Cory, even with all he knew, was surprised by this man’s casual demeanor and her calmness about it all.
There was no weapon visible on him this time, and Cory hoped it stayed that way.
“I’ll be crystal clear, so you can understand,” said Patty. “I would never in a million years get back together with you, Ralph.”
“So, you’re saying there’s a chance,” he replied, holding up his right arm and yelling, “Yes!” Cory recognized the joke referencing a 1994 cult classic movie, figuring Ralph was either delusional or just now realizing the relationship could not be repaired.
He called one of his men by the front door to get Joshua.
Joshua ran down the stairs and straight into his mother’s outstretched arms, crying loudly.
His father may as well not even have been in the room, as neither acknowledged each other.
“Did anyone come into your room last night?” whispered Cory.
“No,” came the reply.
“The body’s gone,” Ralph’s man told him. “The older boy took it out behind the house.”
Drake was back, vowing to finish the burial at a later time and hoping the coyotes, mountain lions and black bears would leave her be, although he wondered.
“Drake, please take Patty and Joshua outside while I finish talking to Ralph.”
“So, this is the part where you shoot me and tell everyone else to head on down the road?” asked Ralph.
“Only if you make it easy and draw on me,” replied Cory, with a wink.
“Not today, officer. No, I’ll not be doing that today, and I’m sure you won’t just kill me without cause. In fact, I would bet my life on it.”
Now Cory was the one feeling flustered.
“You have exactly 72 hours from right now,” said Cory, looking at his watch—let’s call it 8:30 a.m. to leave this property and head far enough away that I don’t ever hear about any of you again. We gave you what you wanted, and now we’re done here.”
He turned to leave when he heard the click of the hammer.
“Bang!” said Ralph coldly, as Cory walked out the front door.
“Let’s go now,” he told Patty and Joshua.
They met up with the rest of the group, all relieved to have her son back unharmed.
“Joshua?” asked Drake. “Did you see a girl around 16, or 18 maybe?”
“There are two, I think,” he replied.
“Did one have darker skin and black hair?”
“No. The two I remember were sisters, and both had blonde hair.”
“So, there are only those two young women in the whole group?” asked Drake.
“That’s all I saw near that age,” said Joshua. “Except for the one in my dream last night. That one climbed right in the window and laid down next to me until I fell asleep. She said to be brave, and nothing could hurt me… Did you see her in your dreams too?”
“No, not me. I don’t dream. In fact, I hardly even sleep,” Drake replied.
“You’re a brave boy,” Joshua heard from more than one of the men.
“We’ll hold a spot on our security team for when you get older,” Mac told him.
“Really?” an excited Joshua replied. “Did you hear that, Mom? They want me on the team—when I’m older, though, of course.”
She kissed him on the head, saying, “I missed you so much, kiddo.”
“Me too, Mom.”
* * * * * * *
Chapter Twenty-three
Second Chances Ranch
Weston, Colorado
James slowly settled into his new life, never once complaining in front of anyone.
The crude ramp Jason had made was now in place for navigating the front porch stairs, and he vowed to update it as soon as possible.
Janice made the downstairs office into their new bedroom, moving the bed and furniture with Jason’s and Lauren’s help. The girls, and even Billy, pitched in, carrying pillows and blankets.
“See, Daddy!” called out Billy when they were finished. “We made this just for you so you can feel better soon.”
James didn’t have the heart to tell him he would likely not be getting better and chose to focus on what he could change. He made a goal to be back to work after the upcoming weekend but was unsure if Janice would allow it.
Monitoring the radio, as he was doing more of now, he received a radio transmission from his old friend David up on the mountain.
“We’ve turned them away,” David said, “with the help of part of the US government. They’re on Interstate 25 still, at least they were when passing us. Hopefully, they found enough fight already for today and don’t wander off your way as they pass.”
“You all okay?” asked James.
“We lost a couple of men, but we fought hard and held them off. So yeah, it was a good day.”
“We saw a couple of helicopters a ways off, but that was about it,” said James. “The town Sheriff here has a few men hidden pretty well, with a good view of the roads coming into town. We’ll figure it out, old friend, if we have to, but I sure hope we won’t.”
“All right, let me know if you need anything down there,” said David. “I’ll check back in a couple of days if I don’t hear anything.”
* * * *
This Saturday, the tables would be turned, and James would be the one staying home and watching over the property while the rest traded their wares.
Janice wanted to cancel just for a week or two, but James was
