by Kim Redford
Fern just stared in shock. A whip?
Craig snapped his whip several times, sent it coiling, snakelike, so fast it looked like a blur, and jerked the guns out of the Hellions hands. He kicked the Colts so hard they skittered across the room out of reach.
“That’s rich.” Slade laughed so hard he bent over double. “When’d you learn to do that?”
“Not fair.” Ivy put her hands on her hips and glared at Craig. “Nobody said anything about whips.”
Fern simply stood there, looking back and forth between her friends. Guns? Whips? Guess she hadn’t been in the country long enough to learn any useful skills. Obviously, out here, singing could only take you so far.
As if that confrontation released the other participants in the drama, the room broke out in a melee of pistol shooting, fisticuffs, and bottle brandishing with the ladies in white pinafores looking to win the battle before it ever got outside.
Finally, Fern had had enough. Belle would never have put up with outlaws breaking furniture and messing up her beautiful saloon, much less taking over the town. She’d have booted them out the swinging doors.
“Out!” she hollered using the power of her well-trained voice that could carry across a room twice the size of the saloon. “Take your fight outside.”
Most folks in the saloon looked her way but didn’t make a move one way or another.
“Hell, Ivy, Craig, get those people out of here before they destroy my furniture.” Fern stuck her derringer in her pocket, put her hands on her hips, and glared at them.
Slade leaned toward her, eyes squinting as he looked her over. “Did you just call me ‘Hell’?”
She jerked out her derringer and pointed it at his chest. “Get out of here and take your gang or pay the price.”
Ivy put a hand on Slade’s arm. “And I thought we’d gotten into our roles. It’s okay, Belle…I mean, Fern. We’ll take this shoot-out outdoors. Sorry we went off script.”
As they turned away and ushered the other participants ahead of them, Fern tucked her derringer back in her pocket, feeling a deep satisfaction. Nothing had been damaged and the Hellions wouldn’t be back.
“That voice of yours is quite the defense.” Craig rolled up his whip.
“What?” She glanced at him, shaking her head as if coming out of a trance.
“You commanded them to go and they went.”
She could hear the shoot-out continuing outside. “Aren’t we supposed to be out there?”
He shrugged. “Don’t you think we put on enough of a show in here?”
“Your whip was sure a show. Where’d you learn to do that? And you just happened to have it inside the piano?”
“Once Slade got the role of Hell and Ivy the one as his first lieutenant, I didn’t trust them anymore.”
“You didn’t trust them?” She felt a laugh start to bubble up, but she quelled it because he still looked serious.
“A surprise element is always the way to go in the shoot-out.”
“I had no idea this town took its reenactment so seriously.”
“Well, the truth is…you just never know what’ll happen at the Ruffians versus Hellions shoot-out.”
“Obviously not. But a whip?”
“Saved you, didn’t it?”
“Yeah, it did.”
“You won’t bring a puny derringer to a six-gun shootout again, will you?”
“No, I can’t say I will.”
“Okay. That’s settled.” He walked over to the piano, raised the lid, slipped his whip inside, and shut it again.
“Backup is good,” she said because she could think of absolutely nothing else to say.
“Surprise is even better.” And he grinned as he put an arm around her waist. “What about that feather bed upstairs?”
“Bed…any bed sounds really good about now.”
“You know, this is the last of the big events. Do you think we could slip away and go to the cabin?”
“That’d be wonderful, but I think we have to see it to the end.”
He cocked his head to the side, looking over the batwing doors. “How much longer do you think they’ll be out there?”
“I doubt they’ll stop until they’ve fired all the blanks.”
“My thought, too.”
“I’m not going out there. I had enough of the shoot-out in here.”
“Me, too.” He glanced toward the bar. “Tell you what, let’s make ourselves great big chocolate sundaes, or caramel, if you prefer.”
“I prefer both. And that’s exactly what I need about now.” She looked up at him. “I’ll tell you something. It was disconcerting to see my sister with a dagger between her teeth.”
“I thought she appeared pretty authentic.”
“It was that look in her eyes.”
“Remind me never to cross her.” Craig headed for the bar, keeping Fern in tow.
“That goes double for me.” She hopped up on a stool and looked over the top of the bar. “I want whipped cream, nuts, and a cherry on top.”
“Your wish is my command.” Craig walked behind the bar. “Maybe we ought to change sides of the bar and let somebody play music while we make sundaes.”
“One thing is for sure, I’m ready for a change after that whip-wielding performance from you.”
“Think we should include it in our act?”
“Let me give that one some thought.” She rested her elbow on top of the bar and took a deep breath. Finally, a little peace and quiet…well, except for the noise from the shoot-out.
And then everything went quiet outside.
She caught Slade’s eye, knowing it couldn’t be a good thing.
He stood completely still, like an animal that senses approaching danger.
Sheriff Calhoun pushed the batwing doors open and stepped inside. He looked dead serious. “The stalker’s got Storm.”
Fern felt chilled to the bone.
Chapter 36
Fern clutched the edge of the bar with both hands, feeling as if she might faint at the news. Storm? Innocent Storm taken? How was it possible? She started to shake, trembling from head to toe so hard she felt as if she might fall off the barstool. Craig rushed around the bar and took her in his arms, pressing her close to his chest. She could hear the strong beat of his heart and feel the trembling that had somehow transferred from her to him. And yet she could think of only one thing—Simon had to be stopped before he hurt Storm.
Sheriff Calhoun walked deeper into the saloon, bootheels hitting the wood floor hard and heavy. He stopped beside them.
Fern looked up. “Is she okay?”
“For now, yes.”
Fern closed her eyes in relief. At least that was something good that she could hang on to.
Sheriff Calhoun cleared his throat.
Fern looked at him again. She saw pity and sadness mixed with determination in his dark eyes. “What is it?”
“He’ll trade Storm for you.”
“No!” Craig crushed her to him. “I won’t let that man get his hands on Fern. No way, no how.”
“We sent for a top hostage negotiator. A Texas Ranger is on his way. He should be here soon.”
“Good.” Craig held her tighter.
Fern took as deep a breath as she could get, eased back from Craig, and gave him a slight smile. She had caused this problem and it was up to her to fix it. She just didn’t know how to do it.
“Media is out in force. They’re asking for you,” Sheriff Calhoun said.
“She’s not up to it.” Craig glared at the sheriff.
“Will it help Storm for me to talk with them?” Fern asked. “I’ll do whatever will help.”
“You can appeal to him to let her go,” Sheriff Calhoun said. “He might be watching everything on his cell phone. That’s suppos
ed to help, but I don’t know if it will or not or if he’s watching or not.”
“Okay. If it comes to it, I’ll talk to the press, but I’ll only speak with Jennifer Sales and Eden Rafferty.”
“She’s not rushing into anything,” Craig said. “She doesn’t need more stress. We need to know about the situation first.”
“There’s not anything to find out.” Fern eased away from Craig and stood up, wishing she was wearing jeans instead of a constricting ball gown. “I’m the one he wants, so I’m the one he gets.”
“No!” Craig appeared horrified as he reached out to her.
She backed away, smoothing down the front of her fancy dress in an attempt to make it more manageable.
“Even if you give him what he wants, we can’t be sure he’ll actually go through with it,” Sheriff Calhoun said.
“I think he would.” Fern cleared her throat, so she could speak with more strength. “He’s been after me all this time. He’s frustrated and angry. I think he’ll let her go if he gets me.”
“We don’t know that for a fact. You never do in these situations.” Sheriff Calhoun appeared doubtful but hopeful.
Fern straightened her shoulders. “No, we don’t. But I’m willing to take the chance, and no one can stop me.”
“Don’t even think it.” Craig’s voice shook with repressed emotion. “I won’t let you do it. I’ll take you back to the ranch and keep you there.”
“No, you won’t.” She raised her chin in defiance. “If you love me, you’ll help me right this wrong.”
“Please don’t say that.” Craig shook his head with a bleak expression in his eyes. “Ask anything of me, but not this.”
“I am asking it. I have to. A little girl’s life is at stake.” Fern turned to the sheriff. “I’m not waiting for other law enforcement to get here. They’ll go by the book. And who knows how long they’ll take to get here, get set up, and establish rapport or whatever they do. There’s just not time. We go and we go now.”
“Let the professionals handle it,” Sheriff Calhoun said. “That’s my honest best opinion in this situation.”
“I agree,” Craig said.
“If you two won’t help me, I’ll go alone.” Fern started for the batwing doors, hesitated, and glanced back. “Are they at the park?”
“Yes, that’s where she was with Fernando, so that’s where he caught her,” Sheriff Calhoun said. “I can’t let you go in there alone. At the least, you need backup.”
“I won’t let you go alone either.” Craig rubbed a hand across his jaw. “I love you and I’ll do anything for you, but this…this is hard to do.”
“Thank you.” She walked back, gave Craig a quick hug, and then headed for the doors with him right beside her.
“He’s got her at the bandstand.” Sheriff Calhoun kept pace. “Deputies are there. Sydney’s there, too. Our mounted patrol officers are keeping bystanders away, but the place is still crowded with innocent folks who want a front row seat.”
“Is the boardwalk clear?” Craig asked in a strong voice, obviously taking charge now that he’d agreed to help.
“Yes. Spectators are being kept back, but that could change in a second if the crowd surges in any direction.”
Fern heard all of that, and it made sense on one level, but on another it was simply noise. Only Storm was important now.
Outside, she paused on the boardwalk because everyone was focused on her with phones out snapping photographs. She felt shocked to the core. She was used to being the center of attention onstage. But this? How had she become the center of a media storm? She looked for a familiar face and saw Eden and Jack with Nathan livestreaming the event. She nodded in their direction to let them know she would talk with them when the time was right.
And then she turned and headed down the boardwalk with Craig on one side and Sheriff Calhoun on the other. Voices from the crowd called out questions, accusations, best wishes, curses, and everything in between. She didn’t see how anyone out there could actually think she’d brought this on herself or caused this trouble for Storm. She supposed most people just didn’t understand the stalker mentality, and she could forgive that because she didn’t either.
When they reached Old Town Park, Slade and Ivy stood beside a sheriff’s cruiser close to Oscar, who had a hand on Tater’s head to keep the dog calm. Sydney erupted from the cruiser and hurried over with tears running down her cheeks. Dune followed, looking worried as he stayed close. Fern caught Sydney in her arms and hugged her tight, shivering despite the heat as the reality of the situation became clearer and more dangerous by the moment.
“My baby. How could he?” Sydney stepped back to look at Fern. “Thank you. You’re here. I knew you’d come to Storm’s rescue. They said we needed to wait for a Texas Ranger, but how can we? I don’t want you in danger, but she’s my baby.”
“She is everyone’s special little girl. I’ll do anything and everything to help her.” Fern wiped tears from Sydney’s cheeks with her fingertips. “I’ll make the trade. Storm is an innocent child, and she shouldn’t be in this position in the first place.”
“You’re innocent, too.” Craig stepped in close, nodding at Dune. “Just so you know, I’m against Fern going anywhere near that man.”
“I get you. I surely do,” Dune said. “But the longer this goes on, the more desperate that stalker will get and the more dangerous the situation will be for everyone. I’m all for officials doing their job, but right now I just want Storm out of there and safely back with us.”
“I want the same thing.” Craig squeezed his friend’s shoulder. “It’s a bad situation for all of us.”
Oscar stepped up to join them. “I’m right sorry. Tater and me got the hankering for one of Elsie’s burgers, or we’d have been here and stopped that guy from snatching Storm. She was entrusted to my care.”
Sydney put a hand on his arm. “No, Oscar, you can’t blame yourself any more than any of us can blame ourselves.”
“That’s right,” Dune said. “Things had settled down after all the folks who had come to see Fernando and listen to music had come and gone. The band left, too. You had every right to get something to eat.”
“I should’ve stayed closer to her,” Sydney said.
“Stop it,” Sheriff Calhoun commanded. “You can all bicker later about rights and wrongs. A little girl needs us now.”
“You’re right that she needs us.” Craig glanced around the group. “We can all find fault with ourselves and each other, but we’re blameless. That stalker is the one to blame, and we need to put him out of action.”
“I won’t disagree one bit,” Sheriff Calhoun said. “Fern, if you’re really going in, then we need to do it right.”
“I’m going.” Fern gave everyone a determined stare so there would be no more disagreements or discussions.
“He’s hunkered down with Storm in front of the bandstand. Once you make the exchange, he told us he plans to take you to the alley where he parked a truck. No matter what he said, you can’t count on that being his real plan.” Sheriff Calhoun stood straight and tall with concern in his eyes as he looked at Fern.
“I’m not getting into a vehicle with him.” Fern shivered at the thought. “I’ll get away from him before that.”
“If you can get close enough and it’s safe enough, grab Storm and run back toward us,” Sheriff Calhoun said. “Don’t worry about anything except getting as far away from him as you can get. My sniper isn’t here yet, but we still have plenty of firepower.”
“You can’t take a chance with bystanders,” Craig said.
“No chances,” Sheriff Calhoun agreed. “We’ve cleared out the park, but there are still too many vulnerable people around here to chance stray bullets. But my deputies are well trained, so that shouldn’t be an issue.”
“What’s he got?” Craig asked. “
Gun? Knife?”
“Revolver,” Sheriff Calhoun said. “Far as I can tell, it looks like he’s using an antique Colt .44, so he could fit into the reenactment with other folks. He tried to get straight to Fern that way, but a deputy suspected something wasn’t right and tried to arrest him. That man is on his way to the hospital now.”
“Oh no.” Fern felt worse all the time about the situation. “Will he be okay?”
“Yes,” Sheriff Calhoun said. “Don’t worry about him. You stay focused on Storm. Let us do the rest.”
“I’ll go with her,” Craig said.
“No.” Fern squeezed his arm. “You can’t and you know it. We can’t take the chance of setting him off.”
“How are you communicating with him?” Craig asked.
“Nothing fancy. He used the mic on the bandstand to give us instructions, and that’s it.”
“I’m going in,” Fern said. “We’re wasting time talking, and I doubt he’s a patient man.”
“At least put on a vest for protection.” Craig turned toward the sheriff. “You have extra ones, don’t you?”
“No.” Fern shook her head. “It’ll look suspicious.”
“We can fix you up,” Sheriff Calhoun said. “It’ll help, but Storm—”
“No thanks.”
After that, Fern didn’t say anything else because there wasn’t anything else to say. She was going to do this—there had never been a question in her mind. She stepped off the boardwalk onto the soft green grass that led to the bandstand and her hearing turned acute. She heard the murmurs of the crowd, the click-click of a cooling engine, the squawk of an angry blue jay high in a tree, the resolute tread of her shoes, and finally the snorts of a bull.
She stopped and looked at Fernando. He lowered his head, bumped the metal fence surrounding the arena, and knocked off his hat. It rolled across the grass, and he stomped it flat with one huge hoof. He looked toward the bandstand, pawed the ground, and snorted again.
She realized he’d picked up the fear and concern of the people around him. He was worried about Storm, too. “It’s okay. I’m going to free her now.”
