When Love's Gone Country - By Merri Hiatt Page 0,35
Meg asked.
“No. The sound was hollow. Almost like it was…”
“What?”
“Coming from the well.”
“You don’t think they threw Jacob in the well, do you?” Meg jumped up and ran toward the well.
“Meg!” Bobby yelled after her, then followed her, as did Jeremy.
Brad and Court saw the commotion and dashed forward.
Alex arrived to find everyone running toward the well, so he began running, too, looking around for signs of Jacob.
“Help!”
They all peered over the edge to find all three men who had held them at gunpoint treading water at the bottom of the well.
“We can’t climb up. The walls are too steep and they’re no handholds.”
“Sucks to be you right about now,” Courtney said.
“Please, help us. We’re cold.”
“We’ll help you all right. We’ll call the police and have them help you right out of this well and into a jail cell,” Bob said.
“That’s after we kick your ass!” Meg said. “How dare you threaten us and how dare you take my son and use him as some pawn in your twisted little game. We should let you rot down there.”
“Nah, it would ruin the water supply for the ranch,” Court said.
“What’s all the ruckus?” Frank asked, riding up on Britches, his favorite horse.
“These guys pulled a gun on us and asked us all kinds of questions about a healing well. They took Jacob and somehow or other ended up at the bottom of the well,” Alex said.
“Trespassers. You know our rule. Trespassers are shot on sight. Been that way for years,” Frank said.
“C’mon, Frank, we didn’t mean no harm. You know us. I’m George Wallace’s son and that’s Cooter Jones’ boy. This here’s Hank Dodson’s cousin. We was just lookin’ for information, that’s all. We was never gonna hurt nobody.”
“I’ll take care of this,” Frank said to the group.
“You’re going to call the police?” Meg asked.
“I said I’d take care of it.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“Meg,” Bobby put his hand on Meg’s shoulder. “Frank said he’d take care of it.”
“They took Jacob!”
“Jacob volunteered.”
“It’s the same thing.”
“Honey, it’s not.”
Meg jostled her shoulder until Bobby removed his hand. “I expect you to press full charges, Frank Peterman. These men should be in jail for what they did.”
“I understand your position,” Frank said. “They will be dealt with accordingly.”
“So, where is Jacob?” Jeremy asked.
“He’s the one who shoved us down in this damn well!” one of the men said.
Courtney doubled over with laughter. “Now that’s a story I need to hear. I can see the headline now: Teenager sends outlaws toppling into well. Not once, not twice, but three times!”
“If you’re goin’ to the hoedown tonight, you’d best be getting back to the ranch hand quarters,” Frank said.
“You need a hand getting them out of there?” Alex said.
“No, I’ve got plenty of help.” No sooner had he spoken the words than String, Bart, Red and Charlie came up behind him on horseback.
“That’s a nifty trick,” Courtney said.
Frank smiled. “Cell phones. Handy little things.”
Chapter Twenty-One
When the group returned to the ranch hand quarters, Meg smothered Jacob with hugs and kisses.
“I’m fine, Mom. You’re blowin’ this way out of proportion.”
“You were led away at gunpoint. I’m allowed to be glad you’re alive.” She kissed him three more times on the cheek.
“You did a good job of letting us know what your intentions were,” Bobby said, resisting the urge to pull him close as Meg had done.
“We’re still goin’ to the hoedown, right?” Jeremy asked.
Everyone looked at each other.
“I’d say we have even more reason to go and celebrate,” Purity said.
“What are we supposed to wear?” Jeremy asked.
“Jeans and flannel shirts, I imagine,” Brad said. “I can’t say for sure, since I’ve never been to one before, but it stands to reason.”
“Then let’s get going. I’m starving.”
“I second that,” Courtney said.
They all left the ranch hand quarters, heading toward the big, red barn. They could hear the music as soon as they stepped outside.
“Sounds like a party,” Alex said.
They followed the inviting sound of fiddles. Ranch hands and people they’d never seen before came out of the woodwork, walking beside them.
“Nice night,” one said.
“Perfect for a hoedown,” another said.
When they reached the barn, the doors were open wide. Light from colored lanterns hanging from the rafters spilled onto the dance floor and beyond.
“Look at all the food!” Jeremy’s eyes widened.
“Don’t eat everything at once,” Meg advised. “We’ve got all night. You’ll have time to try everything.”
Jeremy headed straight for the triangular sections of watermelon and took two, one for each hand.
“You can bet he’s going to have a