The Reluctant Rancher~Badlands (Contemporary Western Romantic Suspense) by J.D. Faver Page B
Authors: J.D. Faver
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crockery on her counter. The pendant lamp went out, but the gunfire continued. Sara Beth fell to the floor, clutching her cell. She edged her way toward the hallway and pressed one of the b uttons; the last number called.
“Hello?” a sleepy Doctor Cami answered.
Sara Beth let out a little yelp. “Someone’s out there! Someone’s shooting at me!”
“Sara Beth? Is that you ?...Breck, it’s Sara Beth.”
Sara Beth rushed to pick up her daughter and carried her to the relative safety of the hallway. She curled up on the floor, shielding her baby. “Doctor Cami...I think I’ve been shot.”
~*~
Breck called the sheriff’s office and threw on his clothes. He pulled on his boots and went to his office where he kept his gun safe. He removed his Winchester 30-30 rifle and a handgun and was on his way out the door when Cami caught up with him. “And where do you think you’re going?”
She made an impatient sound and stepped out onto the porch, shoving her arms into a jacket. “She said she’s been shot. Of course I’m going.”
“I called the sheriff, but this could be dangerous. I can’t let you take any chances.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I will either go with you or I can take the Lincoln. Your choice.”
The set of her jaw made him roll his eyes. “Get in the truck.”
He slid the rifle into the gun rack and the handgun in the console along with a box of ammunition. Nothing like being prepared .
Cami climbed in and slammed the door. “Hurry!”
He started the truck and pulled out onto the road toward the Jessup place. They rode in silence, each with their own thoughts. He couldn’t imagine why anyone would take a shot at a sweet young thing like Sara Beth Jessup. Her asshole husband was another matter. Nick just didn ’t have a lick of common sense.
When Breck turned off the main highway onto the caliches road leading to the Jessup place, he could see lights up ahead. The sheriff had beaten him there. He pulled in clear of the two vehicles with flashing lights. He saw the house dark in one side with flashlights beaming around and all lit up on the other side. There were a couple of deputies outside working with flashlights and the wash of headlamps of one of the sheriff’s department vehicles. Breck too ted the horn a couple of times.
The sheriff himself stepped into the doorway to frown out at him, a revolver pointing in the general direction of the truck. “Who’s there?”
“Breckenridge Ryan,” he shouted. “And my wife, the doctor. Do you need any help?”
The sheriff holstered hi s weapon and waved them inside.
Breck climbed out, but not before Cami had thrown open the passenger door and taken off at a run toward the house with her medical bag tucked under her arm. Feelings of exasperation and pride duked it out in his chest. On the one hand, he didn’t want her involved, but on the other hand, he knew she would throw herself into any opportunity to save a life. He just hoped there would be lives to save.
~*~
Sara Beth still sat on the floor in the hallway, clutching her baby in one arm and a kitchen towel to her neck with her other hand. She felt nothing, no fear, no pain...nothing...
She was distanced from the events taking place around her. Like an alien being from another planet, she observed without emotion from inside the life form she had chosen to inhabit.
The lights were on in the rest of the house except for the kitchen, where the hanging fixture had been demolished by the gunfire. Large uniformed men tromped around her tiny home, their boots like hammer blows on the worn wooden floors. Their presence miniaturized everything in the dwelling.
She watched silently, a dwarfed creature in a giant world.
“Sara Beth...honey…are you okay?”
It was Cami, the doctor. She was reaching for the baby. Sara Beth gazed at her dispassionately.
“Here, Breck. Take the baby.”
Sara Beth screamed when Cami removed he r daughter from her hands. She grabbed her infant and
“Hello?” a sleepy Doctor Cami answered.
Sara Beth let out a little yelp. “Someone’s out there! Someone’s shooting at me!”
“Sara Beth? Is that you ?...Breck, it’s Sara Beth.”
Sara Beth rushed to pick up her daughter and carried her to the relative safety of the hallway. She curled up on the floor, shielding her baby. “Doctor Cami...I think I’ve been shot.”
~*~
Breck called the sheriff’s office and threw on his clothes. He pulled on his boots and went to his office where he kept his gun safe. He removed his Winchester 30-30 rifle and a handgun and was on his way out the door when Cami caught up with him. “And where do you think you’re going?”
She made an impatient sound and stepped out onto the porch, shoving her arms into a jacket. “She said she’s been shot. Of course I’m going.”
“I called the sheriff, but this could be dangerous. I can’t let you take any chances.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I will either go with you or I can take the Lincoln. Your choice.”
The set of her jaw made him roll his eyes. “Get in the truck.”
He slid the rifle into the gun rack and the handgun in the console along with a box of ammunition. Nothing like being prepared .
Cami climbed in and slammed the door. “Hurry!”
He started the truck and pulled out onto the road toward the Jessup place. They rode in silence, each with their own thoughts. He couldn’t imagine why anyone would take a shot at a sweet young thing like Sara Beth Jessup. Her asshole husband was another matter. Nick just didn ’t have a lick of common sense.
When Breck turned off the main highway onto the caliches road leading to the Jessup place, he could see lights up ahead. The sheriff had beaten him there. He pulled in clear of the two vehicles with flashing lights. He saw the house dark in one side with flashlights beaming around and all lit up on the other side. There were a couple of deputies outside working with flashlights and the wash of headlamps of one of the sheriff’s department vehicles. Breck too ted the horn a couple of times.
The sheriff himself stepped into the doorway to frown out at him, a revolver pointing in the general direction of the truck. “Who’s there?”
“Breckenridge Ryan,” he shouted. “And my wife, the doctor. Do you need any help?”
The sheriff holstered hi s weapon and waved them inside.
Breck climbed out, but not before Cami had thrown open the passenger door and taken off at a run toward the house with her medical bag tucked under her arm. Feelings of exasperation and pride duked it out in his chest. On the one hand, he didn’t want her involved, but on the other hand, he knew she would throw herself into any opportunity to save a life. He just hoped there would be lives to save.
~*~
Sara Beth still sat on the floor in the hallway, clutching her baby in one arm and a kitchen towel to her neck with her other hand. She felt nothing, no fear, no pain...nothing...
She was distanced from the events taking place around her. Like an alien being from another planet, she observed without emotion from inside the life form she had chosen to inhabit.
The lights were on in the rest of the house except for the kitchen, where the hanging fixture had been demolished by the gunfire. Large uniformed men tromped around her tiny home, their boots like hammer blows on the worn wooden floors. Their presence miniaturized everything in the dwelling.
She watched silently, a dwarfed creature in a giant world.
“Sara Beth...honey…are you okay?”
It was Cami, the doctor. She was reaching for the baby. Sara Beth gazed at her dispassionately.
“Here, Breck. Take the baby.”
Sara Beth screamed when Cami removed he r daughter from her hands. She grabbed her infant and
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