My Kind of Trouble

by Becky McGraw

  Luke had taken Cole and her daddy into town and they all got fitted for tuxes. Her daddy had griped about having to wear one, but she could tell it was for show. He would wear a potato sack, she imagined, as long as it assured she and Luke were married next Saturday.

  She almost thought he was as excited about having Luke as a son-in-law as she was about having him as her husband. Cassie was dying to see Luke in his western tux. Her mouth watered just thinking about it.

  He'd set up their honeymoon, but he hadn't told her where they were going. As usual, her patience was almost non-existent, so she'd been snooping and pestering him for a week to tell her, but he hadn't given in. She still had a week to get it out of him though, and she wasn't giving up.

  A barn cat rubbed up against her leg, and Cassie bent down to pick it up for a cuddle. The tabby began purring on her chest and she rolled it over in her arms to scratch its little belly, then she bent her nose down and rubbed it to the kitten's nose and he swatted her cheek with his little paw. She laughed and did it again.

  "What the hell do you think you're doing, sugar?" Luke boomed as he stomped down the corridor to her.

  "Wow...hello to you too, husband-to-be," she said bristling at the tone he'd taken with her.

  He reached over and pulled the cat out her arms by the scruff then put it on the floor and swatted its behind gently. The playful kitten swatted his hand, but then took off down the aisle. "Hey--why'd you do that?"

  "You're not supposed to be handling cats, darlin'," his voice was frustrated and terse. "I've been reading up on it, and the book I got says--"

  "It's litter boxes, nimnuts. Not cats. Pregnant women all over the world have cats...and they manage to birth healthy babies just fine."

  "Well yeah, but...cats all play in their litter boxes, and the bacteria is probably on their fur too," he defended.

  "Bullshit, Luke...and barn cats don't even use litter boxes," she said with a incredulous laugh. A hurt expression flickered over his face and his jaw tensed. Cassie hated that she'd put that look there.

  Walking over to him, she slid one arm around his waist and put her hand over his heart, before looking up at him. "If it bothers you though, sugar, I won't play with the cats anymore. I know you're just trying to protect me and the baby."

  He dipped his head down and gave her a sweet kiss. "Thanks, cupacake," he said then hugged her to him.

  Cassie sighed out her frustration, but she was glad she'd appeased him. Although he set her britches on fire with his over protectiveness, if he was any other way, he wouldn't be the Luke that she loved. She smiled up at him, "You done for the day?"

  "Yep, we finished," he told her grinning proudly.

  "Why don't you give me a grand tour, and then we'll go take a shower...together...to conserve water of course. You know how dry it's been lately," she told him with her tongue in her cheek.

  "Oh yeah, very dry...." he agreed then bent to lick her earlobe, before tracing kisses down her neck. "Mmm...definitely need to conserve water," he told her kissing back up her neck then along her jaw, before he captured her mouth in a fierce kiss.

  Bud cleared his throat behind them and they broke apart like guilty teenagers. Cassie felt her cheeks heat up and she saw Luke's were similarly red. "Sorry to interrupt, but someone named Sabrina is on the phone up at the house for you, Cassie Bee."

  Alarm skittered along Cassie's nerve endings, but she shut it down, telling herself it could be something as simple as matching her shoes to her dress that could have Sabrina calling her the day before she was supposed to arrive in Bowie. "Thanks, Bud...I'll head up to the house."

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Cassie started to walk away, but Luke's hand on her elbow stopped her. "Wait up, I'm coming with you," he said and dropped his arm around her waist to lead her toward the back porch.

  "I can't imagine what she could be calling for," Cassie told him a little out of breath.

  Luke didn't respond, just held her by his side and led her up on the porch and through the door, then to the alcove where the receiver was sitting by the phone. He stepped back and let her pick up the phone.

  "Hello...Sabrina?" Cassie said forcing brightness into her tone.

  Sabrina didn't respond for a second, then she asked Cassie in a tense and hesitant tone, "Hi, Cassie...is Luke there with you? Are you sitting down?"

  No, this definitely wasn't good, Cassie thought, and gripped the phone a little tighter, before she said, "Yeah, he's here...just tell me what's wrong Sabrina."

  Glancing over at Luke she saw he was studying her with concern in his eyes.

  "James escaped this morning," Sabrina informed her in a voice tinged with anger and frustration.

  Cassie felt like an anvil had just dropped on her chest. She couldn't catch her breath and the phone dropped from her fingers, as she leaned back against the wall and slid to the floor.

  Luke pushed inside the small alcove and picked up the phone. "Sabrina, what happened?!" he yelled into the phone, then sat down beside Cassie on the floor and grabbed her wrist checking her pulse, it was rapid and shallow. He pressed the back of her head down and shoved it down between her knees. "Breathe, honey."

  "James was being escorted to the courthouse this morning for sentencing, and his guard was new and female and he talked her into taking his cuffs off so he could go to the bathroom...he slipped out a window," she told him.

  "How the hell could they let that happen?" he shrieked in disbelief.

  "Your guess is as good as mine, Luke. Tell Cassie, I'm not coming tomorrow...I rescheduled my flight for next Friday. I'll do my best to find him."

  "Thanks, Sabrina. Keep us posted," he said then put the receiver back on the cradle, before he lifted Cassie into his arms and sat on the floor to hold her to his chest rocking her gently.

  "Oh, god Luke, what if he comes here..."

  "I'll put a bullet in him," Luke told her matter-of-factly. And he would. Nobody was going to hurt Cassie and their baby. Not on his watch.

  She whimpered and buried her face in his chest, her fists clutching his shirt as her tears soaked the front. Luke reached up and pulled down the phone to the floor, then he dialed Cole.

  "Sheriff Jackson," Cole said into the phone, sounding distracted.

  "Cole, we have a problem..." Luke told his friend.

  "My specialty...what's up?"

  "James Barton escaped from jail in Phoenix this morning."

  "What!" Cole shouted and Luke pulled the phone away from his ear for a second.

  "Yeah, that's what I said." Luke told him angrily, "Cassie's a mess, and I think we need to get Judge to put out a restraining order, and we should probably give everyone notice to look out for him."

  "I'll do that right now."

  "And Cole?"

  "Yeah?"

  "If he shows up here, I'm gonna shoot first and ask questions later."

  Cole hesitated a moment then told him with seriousness in his voice, "Make sure it's self defense, buddy."

  "If he gets within a half-mile of Cassie, I won't care," he told Cole in a lethal tone. "If she had walked in that house instead of me in Phoenix, he'd have shot her. That could have been why he was there in the first place. I'm not taking any chances. Get that restraining order."

  "Will do," Cole told him then disconnected.

  Luke lifted Cassie higher in his arms then he pushed up the wall to stand and then carried her up the stairs to their bedroom. Gently he laid her down on the bed and kissed her forehead before he slid in behind her and pulled her into his arms.

  "Shhh, don't cry, sugar. The baby will be sad too," he cooed close to her ear and kissed her again. She hiccupped and nodded then rolled over to press her face into his chest, and he tightened his arms around her. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you baby, you believe that?" She nodded again then sighed brokenly.

  After a few minutes, he felt her relax in his arms and he sighed in relief letting the tension ease out of his muscles. When she miracu
lously fell asleep, Luke slipped his arm from under her and eased out of the bed. He was going to put everyone on the farm on notice about James Barton and tell them to arm themselves, just in case. Like he'd told Cole, he wasn't taking any chances with Cassie and his baby.

  He talked to Bud first and he assured Luke that he'd take care of informing and arming the hands. Then he went and spoke with Carl, and boy he'd never heard such blue curses fly from the man. Before Luke left the office in the barn, Carl was strapping on an old Colt 45, that Luke wasn't even sure would fire. He felt slightly better when Carl walked to the corner and loaded his old double-barrel shotgun.

  Luke knew from personal experience, the man knew how to use that one.

  Imelda's weapon of choice was her rolling pin and as a backup her cast iron skillet. She assured Luke that she wouldn't hesitate to use either should that fancy pants show up on their doorstep.

  Luke's next step was to go down to the station to talk to Cole in person, and get him to arrange for off-duty deputies to secure the perimeter of the Double B at his expense. He went to his house next and unlocked his gun cabinet pulling out every rifle, handgun and shotgun he owned, and he had a lot, with ammo for each, then loaded them into his truck and headed back to the Double B. If that sonofabitch was dumb enough to show his ass up at the Double B, Luke was going to make sure he didn't live to regret it.

  Anger surged through him, and the longer it stewed, the hotter it got. By the time he got back to the Double B, it was like lava coursing through his veins about to erupt. He knew he had to get a grip on himself, and keep his cool so Cassie would too, but damned if he could manage it.

  That bastard wasn't going to have a chance to touch a hair on Cassie's beautiful head, because Luke was going to be sticking to her like white on rice, until they caught him...or Luke killed him.

  Maybe some target practice would help him relieve some of his anger, Luke thought, as he carried in the guns into the house and loaded them before strategically placing them around the house. Putting on his shoulder holster over his t-shirt, he checked and loaded his Sig P228 9mm and slid it in the holster. It had been a while since he'd practiced, so shooting some things up would not only relieve his tension, it would also assure him he was on top of his game.

  He was going to take Cassie with him, and give her the snub-nose .38 Special that he pulled out of the cache and loaded. He knew she knew how to shoot a rifle, and shotgun, but she needed a handgun. Having it with her would probably make her feel better too. Shooting it now, might remove some of the fear that he'd seen in her eyes earlier.

  Luke ran up the stairs two at a time and burst through the bedroom door. Cassie sat up straight in the bed and her hand flew to her chest, fear sparkling in her eyes. "Oh, god, Luke...you scared me," she said breathlessly. Her eyes moved to the gun strapped under his arm and the one he held in his hand and they widened. "What's that for?"

  "This is for you, sugar and I'm going to show you how to use it," he said with determination.

  "I know how to shoot, Luke."

  "You know how to shoot a handgun?"

  "No...but I'm pretty good with a rifle."

  "You need to learn how to use a handgun, darlin'. It's faster and easier to use. Not to mention it'll fit in your purse better than a rifle," he tried to infuse humor into his tone.

  Cassie snorted, then pushed up on the bed to sit on the side. "I know why you're doing this, Luke and it's not going to help."

  "I think it will...and it'll make me feel better for sure."

  Cassie shrugged and stood up. "Okay...", she said then walked over to take the .38 from his hand. She tested its weight in her hand.

  "Careful, darlin', it's loaded."

  She almost dropped it and Luke grabbed it from her and put on the safety, then handed it back to her. Cassie chuckled, "I think I'll be more likely to shoot myself in the foot, or you in the ass, than hit a target."

  "It's easy as pie, sugar. If I know you, you'll be shooting better than me before we finish this first lesson."

  She snorted. "Not likely, but I'm glad you have confidence in me."

  He opened the door and spread an arm to invite her to go first then said, "Always, sugar..."

  Luke grabbed a stack of aluminum pie tins that Imelda had stored in the pantry, then took Cassie out to the pasture and set the tins up on cross-fence, then handed her the ear protection and goggles he'd grabbed from the truck on the way out.

  After counting off seven yards, Luke stopped and drew a line in the hard packed earth with the toe of his boot.

  "Isn't that too close?" Cassie asked him.

  "No, darlin' this is a close range gun, something you can carry in your purse and can have in your hand in seconds if you're attacked. It's basically point and shoot. I'll show you how to sight it, but you need to practice point shooting."

  "So, I have to be about this close to use it?" She asked with a little fear in her tone.

  "Yep...but if that scares you I have bigger handguns I could show you how to use. The problem is concealing and carrying them...not to mention they kick like a mule, which affects your accuracy."

  "If I aim at someone, I want to hit them...so I'll stick with this one."

  Luke got behind her and showed her how to hold the gun and how to balance her weight to help her accuracy. Next, he showed her how to sight it, and then backed away and told her to shoot one of the tins he'd set up.

  The shot went wide and she stomped her foot then lined up again and squeezed off another round. That one hit the bottom edge of the pie plate. He walked back over and put his arms around her to line up the shot and give her a few pointers on doing it herself. He used his leg to shift her right leg a little farther back than her left and told her to square up her shoulders.

  This time she hit the center of the plate, and she squealed and pointed the weapon at the ground while she bounced up and down. "That was fun."

  Luke smiled at her, she was still the little tomboy he remembered from way back when, the one who did her damndest to outshoot, outride, and out fish every boy in town. She'd done a damned good job of it too. "Good job, cupcake," he told her then said, "Try to shoot that pie plate with two bullets in a row."

  He watched her adjust her stance a little so she was still balanced and was holding the gun properly. She lined up her shot and then squeezed the trigger twice. Those shots hit the pie plate a little below center and she looked over her shoulder and gave him a wide smile.

  "Perfect, sugar," he encouraged her then took the revolver and reloaded it before handing it back and telling her to move to her right and take five shots in a row at that pie plate. She took her stance and squeezed off five shots Three hit the lower edge of the plate, and the rest missed.

  There's one more thing you need to know about this kind of gun, sugar. It typically shoots low, so you should aim a little higher than where you want it to hit. He reloaded the gun for her one more time and told her to try again.

  This time Cassie put four bullets into the plate just a smidge above center.

  "Not bad for your first time," he said and took the gun from her and put on the safety explaining the mechanism to her.

  He handed it back to her and then he walked to the fence and lined up cans he'd picked up from the trash for his turn. He walked off a much farther distance for his round then told her to come stand behind him. Once she was safely behind him, he grinned then turned and pulled his Sig and popped off seven shots taking out every can with a single shot to the center in rapid succession.