I always have room for my favorite couple,” she replied. “Come with me.”

  Jake was surprised when she led him to the very same table they had sat at on their first visit there. He smiled and sat down in the same seat. The waiter brought two glasses of wine. He sat sipping his and put off ordering until Vanessa arrived. Glancing at his watch, Jake realized it had been twenty minutes since he had come in. Had she gotten stuck somewhere unexpectedly? Fishing out his phone, he hit ‘Venessa’ under favorite contacts to call her. The call went straight to voicemail.

  Suddenly, he felt very uneasy. Motioning for the waiter, he paid for the wine and made a hasty retreat for the door. When he passed Monica, he called over his shoulder to her, “I’m worried about Vanessa, she’s late. Please call me if she shows up!”

  Monica ran after him and yelled, “Jake, where can I tell Vanessa you’re going if….” He was already well on his way down the sidewalk toward the drug store. His blood ran cold when he spotted an ambulance with its back doors open not far from where they had parked. Jake was barely aware that he was running… Vanessa! Had something happened to Vanessa again!

  As he got closer, the ambulance blocked his view. All Jake could see were the legs of someone laying on the sidewalk on the other side. Then Jake felt a pain in his stomach when he ran even closer and noticed the boots…. Vanessa’s boots. Breathless, he sprinted to her side… blood was flowing from her head. Her phone was on the pavement, shattered into pieces. Jake hovered over her. “NO…. GOD NO!”

  Moments later, Jake was dimly aware of hands pulling him away and a voice telling him to let the paramedics do their job. It was Carl, the one local policeman he called a friend. “She’s going to be okay,” Carl told Jake, in a calm voice. “Let them take care of her.” It seemed like an eternity as he watched the paramedics work with Vanessa. Finally, she opened her eyes and sat up. Shaking her head, Vanessa gazed around her blinking with a confused expression.

  “What happened?” she muttered, looking up at Jake.

  “Someone took a shot at you,” a bystander told her.

  “A shot? You mean like a gunshot?” Carl bellowed as his fingers brushed the butt of his weapon strapped to his side.

  “Yes,” the woman responded. “I saw him. He had a pistol. She was walking across the street…” The woman pointed toward an intersection a few yards away. “He drove by and shot out the open window of his car before speeding down Main Street!”

  “Oh my God,” Jake breathed. “Is she hit?”

  One of the paramedics shook his head and said, “No… at least —”

  “Check her again! Make damn sure you’re not missing anything!” Carl ordered.

  “I heard the shot. I thought it was a car backfiring and turned too quickly. I fell and hit my head,” Vanessa moaned.

  After Carl called for back-up to report that gunshots had been fired, he began inspecting the scene more closely. “She was lucky, the bullet hit her phone,” Carl called out as he began clearing people away. “Anyone that saw anything needs to stay, but please move out of this area to one side. As soon as forensics gets here, they’ll need to speak to you.”

  About that time, Jake heard another loud popping noise and people screaming; then everything went black. He was dimly aware of Vanessa sobbing and paddles on his chest, jolting him back awake. She was sobbing quietly nearby as he seemed to bounce about. The paramedics were talking back and forth, words that he couldn’t quite make out in his foggy mind. He tried to speak, but someone in scrubs told him just to relax.

  He was dimly aware of Carl talking nearby. “No, Vanessa. Let them work.”

  “Get him on the gurney,” someone barked.

  Jake felt as if he were outside of himself as they lifted him inside the wailing ambulance. He could hear Vanessa nearby, telling them she was going with him. Why could he hear them, but not speak? Was he dead? Thoughts ran through his head, crazy things that made no sense. They made his nightmares seem like a walk in the park.

  “Wait, ma’am. Do you know the victim?” he heard a paramedic asking.

  “She’s his girlfriend. She can go,” Carl explained.

  “I’m here, Jake. I’ll make sure they take good care of you,” Vanessa was saying from nearby. He heard the rush of the doors shut and then felt the vehicle moving as sirens began to wail overhead. He was terrified. More so than he had been for a very long time.

  “This is unit 202. We have a gunshot wound in route. Our ETA is five minutes,” he heard the driver say into the
radio.

  “Gunshot wound? Oh my God!” he thought to himself. First, someone takes a shot at Vanessa and misses and now they shoot him? Who? Why?

  “How bad is it?” Vanessa was saying, sounding more than a little hysterical.

  “He has a pretty nasty head wound, and the shock put him in cardiac arrest for just a moment.

  I’m sorry,” he told her.

  Jakes’ blood curdled in his veins. A head wound? Nothing about that sounded good. He rode in a sort of silent fear the rest of the way to the hospital, drifting in and out of consciousness. Each time he came to, he could hear Vanessa’s soft, comforting voice. Next, Jake could tell the paramedics were giving Vanessa quick directions to the ER waiting room. Then Jake heard doors rush open and he entered a cool place beyond them. Moments later, everything faded away into nothingness, leaving Jake in a place he had hoped never to visit again — Afghanistan.

  ****

  Jake’s feet hit the ground as he dropped and rolled high in the arid wasteland of Kabul Province. Cowering behind rocks with his brothers of the 82nd Airborne he quickly gathered up his parachute and hid it under a pile of rocks. Their mission was to ambush a Taliban convoy loaded with weapons. The Taliban had been out in force today, and Jake’s unit was outnumbered. He crawled forward on his belly along with the others and stopped behind a clump of brambles. There they waited until it was time for the attack. Air support had been ordered as back up for their mission.

  Things went black again, and then Jake was somewhere else.

  The stench of the dead bodies was unbearable. They were laying on the ground everywhere — eyes bulging out, mouths frozen open agape with bluish skin pulled taut around their skulls in a ghoulish mask. There were visions of things around him that Jake was unfamiliar with — a waterfall, a sailboat with yellow sails in the middle of a black lake and greyhounds racing endlessly around a track. Then he was surrounded by the report of automatic weapons coming from all directions as he charged into a darkened building before him, waiting to die.