Renewing Lost Love (20 page)

Barry calls Scoot to tell him he doesn’t see
anything on the security video along the logging road at the back
of the property.

Jasmine is pacing back and forth in the great
room. Melanie, Barry, Leaf, and Sherrie are trying to keep her
calm. Jasmine stops pacing and asks, “Where’s Samantha?”

Looking around, Barry says, “I don’t know.”
He hurries to his study calling Scoot on the radio, “Scoot, do you
know where Samantha is?”

Scoot says, “No, I haven’t seen her this
afternoon. Do you think she might be with Timmy?”

Barry says, “I don’t know, I’ll check the
barn and see if any other horses are missing. I’ll call you
back.”

Pinky’s heart is pounding so hard he’s not
sure he’s not having a heart attack. This ride never seemed to take
this long before, is he ever going to get to the area?

Barry radios Scoot again, “Scoot.”

“Scoot, the bay gelding is missing. Do you
see it anywhere?”

“No, I haven’t seen it, but it’s hard to see
up in the trees. Pinky and Bud should be getting close now. Give
them a call.”

Barry dials Pinky’s cell phone, “Pinky.”

“Pinky, Barry, the bay gelding is missing
from the barn too and Samantha is no where around.”

Pinky replies, “I pray that Sam is with him
but I may kill her if she took him somewhere and didn’t tell us!”
Topping the last hill they see Timmy’s pony grazing peacefully
under the edge of the trees. As they get closer they see the bay
gelding deeper in the trees. Pinky says, “I hope they are having a
picnic or something.”

As they get closer they see Timmy watching
them approach. He is standing just inside the tree line and not
visible from the helicopter. They urge the horses faster galloping
toward him. Pinky’s heart rate and breathing returning to normal
now that he sees Timmy and he appears to be unharmed.

Pinky dismounts before the horse even stops
and grabs Timmy pulling him into his arms, “Timmy, are you all
right? Where is Miss Sam?”

He is peering into the dimness of the woods
but doesn’t see her. Timmy says, “Miss Sam is hurt Daddy. She’s on
the ground over by that big rock. I can’t wake her up.”

They walk deeper into the woods where they
find Sam lying in the snow, a gash on her forehead just below the
hair line. Keith bends down feeling for a pulse. He finds a weak
one, then calls Scoot, “Scoot, you’re going to need to set the bird
down as close to this stand of trees as you can. Samantha is hurt.
She’s got a big gash on her forehead and I think she may have
broken her leg again.” He looks over at Timmy, “What happened
Timmy?”

Timmy explains, “We were riding through the
trees and all of a sudden I heard a noise and Miss Sam fell off the
horse to the ground. I don’t know why.”

Pinky asks, “What were you and Miss Sam doing
out here?”

Timmy says, “I came out here to look for an
arrowhead. Damian found one out here last week and I want one. Miss
Sam followed me out here and she was helping me look. She told me I
shouldn’t be out riding by myself. I’m sorry Daddy. I promise I
won’t do it again. I hope Miss Sam isn’t hurt bad.”

Bud Wilkes has been walking around the area
looking over things and he says to Pinky, “It looks like someone
was on the other side of the fence. I see what looks like
footprints and possibly a shell casing in the edge of the trees on
the other side of the road.”

Pinky looks over at Bud, a cold chill running
down his spine, “Bixby?”

Bud says, “That would be my guess. If it was,
he’s gone now.”

“I didn’t hear a shot, did you?” asks
Pinky.

“No, but if he had a silencer,” Bud says,
just as Scoot walks up carrying the backboard.

He looks questioningly at Bud, “If who had a
silencer, Bixby?”

Pinky says, “Yeah, it looks like Samantha may
have been grazed by a bullet. Bud sees what looks like a shell
casing on the other side of the road up in the trees and some
footprints.”

The men secure Samantha to the backboard and
load her in the helicopter. Pinky and Timmy accompany Scoot in the
helicopter and Bud takes the horses back to the barn. Scoot radios
Barry to let him know that Timmy is safe and that he, Pinky, and
Timmy are flying Samantha to the hospital in Cody. He explains that
she was grazed by a bullet and has broken her leg again.

Scoot flies Samantha straight to the hospital
in Cody Wyoming. After the doctor in the Emergency Room completes
his examination, it is confirmed that Sam’s leg is broken and
surgery is scheduled for the following morning. She also required a
number of stitches to her forehead and has a mild concussion from
her fall off the horse.

When they arrive back at the ranch Scoot
calls everyone together in the great room of the main ranch house.
He says, “All right, we believe that Bixby was the one that shot at
Sam this afternoon. She was very lucky that the bullet only grazed
her forehead. She re-broke her leg when she fell off the horse and
is having surgery to set it tomorrow. We believe that he made his
way up the logging road unnoticed by staying inside the tree line.
Since he is obviously back in the area, I think it will be wise if
everyone stays here in the main house. The only restrictions I
would suggest for your activities are to stay within sight of this
house. Boys, this especially applies to you. Don’t go anywhere away
from the house without an adult, understand?”

They reply in unison, “Yes sir.”

******

James Bixby is so frustrated. He was almost
ready to begin his mission and then that kid and the woman showed
up. He knew the minute she spotted him. He’s glad he picked up that
silencer in Louisiana. He wouldn’t have wanted to notify everyone
in the area he was here by shooting her without one. Well, at least
she won’t be talking to anyone.

He wishes he could have taken the kid. With
his red hair and freckles he’s probably Keith Williams’ kid. He
would enjoy killing another one of his kids, just a little pay back
for stealing Jasmine from him. If he hadn’t heard that helicopter
fire up, he would have taken the time to get him, but after that he
decided it wasn’t smart to hang around.

******

After a few days with no further sightings of
Bixby, life returns to normal and everyone returns to their own
homes.

******

Two weeks after Sam’s injury, Pinky’s cell
phone rings and he answers, “Pinky.”

“Mr. Williams, it’s Richard Dean. I am
calling you today to inform you we have identified the remains of
the baby in Idaho. It is your son. I’m really sorry.”

“Thank you Mr. Dean. We knew he was in the
woods around that compound somewhere. I’m glad he’s been found and
we can now give him a proper burial. When will they release his
remains?”

“If you’ll contact the lab, they can ship
them to the Funeral Home of your choice. Have you seen anything
else of Bixby?” he asks.

Pinky replies, “Not lately. I’m ready for
this to be over.”

Richard Dean says, “Me too.”

******

Two weeks later, the Rock Springs Ranch
extended family all gather under a huge oak tree behind the main
ranch house for the graveside service of Anthony Keith Williams,
infant son of Keith Williams and Jasmine Leblanc.

After the minister finishes speaking, Keith
pulls Jasmine into his arms and together they watch as the tiny
casket is lowered into the ground. Tears silently slide down their
cheeks.

Timmy pulls on his sleeve and asks, “Daddy,
what is in that box?”

Pinky, kneeling beside is precious son says,
“Timmy, that was your older brother. He died a long time ago when
he was just a little baby and we just now were able to bring him
home to the ranch so we can be near him.”

Timmy says, “My brother? Did you love him
too?”

Pinky says, “Yes, Miss Jasmine and I loved
him very much.”

Several weeks pass before any sign of James
Bixby is found. Spring is in the air and most of the snow has
melted. Around noon on a brisk March afternoon, Scoot’s cell phone
rings and he answers, “Scoot.”

“Scoot, Bob Kenner here. I am in town and I
ran into an old friend that told me he had run a man off his place
late yesterday that matches the description of James Bixby. He said
he was traveling on foot and had been staying in one of his line
shacks in his back pasture for what looked like several days, maybe
as long as a month. He slaughtered one of his calves and depleted
all of the canned goods he had stored at the location. My friend
lives about thirty miles east of Cody so he was about fifty miles
from the Rocking J.”

“Interesting, no wonder the FBI hasn’t been
able to get a lead on him. Thanks Bob. It’s good to know he’s in
the area again. We’ll be ready,” replies Scoot.

After hanging up with Bob Kenner, Scoot calls
everyone to bring their families and come to the main ranch house
to stay until Bixby is captured or killed.

Before dawn the next morning the security
firm notifies Barry of a breach in the fence at the back of the
property. Barry immediately notifies the others and the men gather
in the study and the women and children move to the bomb proof room
in the basement. When Pinky calls Stump at his quarters over the
barn he doesn’t get an answer. The men look at each other, dread in
their hearts.

When Bud Wilkes walks into the study, he
says, “Something’s going on in the barn. The horses are raising
hell. I wanted to check with you before I walked into an ambush or
something.”

Pinky says, “Let’s check the cameras.” The
check the cameras from the barn and see Bixby spreading what looks
like gasoline. He is staggering like he is drunk and is getting as
much of the liquid on himself as on the ground.

Bud says, “Damn! I hope that fire suppression
system works.”

When they check the camera from the Drake
Security office they can see Stump lying in the office floor not
moving blood staining the floor around him. Pinky says, “That
bastard. I’m going to take pleasure in seeing him dead.”

He and Barry head upstairs with their sniper
rifles and watch for Bixby to exit the barn. He will have to come
out the main door because they have activated the security locks on
all of the other doors and the windows. No way exists for any of
them to be opened without the security locks being inactivated from
inside the house.

Bear, Scoot, Goose, Bud Wilkes and Leaf
Leblanc are watching Bixby as he begins trying to find an exit from
the barn and are communicating by radio with Barry and Pinky. Bixby
acts confused and is staggering all around the barn. He head butts
the wall in several different places as if he’s trying to break
through the wall. He hasn’t started the fire yet and they are
curious if he will be stupid enough to do that before he figures
out the only way out of the barn is through the main door.

Bear says, “It looks like the rabies is
already affecting him.”

Goose says, “Either that or he is extremely
drunk. It is possible it’s the rabies, the timing is right. If I
remember correctly, it can take weeks or months to really affect
humans.”

Finally making his way back to the main door
of the barn, Bixby peeks outside and doesn’t see anyone so he
strikes a match but before he can release it inside the barn the
gasoline he spilled on himself ignites. He screams staggers out of
the door of the barn screaming and runs across the yard toward the
house covered in flames. As soon as he clears the barn Barry and
Pinky drop him with dual head shots in the middle of the ranch
yard.

The flames engulf him and his backpack which
begins exploding as his spare ammunition and other explosives
ignite. The fire is followed by a huge explosion that blows his
body up into the air and shatters all the windows along the back of
the house blowing the doors off the barn and breaking the second
story windows. Pinky and Barry jump back from the windows as soon
as they fire their shots and barely escape the shattering
glass.

As soon as the Drake Security team hears the
shots and the ensuing explosions cease they head out the back door
of the ranch house. A huge hole is in the middle of the ranch yard
where Bixby was shot.

Scoot yells at everyone “Careful, his remains
are scattered everywhere. It is all hazardous! Don’t touch anything
until we can get a team in here to clean things up! Barry, keep
everyone in the house. Goose you call the FBI and get them to send
a Hazmat team.”

Bud heads to the barn to remove the horses
until the accelerant can be removed and the barn cleaned. He moves
them to the pasture next to the house. Pinky and Bear, their hearts
pounding with dread, head up the stairs to the office to check on
Stump. They are followed closely by Scoot and Goose. Barry goes
downstairs to tell the women it is safe to come out of the bomb
proof room but to stay inside the house and away from the shattered
glass.

Pinky kneels beside Stump checking for a
pulse and breathes a sigh of relief when he finds a weak one. He
says, “Hang on Buddy. An ambulance is on the way.”

After checking over his body, Goose finds a
stab wound to his back and a big lump on his head where he had been
knocked unconscious. He applies pressure to the stab wound to stem
the flow of blood while Bear calls an ambulance then heads
downstairs to direct them up to the office when they arrive.

Scoot and Goose begin to rope off the area
around the ranch yard where Bixby’s remains may have touched.

******

When the women reach the first floor of the
house they are shocked at the damage caused by the explosion. All
of the windows along the back of the house are shattered and they
see a large hole right in the center of the ranch yard. All of the
glass on the second story of the barn is broken and the barn doors
are missing.