Bert got up from the ground and looked back at the woman who had dove in front of him, saving his life, as she limped towards Jasper’s body.
The other deputies cheered as they rushed out of the woods and rounded up the two McNally brother’s horses.
“You and your brothers will never hurt her again,” Jessie whispered, spitting on the ground next to Jasper’s head. She tried to focus as she walked towards her horse, but the pain in her side was nearly unbearable. She reached down, winching as she pushed her palm against her side. It was tinged with warm blood when she pulled it away. “We need to bring them back…with us,” she mumbled.
Bert helped the other deputies drape the McNally brothers’ bodies over the back of three horses. He noticed Jessie stumble and slip, nearly doubling over each time she tried to mount her mare. Rushing to her side, he said, “Let me see it.”
“I’m…fine.”
“You’re shot!” he cried, seeing the blood when he pulled her hand away.
“How bad is it?” one of the men asked, rushing over to help.
“We have to get her back, now!” Bert yelled.
“Bert…calm down. I can ride,” she said through clenched teeth.
“You can’t even get on a horse, Marshal,” the other deputy replied.
“Help me get up. I can…do it.”
Bert and one of the deputies lifted her into the saddle as she growled in pain, still holding her side.
“You three go ahead. I’ll stay back with her,” Bert said to the extra men.
“We’re doing this together,” one man replied as they mounted their horses.
With Jessie leading, the group trotted back up the pass, towards Boone Creek.
***
The thirty-minute ride back to town seemed to take forever. Jessie struggled to focus on the trail and control the reins with one hand, while squeezing with her legs as hard as she could to keep herself upright.
When they entered the town limit, they headed past the mayor’s office, towards the Marshal’s Office around the curve. Jessie brought her horse to a stop. The men slowed behind her, quickly tying the horse’s reins to a hitching post.
Several of the town folk were milling about, awaiting their return after a few men had reported hearing gunfire out near the valley. People gasped at the sight of the dead men, draped over the back of the horses.
“Someone get Doc Vernon, now!” Bert shouted.
Hearing his voice, Molly went outside to see what all the commotion was, and Ellie followed her. The mayor had seen them ride by from his office window, and rushed down the street.
Bert and one of the deputized men helped Jessie from her horse, while the other men tossed the gang members’ bodies on the ground. She nearly crumbled to the ground, but they caught her and held her up.
“Anyone who has a problem with this courageous, respectable woman being our Town Marshal, has a problem with me,” Bert yelled to the people lining the sidewalk in front of the businesses and standing in the street to get a closer look.
“Us too,” the deputized men said. “These men won’t be a threat to this town anymore. She just about single-handedly took them out herself!” they added, pulling the men’s bodies from the horses and laying them out on the ground.
“If it wasn’t for her…I’d be lying here with them,” Bert added somberly. “She saved my life.”
“Clear the way!” Doc Vernon yelled, coming through the crowd. “Oh my!” he gasped, seeing the dead men, one with only half a head.
“It’s not them. It’s her!” one of the deputies exclaimed, pointing to Jessie, who’s eyes were half lidded.
Doc Vernon pulled Jessie’s blood-soaked hand from her side.
“Bring her in here!” Ellie yelled, clearing a path to her store.
Bert and the other deputy helping to keep Jessie on her feet, each grabbed one of her legs and placed their other arms behind her back.
“Wait!” Mayor Montgomery blurted. “Jessie Henry, you’re hereby decreed the Town Marshal of Boone Creek, Colorado Territory until you perish or otherwise resign because you’re too damn old to do it anymore. You hear me?” he said, smiling slightly as he placed his hand on her shoulder. “Now, go on, Doc! Get her fixed up! We don’t need our marshal dying on us, do we folks?” he said, putting his hands up and turning around, as if awaiting their answer.
Everyone in the street began to cheer and clap.
Bert and the deputy carried Jessie inside and laid her on the floor on her back. The temporary deputy joined the other two, placing their backs to the doctor and his patient, while forming a barricade to conceal what was happening behind them. Molly hurried down the stairs with a bowl full of water and towels for the doctor’s use.
Ellie dropped to the floor on her knees next to Jessie’s good side. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered through tears.
“You’re safe…now,” Jessie whispered.
“I love you. Please don’t leave me,” Ellie cried, brushing a hand along her soft cheek. “I couldn’t bare losing you. You have my whole heart, Jessie. You and only you,” she sobbed as wet tears flowed down her cheeks, soaking the sleeve of Jessie’s white shirt.
“Drink this,” Doc Vernon said, handing her a small bottle of opium from his bag. He picked her head up so that she could swallow. “Now,” he continued, putting her head back on the ground. “Bite down on this.” He shoved a leather satchel strap into her mouth. It stuck out on both sides as she clenched down.
Ellie unbuttoned Jessie’s vest and helped the doc lift her bloody shirt up high enough for him to reach her side. A nasty hole, about the size of a finger tip, was located near the bottom of her rib cage. Blood continued to ooze out of it as he palpated the area.
Jessie lurched and cried out when he touched her.
“This is going to hurt like hell,” he said, shoving the forceps inside the hole.
Jessie screamed as she bit the strap between her teeth.
“Hold her still!” the doc yelled.
Bert knelt down beside him and put his hands on Jessie’s hip to keep her steady, with Ellie practically sitting on her opposite side, while the doctor searched around for the bullet in her side.
“Here we are,” Doc Vernon stated, pulling the fragment out. “It bounced around her ribs, so a few of them are probably fractured, but it didn’t go any deeper.” He stuck his finger in the hole as Jessie screamed and writhed under the two people holding her down. “There’s some definite tissue damage, but nothing too serious,” he added, removing his finger and wiping away the blood. “All done,” he said, smiling at Jessie as he patted her shoulder with his clean hand. “I’m going to stitch you up now.”
“She’s going to be okay?” Ellie asked.
“Oh…yeah. She’ll be in pain for a while, but it’ll heal.”
“Thank God,” Ellie murmured. She looked back, feeling a hand on her shoulder. Pastor Noah stood back behind her, holding his bible. He nodded and smiled at her.
“I told you…you’d…never…lose me,” Jessie mumbled as the effects of the opium began to kick in. “I…love you…Ellie,” she slurred, before passing out.
Ellie smiled and bent down, kissing her sweaty cheek. “I love you, too,” she whispered, “Forever.”
About the Author
Graysen Morgen is the bestselling author of Falling Snow, Fast Pitch, Cypress Lake, Meant to Be, Coming Home, the Never Series: Never Let Go and Never Quit, the Bridal Series: Bridesmaid of Honor, Brides, and Mommies, as well as many other titles. She was born and raised in North Florida with winding rivers and waterways at her back door, as well as, the white sandy beach. She has spent most of her lifetime in the sun and on the water. She enjoys reading, writing, fishing, coaching and watching soccer, and spending as much time as possible with her wife and their daughter.
You can contact Graysen at [email protected]; like her fan page on Facebook.com/graysenmorgen; follow her on Twitter: @gr
aysenmorgen and Instagram: @graysenmorgen
Other Titles Available From
Triplicity Publishing
Witness by Joan L. Anderson. Becca and Kate have lived together for eight years, and have always spent their vacation in a tropical paradise, lying on a beach. This year, Becca wanted to try something different: a seven day, 65-mile hike in the beautiful Cascade Mountains of Washington state. Their peaceful vacation turns to horror when they stumble upon a brutal murder taking place in the back country.
Too Soon by S.L. Gape. Brooke is a twenty-nine year old detective from Oxford, who has her life pretty much planned out until her boss and partner of nine years, Maria, tells her their relationship is over. When Brooke finds out the truth, that Maria cheated on her with their best friend Paula, she decides to get her life back on track by getting away for six weeks in Anglesey, North Wales. Chloe, a thirty three year old artist and art director, owns a log cabin on Anglesey where she spends each weekend painting and surfing. After returning from a surf, she stumbles upon the somewhat uptight and enigmatic Brooke.
Blue Ice Landing by KA Moll. Coy is a beautiful blonde with a southern accent and a successful practice as a physician assistant. She has a comfortable home, good friends, and a loving family. She’s also a widow, carrying a burden of responsibility for her wife’s untimely death. Coby is a woman with secrets. She’s estranged from her family, a recovering alcoholic, and alone because she’s convinced that she’s unlovable. When she loses her job as a heavy equipment operator, she’ll accept one that’ll force her to step way outside her comfort zone. When Coy quits her job to accept a position in Antarctica, her path will cross with Coby’s. Their attraction to one another will be immediate, and despite their differences, it won’t be long before they fall in love. But for these two, with all their baggage, will love be enough?
Never Quit (Never Series book2) by Graysen Morgen. Two years after stepping away from the action as a Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer to become an instructor, Finley finds herself in charge of the most difficult class of cadets she’s ever faced, while also juggling the taxing demands of having a home life with her partner Nicole, and their fifteen year old daughter. Jordy Ross gave up everything, dropping out of college, and leaving her family behind, to join the Coast Guard and become a rescue swimmer cadet. The extreme training tests her fitness level, pushing her mentally and physically further than she’s ever been in her life, but it’s the aggressive competition between her and another female cadet that proves to be the most challenging.
For a Moment’s Indiscretion by KA Moll. With ten years of marriage under their belt, Zane and Jaina are coasting. The little things they used to do for one another have fallen by the wayside. They’ve gotten busy with life. They’ve forgotten to nurture their love and relationship. Even soul mates can stumble on hard times and have marital difficulties. Enter Amelia, a new faculty member in Jaina’s building. She’s new in town, young, and very pretty. When an argument with Zane causes Jaina to storm out angry, she reaches out to Amelia. Of course, she seizes the opportunity. And for a moment of indiscretion, Jaina could lose everything.
Never Let Go (Never Series book 1) by Graysen Morgen. For Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer, Finley Morris, life is good. She loves her job, is well respected by her peers, and has been given an opportunity to take her career to the next level. The only thing missing is the love of her life, who walked out, taking their daughter with her, seven years earlier. When Finley gets a call from her ex, saying their teenage daughter is coming to spend the summer with her, she’s floored. While spending more time with her daughter, whom she doesn’t get to see often, and learning to be a full-time parent, Finley quickly realizes she has not, and will never, let go of what is important.
Pursuit by Joan L. Anderson. Claire is a workaholic attorney who flies to Paris to lick her wounds after being dumped by her girlfriend of seventeen years. On the plane she chats with the young woman sitting next to her, and when they land the woman is inexplicably detained in Customs. Claire is surprised when she later runs into the woman in the city. They agree to meet for breakfast the next morning, but when the woman doesn't show up Claire goes to her hotel and makes a horrifying discovery. She soon finds herself ensnared in a web of intrigue and international terrorism, becoming the target of a high stakes game of cat and mouse through the streets of Paris.
Wrecked by Sydney Canyon. To most people, the Duchess is a myth formed by old pirates tales, but to Reid Cavanaugh, a Caribbean island bum and one of the best divers and treasure hunters in the world, it’s a real, seventeenth century pirate ship—the holy grail of underwater treasure hunting. Reid uses the same cunning tactics she always has before setting out to find the lost ship. However, she is forced to bring her business partner’s daughter along as collateral this time because he doesn’t trust her. Neither woman is thrilled, but being cooped up on a small dive boat for days, forces them to get know each other quickly.
Arson by Austen Thorne. Madison Drake is a detective for the Stetson Beach Police Department. The last thing she wants to do is show a new detective the ropes, especially when a fire investigation becomes arson to cover up a murder. Madison butts heads with Tara, her trainee, deals with sarcasm from Nic, her ex-girlfriend who is a patrol officer, and finds calm in the chaos of police work with Jamie, her best friend who is the county medical examiner. Arson is the first of many in a series of novella episodes surrounding the fictional Stetson Beach Police Department and Detective Madison Drake.
Change of Heart by KA Moll. Courtney Holloman is a woman at the top of her game. She’s successful, wealthy, and a highly sought after Washington lobbyist. She has money, her job, booze, and nothing else. In quiet moments, against her will, her mind drifts back to her days in high school and to all that she gave up. Jack Camdon is a complex woman, and yet not at all. She is also a woman who has never moved beyond the sudden and unexplained departure of her high school sweetheart, her lover, and her soul mate. When circumstances bring Courtney back to town two decades later, their paths will cross. Will it be too late?
Mommies (Bridal Series book 3) by Graysen Morgen. Britton and her wife Daphne have been married for a year and a half and are happy with their life, until Britton’s mother hounds her to find out why her sister Bridget hasn’t decided to have children yet. This prompts Daphne to bring up the big subject of having kids of their own with Britton. Britton hadn’t really thought much about having kids, but her love for Daphne makes her see life and their future together in a whole new way when they decide to become mommies.
Haunting Love by K.A. Moll. Anna Crestwood was raised in the strict beliefs of a religious sect nestled in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. She’s a lesbian with a ton of baggage—fearful, guilty, and alone. Very few things would compel her to leave the familiar. The job offer of a lifetime is one of them. Gabe Garst is a police officer. She’s also a powerful medium. Her work with juvenile delinquents and ghosts is all that keeps her going. Inside she’s dead, certain that her capacity to love is buried six feet under. Anna and Gabe’s paths cross. Their attraction is immediate, but they hold back until all hope seems lost.
Rapture & Rogue by Sydney Canyon. Taren Rauley is happy and in a good relationship, until the one person she thought she’d never see again comes back into her life. She struggles to keep the past from colliding with the present as old feelings she thought were dead and gone, begin to haunt her. In college, Gianna Revisi was a mastermind, ring-leading, crime boss. Now, she has a great life and spends her time running Rapture and Rogue, the two establishments she built from the ground up. The last person she ever expects to see walk into one of them, is the girl who walked out on her, breaking her heart five years ago.
Second Chance by Sydney Canyon. After an attack on her convoy, Marine Corps Staff Sergeant, Darien Hollister, must learn to live without her sight. When an experimental procedure allows her to see again, Darien is torn, knowing someone had to die in order for this to happen.
She embarks on a journey to personally thank the donor’s family, but is too stunned to tell them the truth. Mixed emotions stir inside of her as she slowly gets to the know the people that feel like so much more than strangers to her. When the truth finally comes out, Darien walks away, taking the second chance that she’s been given to go back to the only life she’s ever known, but she’s not the only one with a second chance at life.
Meant to Be by Graysen Morgen. Brandt is about to walk down the aisle with her girlfriend, when an unexpected chain of events turns her world upside down, causing her to question the last three years of her life. A chance encounter sparks a mix of rage and excitement that she has never felt before. Summer is living life and following her dreams, all the while, harboring a huge secret that could ruin her career. She believes that some things are better kept in the dark, until she has her third run-in with a woman she had hoped to never see again, and gives into temptation. Brandt and Summer start believing everything happens for a reason as they learn the true meaning of meant to be.
Coming Home by Graysen Morgen. After tragedy derails TJ Abernathy’s life, she packs up her three year old son and heads back to Pennsylvania to live with her grandmother on the family farm. TJ picks back up where she left off eight years earlier, tending to the fruit and nut tree orchard, while learning her grandmother’s secret trade. Soon, TJ’s high school sweetheart and the same girl who broke her heart, comes back into her life, threatening to steal it away once again. As the weeks turn into months and tragedy strikes again, TJ realizes coming home was the best thing she could’ve ever done.
Boone Creek Page 17
