by Paty Jager
Another shot gun blast boomed.
June paused momentarily. Lil planted her knees in the woman’s back and helped pull June’s arms behind her.
People in uniforms came running, leaping through the underbrush.
Male hands came into view. They captured June’s hands, clicking handcuffs around her wrists next to Ryan’s handcuffs. Shandra and Lil were pulled to their feet and someone dragged June to her feet.
“Miss Higheagle that was a foolish thing to do,” scolded Deputy Speaks.
“She had a gun on Lil.” Shandra wrapped her arms around the woman holding the shotgun and glaring at June.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Ryan leaned against the side of the barn. His muddled head and the piercing pain in his ribs made searching the premise slow. But he had a bad feeling. Sunshine, Apple, and Duke were all missing from the corral.
Barking and talking made him spin away from the corral fence. The action added to the pain twinging in his side.
“Ryan! Ryan where are you?” Shandra’s voice drifted to him.
He wanted to reply but held back knowing it would bring on another round of excruciating pain.
He waited.
Sheba bounded into sight, barking. She stopped just short of knocking him down and licked his hand.
Shandra ran to his side. “What are you doing out here?” Her arms wrapped around him, drawing his body away from the rough wood wall.
“Looking for you. Where have you been?” He stared at her in the growing light of dawn.
The sound of footsteps drew his gaze away from the stubborn woman. Sheriff Oldham, Speaks, and Lil were behind her.
“You should be in bed.” Shandra kissed his forehead.
He stared closely at her. “Why do you have pine needles in your hair? And your face? What or should I say who put that bruise on your cheek?”
“Help me get him into bed,” she said to the sheriff and deputy. “When you’re comfortable,” she said to Ryan, “I’ll tell you what happened.”
Ryan had a feeling he wasn’t going to like what he heard. He gave in, knowing she wouldn’t tell him a thing until she deemed him comfortable. The men helped him into the house, undressed him down to his underwear, and eased him into the guest bed.
“Where did Shandra go? Was she in danger?” he asked.
“You’ll have to wait for her to tell you. Not my business,” Sheriff Oldham said. “But I can tell you, we brought in Melvin Clower and questioned him about the necklace and his daughter. J.W. Randal had been using Clower’s daughter to try and blackmail Clower into not taking the illegal hunting violations to court. Clower shipped his wife and daughter off to his sister in California to keep the man from using his family as leverage. Randal had threatened the Clower girl to get her to pose for the photos on the wildlife camera. Clower found them before Randal had a chance to try and blackmail him.”
Once Ryan was covered, they called Shandra and Lil into the room.
“I’m guessing from the stalling, I’m not going to like what you have to say.” He glanced from his superior, to the deputy, then to Lil. They all kept their gazes on Shandra.
She picked up his hand, cleared her throat, and told him about chasing after June.
Ryan squeezed her hand when she told about taking the pistol out of the saddlebag and confronting June.
“You could have been killed. What were you thinking?” His insides curdled at the thought of June shooting her with the shotgun.
“All I could think of was making sure no one got hurt until the search team arrived.” She squeezed his hand. “I knew help was close.”
He understood her meaning. Her grandmother had told her. But that didn’t make what she did settle any easier in his gut.
“When you’re up to it we need both your statements about what happened at the house before Mrs. Hasting got away.” Sheriff Oldham nodded to Shandra. “Miss Higheagle said the woman confessed to getting her husband to kill J.W. and to killing her husband.”
“Yes. Mrs. Hasting is a dangerous woman.” Ryan gingerly touched the bruise on Shandra’s face. “I should have never underestimated her aggressiveness.”
“Miss Higheagle, make sure he sees a doctor and is cleared before he comes back to work,” Sheriff Oldham said, moving toward the door. “Ryan I don’t want to see you in the office until your ribs have healed.” The two men exited the room.
“I’ll see them out and take care of the animals,” Lil said, backing out of the room.
Shandra knew what she’d done had been foolish. But she’d do it again if someone she cared about was hell bent on chasing a psychopath. She brushed the hair off Ryan’s forehead. “I know I took a risk riding after June. But she’d tied Lil up and took her daddy’s shotgun. Lil was out for revenge. She would have ridden off by herself if I hadn’t gone with her.” She sat on the side of the bed. “We weren’t alone. Grandmother told me June was coming and help would be there soon. I knew I just had to make sure she didn’t kill Lil before help came.”
Ryan peered into her eyes. “I know you are never alone. Your grandmother watches over you, but Shandra, you aren’t invincible. No one is.”
“I know.” Her father came to mind. She had vague memories of riding on his shoulders and feeling safe even though she was high in the air. She studied Ryan’s face. She also felt safe when he was around. And he’d be around for a while if she allowed her heart to open and let him in.
Nursing Ryan would be a good chance for her to see if he had a Jekyll Hyde persona like the last man she’d fallen for. Having Ryan around would also give her a chance to bounce around some of the things she’d found out so far about her father’s death. He might have some ideas of where else she could look for information.
Once Ryan was well, she planned to dig into her father’s death as if it had just happened.
Shandra Higheagle Mysteries Coming Soon:
Murderous Secrets
After visiting her cousins at the reservation and the adamant statement from a friend of her father’s, Shandra discovers things about her father’s death that takes on a journey back in time.
Tragic High
A hiker is killed by marijuana growers on the highest point of Shandra’s mountain. Many think it was an accident. Shandra’s grandmother comes to her in dreams and they prove it was intentional murder.
About the Author
Award winning author Paty Jager ranches with her husband of thirty-six years. They’ve raised hay, hogs, cattle, kids, and grandkids. Her first book was published in 2006 and since then she has published twenty books, seven novellas, and three anthologies in the western romance, action adventure, and mystery genres. She enjoys riding horses, playing with her grandkids, judging 4-H contests and fairs, and outdoor activities. To learn more about her books and her life, to click on links to take you to the ebook sales sites, or to join her newsletter and find out how to get her books at a reduced rate visit her website.
http://www.patyjager.net
Books in the Shandra Higheagle Mystery Series
Double Duplicity
Tarnished Remains
Deadly Aim
Thank you for purchasing this Windtree Press publication. For other books of the heart, please visit our website at www.windtreepress.com.
For questions or more information contact us at [email protected].
Windtree Press
www.windtreepress.com
2660 NE Belknap Court
Suite 101-O
Hillsboro, OR 97124
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Title Page
copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Tw
elve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
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