Suited to be a Cowboy (22 page)

“There’s never a man around when you need one,” she
huffed.

“What do you mean?” Jimmy asked, slightly perplexed. He’d
just helped with the groceries.

“I had a flat and a nice man stopped to help me change it,
only to discover that the spare was flat too. He let me use his phone to call
the auto service and have them bring me a tire, but it was a real nuisance.
Sorry, but dinner’s going to be late.”

“Why don’t I run to town and we’ll have us a pizza night?
That way you won’t have to rush around when you’ve obviously had a rough time
of it today.”

Sheila had put the groceries away and now plunked herself
down in a chair.

“That would be a blessing, my boy. I should’ve thought of
it myself, but I was almost home when I had the flat.”

“No problem,” he said, grabbing his hat off the hook by
the door. “I’ll be back shortly.”

*
* * *

Jimmy returned with the pizza and expected everyone to be
waiting in the kitchen. Surprised when they weren’t, he set the pizza on the
counter and went looking for them. The house was more than quiet. It sounded
strangely empty. Where was everybody? Had something happened while he was gone?
A little niggle in the back of his mind told him something wasn’t right. It was
as if the silence was tense, expectant.

Cautiously he made his way to the front room, but found no
sign of Sheila or anyone else. Retracing his steps, he turned down the hall
toward the game room, hearing voices before he got there, Sheila’s and someone
else he couldn’t identify. He slowed and continued softly, carefully, toward
the room. John faced the door. John sighted him and at the subtle, yet brisk
shake of his head, Jimmy knew his instincts had been right. Someone was holding
them hostage.

He edged closer trying to get a glimpse of what was going
on. The kids surrounded the table where John sat, but he could see nothing
else. He motioned to John that he’d be back, and headed to the kitchen. Was
Melissa in there too? He hadn’t seen or heard her. If she was aware of the
situation, she must be going insane at the thought of her family in danger.

Jimmy went back to the kitchen, palmed his cell phone, and
called the police.

“9-1-1
operator. What is the nature of your emergency?”

“This is James McGovern. We have a hostage situation at Thoroughbreds
R Us, the horse ranch north of town.”

“Please stay on the line while I contact your local
precinct, Mr. McGovern.”

Jimmy paced restlessly the length of the kitchen and back,
begrudging every second of the wait. He needed to help. To find out what was
happening in there. Finally, the operator came back on.

“A unit has been dispatched and is on its way to your
location. Would you like me to stay on the line until they get there?”

“No, and they might need more than one unit. Tell them to
come quietly so as not to disturb the culprit. I don’t want him to panic and
have someone get hurt.”

“Of course, sir.”

Next, he called Brian, thankful when he picked up on the
second ring.

“Brian, someone is holding the family hostage in the game
room.”

“I’ll be right there.”

He had to give the man credit. In moments, he was at the
back door and had three men with him, all armed. “What do you need?” Brian whispered.

Jimmy filled them in on what he’d discovered. “The police
are on their way, but I felt we should be prepared in case things turn nasty.”

“The boys and I can handle this,” Brian said. “We’ll stand
guard in the hallway. You stay out front and watch for the police. Got your
gun?”

“Darn! No, I don’t. I forgot it in the barn after I fed
Sherry.”

Brian passed him a handgun. “It’s loaded. Safety’s on.
Watch your back.”

He left with his men and Jimmy quickly moved toward the
front of the house, staying as quiet as possible so he could hear if anyone
approached from another direction.”

Brian found him a short while later. “I heard John’s voice
and another man and those of Sheila and the kids. I couldn’t see who was
holding them, but I’m thinking it’s Melissa’s ex. He was talking about it being
a welcome home party,
exceptin
’ he’s never lived
here.” Brian reported the news wearing a grim expression. “What do you want me
to do?”

“If we go in unprepared, we may never see any of them
alive again. Marcus has obviously gone over the edge. Keep monitoring the room.
The police should be here shortly.” He did his best to keep his voice calm and
in control. He must have managed it because Brian nodded and went back to his
men.

Jimmy used his cell and called 9-1-1 again. “This is James McGovern. I
called about a hostage situation here at the ranch. Is anyone on their way yet?”

“Just a minute while I check on that for you, Mr.
McGovern.”

A moment later, she was back on the line. “The police are
on their way. They’ve assembled a S.W.A.T. Team and a hostage negotiator to
handle the situation. Do you have any new information for me to pass on?”

“Yes, I think it’s the owner’s ex-husband. Officer Jacobs
is aware of his recent threats.”

“How many people is he holding hostage?”

”He has six people held up in the game room, three of them
children.”

“Are you in the house?”

“No, I’m outside the front entrance waiting for the police
to get here.”

“Please remain outside until help arrives.”

“Will do.”

Jimmy was proud of the way he was
dealing with the situation. He was worried sick, but hadn’t lost his cool. His
first instincts had been to rush blindly in and take charge. But that would’ve
resulted in him getting hurt or maybe killed. He wouldn’t be much good to
anyone then.”

The game room faced the other side of the house, so there
was no chance of the police being spotted. The door opened and Brian joined him
on the front step.

“What do you think prompted him to do this?” Brian asked.

“I’d say he’s finally realizing what he’s lost and this is
a desperate attempt to get some back.”

“Oh, he’ll get some all right, but not what he’s expecting.
After all the trouble he’s caused, they should’ve kept him locked up.”

Jimmy raked a hand through his hair, frustrated and
feeling useless. “I wish I knew why. He must have a darned good lawyer is all I
can say.”

“Yeah, a lawyer he’s paying with ill-gotten gains. He’s
under investigation for fraud for crying out loud. Why didn’t they lock his
accounts? Put him under house arrest or something?”

“He could have more than one account. It’s been done
before.” Several vehicles pulled into the yard. “That’s the police now. Go get
your men out of the house while I direct them.”

Brian nodded and slipped inside, only to reappear a few
minutes later with his men.

“Myron Jacobs has been in the house before. He used to
visit old Bill and he knows the layout.”

“Good. That should give them an advantage,” Jimmy said as
he watched the police scurry about and disappear around the side of the house.

Jimmy was worried for the people being held hostage, and
they weren’t even his family, although he felt like part of it. He couldn’t
believe how much he’d come to love Melissa and Aaron, and he truly cared about
the rest of them.

Officer Jacobs and a few of his men approached. “Are they
still being held in the game room?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. My men are in position. We’re going in the front.
Please stand back out of the way so you don’t get hurt in the crossfire.”

“Jacobs, there are women and children in there. I’m hoping
you can be victorious without gunfire.”

“So am I. You can never predict the outcome of a situation
like this, but we’ll do our best.”

Chapter Fifteen

“I’ll make us a nice cup of tea while we wait for
Jimmy to come back,” said Sheila, rising to put the kettle on.

“That sounds lovely.”

“Yes, it does. Better make that tea for three. Or
better yet, coffee.”

Melissa jumped at the sound of his voice, forgetting
about her ankle. “What are you doing here? How did you get in?”

Marcus’s evil sneer filled her with dread—as did the
gun in his hand.

“Someone was courteous enough to leave the front door
unlocked. When your boyfriend left, I decided it was my turn to have the
pleasure of your company.”

Thinking fast, she said, “Then have a seat. I’ll get
Sheila to prepare a tray of sweets to go with it.” She had to keep him busy
until Jimmy got back. With her busted arm and sprained ankle, she definitely
couldn’t handle Marcus herself. Although her cast would make the perfect club,
she didn’t relish the thought of breaking her arm again.

“No, I don’t think so. You see, the rest of the
family is in the other room. We will join them and you can introduce me as your
husband.”

He had to have been outside, staking out the place
for quite some time. “But I hurt my ankle, Marcus. I can’t walk.”

For an answer, he grabbed her sore arm and yanked her
to her feet, the chair upending in the process.

“Ouch! You’re hurting me.”

Sheila turned with the coffee pot in her hand and
Melissa thought she was going to hit him with it—until he put the gun to her
head.

“Take one more step and I’ll shoot my lovely wife
where she stands.”

“Don’t get your pecker in a twist. Just filling it
with water for the coffee.”

“Bring it through to the other room, Aaron’s game
room, I believe.”

He didn’t wait for an answer as he backed out of the
room, dragging her with him. Footsteps sounded, running up the hall.

“I heard a thump. Is everything all right?” John
asked as he turned the corner then stopped dead in his tracks as Marcus spun
around with the gun still aimed at her head.

“Everything is fine, as you can see. Now go back to
the children and don’t try anything stupid. We’ll be joining you momentarily.”

“Melissa?”

“Go with the children, John.”

He went.

“What do you hope to gain by this?” she asked.

“My share of the ranch, of course. You see, I’ve
brought a new set of divorce papers for you to sign.”

“Over my dead body. This is Aaron’s ranch.”

“As you wish.” He cocked the gun, the sound deadly at
close range.

“Marcus, don’t do this. Aaron needs me, needs us,”
she added as an afterthought.

“Ah, so you finally smartened up. Yes, a boy needs
his father. Let’s go share our news with him.”

Mystified and hurting something dreadful, she hobbled
along at his side. When they reached the game room, he motioned her to sit on
the sofa, away from everyone else and then sat beside her. She was relieved to
see that John had taken the children to the far side of the room and they were
sitting close to him at the table.

“Dad, what are you doing here?” Aaron’s eyes widened.

“Your mother and I have agreed to reconcile. Isn’t
that right, darling?”

“No way! You were mean to us.”

“Now Aaron, I was upset because your mother had a
boyfriend. Understand?”

Aaron’s gaze searched her face. “Is that true, Mom?
Is it Jimmy?”

She nodded, her throat too choked up for words.

“Then why are you going back to
him
?” Aaron’s sneer mimicked his father’s and showed the disgust he
felt at the thought.

Marcus had kept the gun hidden behind her back, so
Aaron was unaware of the danger.

Right then, Sheila wheeled the tea trolley in. “Get
your feet off that table. It’s an antique, you numbskull.”

Offended, Marcus rose and rushed around the table to
confront her, waving the gun in her face. “I could shoot you dead right here,”
he said.

“Dad! No!” Aaron cried, starting to get up, but John
held him back.

“
Harrumph
!
Might be better than putting up with the likes of you.”

“Just pour the coffee and keep your mouth shut or I
might just start with one of those kids over there.” He pointed the gun
directly at Rita.

“I’m pouring. Leave the kids alone.”

Marcus smirked at having gotten his way so easily and
resumed his seat on the sofa, but Melissa noted that he did keep his feet on
the floor.

“Pass that tray of sweets over here,” Marcus
demanded.

“You’ll get your share,” Sheila said as she filled
plates for everyone and passed them around, although Melissa was relieved when
she served Marcus and her first. Marcus had gone over the deep end. There was
no telling what he might do…or to whom.

“Now isn’t this cozy. John, tell me, how did you find
out you were related to us?”

John glanced at Melissa and she nodded for him to
answer.

“My mother was Bill’s girlfriend. They dated for
three years before he met Rose and decided to settle down.”

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Left her high and dry and pregnant too.
Gotta have respect for a man like that. No woman was going to trap him into
marriage.”

John’s hands fisted, but he seemed to realize that
Marcus was baiting him and let them relax. “You’re wrong there. Mom never told
him about me.”

“What? Why would she miss out on a chance to get her
hands on the Dehavilland millions? Was she stupid?”

“No, Mom was an extremely intelligent lady and not in
the least greedy.”

There, put that
in your pipe and smoke it, Marcus.

Marcus gave him a suspicious glare. Melissa knew John
had just insulted him, but Marcus hadn’t quite figured it out.

“Well, I could shoot you and your young ’
uns
there and we wouldn’t have to share.” He hugged Melissa
to his side and she cringed at the smell of him. Hadn’t he even taken time to
bathe lately?

Tommy and Rita burrowed close to John’s side.

“Sure you would. My lawyer and my children know about
our newfound relations. I expect they’d carry on with the inheritance claim.”

“Enough chit-chat. Woman, pour me another coffee.”

Sheila dutifully poured him another cup. “Anything
else, my Lord?” she asked sarcastically.

“Yeah, sit down and shut up—all of you. I need to
think.”

Melissa heard Sheila mumble as she walked over to the
children. “And I always thought that thinking required a brain.”

“What did you say?” Marcus demanded.

“Oh, I think we need rain.”

All was quiet now except for the ticking of the grandfather
clock. Time seemed to pass ever so slowly.

“When is pretty boy supposed to be back with that
pizza?”

“I’m not sure. Sheila, do you remember what time
Jimmy left?”

“Nope, but it takes a while to make and bake a pizza.
He’ll be back when he gets here.”

“Whenever he returns, he’ll get quite a surprise. I
intend to do away with the competition.”

Melissa gasped in alarm. “You don’t need to do that.
I can just fire him and he has to move.”

“Nah. There’s no excitement in that. But I’m warning
you, Melissa. If you try to stop me I won’t hesitate to put a bullet in you
too.”

Aaron started crying and Sheila gathered him close.

“Sniveling little wimp. He must take that after the
Dehavillands
.”

No one said a word and silence filled the room for a
while.

“Woman, go make a fresh pot of coffee. Boy, stop that
racket.”

Aaron lifted his head and glared at his father, but
didn’t say a word.

All was quiet except for the whoosh, whoosh of the
trolley wheels on the ceramic-tiled floor as Sheila stood and pushed the tea
trolley from the room.

When she returned, Marcus got up to pass her his cup
and she rammed the trolley into his knees. Taken off guard, he fell back
against the fireplace mantle. Just as fast, Sheila let him have it. The hot
contents rained down over Marcus as the pot shattered against the side of his
head. He dropped the gun as he screamed and swiped at his face, and John was
quick to grab it.

Sheila stood with hands on hips and glared at Marcus.
“Don’t you ever come here and threaten this family again, Mister.”

Just then the police swarmed into the room from every
direction and the terror was over.

Aaron ran to her and wrapped his skinny arms around
her neck, squeezing tight. “I knew something was wrong. You wouldn’t go back to
him after what he done.”

Too tired to correct him and overjoyed that everyone
was all right, all she could do was hug him back and hold him close as the
police escorted Marcus from the room.

*
* * *

At the slight scraping of the door Jimmy turned, gun at
the ready, only to see a uniformed officer in the opening. Jacobs stood there
with Melissa and Aaron. He sprang to his feet as the boy barreled into him, and
he swung him high in the air, so happy to see him unharmed. When he set Aaron
down, Melissa hugged him so tight to her side, the boy protested.

“Mom, I’m okay. We’re all okay, but Dad scared the crap
out of us.” He pushed away, grinning from ear to ear. “Jimmy, you should have
seen Dad’s face when the cops burst into the room. It was funny. Sheila broke
the coffee pot on his head and John grabbed his gun, a puny little thing, and
the police arrested him.”

Jimmy stared at Jacobs. “You swarmed the room and put
lives at stake, knowing he had a gun? I don’t believe this!”

“We had two snipers sighted in on him the entire time. They
radioed us that Marcus’ gun had fallen, that it wasn’t pointed at anyone. When
we rushed inside, it was all over except for the arrest.” He smiled and shrugged
as if to say mission accomplished.

“Then I guess you had it under control. Thank you, Jacobs.”

“All in the line of duty. This time, he’ll be in my jail
and I guarantee he won’t be allowed out on bail. I don’t care who his lawyer
is.”

“Good. That’s a relief,” Melissa said.

Aaron ran back into the house.

“I have an officer inside taking statements, but I came out
to reassure you and to get yours. What alerted you to the trouble, Mr. McGovern?”

“The house was way too quiet,” he said. “Nobody was in
the kitchen when I returned with the pizzas and I expected them to all be
waiting there.”

“What did you do then?”

“I slipped off my boots and searched the house as
quietly as I could. When I found out what was going on, I came back to the
kitchen and had to call 9-1-1
on my cell. He’d cut the house line.”

“That’s good for now. A crime scene unit will be here
shortly to collect evidence. Try to keep the kids out of the game room.”

“What about the rest of the house?” Melissa asked.

Myron shook his head. “You said he entered through
the front door, so if you could wait out here or in the living room, that would
be great.”

Jimmy looked at him in confusion. “Then how did he get
Sheila in there?”

“Apparently, he ordered an afternoon snack tray before
taking everyone hostage.”

“He’s been here all that time? They must have been
terrified.”

Myron chuckled. “Not
so’s
you’d
notice. Sheila came in and started ordering Marcus around while John kept the
children calm.”

“She did what?” Jimmy asked.

“You’d have to ask her, but I heard something about his
feet being on the furniture.”

That was so like Sheila. All three shared a laugh,
successfully relieving them of the residue of tension.

“Thank you for getting here so quickly. You’ll have to
join the family for dinner sometime.”

“I’ll take you up on that one day. In the meantime, take
care of yourself and enjoy life again. Your troubles will be behind bars for
years to come.”

“Add to that the fraud and animal cruelty charges and he
may never be free again,” Jimmy said.

“One can only hope.” Melissa smiled.

Jacobs went back inside and Jimmy turned to Melissa. “Want
to go in or stay out here a while longer?”

“I think I’ve had enough sun for one day. Can you take me
into the kitchen?”

“Sure. We need to replace that ice pack anyway.” Jimmy
lifted her into his arms and grinned. “This is getting to be a habit.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be a burden. This wasn’t part
of your job description.”

There it was again, the reminder of her position as his
boss. “You’ll heal soon enough,” was all he said as he carried her inside and
replaced the ice pack. “I need to wash up.” He slipped out through the open
patio doors and headed in the direction of his room. He paced until he calmed
down, then lay on top of the covers. Would they ever be able to have a normal
relationship—personal or working? They were so hot for each other, yet beyond
that he wasn’t sure where they stood.

He loved her with his entire being, would do anything for
her, except commit to a long-term relationship. With her fancy upbringing, he
couldn’t see her wanting him anyway, beyond what they now shared. So where did
that leave him?

It left him hoping for something he had no intention of
following up on. And besides, her habit of continually putting him in his place
was aggravating. Was that her way of keeping her distance emotionally? Well, it
certainly worked that way for him, at least sort of. His emotions were
involved, big time.

With everyone in danger, he’d been so worried that it was
all he could do to remain calm and get the help needed. Had Melissa trusted him
to keep them safe?

Some hero he was!
Call
the police.
In his heart, he knew that was their best move in a hostage
situation, but in his gut he’d wanted to be her hero. And in the end, the
police resolved the issue without bloodshed. Wasn’t that their main objective, to
make sure no one got hurt?