I had to be able to see so I would know when to make a move. I was going to grab the baby and Derek and Tony would fight off Beth when she went for me. That was the plan. It sounded like it just might work.
“I wanted someone in the world who might really love me. I wanted someone who would appreciate who I really am. And I wanted to punish that bitch, Jackie Banks. She doesn’t deserve to be a mother. She is nothing but a man stealing snake in the grass.”
Derek was shaking his head.
“Sis, this is the wrong way to go about things. You have to give this up. Let me have the baby. I will take it back. I won’t tell anyone where you are. I would never do that to my sister. You know that.”
Beth was silent for a few minutes. She was thinking things over. I could tell that she was emotionally done. She was totally spent and was at the end of her rope.
She started to walk away from where Devon was lying on the couch wrapped up in his blanket. I saw my chance. This was it!
I leaped forward bursting through the door and in a flash I had Devon wrapped in my arms.
Beth was only inches from me, snarling and trying to force the shift to happen, her eyes red as a demon’s and her teeth, long and sharp protruding down from her gums, ready to rip me to shreds.
But Derek and Tony were both pulling her back. She was strong, but no match for the two of them working together. They pulled her all the way to the other side of the room, pinning her against the wall as she writhed and tried to jerk free.
I wondered if there was any way in hell that she could get free, but as I walked into the kitchen to get farther away from her I could see the shame and the pain in her eyes. She would soon be admitting defeat.
“Do it!” I heard Derek shout.
Derek suddenly changed his position on Beth’s right arm to struggling with Beth one on one while Tony quickly pulled the serum out of his pocket and injected it into Beth’s neck. Within seconds the fight started to go out of her more and more.
The serum was the same thing that Tony injected into himself to keep the shift at bay and to put him into a sleep state on the nights of the full moon. He had given her almost twice the dose that he took. It would knock her out for hours.
That was the plan, though.
As I checked baby Devon to make sure he was ok I found myself overrun with emotions. He was fine and smiling at me, thankful to have his momma back. I knew that he realized I'd been gone and he had been in the arms of a stranger. My sweet baby missed me and needed me. And now he was bursting with joy to have me back. But even with all of this, I don't think he had cried much. He was so strong and serious. He reminded me too much of me sometimes.
I held him close to me softly, inhaling his sweetness and thanking my lucky stars that my baby was back in my arms safe and sound.
“Now that is a beautiful thing,” Tony said wrapping his arms around me.
He kissed me softly on the forehead before I laid my head on his shoulder.
That moment of total relief was perfect.
“Ok, I think I have everything I need,” the pretty, blonde deputy said. As she wrote on her pad I noticed her shirt said Deputy Lewis.
“Well, did you get my phone number, right?” Derek asked. “I had better double check just to make sure. I mean if you didn’t get it right then it would be a total travesty.”
I almost rolled my eyes at the absurdity, but the sexy, female cop that Derek was currently talking with, was definitely being drawn in by his charms. His flirting technique was working out for him for once.
And I couldn’t have been happier for him.
“Yes,” Deputy Lewis said throwing back her head and running a couple of fingers through her long, blonde hair. “I’m sure I got it right.”
“Great,” Derek said.
“But how about I give you my number also,” the deputy replied. “That way you can call me in a day or so and tell me where you are taking me to dinner Friday night.”
I thought Derek’s jaw was going to fall on the floor and stay there. It was great.
She typed her number into his phone quickly.
“Alright, that sounds fantastic,” Derek replied.
The officer walked away to hand the report to the sheriff who was conducting a quick story for the eleven o’clock news. It was amazing how the media had got there so fast.
Derek sauntered over to us and gave Tony a high five. I shook my head. I never thought in a million years I would see those two guys becoming friends, but it was happening. Baby Devon could cause miracles, it was true.
“So, what happens now?” Tony asked.
“Well, they are taking Beth back to the city. She will stand trial for murder and kidnapping. But pending a psyche evaluation I’m not sure she will be declared competent to stand trial.”
“I’m sure it will all work out ok,” I said. “You just got to have faith.”
Derek smiled and nodded. I knew that my words would not fix everything, but it was a start.
Epilogue
Six months later
I threw the bouquet behind me hoping to cover the entire span of the large room. I’d tried to keep my eyes closed, but part of being a shifter was that even with my eyes closed I can still see pretty well.
Nevertheless, I was even surprised to see that Sara Lewis, Deputy Sara Lewis, had caught it.
I could not stifle a "Yes! Yes!" as I jumped off my perch and delivered an impromptu cheer complete with a goofy dance that I have no idea that I knew. But there it was retrieved somewhere from my subconscious to make me look like an idiot.
But that was ok. It was my wedding and I could be as silly as I felt like. And besides, no one ever looked dorky in a wedding dress doing anything.
Sitting beside her was Derek. I watched his reaction carefully and I was happy as could be to see him hug Sara and give her a huge kiss. The two had started dating right after the night of the abduction and they had fallen head over heels in love.
When I looked at Derek and what a great friend he’d been and how much he deserved to be with someone special tears of joy came to my eyes. I was so happy for my good friend.
“Well, that is very fitting,” Tony said as I sat down beside him.
“Yea, it’s perfect,” I said.
I heard a soft coo and a little gurgle coming from my left. Little Devon was sitting on Tony’s mother’s lap. She had taken to him almost immediately and she was everything that grandmothers are supposed to be. She was sweet, kind, wise, and loved to spoil little ones. I was perfectly happy to let her spoil my kid rotten.
“So, did everything turn out the way you wanted it?” Tony asked me.
I looked around at how perfect everything was and smiled, before leaning over and giving him a sweet kiss.
“Yes, baby. It’s all perfect,” I said. “How about you?”
“Well, you are here. And you are happy. That is all I’ve ever cared about.”
“You’re right,” I replied. “I am probably the happiest woman in the world right now.”
I have never felt more alive.
*****
THE END
Wild West Werewolf
Description
A curvy BBW in danger plus a sexy werewolf outlaw shifter is one hell of a hot and heart pounding stand alone romance.
Emeline Ward, a beautiful BBW, may very well have been raised by wolves, as far as her small town neighbors think. As the wild daughter of a widowed rancher, Emmie sees no need to conform to the ladylike behavior of women on the western range. She’s the best shot in town and rides better than any man. She isn´t looking for love and hasn´t found her soulmate yet. But when a group of strange men show up in her town, Emmie is not afraid to protect what she loves.
Grey-eyed Virgil Bellanger is the odd man out in his four-man posse of cattle wranglers. Though conforming is supposed to come naturally to him it doesn’t. When outlaw Virgil sees Emmie put in harms way he goes against the code of his group even though he knows it w
ill mean serious consequences.
With her soulmate Virgil by her side, Emmie never knew that fighting an uphill battle could be so electrifying. As the two press on together against all odds they will have to discover if what brought them together will also be the thing to tear them apart. What secret is he hiding?
Chapter One
“I’ll go around the East end of the ranch,” Silas Ward pointed off toward the land that met with the West Fork Trinity River. His breath misted in front of him with each exhale.
He turned to face his daughter when Emmie didn’t answer.
She quickly realized she’d been nodding her head. “Right,” She spoke too loudly after her silence. “Red and I will take the West.”
Emmie was anxious to get moving in the cold. Her fingers and toes were beginning to go numb in the dark cold and it was no use to stand around talking. Emmie grinned at her father as she double checked her rifle and turned Red toward the East end of the ranch. The sun would be up soon, the sky was starting to glow with the promise of future warmth.
“…And be careful.” Her father’s words fell like pebbles at her back. Emmie’s eyes and ears were focused ahead. The last few months something had changed between her and her father. She’d grown into a woman and Silas had just seemed to notice, or maybe just the women in the town had begun whispering in his ear.
Her behavior had never bothered her father before but now he was suddenly all too aware that she was supposed to be a lady. not the farm boy he’d raised her to be.
Emmie was careful to wear dresses and do her hair up whenever she was sure to be noticed by someone from town but now even the old work pants she wore this morning had gotten a prolonged look.
Red trotted off, happy to be moving on the land he knew best. She went out a quarter of a mile and turned. Silas was nowhere to be seen, only lazy blocks of cattle clumped into misshapen groups speckled the land.
“Now it’s just me and you,” She leaned over Red and gave him an affectionate pat. “Let’s go find some cattle rustlers.”
Emmie gave a light whistle and Red took off again, this time at a canter. The air seeped straight through the woolen scarf she'd pulled around her neck and her eyes watered, but her thighs gripped around Red, her muscles contracting and blood finally begins to move through her body.
Mornings were always early on the ranch but this morning they’d come out for a reason. Thieves.
Nothing had been taken from the Ward ranch, yet. But there were rumors. The McGillicuddy Ranch to the East of them had lost a dozen head of cattle in the middle of the night. Vanished into thin air. And the McGillicuddy’s didn’t have any to spare. They were hard up and the whole town knew it.
It had been Emmie’s idea to do a few security rounds in the middle of the night and Silas had basically agreed. He’d not thought it a large enough problem to enlist the help of ranch hands or to make a 2 A.M. round as Emmie had first suggested but he’d thought one early morning round couldn’t hurt.
A soft sound of movement made Emmie stop. She pulled on Red’s reins and looked into the partially lit morning. The sound came again, clearer now that she’d stopped moving. Emmie turned Red on a ninety-degree angle and stared ahead. When the sound came once more she took off. Red instinctively understood his owner, his legs and neck reached forward as he lunged toward their unknown destination.
The thundering of Red’s hooves wouldn’t go unnoticed by thieves if that’s what the noise was, so Emmie pushed the horse to move with all his power. The sun was coming up now and the horizon became clearer as Emmie accelerated.
A small group of longhorn cows were running along the horizon. Emmie squinted out to where they moved. In a few yards, she understood why she didn't see any thieves.
"Coyotes," Emmie said under her breath as she pulled up short. With one flick of her hand, she unstrapped her gun and swung it over her shoulder. She pulled the rifle into focus and held tight to the group. There were three or four coyotes, and they were snapping at the cattle, moving faster than she'd ever seen before.
"Come on," She whispered to her rifle. Red held still as if he knew just what she'd wanted. As soon as one pulled into focus they were quickly out again. Emmie refocused and waited for one on the outside of the group. With a quick motion, she cocked the gun and pulled the trigger.
The rifle blasted into the early morning air. She hit him, she could have sworn she’d hit him, but he was already gone. The cattle began to scatter and stumble in different directions. Her shot had scared the coyotes off. Emmie squinted hard, holding her rifle with one hand and guiding Red forward with the other.
Nothing. The cattle were no longer together and Emmie could see no sign of the coyotes. She trotted around the spot where they’d clustered. A spray of blood dotted a dry patch of cold ground.
"I thought so," Emmie spoke to Red, whose ears perked up at the sound of his master's voice. She sighed and looked uneasily to the horizon. After a hard moment of staring at nothing, Emmie made a call to the cattle. She rounded up the group, and slowly moved them back toward the main house. They would have to keep the groups closer to home overnight unless until someone could watch them graze during the day.
Halfway back to the main house, Emmie saw Silas galloping toward her. She saw worry and relief on his face at the same time and Emmie realized that he'd heard the shot.
“No men, just coyotes,” Emmie called out in his direction before he could ask.
“Coyotes?” Silas’ brow wrinkled.
Emmie raised her shoulders in a shrug but her face burned red with embarrassment.
“They dead?”
Emmie coughed a little and looked away, “No.”
“No?” Silas stopped his horse and Emmie could feel her father’s eyes staring at her. She was a sure shot. Better than any of the men on the ranch. Better then Silas himself.
“I hit one but then it disappeared. They were large and…fast…not like the usual coyotes from around here.”
Silas nodded but didn’t respond. Emmie took a large breath then began moving Red around the cattle again.
"Well, help me bring them in," Her words came out sharper than she'd meant them to and she could feel a bad mood settling over her day. The sort of mood that would be very hard for her to shake.
Once the cattle were close enough to keep an eye on them, Emmie took off toward a small empty paddock on the far side of the main house. She unbridled Red and grabbed her rifle.
“Where are you going?” Silas called after her.
“I need to make sure this thing is working properly,” She indicated the rifle in her hand and watched as Silas repressed a smile. Emmie was not amused even if her father found it humorous.
“I don’t miss.”
"I thought that's exactly what happened," Silas laughed. Emmie had been talking more to herself than to her father but now she turned to him with wide eyes. He tried to straighten out his face but it was useless, he began laughing again almost immediately.
Emmie's jaw tightened and she walked into the paddock with more purpose and aggression than was strictly necessary. She picked up three discarded horseshoes and walked them back to Silas.
“Throw them,” Her voice was void of the good nature Silas was unable to repress.
He took a sigh and looked at his daughter with a nod, “Alright.” He pulled one horseshoe away and shifted.
“No,” Emmie shook her head at Silas.
“What?” He looked at his hand defensively.
“All three at the same time,” Emmie tipped her head forward.
Silas slowly grinned again then moved all three half-moons into his right hand. With a flick of his wrist, he threw the group high into the air.
In one swift motion, Emmie lifted her rifle. Three shots rang out followed by the sound of startled hooves scampering away from the noise. As each horseshoe fell to the ground Emmie looked at them happily.
“Guess it still works after all.” She smiled at her father, dropped her
rifle to her side, turned, and walked with a light step back to the main house.
Chapter Two
The town of Cool Water Gap was so small it hadn’t been officially added to the map of Texas. With most of it´s residents being in the business of cattle and quarter horses, it wasn’t difficult to see why people made an event of going into town. The Town consisted of the buildings that formed three sides of a square.
A general store stood on one side, a twenty-seat church at the far corner and the thirty-seat saloon at the other. Emmie lifted a large bag of feed onto the end of their family wagon. Silas was still in the store probably being cajoled into buying things he didn’t need. There were three particular women of the town who had a special eye for Emmie’s father.
Two were widows and one a spinster. One of the widows also happened to own the general store. Emmie watched with pity every week as Martha’s eyes grew greedy for Silas’ attentions. He was not good at setting boundaries. Emmie knew that her father should be interested in finding a good woman who could make his life better, but she also knew that he wouldn’t.
Anna, Emeline’s mother, had died when she was only two-years-old in a horse accident and Silas had never even considered adding another woman to his life. He’d raised Emmie the best he’d known how and ignored the near stifling attentions he’d received ever since.
“You here by yourself?” Kate McGillicuddy leaned over the back of the wagon.
“Silas is trapped inside with Martha,” Emmie smiled at her friend. Kate and Emmie had grown up together. Kate only a year older and Emmie’s nearest neighbor they’d spent plenty of time playing at the McGillicuddy farm as children. Kate’s mom was wary of letting her little girl play with Emmie at the Ward ranch where Emmie was allowed to run around like a little boy.
“How’s your family doing?” Emmie jumped onto the back of the wagon before she noticed a particularly vocal townswoman giving her a look of disapproval. Emmie brushed her skirts out and smiled at the woman.
“Not great, dad hasn’t been able to sleep since before the recent cattle disappearance.” Kate’s face changed and Emmie thought for the first time that she looked much older than her years. “So, I decided to work at Birdie’s place,” Kate looked across the square and Emmie followed her friend’s gaze.
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