Page 101 of Brooke's Bliss
“How is them having guns helpful?”Lucy stood by Nell.“Ithink they’re going to try to kill us all.”
She would give it to her friend.Lucy was calm underpressure.She took Nell’s wrist in hand and took her pulse, watching the timeron her cell.
“They won’t have the guns when John is through.”Nell alsosounded almost preternaturally calm.“He’ll have them, and normally I would askhim to be as earth friendly as he can when dealing with persons of this nature,but I’m about to push a baby through my vagina and I want him to be fast.”
Henry’s brows rose as if he was thoroughly surprised.“I canuse the guns?”
Nell’s expression turned fierce as Lucy let her wrist go andshe faced her husband.Even Brooke could see the way her belly tightened.Thewoman was not merely in active labor.She was close.“Guns, knives, I don’tcare, John.Deal with this and get back to me because our daughter is on herway.I swear she heard that gunshot and took it as a sign she should come intothis world right now.”
Henry nodded.
Brooke could hear the men outside whooping it up.Like thiswas a party.
Who had they shot?Shane didn’t carry around a gun.He wasbeyond competent when it came to rifles and shotguns, but he didn’t walk aroundwith one on his person at all times.
Was Shane dead?Had she spent all of their time togethermaking him feel like he couldn’t give her what she needed?
Why did it take a gunshot to get such perfect clarity?
All she needed was them.They would figure it out.Happinesswasn’t ever based around one single choice, but a never-ending string of themthat could be confused by circumstance and guilt and fear.
They would never ask her to choose them over her career.They would adapt to her because those men loved her in a way she’d hoped to beloved.Unconditionally.Wholly.Without fear on their part.
“I need to help Shane.”Resolve began to flow through her.She wasn’t some whiny baby who hid when her man was in trouble.
Henry put his hands on her shoulders.“I need you to protectNell and our baby.I’ll get Shane out.One way or another.”
“I’ve heard the rumors, Henry, but I also know Bliss likesto make mountains out of molehills.I should come with you,” she replied.
“Go check the barn,” a deep voice commanded.“According toBilly there’s a couple of people out there.Take ’emout.Don’t you leave any witnesses.You know what’s at stake.Find the otherKent kid.Ned says they have Shane.We can use him to get Bay to talk.”
Shane was alive.She could breathe.
This was about Bay?
The boss wasn’t finished.“I want to get out of here beforeMcNamara and his boys get back, though you should know killing that assholewould have been fun.”
“Should I leave the bodies, boss?”another voice asked.
Brooke could barely hear them, but every word made hernauseous.
Henry kept his voice low.“He told him to prep the bodies.Ithink they’re planning on dumping all the bodies somewhere.This man has noidea where he is.He probably thinks Nate Wright is some small-town sheriffwho’ll investigate a little and then let it go.”
Nate wouldn’t.Nate would go to the ends of the earth tofigure out who hurt his people, and he would have a lot of help.
Lucy was getting Nell to the corner of the barn.As far fromthe door as they could get.She dragged a couple of horse blankets down and setNell up in one of the empty stalls.
How was this happening?
“What do we do?”Brooke asked.“We don’t have any weapons.”
“We will,” Nell replied, her words calm even as she gruntedthrough a contraction.
“Brooke, I need you to stand in the middle where he can seeyou when he walks in.I need to be able to come up behind him,” Henrycommanded.“I won’t let anything happen to you.”
How could he say that?He was a nice guy who sold homemadecider at WooWooFest and protested with hand-donesigns.The man was wearing Birkenstocks and socks.He was not…
She didn’t have time for this.Nell and Lucy needed her.Shane needed her.She moved into position.“All right.But I’m going with you.You need backup.”
