Randall Renegade

by Judy Christenberry

  After several minutes of silence Jim asked, “So you just wanted sex? That’s all?”

  “Isn’t that what you wanted three years ago?”

  Jim squared his jaw. How could he answer her? “Look, Patience, I was young and stupid. I didn’t like anyone forcing my hand. But I loved you then. I love you now.”

  “Don’t! I didn’t ask for any promises.” She parked by the gun store and got out of the car. “I have to pick up my gun.”

  Jim sat there, staring as she marched into the gun shop. He didn’t know what to do. Finally he decided to go visit the sheriff, whose office was just across the street. He’d be able to keep an eye on Patience through the window.

  With a sigh, Jim headed into the sheriff’s office. There was little activity there. Several deputies were at their desks doing paperwork. The sheriff was in his office on the phone. One of the deputies looked up.

  “Hello, Jim. What’s up?”

  “I just wanted to know if there’d been any sign of Joseph Kane.”

  The deputy shook his head. “We’ve been on the lookout. We stopped one guy who matched Patience’s description of Kane, but he had ID on him. His name was Charles Johnson.”

  “Why didn’t you call us?” Jim asked.

  “No reason to. I told you, it wasn’t Kane. Mr. Johnson explained that he bought the coat for ten dollars from a man heading south. He even found some of those fake coins in the pocket. He gave them to me.”

  “How considerate of him,” Jim returned sarcastically.

  “No need to get testy, Jim.”

  “Look, just tell the sheriff that Patience and I are going to be over at her house today. He can call us there if anything comes up.”

  Jim headed back across the street just as Patience came out of the gun store. “Get in the car,” he said. “I don’t want you standing around in public.”

  “Jim, you’re being overprotective.”

  “One of the deputies told me they stopped a guy they thought looked like Kane—he was wearing that jacket you described. He said he bought it off a guy who was heading south.” He watched her, waiting to see her reaction.

  Alarm flashed in her eyes. “Did they check this guy’s ID?”

  “Yeah. His name was Charles Johnson.” Jim drew a deep breath. “I don’t like the sound of it.”

  She slid behind the wheel of her car. “So maybe Kane has left town.”

  “This guy seemed a little too helpful to be real. He had an answer for anything they wanted to know.” Jim frowned, still thinking about the deputy’s words. “He even showed them some of those weird coins Kane had. Said they’d been left in the pocket of the coat.”

  “Maybe they found them when they searched him.”

  “The deputy didn’t mention searching him. I guess he thought there was no need because the man was so forthcoming. That’s what bothers me.” He gave Patience a long, hard stare. “I don’t think you should move back into town yet.”

  She wiped away anything in her expression that might make him think she agreed with him. “And how long should I stay there? Another week? Another month? No, Jim. It’s time we moved back.”

  “I think your mother should’ve named you stubborn, instead of Patience.”

  Jim sighed. She was determined to get the house ready today. He guessed they could do that. Then he’d get his parents to talk her into staying another few days. He’d take things a little at a time and would eventually persuade her never to leave.

  They reached Patience’s home and parked in front. Jim took a good look at the house. It didn’t appear disturbed. There were houses and neighbors on both sides. Surely they would’ve reported any disturbance to the sheriff.

  “You go on in,” he ordered, wanting her out of sight quickly. “I’ll bring in the gun.” He watched as she unlocked the front door and disappeared inside.

  Jim picked up the gun and bag of accessories from the gun shop and carried it into the kitchen. He noted that Patience must have gone into her bedroom, so when the phone rang, he yelled, “I’ll get it.” Lifting the receiver he said, “Anderson’s.”

  “Jim? This is the sheriff. My deputy told me you were at Patience’s. The owner of the sandwich place just came in to complain about a customer using those fake coins for his meal.”

  “When?” Jim demanded, panic building in him.

  “The guy went into the shop yesterday. The owner didn’t get around to mentioning it until today. The description sounds like Joseph Kane, but he’s shaved off his beard. Still has a mustache, though.”

  “Damn! Okay, thanks for letting me know.”

  “Listen, I already called your dad to let him know about the situation. He said to tell you he’s on his way. He’ll come to Patience’s house. Should I come talk to her? He said she’s determined to move back in tomorrow, and I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “Yes. That might be wise.”

  “I’ll be over in a few minutes,” the sheriff said.

  Jim hung up. Patience still hadn’t come out of her room. He called her name. Loudly.

  “Jimmy? Can you come here please?”

  Two things bothered him. Her voice didn’t sound right. And she’d called him Jimmy. She never called him Jimmy. She only used Jimmy when she was scared or stressed.

  Jim took off his holster and withdrew his gun. Then he shoved it into the back of the waistband of his jeans, so he’d appear unarmed. “Okay,” he called, keeping his voice calm, “I’m coming.” He moved down the short hallway until he reached the one door that was closed.

  He grabbed the doorknob and quickly opened it.

  PATIENCE WAS DISTURBED that coming home didn’t feel as good as it should have. She had to come home now. She had to assume control of her life. It was bad enough that she’d slept with Jim, making the leaving all the more difficult. She couldn’t continue to rely on him.

  Moving down the hall, she pushed open the door to her room. This room had been her sanctum, her place to hide from the world. But it felt different today. Maybe it was—

  Cold steel pressed against her temple and an arm held her in place.

  “Hello, Patience,” Kane greeted her. “It took you a while to come home, didn’t it? I’ve been waiting none too patiently.”

  “What are you doing here?” she demanded, her voice tight with fear.

  “Taking my revenge. You destroyed my plans. And then there’s the issue of my son.”

  “You’ll be breaking the law. I’m going to be named Tommy’s legal guardian. If you try to take him again, the police will arrest you.”

  He just laughed. Just then the phone rang. She tried to pull from his hold and answer it, but he held her firmly.

  “Oh, no, my dear. You will not talk to anyone.”

  Then she heard Jim announce that he’d get it.

  “Ah. So the stranger who betrayed me is here. Good. That will make it easy for me to take my revenge.”

  “No! It’s not Jim’s fault. I forced him to help me.”

  “Then he’s a weak man to be ruled by a woman.”

  “Please don’t hurt him!”

  “You’d better worry about what’s going to happen to you, Patience. You ran away rather than accept my proposal. So you are of no use to me, unless you’ve changed your mind.”

  She knew what she needed to say to live, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t even bear the thought of this man touching her as Jim had done. Not even to save her life. “No. I haven’t changed my mind.”

  “Patience?”

  The muzzle of the gun jammed harder against her temple. “Tell him to come here.”

  Frantically Patience tried to think of a way out. At last she called, “Jimmy, can you come here, please?”

  She held her breath as she heard Jim move down the hall as if everything was normal.

  Jim opened the door and stepped inside. Patience immediately noticed that he wasn’t wearing the gun he’d had on earlier.

  “Hands up, dear Jim,” K
ane said with a sneer. “I’m going to put you out of your misery soon enough, but first I intend to gloat a little. You thought you’d beaten me, didn’t you? But I cannot be beaten. God owes me!” His voice had changed to a roar.

  “Is that so? Well, if you’re so invincible, un-hand Patience. Surely you don’t need her.”

  “No, I don’t. But I have no intention of turning her loose. She’s my shield. Where is the boy?”

  “He’s safe,” Jim replied.

  “I want him! Go get him, and I’ll keep Patience alive long enough to say goodbye,” Kane said arrogantly.

  “No. I won’t go get the boy and I won’t leave Patience alone with you.”

  “Jim, go! You can keep Tommy safe…and yourself.” Patience felt tears in her eyes, but she fought to keep them from falling.

  Jim smiled at her. “No, honey, that’s not the way it works. You’ve already told me you mean to kill her, anyway. So I would gain nothing by doing as you ask.”

  “Save Tommy, Jim, please,” Patience cried.

  Before she knew what was happening, Kane spun her away from him and slapped her. “He’ll do as I say!” Kane shouted.

  At the same time, Jim crouched down, drew his pistol from behind his back and fired.

  Kane fell to his knees. His blood spattered Patience and she screamed.

  From outside came a shout and the sound of running boots.

  Jim reached Patience just before his father and the sheriff appeared in the doorway.

  Mass confusion reigned for a few minutes. In all the commotion, Kane, bleeding and on the floor, reached out for the gun that had fallen from his hand. Patience saw the movement and screamed just as another shot rang out. Kane’s lifeless body slumped to the floor.

  She looked up to see the sheriff with his gun drawn, staring at Kane. Chad looked at the two of them and asked, “Are you all right?”

  Jim nodded. “We are. Patience is strong. She’ll be okay.”

  She shuddered against him. She hoped he was right. She had to be.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The sheriff holstered his gun and pulled out a cell phone to summon his deputies to take care of the body.

  Chad looked at Jim and Patience. “Son, why don’t you take her back to the ranch?”

  “Okay, Dad. Thanks for being here for us.”

  “Glad I could help. But the sheriff is the one who ended it. Everything is going to be fine now. Tell your mom I’ll be home shortly.”

  Jim wrapped his arm around Patience and led her to the kitchen. There he picked up her coat and helped her put it on. Then he grabbed his own coat and headed for Patience’s car.

  “How about I drive, honey?”

  She nodded, but didn’t speak. She was afraid she’d start crying. She handed him the keys from her coat pocket and got in the passenger side. Jim leaned down and dropped a kiss on her pale lips. Then he closed the door and circled the car to climb in behind the wheel.

  They made the drive in silence. She knew he’d turned to look at her several times, but she couldn’t chance catching his look of concern, afraid it might break her control. She closed her eyes and said nothing.

  When they reached the ranch, Red met them at the back door.

  “Did you see your dad? He was going to meet—”

  “Yeah, Red, we saw him. Everything’s over. Kane is dead and…”

  Patience pulled free of his grasp and ran through the kitchen and up the stairs to her room. She needed to be alone to deal with what had happened.

  JIM STOOD THERE in the middle of the kitchen and watched Patience’s retreat.

  “Did I say something wrong?” Red asked anxiously.

  “No, Red, you didn’t.” With a sigh Jim explained what had happened at the Anderson house.

  “Lord have mercy. That poor girl.”

  “I know. I think she needs some time alone.”

  Megan came into the kitchen. “Jim! I thought I heard Patience’s car.” She looked around the room. “Where is she?”

  Jim shrugged. “She went up to her room. She…she had a difficult time today.”

  “Where’s your dad?” Megan asked, anxiety in her voice.

  “He’s fine, Mom. Kane is dead. Dad stayed in town to help the sheriff deal with everything.”

  B.J. entered the kitchen in the middle of Jim’s explanation. She put her arm around Megan but said nothing.

  “Who shot him?” Megan asked.

  “I shot him first. He was holding Patience with a gun to her head. Then he lost his temper and struck her. As she fell to the floor, I drew my gun and shot him. He was still alive and went for his gun again. The sheriff finished him off.”

  “I’m glad it’s over,” B.J. said. “I’m going to call Jake. He’ll be relieved to hear the news. Where is Patience?”

  “She went to her room.”

  “She’s not hurt?” Megan asked.

  “I suspect she’ll have a bruise on her cheek, and she may be a little sore tomorrow, but that’s all. Where are the boys?” he asked.

  “In the game room of course,” Megan said. “I think they’re spending too much time playing video games, but we didn’t want them outside. Maybe I should tell them they can go out.”

  “I’ll do it. I’ll get them to go with me and help do the feeding. It’ll be good for them.”

  He left the kitchen and headed for the game room. As his mother had said, the boys were zealously playing their video games. “Davy, Tommy, it’s okay for you to go outside again. Want to come help me feed the animals? We can get it all done before the guys come in. That way they won’t have to do it before they come home.”

  “Okay!” Davy said, standing up. “That means I’ll see my daddy sooner.”

  “That’s right, Davy. How about you, Tommy?”

  “Mommy said I had to stay inside.”

  “I know she did, but everything’s okay now. You’re safe. Your, uh…that mean man has gone away. He won’t bother you anymore,” Jim told him.

  He made sure the boys were warmly dressed and led them to the first barn, where a few animals were stabled. He let the boys help him, though he did the lion’s share of the work. The activity felt good.

  About halfway through, Chad joined them.

  “I can get it, Dad,” Jim assured him.

  “I’m sure you can. How’s Patience?”

  “I think she’s okay. She’s resting right now.”

  They finished the feeding just as the other Randall men arrived home. They were pleased to find the chores already done. As Chad gave them a brief summary of the day’s events, Jim hurried the two boys to the house, taking them to the bathroom to wash up.

  “That was fun, Jim,” Tommy said as he washed his hands.

  “I’m glad. We’re going to need to get you a horse pretty soon. Once you learn to ride, maybe we can take your mommy on a picnic next spring. That’s always fun.”

  “I have a horse,” Davy said.

  “I want a horse,” Tommy said earnestly, “but Mommy said my room isn’t big enough.”

  Jim laughed. “Well, horses don’t live in houses. Maybe we can find a place for him here.”

  “But then I couldn’t see him.”

  Jim picked up the little boy. “Maybe we’ll talk your mommy into living here with me, and you can come, too. Then you could see the horse every day.”

  “Yea! And I could see Davy, too.”

  “Right. And Steffie.”

  “Oh, yeah, but she’s a girl.”

  “Yeah,” Davy seconded.

  “When you get older, you’ll find out how important girls are.” Jim hoped he could convince Patience of that. “Okay, you two go down to dinner. I’m going to check on your mother, Tommy. We’ll be down in a few minutes.”

  He watched the two boys go down the stairs, smiling as they discussed what Tommy would name his horse.

  He walked down the long hall to Patience’s bedroom. He couldn’t help but think about the conversation they’d had earlier
that day about the things that had been happening each night. She hadn’t forgiven him for his youthful blunder in college. Not that he blamed her, but he wished she could.

  Knocking on the door, he waited for her to respond. But he heard nothing. Slowly he opened the door. The room was almost dark, lit only by the setting sun.

  He walked softly to the side of the bed, staring down at her sweetly curved body under the covers. He sat down and gently shook her shoulder. “Patience?”

  Her eyes fluttered open, then closed again.

  “Patience, it’s dinnertime, honey. Do you want to come downstairs?”

  She opened her eyes and pushed herself up, the blanket falling to her waist. She was wearing only her underwear. “I—I’m sorry you were involved in what happened today.”

  “I’m not,” he said. “I’m glad it was the sheriff’s shot that killed him, though, and not mine, and I’m glad Kane is gone forever.”

  “Yes,” she said quietly.

  “I took the boys out with me to feed the animals. They had a good time.”

  “I guess they would. Tommy likes to be outside.”

  “Yeah.” He coughed before he said, “I, uh, promised him a horse.”

  She stared at him in shock. “You what? How could you do such a thing? We don’t have a place for a horse. He’ll be so disappointed!”

  Jim took hold of her shoulders, giving her a little shake. “When we’re married and living here on the ranch, of course he’ll need a horse.”

  She looked away. “That’s not going to happen.”

  “Yes, it is! We love each other.”

  “I don’t remember saying I love you. You just feel guilty because I saved your life.”

  “Today I saved your life, didn’t I?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you saved mine. That makes us even, right?”

  She nodded cautiously, not sure where he was going with this logic.

  “You’ve already said we slept together because we both wanted it.”

  “Jim, I don’t know—”

  “Right?”

  “Yes, but I’ve changed my mind.”