Renewing Lost Love (17 page)

Scoot thinks for a minute then he says,
“Pinky, if you’ll take over the controls, Goose and I will do some
reconnaissance. We aren’t going to be able to get too close with
the bird because of the noise, so drop us down the road a ways,
then find somewhere further out to sit her down. That will give us
a little time to get the lay of the land before you guys get back.
Agreed?”

Pinky is disappointed that he isn’t getting
to go down with Goose but he is thankful someone is going to do
something so he says, “Agreed. Just take care of my boy.”

Pinky drops Scoot and Goose about a mile away
from the ranch and then flies another two miles away and lands the
helicopter. His heart is pounding with fear and he prays that Scoot
and Goose are able to get to Timmy without putting him in any
danger. He has to admit that Scoot made the right decision in
leaving him behind on the initial reconnaissance. He is just too
emotionally involved in this operation. Pinky, Barry, and Stump
hurry toward the ranch.

Scoot and Goose quietly make their way to the
house. It is almost completely dark now and they see what looks
like a kerosene lamp burning in the front room. They move to a
window looking into the room and see four men sitting around on the
floor drinking beer. They don’t see Timmy anywhere.

They check other windows peering inside using
their night vision goggles and finally spot Timmy, lying on the
floor in one of the back rooms in the dark. He is crying and
appears to have his hands and feet tied. Scoot climbs inside and
makes his way over to Timmy. He says, “Timmy, it’s Uncle Scoot, be
very quiet, all right?”

Timmy nods his head vigorously. Scoot picks
him up and carries him to the open window and hands him through to
Goose. He then quietly climbs back out and they slink off into the
darkening night.

Once they are a short distance from the house
Scoot and Goose untie the boy’s hands and feet and hurry toward the
road where they are to meet the other team members. Just as they
reach the road they hear one of the men hollering, “The kid’s gone!
Find him!”

Scoot and Goose move deeper into the shadows
of the trees along the road and squat reminding Timmy to be very
quiet and very still.

With the advantage of their night vision
glasses they see two of the men heading their direction and prepare
for combat. Then one of the men says, “I don’t think the kid would
have come out to the road. I’ll bet he ran out across that pasture.
I just hope he doesn’t fall in the pond and drown. Then all of this
will be for nothing. I’m going back and get the truck.” He turns
and heads back to the house.

The other man continues coming toward them.
When he gets close enough, Goose gets him in a choke hold until he
slips into unconsciousness. Then they bind his hands and feet with
a plastic cable ties and stuff a handkerchief in his mouth. They
drag him into the deep shadows of the trees where they leave him
and head further down the road.

When they are far enough away, Scoot radios
the other guys, “We have the boy and he is unhurt. Three of the
four men are still at large. They know Timmy’s missing and they are
looking for him. Stay on your toes. We are moving east in the trees
down the side of the road.”

Pinky breathes a sigh of relief and a tear
slides down his cheek. He and the other three team members are
moving west on the road toward the house. When they see a truck
turn out of the drive headed toward them he says, “A truck just
turned out of the drive onto the road.”

Scoot says, “We see it. We’re in the trees.”
After the truck passes Scoot and Goose’s location Scoot says, “It
looked like only one man in the truck.”

Pinky says, “We’ll get him.” As the truck
draws near them Pinky throws his knife burying it in the right
front tire causing the truck to veer into the ditch. The three team
members surround the truck with guns drawn and remove the man from
the truck binding his hands and feet with the plastic cable ties.
They leave him in the ditch behind the truck and proceed down the
road toward the house.

When they finally reach Scoot and Goose’s
location, Timmy runs to Pinky and is enclosed in a warm embrace.
Pinky asks, “Are you all right Sport?’

“Yes, Daddy, I knew you would come save me!”
Timmy replies clinging tightly to Pinky’s neck.

The FBI agent radios Scoot, “We’ve got two
men in custody at the house but we didn’t find the boy. Where are
you guys?”

Scoot replies, “We’ve taken out two others
and we have the boy. One of the prisoners is in the trees just
outside the gate and the other is down the road next to the SUV.
That is all of them as far as we can tell. If you don’t need us to
tie up loose ends we’re going home. You can come to the ranch
tomorrow to interview the boy.”

The FBI agent says, “We’ll take care of
things here. Thank you for your help. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The Drake Security team and Timmy head back
to the helicopter and fly home to the ranch. Pinky calls Jasmine on
their way back to the bird and says, “Hey Babe, Timmy is fine. Do
you want to say hello?”

Jasmine breathes a sigh of relief and says,
“Please. Timmy? Are you all right Baby?”

Grinning, Timmy says, “Yes, Miss Jasmine.
Uncle Scoot and Uncle Goose saved me.”

Jasmine, tears streaming down her face says,
“They did? Did you give them a big hug and tell them thank
you?”

Timmy replies, “I sure did. They are the
best, next to you and Daddy. I love them too!”

“I will see you in a little while, all
right?”

“All right Miss Jasmine, I love you,” says
Timmy.

When the men arrive back at the ranch, the
women are all waiting on the patio. When the men come walking back
from the helipad Timmy is clinging tightly to Pinky’s neck and they
walk straight to Jasmine.

Jasmine kisses Pinky and then kisses Timmy on
the cheek. She says, “Timmy, Miss Sam is the one that told the guys
where to look for you. Can you tell her thank you?”

Shocked by her words, Sam blushes. Timmy
looks at her and says, “Thank you Miss Sam.” Then he leans over
reaching for Jasmine whose heart expands with love for the
child.

******

It has been over a month since they have
heard anything from James Bixby. He disappeared after he chased
Jasmine running her off the road. The FBI tells Pinky they have not
received any reports of recent sightings but they are still
searching for him. The red pickup was found abandoned in Cody.
Pinky now accompanies Jasmine anytime she leaves the ranch and
insists they both wear a Kevlar vest anytime they are out in
public.

A few days later, Pinky has to take Timmy
back to Tennessee for a deposition in the trial of John and Adrian
Fisher for the death of his parents. Samantha Wells also has to go
to give her deposition at the same time. Pinky is worried about
leaving Jasmine at the ranch but Goose, Bear, Stump and Scoot have
promised to keep a close eye on her and her brother, Leaf will be
helping them keep her safe.

Jasmine is dreading Keith being away from the
ranch for several days. She is dreading even more, his being gone
with Samantha Wells. She knows Keith loves her but she doesn’t know
what the woman might do. She seems very impetuous to Jasmine, the
kind of woman that acts without thinking things through first.

The day before they are scheduled to leave
Pinky approaches Scoot, “Hey Scoot, can I talk to you for a
minute?”

Scoot answers, “Sure, what’s up?”

Pinky replies, “Well, you know I have to go
to Tennessee tomorrow to take Timmy to give his deposition and that
Sam is going with us. I was wondering if you could spare one of the
other guys to go with us. I’m not really expecting any trouble but
I would be more comfortable if I didn’t have the responsibility of
watching out for both of them by myself.”

Scoot answers, “I think we can manage that.
Who do you want to go with you?”

Pinky says, “It doesn’t really matter ...
except, I’m not sure I could stand to listen to Stump and Sam
bickering continuously for three or four days.

Laughing, Scoot says, “I don’t blame you for
that. I’m looking forward to a day or two of peace and quiet
myself. How about if Bear goes with you? Goose is scheduled to do a
security assessment in LA and I’m tied up with designing the system
upgrade at our client in Arizona.”

“Bear will be great, thanks,” replies
Pinky.

******

Early the following morning, Pinky, Bear,
Sam, and Timmy climb aboard Barry’s jet for their trip to
Tennessee. They arrive in Tennessee at mid-morning. Everything goes
smoothly during their first day with the lawyers. Timmy answers all
of their questions thoroughly and more directly than you would
think for a six year old little boy. The more opportunity Pinky has
had to observe the child the more he realizes just how smart the
boy is. His grades in school also indicate he is bordering on the
genius level. He is so proud of him.

While Pinky, Timmy, and Bear are waiting in
the outer office for Sam to finish her deposition, Bear asks Pinky,
“Have you and Jasmine set a date for the wedding yet?’

Shaking his head Pinky answers, “No, we can’t
do anything until after we see what is going to happen with Bixby.
She is married to him.”

Surprised Bear says, “I didn’t know that.
That really puts a kink in things, doesn’t it? What’d he do force
her into it?”

Pinky replies, “Yeah, he threatened to kill
her if she didn’t marry him. He forced her into it right after he
kidnapped her and she was scared to death. Then when she turned
eighteen he made her marry him again. I guess he wanted to make
sure it was legal. I didn’t find out until the night of the party
after I asked her to marry me. She said she didn’t remember until
that night. It is one of the memories she’d blocked.”

“Wow man, that’s tough. Maybe it will all be
over soon,” replies Bear.

When Sam completes her testimony the lawyer
tells them that as far as he is concerned they won’t need anything
else from them until the trial and they are free to return to
Wyoming. Excited they head to the airport. With luck they should be
home by midnight.

As they are waiting for the plane to be
readied for departure, Bear’s cell phone rings and he answers,
“Bear.”

“Clarence, this is Jesse. Do you have any
idea when you guys are coming home?”

“Hey Sweetie, we lucked out. We should be
home by midnight.” Pausing he then asks, “Why, is something wrong?”
Bear glances over at Pinky and Timmy.

Jesse replies, “Jasmine has had a breakdown
of some kind. Melanie found her in her room right after lunch
crying hysterically. When we couldn’t get her to calm down we
called an ambulance. They sedated her and she’s been admitted to
the hospital in Cody. She won’t talk to anyone, not even Leaf or
the doctors. All she’s saying is she needs to see Pinky. And
Clarence, one more thing, Melanie found one of those home pregnancy
tests in the bathroom, it was positive.”

As Jesse is talking, he looks over at Pinky
who is watching him questioningly, apprehension plainly showing on
his face. Bear says, “Like I said, Sweetie, we should be back at
the ranch by around midnight. I’ll let Pinky know.”

Pinky is watching Bear as he talks. He knows
something is wrong, something has happened to Jasmine. He feels it
deep in his soul. As soon as Bear disconnects Pinky asks, “What is
it? Did Bixby get to Jasmine? Is she all right?” His heart is
pounding with dread and he can’t breathe.

Bear says, “Calm down, Bixby isn’t part of
this. Jasmine is all right, at least physically. Jesse said that
she’s had a breakdown of some kind. Melanie found her in her room
crying hysterically. When no one could get her to calm down they
called the ambulance. They sedated her and carried her to the
hospital in Cody. She won’t talk to anyone, not even Leaf or the
doctors, and she is asking for you.” He looks down at his hands,
takes a deep breath, then continues, “The last thing Jesse told me
is that Melanie found a home pregnancy test in the bathroom, it was
positive.”

Waves of fear wash through Pinky. He doesn’t
know what could have upset Jasmine so much that she had a
breakdown.

Timmy asks, “Mr. Pinky, Daddy, is Miss
Jasmine all right?”

Keith pulls the little boy into his arms,
tears gathering in his eyes, “Miss Jasmine is going to be fine,
Timmy. We’ll make sure of it, won’t we?”

Nodding, Timmy says, “I love Miss
Jasmine.”

Pinky says, “I love her too Timmy.”

Pinky’s imagination is running rampant and he
has conjured up all types of scenarios that could have caused her
to become hysterical. Is being pregnant with his child so abhorrent
to her that it sent her over the edge? Is being pregnant at all so
frightening it sent her over the edge? Is she having flashbacks or
something similar to something that happened at the compound? His
heart is pounding heavily and he prays that she is all right, that
nothing has happened that might take her away from him again. He’s
not sure he could bear losing her a second time.

Samantha Wells observes Pinky as he watches
Bear on the phone. She sees his fear and she knows something is
wrong too. When Bear explains his conversation, Samantha’s heart
hurts for Pinky. It is so obvious to her how much he loves Jasmine.
She prays for his and Timmy’s sake that Jasmine is all right.

When the plane lands at the ranch in Wyoming,
Barry meets them at the landing strip and drives them back to the
main ranch house. Pinky says, “How is she? Is there any
change?”

Barry offers, “No change. Jesse is at the
hospital with her.” He takes a sleeping Timmy from his arms and
hands the keys to the SUV to Pinky, “Drive carefully. The last
thing she needs is for you to have an accident.”