Authors: Kathleen Brooks
What in the hell just happened? He felt like he had been asking himself that a lot recently. One second he was sitting at the table having a drink by himself and the next he punched his friend right in the face. Not just any friend either. No, he had to go knock the one guy who had the ability to kill him in his sleep. Then the SOB had smiled. He had actually smiled at Marshall from his place on the ground right after he hit him.
He couldn't help it though. He had seen Ahmed come in and didn't pay any attention to him giving the girls a kiss on the cheek, but his kiss with Katelyn started a reaction that was intense and immediate. No one was allowed to kiss the woman he loved. Marshall stopped in his tracks.
"Oh God, I love her."
Katelyn sat down and finally closed her mouth. What just happened? Why did Ahmed kiss her? Why did Marshall punch him? Okay, okay. Marshall didn't look at her when he came in. So, he doesn’t care about her. But, Ahmed kissed her and he lost it. But, he wouldn't lose it if he didn't care about her. And Ahmed - they had already tried dating and kissing, and it didn't work. He was a fabulous kisser, no doubt about it, but it lacked the spark that was there when she and Marshall kissed.
Katelyn tuned out the noise as her mind raced trying to connect all the dots. Did Ahmed kiss her then to see what Marshall would do? And when he punched Ahmed it meant… it meant what? Oh.My.God. Katelyn bolted up from her chair.
"He loves me," she said in wonder.
"You're just now getting that?" Miss Lily asked.
"And you're still here?" Annie laughed.
Katelyn grabbed her bag and Paige tossed her the keys to her truck.
"He'll probably be at the far pasture behind his house. He always goes there to think. Go to his house, take the dirt road to the left of the house back about a mile. His spot is at the top of the big hill at the end of the dirt road.
"Bless your heart, what are you waiting for?" Miss Daisy shooed her out the door to the clapping of the patrons.
Marshall took another drink of beer and looked up at the stars in the black night sky. His favorite thing about being so far out in the country was the night sky. No city lights to hide the stars. The only noise was that of the cows moving about the pasture below, the crickets chirping, and the sound of him kicking himself.
He should’ve never punched Ahmed. He was sure someone as classy and worldly as Katelyn would have found it offensive. He was going to have to apologize to her and to Ahmed both. There had to be some way to put her out of his mind. She had clearly chosen Ahmed and he needed to relinquish the field to him, no matter how much it hurt. Even worse, he had to find a way to be happy for them both.
He laid down on the grass and looked up at the rounded sky. What was he going to do? He listened to the breeze rustling the leaves and tried not to think about Katelyn. The sound of an engine interrupted his not thinking. He sat up and prepared to face the music. It was probably Miles coming to see what had happened. Miles was always the one who came to clean up any messes or to rescue them when they were overseas.
Marshall stood up and looked down at the headlights. They were from a pickup truck, so it couldn't be Miles or Cade. That left Pierce and Paige. Out of those two, he suspected it was Paige coming to yell at him. Just what he needed.
Well, if he was going to be yelled at, she could just climb the big ass hill and meet him up there. He smiled knowing that it would tick off his sister having to walk the short distance to the bottom of the hill and then all the way up it. It was the little things in life.
He watched Paige park and sat back down to wait the five minutes or so it would take her to reach him. The door opened and she got out of the car. Marshall squinted and then his eyes opened wide. Blonde hair shimmered in the moonlight and those long legs were certainly not his sister's. What was Katelyn doing here? He didn't know, but he was going to find out.
Chapter Fourteen
Marshall watched as Katelyn looked up the hill and then started walking the short distance to the bottom of the hill. She was halfway to the base when the sound of a rifle exploded through the night air from the tree line two hundred yards away from the path.
He watched in horror as Katelyn grabbed her stomach and fell to the ground as another round was fired. He felt his heart stop in his chest as he focused on Katelyn's body in the dirt. All his years of training took over and he was racing down the hill, zigzagging as he went to avoid the rifle fire.
His hand went automatically to his waist, but he wasn't in war and he wasn't on duty so the gun that had been a staple for so many years was locked up at home. Damn, he was totally defenseless, but that didn't stop him from pounding his way down the hill at breakneck speed.
Bullets hit the ground near him, spewing up dirt. He didn't look at them. He just kept his eyes on Katelyn. Both relief and fear flooded through him when he saw her move and slowly start crawling for the safety of the truck.
He was halfway down the hill when he lost his footing. He slipped on the dewy grass and felt his leg go out from under him. He landed hard on his hip and grimaced as he slid a few feet until he hit a rock. He was able to get his feet under him again and suck in another breath of air. He couldn't remember if he had been breathing or not.
At the bottom of the hill the firing stopped. By his count the gun held ten rounds. He figured he had less than five seconds before a new magazine was put into the rifle. He stopped zigzagging and sprinted straight for Katelyn. He slid next to her as if he was stealing a base in baseball. The sight of blood on her shirt was like a dagger to his heart.
"Are you okay?" Bullets dug into the ground as the shooter peppered them with a new magazine.
"Yes. It's just a scrape." Katelyn pulled herself another couple of feet before resting again.
"Good. Then this is going to hurt."
Marshall scooped her up into his arms and ran for all he was worth. He heard her groan as he pulled her close to his chest. He ran at an angle, keeping his back towards the tree line so any bullets would hit him and not her. He bent down to hide behind the truck for cover.
"I’m going to put you on the bench behind the seat. I have to put you down for a second, alright?"
Katelyn nodded as she bit her lip. She didn't want to worry him. He was so focused on getting her to safety. She couldn't believe it when the first gunshot rang out. She actually didn't know what to do. She just stood there, confused, until the second shot hit her. She had looked at it, and it was bleeding, but it didn't look serious. However, it sure hurt like the dickens.
She had tried to make it to the car for shelter, but she had looked back when the gunshots moved away from her and focused instead on the hill. She had seen Marshall, racing down the hill like a man possessed. She had a hard time remembering she even knew him. His face was set in such a focused and serious way that he was almost unrecognizable. He had moved with such speed and agility that she could only stare. He was an action hero right out of a movie. An action hero who was now placing her across the backbench and giving her orders. Too bad she didn't hear them. She had a feeling though, that it didn't matter. He’d do anything to keep her safe and she trusted him to do so.
Marshall pushed back the passenger seat and felt better knowing he had Katelyn safe. He climbed over the seat and the center stick shift and into the driver's seat. He turned the key and a new round of shots shattered the windshield. He ducked down and checked on Katelyn. She was going to be fine. He had looked at her wound when he laid her down. It was bleeding, but it wasn't bad. Katelyn, not used to being shot, was starting to show signs of shock.
He shifted the car into reverse and floored the pedal. The truck rocketed backwards, kicking up dust as he spun the wheel hard while shifting into drive. As soon as he was out of range of the rifle, he bent down and grabbed Katelyn's purse. Why did she need such a large purse? He gave up feeling around for her cell phone and dumped the contents onto the passenger seat. He pushed aside keys, a stethoscope, a small bag of Kleenex, something he didn't know what it was or could possibly be used for, and then finally found the cell phone. He dialed 9-1-1 and waited for the overnight dispatch to pick up.
"Keeneston 9-1-1, how can I help you dear?"
"It's me. Shots have been fired on my farm. Katelyn's been hit. I’m taking her to the ER in Lexington right now."
"Sheriff! Oh thank the stars! We've been trying to get hold of you for an hour. Noodle was doing some night fishing when he was shot!"
"Is he alive?" This couldn't be happening?
"Yes. He was out in the lake over by Lipston when he heard the sound of the gun cocking. He said the person who shot at him was about 50 yards away behind some cover on the other side of the cove he was in. Anyway, he heard the gun cock and then dove underwater. The bullet hit his leg instead of his chest. He stayed underwater as long as he could and came up for air some distance away. Then he made his way back to his car and drove to UK's hospital."
"Thank God he's okay. I think Katelyn will be fine too. The wound isn't bad, but she's in shock. Call Sheriff Nuggett and see if he'll come out with some of his men to help secure the crime scene. See if you can send someone to my farm until I can get there. If you can't find anyone, call one of my brothers."
"Will do. I just don't understand it, not at all. Why shoot two unarmed people?"
"I don't know, but I’ll find out."
Marshall pulled up to the emergency room at the University of Kentucky Hospital and flagged a nurse sneaking a smoke before running inside to get a wheelchair. She was back with a doctor and a stretcher before he had even gotten Katelyn out of the back seat. She had stopped shaking, but was still glassy eyed.
He told the doctor what had happened and all the medical information he knew about her. That just made him feel worse. He didn't know her blood type and he didn't know if she was allergic to anything, he felt totally helpless.
"Marshall!"
"Annie, Dinky, what are you all doing here?"
"Dispatch called an hour ago and told us about Noodle, so we came here to check on him. Sherriff Nuggett already called me and told us he's on his way to interview Noodle."
"He's going to be fine. But, was that Katelyn? What's going on?" Annie asked as she looked towards the big doors Katelyn had just gone through.
"Yes. She came to see me on the farm and when she got out of the car she was shot. As soon as I started running toward her, the gunfire was directed at me. She was wounded, but it really was more of a bad gash. She started to go into shock though so I rushed her here."
"Why is someone shooting at the police?" Dinky asked.
"I don't know, but I’m going to say something right now that both of you won’t like. First, if either of you go outside, I want your flak vests on. Second, Annie, I want you inside until we catch this person. I will not risk you or your baby getting shot."
"Okay."
"What?"
"Okay. I’ll go from home to work and that's it." Annie's lips were pursed and Marshall knew that her maternal instincts just overrode her instinct to go after the bad guys.
"I'll pick you up and drive you to work," Dinky told her.
"Thank you. Good, here's Sheriff Nuggett. If I can't be out there to shoot the bastard, at least I can try to figure out what's going on." Annie gave a quick head nod to Nuggett as he came toward them.
"I ‘m sorry about your man, Davies. How is he?"
"We think he'll be fine. Did you find anything at the crime scene?" Marshall asked.
"Yes. We found the casings and a couple of muffin wrappers. Never found those at a crime scene before," Nuggett told him as he scratched his head. "Banana nut. I wonder if it means something."
Banana nut muffins… why was that bothering him? Something was nagging him from the back of his mind, but he just couldn't put a finger on it.
"Marshall! How's my baby?" He looked at the emergency room door and found Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt hurrying in with Miss Lily right on their heels.
"We haven't heard yet, but it didn't look too serious."
"Oh, thank God!" Marshall watched as Beauford put his arm around his wife and gave her a supportive squeeze.
Within minutes the hospital waiting room filled up with his friends and family. They milled around for an hour before the doors to the ER opened and Dr. Francis came out with two nurses pushing Katelyn and Noodle in wheelchairs. Katelyn was now wearing scrubs and looked stiff. Noodle had a big grin on his face and wide white gauze wrapped around his upper leg, sticking out of his jeans that had been cut off into very short jorts.
Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt rushed to Katelyn's side and Marshall found himself frozen to the spot just so thankful she was there. He knew it wasn't a bad injury, but that didn't mean his heart hadn't been painfully pinched until he could see her again and know she was fine.
"Well, Ms. Jacks was grazed on her left side. Took about five stitches to close up, but she's good to go. Just try not to stretch those stiches. Mr. Miller was shot through his thigh. He's going to need to stay off the leg for a couple of days and no active duty for at least three weeks and not until he's cleared by a doctor."
"Thank you, doctor. I'll take Eugene home with me and make sure he's well taken care of until he’s able to be up and about on his own," Miss Lily said as she came to stand next to Noodle.
Noodle looked up at Dr. Francis with a longing look and Dr. Francis shrugged, her shoulders hitting her curly brown hair. Everyone noticed the look that passed between them and Marshall looked back at Noodle. His deputy was totally enamored with the pretty little doctor. And from the looks of things, the feeling was mutual.
"Oh no you don’t, young man! Not while you’re recuperating!" Miss Lily grabbed the wheelchair and started pushing him out the door lecturing him on thinking about "that" while shot up and in a wheelchair. Poor Dr. Francis turned bright red and looked completely mortified.