He had thought back over Friday, and it wasn’t until he had spoken to Colton that he knew what the problem had been. He had not spanked Shanna on Friday. He was too keyed up, he told his friend. He could have gone too far. He was angry and he knew he should never raise his hand in anger. His conviction on that was the same as it had been before this roadblock. He would do his best never to change that fundamental rule.
Colton laughed and said that a little marking would have simply made his point. His message would have settled the issue. Now, he had a woman who was running scared. She needed him to put some pride in ownership back in the relationship by caring enough to blaze her butt. It would show that she owned his heart and he had pride in her. At first, Zane felt that Colton did not quite understand the whole issue. The more he thought about it, the more he felt his friend might be right.
He began to try to get Shanna to talk to him. He knew she needed him to be the man he had professed to be. She needed him strong, to do what he said. He had betrayed her trust by not following through. Therefore, he sat with his soon to be in-laws for three hours on Saturday before he needed to get some things done on the ranch. Sunday, he tried again, sitting for hours with her parents, but nothing changed. She cried. A lot, according to Mrs. Parker. He ached inside.
Monday, he tried to get in to see her and was about to put a fist through a wall by the end of the day. Janet, bless her heart, did the best she could to get things through, but she could not make it happen. Zane began to worry about Shanna. He would watch her go to the clinic and came back in enough time to see her go home. He followed her once she got home, trying to get her to talk to him, but she wouldn’t. No matter the method, through her friends, family, or colleagues, no one could get him an audience. He should have taken it instead of letting her lead. She needed a strong man and one who would not let her have her way. Her way was to run.
Tuesday, he spoke to Connor, who listened and then said, “Hey, I’m not you man, but if it were Joey, I would go and get her. Some things a man needs to do to retain control and keep his woman feeling secure. I know that if I let her get away with shutting me out, she would think I did not care. Besides, if I was okay with letting her shut me out, she might be onto something. No sir, I would take back control. Then I would bust her butt for not letting me talk to her. Just saying.”
Zane was not sure that was going to work with Shanna. Joey had grown up in a family where it was not unheard of to get a whipping for being irresponsible and it would not come as a shock if her boyfriend did the same. Shanna did not have any of that growing up the best he could gather, and so being with Zane was a whole new experience in that way.
He spanked, he watched out for her safety, monitored her health and well-being. She had done well so far but the one time she asked for it, he had turned her down. She knew she needed it, had begged him for it and he had turned her down. What message had she gotten from that?
Thursday, Janet had called him and he was momentarily hopeful that Shanna was ready for the talk, but all Janet had said was that Shanna was getting sick. She did not eat, she was distracted and now she was throwing up. She also would lay money down that she had not slept more than a couple hours each night the whole week. In case he cared to know.
In case he cared to know? What the hell did that mean, exactly? Of course, he cared. He cared so much that he was stalking her to make sure she was safe. To make sure he would know when he could close in and change her thinking. He just wanted to know her thinking. He called Colton and asked what he should do. No pride left, just a gaping hole where Shanna should be. Colton had been very clear that it was time to take the bull by the horns, deal with the problem directly, so to speak. Walk in there, apologize, take her, spank her, love her and if there were issues after that, she would be in a better frame of mind to cope.
“Man, she already told you what she needed and I can’t for the life of me understand why you won’t give it to her. She wants you to man up or shut up. The ball is in your court, if you have any left to play.”
That was last night after he had tried to beat her going home. He had not made it. She had left early because she was sick. When Janet told him she had been puking, he almost opened the door and went in but decided she might have been sleeping by then. He kicked himself this morning. Now she had this half day of meetings at the hospital and he had this auction today.
Looking over at Joey it was obvious she was frustrated. She had just told him to go home. She said she would stay with Connor and his stable manager to get some good stock. Zane verified that they knew what he was looking for and what the stable was willing to pay. He listened to Joey as she sent him to find Shanna and settle the issues. He was on his way. There had been several drought years and the stock should go for little to nothing. He had gotten a few good stock horses last month for a couple hundred dollars and that was unheard of in good years.
“And don’t come back until you do everything that needs doing,” she admonished. And for once, Connor didn’t tell her to mind her own business.
Zane grabbed his phone and started to call Shanna but knew she would not answer so threw the phone on the dash and set off to take care of his woman. He hoped that once he got the spanking out of the way, things would settle down into a regular routine again. He didn’t regret that he had not spanked her Friday, but he regretted letting her hide from him. He intended to make up for the mistakes. She deserved a man who took care of business even if she didn’t want to. He knew she had been ready on Friday and talked herself out of it by Saturday. Her insecurities were eating her alive and he needed to put them to rest. He needed to man up.
Zane pulled up to the clinic and strode in the door to a waiting room with more people than it should have had. Janet gave him a look that showed relief, but he didn’t know why.
“Hey, Janet, is she here? Can I get in between the next two patients? I promise I won’t be but a minute.”
“She isn’t here. I thought you brought her in with you.” Janet glanced around him to make sure Shanna wasn’t coming in behind him.
“Really? Well, how long has she been gone, you figure?”
“I don’t know. Her car is here, but she hasn’t put her face in the room to call anyone back. I just looked and she isn’t in this building. We were closed this morning, but should be open now, except I haven’t seen her yet. As I said, her car is where it normally is. Her cell phone goes to voicemail. It rang the first time, but now it goes to voice right away. I tried the sheriff about fifteen minutes ago but he didn’t know of any emergency and I called the café, she isn’t there and Missy hadn’t seen her all day. She said Sandra Davis was looking for her. I’ll call her.”
“No, I’ll call her if you have the number.”
“Sure, she came in just the other day for something. Here it is.”
Zane reached for his empty phone pouch on his belt and remembered he had tossed the phone on the dash. Something was not right, but he didn’t know what. Maybe she was sick, but the fact that she was not in the building but her car was here gave him a shiver of fear. Something was wrong, he could just feel it.
“Janet, I’d send everyone either to another clinic or home with another appointment because I don’t know when we will find her. Or if she will be well.”
That is what worried him the most. He hoped she was home or at her parents for some odd reason, but with her car still here, it was not likely. He reached inside his truck for his phone as the sheriff pulled up. He pocketed the phone. A cold chill ran up his spine as he thought of all the reasons the sheriff would be there. Right when he could not find Shanna.
Zane listened closely to what the sheriff said and decided she was in trouble. Big trouble. His stomach turned and he fought the urge to vomit.
As the sheriff approached Zane, a dispatch came through with another update. The 911 call they had been trying to track finally identified Shanna as the caller. That bit of information had Zane’s ears alerted to all that was said from that point
on. The sheriff told Zane what they figured had happened. It wasn’t much, but he filled Zane in on what Shanna had been able to give them.
“Tell me what she meant by ‘tell Zane, purple.’ She had said it earlier as well.”
“Fear, she is afraid and maybe whoever picked her up had fear. She sees purple when she smells fear.”
The Sheriff said Shanna had left the phone on, but the battery had gone dead after a bit. And the sheriff’s department was on their way, wondering if Zane would go with them. Zane wondered how they thought he would stay away.
“Thought that’s what you would say. Now this is what I was thinking…”
Everyone they could call that was close by was also on their way from the county road in the opposite direction. Old Mr. Chapman had just been called and he sent his boys who were well past boyhood, out to the tank to lend a hand. Sometimes, everyone knowing your business sure came in handy.
Zane and the sheriff pulled in first with others pulling in around them. The old car that the department had pulled Jamie over in a time or two was parked outside the fencing. The pickup that Shanna had called in the plates on was not here though. The sheriff pointed out tracks coming and going. They had identified the truck and were going to pick up the owner. The car they knew.
Zane began to cut the fencing and climb through. It didn’t take more than a sweep of his arm to direct those coming behind him and he took the center. Zane was glad he still had his rifle on the rack in the cab of his pickup truck from the other day. Zane was going to take it out because it bothered Shanna, but he just had not gotten around to it. Now he was sure he never would. He heard a scream and then silence.
The scream stopped everyone in their steps for about three seconds, long enough to register the scream was human, to hear Zane swear and call Shanna’s name. It was quite a distance away but still clearly human and to Zane, clearly Shanna. Then, as though they were remotely controlled, the whole troupe took off running towards the sound. They had been briefed quickly on the method to approach when they located Shanna and it appeared that the admonishment was gone in the wind, for every man was running hard. The sheriff did the only thing he could do to resume some control, he shot off his gun.
The sheriff knew that Zane was the one he would need to control whether Shanna was safe or hurt. That sage gentleman knew all about Texas, cowboys, and country. These were some of the most protective men ever created and God help the man or beast that got in the way of that protection. The sheriff stuck with Zane as he worked through the two most likely scenarios. One, Shanna was screaming because they had just hurt her, and the second scenario was because she was scared and trying to call attention to herself.
He talked scenario responses as he tried to keep Zane thinking logically. He never used Shanna’s name, knowing it would change the game if he kept bringing attention to the fact that the person they were trying to save was his woman. Zane, on the other hand, was doing all he could to stay with the sheriff, knowing full well what he was trying to do.
There was another gunshot. Men were yelling. Then another long hard scream filled the air. Several birds flew off down the way. Every man began to move quickly. Listening, watching in the direction of the sounds. It alerted them to where she was most likely situated and they knew she was not alone. There was complete silence. The problem with this scenario was it would be chaos if they ran up like stampeding cattle. Just as the sheriff was going to whistle, which would get the rescuers’ attention, as well as the kidnappers, the men slowed down. The few in the very front of the assault waved the rest down. It was just as when hunting a target that appeared right in front of them. They crouched down a bit and began to choose their steps. They became as silent as they could. The hunter instinct had taken over and the sheriff was thankful.
Zane was in overdrive and finding it hard to shut down to first gear. He was beside himself with fear. He was having difficulty breathing, or thinking straight. He was beginning to panic that they were too late. The gunshot could have meant anything. Just as he was about to throw in the towel on precautions, someone approached him. Just as he was going to storm the field whose immense view was covered by just a line of trees when a hand landed on his shoulder. Then there was another on his other shoulder. Colton came into his peripheral view. Brandt followed him on his left side and Cache on his right. Connor and Dylan brought up the rear. Zane relied on these men for everything important. These men were brothers by blood or by fire and they would finish this together.
The sheriff took a moment to fill in the men on the plan. He suggested they each take a man and spread out so that when they went through that tree line, they would be able to be the most efficient and have a larger presence. Satisfied there was a plan in place and Zane was calmer, they went about creating the illusion. The men quietly separated off into pairs or threes and went to their areas.
Zane took his couple of men and walked straight through the center of the tree line. Connor and Colton took the two outermost edges in case there was some scatter. Brandt and Cache stood on either side of Zane, taking the middle position. They were going to cover every angle they could. Dylan and a few men scattered the back to watch for any who might have gotten through. They had no idea how many there were, but they were going to be prepared.
There was more screaming and this time it seemed to go on forever. That was the absolute limit that Zane could handle and from the movement of the rest, it was all they could handle as well. The men raced through the tree cover like scattering field mice. Zane thought for one instant that this is how his ancestors came in for the kill. They took the men they had and made it appear as a flood of warriors. As Zane cleared the trees, he saw Shanna, on the ground, screaming ended, but a man was reaching for her. She was motionless and Zane saw red.
Coming out of the semi-formation that they had officially formed, he yelled at whoever was hovering over his woman. There were others coming towards her, but as the abductors realized they had company, they scattered as released volunteer militia did during the Civil War. Each going back in the direction he came. The rescuers pursued, leaving Zane to care for his woman.
“Shanna. Shanna, it’s me. It is Zane. Are you hurt? Baby, wake up.”
Shanna was beginning to moan and roll around. Thank you, Lord, she is safe. He began to touch every part of her body to see if there were any injuries. His mind registered that she was still clothed taking away the immediate fear that she had been violated.
“Shanna. Baby, it’s Zane. Honey, I have to see your eyes.”
“No, don’t touch me. Get away from me,” she roared. Shanna began to kick and scream, tossing her body as hard as she could. She refused to open her eyes. She rejected each effort of encouragement to see who had her.
“Shanna.” His tone hardened to get a better response. “ Look at me. You need to look at me. It's Zane. Are you hurt?”
Zane decided to sit with Shanna and calm her down. He needed to bring things back into focus as well. Shanna calmed down, Zane brought things back into control and he watched his friends, neighbors and family bring back four men and walked past him. The sheriff asked about Shanna as he approached them. His brothers all stopped and listened as Zane explained the reaction he had gotten from Shanna.
“Zane, if she can put up a fit like that, I doubt she is hurt much. She might have just tripped. At the most, that shit had just knocked her down as we got to them.” Connor spit out the last words as though he could hardly say them without becoming violent.
“I think you are right, Connor, she is not bleeding anywhere that I can find. Scrapes and scratches and I am sure some bruising, but I don’t feel any broken bones.” He ran his hands over her one last time for assurance.
“Let’s just get her out of here and she will realize she isn’t hurt and gain consciousness or come back from wherever she is.”
“Right.” Zane did the fireman carry in hopes that it would bring her out of her shut down response. He had seen her do t
he mind trip one other time and knew that it was a skill she had learned in one of her trainings. It obviously worked in extreme situations.
“Or, you could swat her butt, it worked last time.”
Connor laughed at the memory, hoping to lighten the mood. It missed the mark on Zane, but his companions were interested and so while they walked the long acres back, Connor told his tale. Zane shifted her as she became more aroused to his arms. He spoke softly in Shanna’s ear until she woke up completely and saw him. She shrieked and started to kiss him. She then demanded to walk. Zane was going to deny her, but thought since they were to get medical help and she would not want to do that, he would let her have something she wanted. It was the lesser of two evils, he hoped.
Sitting in the emergency room of St. John’s, Shanna sat refusing care as Zane came into the cubicle after speaking to the sheriff.
“Sunshine, you look so much better. I can hear you giving the doctor a hard time. That is just not professional courtesy,” Zane joked.
“Intern and there is nothing wrong with me. The professional courtesy would be to let me go home.”
“We are just waiting for lab work, princess. Keep your boots on.”
“Tell them to give me my shoes back and I will put them on.” This caused Zane to smile because he was the one who took the shoes to encourage her remaining until discharge.
“They told me it would be only a few more moments. You will have to wait.”
“Um, honey, about that. Well, we might find that some of the numbers are a bit off.”
The sheriff knocked on the wall outside the drawn curtain at that moment, ending any personal conversation for the moment.
“Ma’am, you look like you are doing well after earlier today.”
“Thank you, I am, sheriff. Please, call me Shanna. Everyone does.”
“Well, Shanna, I just need to have some information from you. We have Jamie Randolph and three other men. No one is talking, of course. I wonder if there is anything else about this, we don’t already know. I know you answered some questions, but I wonder if there isn’t something we missed. Let me run down this with you and see where the holes are.
Cowboy Welcome Page 18
