Cowboy Girl Annie

by Risner, Fay

  “I don't have a choice now that you have me in this mess. I don't have a clue what I should say. I sure hope you know what you're doing since I sure don't,” he griped.

  Annie stood up with her hands high. Jake stood up behind her and raised his hands with a doughnut sack in each hand.

  Annie called to the cops, “We're coming out. Don't shoot us.”

  “Come ahead,” the spokesman for the cops ordered. He most likely was in his thirties and acted like a cop with a decade of experience behind him.

  Annie and Jake edged slowly away from the protection of the dumpster. Standing in plain sight of Big Ed, his goons and the cops, Annie said, “I'm Annie. Me and my friend, Skinny Jake, don't have a gun. We were the ones being shot at by these roughnecks.”

  The cop came around Big Ed and his men to stand in front of Annie and Jake. “What’s going on here? We had reports by the bakery shop owner of shots fired in the alley. Throw your sacks over there.” The officer demanded at Jake, pointing toward the building foundation.

  “Officer, it's just our doughnuts in them sacks,” Annie explained.

  “Could be a weapon in there. I'm not trusting any of you until I hear what this fight is all about. I don't trust a one of you any farther than I could throw you,” the officer snapped, stepping sideways to bend over and pick up the revolvers.

  The other three cops aimed their guns at Big Ed and his guys as well as Jake and Annie.

  It wouldn't be a good idea to move sudden like, Annie decided.

  She held her tongue as another policeman’s shiny, black shoe came within an inch of flattening their doughnut sacks when he circled around her and Jake. As he turned to cover their backs with his gun, his toe connected with the sacks, and a doughnut rolled out of one of them.

  Feelings of anger toward the cop made Annie want to give him a tongue lashing as she eyed her delicious doughnut laying in the dirt. The only reason she hesitated was the fact if she made the cop mad, the head cop might not listen to her.

  The officer in charge cradled the guns in his arms, straightened up and moved toward them. “One of you men pat these two down to make sure they don't have a gun hidden out in all that garb they have on. You other two check Big Ed and his men for hidden guns or knives.”

  A cop patted Annie and Jake down their sides and back. “Sarge, they're unarmed.”

  Better start talking,” Sarge snapped, trying to hold on to his arms full of guns.

  “That big guy was fixing to shoot us. I distracted him by talking to him, just praying you policemen would show up before he and his men killed us,” Annie declared as she pointed innocently at Big Ed.

  “That’s a lie. One of those guns you got there is hers, Man. She shot at us first,” screamed Big Ed, shaking a finger at Annie.

  “Jake, what do you say happened here?” The sergeant asked.

  “What Annie says,” Jake said, looking at the ground.

  Chapter 18

  Annie eyed this man she had become so fond of. Great! No wonder Jake has been complaining so much about me lying to him. He couldn't tell a lie and be convincing even when his life depended on it. And here I thought it was only George Washington who couldn't tell a lie.

  Annie figured she better take over before the cop asked Jake anything else. Jake would be sure to get the cop suspicious of them. “See for yourselves, Sir. Does it look like we have the money to even own a gun?

  Honest, we were hiding behind the dumpster for protection from those guys. You could see that when you got here.

  The only hole in that dumpster is on the front side where one of them fired at us and missed. I'm here to tell you we were scared to death, weren't we, Jake?”

  Jake shook his head up and down fast. “Oh, yeah! We sure were.”

  Annie had to fight grinning at Jake. She figured her question wouldn't give him any reason to lie.

  She continued her story. “I don't know much about this, but if the bullet is in the dumpster, you'll find it matches one of Big Ed's guns you're carrying around,” Annie explained, pointing at the cop's armload of guns.

  “This is a set up,” Big Ed squalled. “That woman is lying through her teeth.”

  Sarge turned to Big Ed. “Shut up until I talk to you.” He turned back to Annie and Jake. “We'll find that out, won't we? You two will have to come down to the Police Station to file a complaint so we can hold these men for attempted murder.

  In the mean time, we'll check the guns for finger prints. We'll take your prints when you come in. If either of your prints are on one of these guns, you're in as much trouble as Big Ed. We'll hunt you down.” He turned to Big Ed. “Looks like you’re going to jail again. This time for attempted murder.”

  “Don't I even get a say?” Big Ed asked.

  “You can talk all you want once we get you into an interrogation room.” The sarge handcuffed Ed and led him away as he chanted the Miranda Rights. The other cops followed along the two henchmen.

  Annie listened to the big man sputtering his innocence all the way down the alley to the street.

  “Annie, why did you go and do that?” Jake groaned, holding his head in his hands as he put his back against the bakery and slid to the ground. “Big Ed’s going to find a way to get back out on the street real soon just like he always does. Sure as shooting, he'll be after the two of us to get even. Sooner or later, we’re dead meat. The only thing we can do is leave town fast.”

  “No, we don't want to do that, and we won’t be in any danger from Big Ed anymore. You fret and stew more than any other man I've ever seen. You know that, Jake? Big Ed’s not coming back on the streets for a long time,” Annie assured him.

  Jake raised an eyebrow at her. “How do you know that?”

  “Remember that gun has history. It was used in a murder. When I decided to keep it for my own protection, I didn't know I was going to have a tall, brave man like you taking care of me.” Annie snickered.

  “Aw, Annie, you're making fun of me, and I don't like it,” protested Jake as he turned red faced.

  “Truth be told, I was nervous enough when Big Ed headed at us to pee my pants. I just didn't want you to know that.

  I figured at this moment, Big Ed was the right person to give the gun to. Probably the gun belonged to one of his hit men anyway. Big Ed probably ordered the hit that gun is connected to,” she stated vehemently. “He was going to have us killed us out of spite for not joining his crooked protection business.”

  Annie scowled as she picked the doughnut up before she sat down beside Jake. She turned her grimy doughnut around in her hands. “Besides, somebody's got to pay for letting my doughnut get dirty. I can't do anything to a cop and get away with it so it might as well be Big Ed that pays.”

  She handed Jake his sack. “Here, the other doughnut is still in there.”

  “You shouldn't have to eat that dirty doughnut. You want to share half of the clean one?” Jake asked generously.

  “Nah, I am used to making do.” Annie rubbed her doughnut gently against her skirt. It wasn't clean enough to eat yet. She picked off more of the grit and flicked the sticky icing crumbs away from her.

  “You sure are tricky to get the upper hand on Big Ed. Remind me never to make you that mad at me,” said Jake, glancing at her sideways.

  “Well, now that I’ve given it some thought, you seemed to need some looking after to keep you out of trouble. I’ve just decided to go into the protection business myself. I'm giving you the honor of being my first client,” stated Annie.

  “Oh no, I had my fill of Big Ed pulling that on us. That was enough. Don’t you do that to me, too,” groaned Jake.

  “Wait, you haven’t heard the payment you have to give me. For my services, I’d like a fresh doughnut ever now and then whenever you have spare change.”

  “A doughnut?” Jake repeated, not quite understanding at first. When he caught on, his face brightened. “I reckon I could arrange that if the payment isn't collected real often,” he agreed, grinni
ng at her. “You know we both need to get back to rummaging sort of quick like if we plan on eating any kind of boughten food again soon.”

  “Aw, well, that doughnut is just for starters as far as payments go. I'm thinking the two of us hit it off so well we might as well just stick together for a while sort of like partners and see how it goes. What do you say? Want to share my cardboard box with me. It's a side by side refrigerator one with plenty of room, but we might be able to find a freezer one. That would be roomier yet.” Annie looked down her nose at Jake, and returned the grin.

  Jake puzzled about hanging out with Annie now that they really didn't need to watch each other's back. “I thought you was just fooling before when you said you was getting fond of me. You sure sound serious now.

  One thing about hanging out with you, Annie, you have a way of making life exciting. Sometimes more exciting than I think I could hack on a daily basis.”

  Annie glared at him. “Life wasn't that exciting until I met you. I'm not so sure all that happening with Big Ed wasn't partly your fault, too. After all, he did have a hit out on you for some reason.”

  “My only problem with Big Ed was he didn't like my hanging out with you, Cowboy Girl Annie.” Skinny Jake put his arm around her shoulders and smiled teasingly at her.

  Then the two of them burst into a fit of laughter.

  Dang, after what we've been through it feels good to laugh for a change, thought Annie. She looked over at Jake now that he was enjoying himself. She patted him on the leg and continued to laugh. It feels even better to have a partner to laugh with.

  Laughter had been a rare happening for a long time, and it sure felt good to be happy. This good feeling is just about as rare, Cowboy Girl Annie figured, as me getting anymore doughnuts out of Skinny Jake without him first checking to see if I have some spending money. He's bound to search my pockets to make sure I'm not lying when I tell him I'm broke.

  About the author

  Fay Risner lives with her husband on a central Iowa acreage along with their chickens, rabbits, goats and cats. A former Certified Nurse Aide at the Keystone Nursing Care Center in Keystone, Iowa, she now divides her time between writing books, working in her flower beds and the garden and going fishing with her husband in their boat. Fay writes books in various genre – historical mystery series, western series, Amish series set in southern Iowa and two books for Caregivers about Alzheimer's. She uses 12 font print in her books and 14 font print in her novellas to make them reader friendly. Her books have a mid western Iowa and small town flavor. She pulls the readers into her stories, making it hard for them to put a book down until the reader sees how the story ends. Readers say the characters are fun to get to know and often humorous enough to cause the readers to laugh out loud. The books leave the readers wanting a sequel or a series so they can read about the characters again.