CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Penny gazed around the open field. “A lot of people turned out.”
A booth on wheels sold hotdogs and hamburgers. A similar one sold something called a funnel cake. The enticing smells set her stomach growling in spite of the fine breakfast Sally had prepared. A cold breeze blew, but at least the sun shone overhead.
Beside her, Sally pointed to a spot at the edge of the crowd. “I’ll set up my chair over there so I don’t have to breathe fumes from those food trucks.”
Jake walked up and handed Penny a small piece of paper. “Here’s your ticket. We’re registered but we’re both near the end. Told you we should have started earlier.”
“You can’t hurry old bones, Jake. You ought to know that by now.” Sally hefted an odd canvas bundle she called her folding chair. “I told you to come on by yourself and we’d catch up to you.” She nudged Penny. “I’ll see you later.”
Bart appeared and handed her and Jake each one of the canvas bundles. “I have to sit with the judges. Most of the contestants are sitting near the ticket area. You can see pretty well from there but the shots don’t hurt your ears so much.” He shook his head. “I’ll be deaf be the end of the day.”
“Come on, Penny, I know where we should unfold our chairs.” Jake led the way, saying hello to people as they passed, but not stopping to talk in spite of the quizzical stares sent their way.
“I feel like a fish in a bowl. Did you see how everyone stared at me?”
“They don’t know you. When they do they’ll quit staring. Right now, you’re a newcomer and a curiosity.”
If they knew her—really knew her story—they’d realize just how much of a curiosity she was. They’d do more than stare then. They’d probably put her in the mad house.
Jake unfolded his chair in a bit of sun. “You sit while I set up the other chair.”
She wiggled into place. “Not bad. Better than a blanket for a picnic. Guess we still have to watch for ants, though.” She adjusted her hat so she could see the target without the sun shining directly onto her face. No point inviting freckles.
“They spread ant poison on the field earlier in the week. Shouldn’t be any ants around. Can you see the target?”
“Just fine.” She wondered what kind of poison and watched birds pecking at the ground. “Will the poison hurt those birds?”
“No, the liquid used is supposed to kill only the ants. Look, here’s a ladybug.” He scooped the bug from the grass held it up to her on his finger.
“That’s good. I hate ants, but wouldn’t want the birds and other critters hurt.”
“The match is starting. Look at Les Prather’s shotgun. It was his dad’s.”
Hours later, the match was down to five people—Jake, Caleb, a man named John Wester, a woman named Jill Mayberry, and Penny.
Jill smiled at her. “Nice to see another woman in the final round. You new here?”
Penny shook her hand. “Thanks. Yes, I’m staying with the Knights.”
The other woman’s eyebrows raised. “Oh, those Knight men are handsome. You seeing one of them?”
“No, I’m a distant relative. Also related to Sally.” Lying sure took a lot of work keeping your stories straight. Sally had told people she was related to her cousin. Jake had told Mrs. Dennis she was a distant relative of his. Penny had to cover both stories.
“Wow, I had no idea Sally and the Knights were related.”
Dang, Penny could tell this woman was going to be spreading tales. “Oh, she’s not. I’m related to her on one side of the family and the Knights on the other side. Life is full of coincidences, isn’t it?”
Fortunately, the next round began and Hardeman was called first.
Penny’s insides were a tornado, but she took aim. Her shot hit at the inside edge of the solid circle in the center of the target’s rings. In her nervousness, she hadn’t allowed for the breeze. Dang, she was a loser for sure. She was surprised when a cheer broke out and people congratulated her on her good shot.
Caleb was next and his shot hit an inch off center.
She touched his arm. “Oh, Caleb, I’m sorry. Better luck next year.”
He grinned at her. “Surprised I made the final round. Jake and Bart are the marksmen in the Knight family, not me.”
“Oh, it’s Jake’s turn.” She walked closer to watch. It sure would stick in her craw if Jake beat her but if she couldn’t win, she wanted Jake to.
His shot hit in the same place as hers on the other side of the inner circle. Another cheer went up. Danged if she and Jake weren’t tied.
Jill’s shot was half an inch outside the circle. Jill’s face showed disappointment then she smiled and walked away. Penny decided it hurt Jill to be a woman who always lost to men. Didn’t Penny know how that felt?
John Wester’s shot missed center by several inches. He shrugged and laughed, clearly not too disappointed. Or, if he was, he was a good sport about it.
The man running the shoot yelled, “It’s a tie between Miss Hardeman and Jake Knight. What about it, do you two want another round to end the tie?”
Jake looked at her. Before she could answer, she spotted the glint of a riflescope and shoved into Jake as a shot sounded. A bullet struck her shoulder and she sank to her knees. She tried to stand but her legs wouldn’t cooperate.
***
Jake grabbed Penny, to shield her in case another shot came her way. “Lie down. Flat.” He kneeled and hovered over her. “How bad are you hit?”
“Not sure.” She held her shoulder and tried to get up.
“No, lie flat until the ambulance gets here. Whoever did this might try another shot.”
Jake removed his jacket and made her a pillow. Damn, she was bleeding too much. Way too much. He pressed a handkerchief to her shoulder.
Was the shot through? He slid his hand under her, but didn’t locate an exit wound.
Caleb slipped out of his jacket and laid it over Penny. “Bart’s after the culprit. This wasn’t one of the contestants. We were all watching the final round. Some sonofabitch shot at her.”
She shook her head. “At Jake.”
“What do you mean, aimed at Jake?” Caleb asked.
“She shoved me out of the way. I didn’t know why until I heard the shot and saw her fall.” His stomach had landed somewhere around his knees when he realized she was hit.
Jake glared at her. “You crazy woman, what were you thinking? You could have been killed.” His heart still pounded like Freddie Kreuger was after him. She’d risked her life to save him and could have died herself.
“Sunlight glinted off a rifle’s scope. Saw a man in the shadows take aim. Figured it was Jake he wanted, what with all the mischief going on lately. No time to say anything.”
“If I catch the bastard I’ll kill him.” Jake looked around. “Where’s the damned ambulance?”
Sally ran up, panting and in tears. “They’re coming. I saw the whole thing. Heavens, I almost died myself.” She knelt and kissed Penny’s forehead. “You poor dear.”
Rowdy rushed to them and picked up Penny’s rifle. “I’ll get all the stuff, boss. Manuel and Ed will give me a hand.”
“Thanks, that’ll help. Can’t take these rifles to the hospital and I sure would hate to lose either of them.”
Caleb handed Rowdy his rifle. “Would you take mine, too? Just leave it at the house with the others.”
Two EMT’s arrived, one of them with a cart. After immediate aid, they loaded Penny onto the gurney and put her into the ambulance. They refused to let anyone ride with them.
Jake and Sally sped behind the ambulance in Jake’s car while Caleb followed in his. At the hospital, they caught up with Penny in an examining room.
A nurse waved them away. “You can’t all be in here. Everyone but the lady out. I’ll call you when treatment’s finished.”
A woman with a clipboard walked toward them. “I’ll need to see your ID and insurance, Ms Hardeman.”
Penny’s eyes widened and she opened her mouth.
Jake said, “Ms Hardeman doesn’t drive and has no insurance. I’ll be responsible for her charges.”
The nurse narrowed her eyes. “Then do it somewhere else.” She swished closed the examination space curtain, neatly excluding him, Caleb, and the admissions clerk from the examination.
Caleb frowned. “Want me to take care of this so you can wait here?”
“Thanks, but I’d better get all this sorted out. Let me know if they finish with her before I fill out all the forms.”
Sally peeked out the door. “Her birthday is June 20th . . . um 1991. Maybe I’d better come with you.”
Jake held up his hand. “No, stay with her. You’re good at mothering people and she needs that right now.”
He hurried through the forms and furnished a credit card for the expected expenses. Hell, what happened to people with no cash? Would the hospital have tossed Penny out on the street when they learned she couldn’t pay?
He hoped she’d receive the same treatment regardless. But, he suspected that without his deposit, her treatment would be cursory. When the business office was placated, he rushed back to ER.
Caleb walked briskly toward him then pivoted when Jake caught up. “She’s in surgery to remove the bullet and they’re sewing her up.”
“You may as well go home. They’ll probably keep her overnight.”
His cousin matched his stride. “I’ll stick around a while.”
When they arrived at the surgical waiting room, Sally rushed to him.
She hugged him. “Thank heavens Penny shoved you.”
He embraced the woman who’d acted his mother for twenty years. “I’ve never seen you so upset, Sally. Calm down. We can’t both be upset and, right now, I’m mad enough to kill whoever did this.”
Caleb stood in front of him and cautioned softly, “I know how you feel, Cuz, but watch your words.” He raised his eyebrows and gave a slight nod to the other people in the room, presumably all waiting for word on their loved ones.
Jake quieted, but damned if he cared who’d heard him. Penny was in his care. She was his responsibility. He took a deep breath, forced to admit she was more than that. He’d come to care for his spunky guest, care far more than was sensible.
He paced back and forth, his nerves shattered. Who would have done this other than Tolbert?
Caleb grabbed his arm as he went by. “Sit down or I’m warning you, there’ll be another shooting.”
Jake slumped into a chair. “You my keeper now?”
His cousin only grinned. “Have to be. Too much of a job for just Sally.”
Finally the double doors to the operating rooms opened and a doctor emerged. “Hardeman family?”
All three of them jumped up and headed toward the doctor.
“She’s in recovery. Lost a lot of blood, but she’ll be all right. We’ll keep her to make sure she’s stable.”
“How long will she be here?” Sally asked.
“If there are no problems overnight, she can go home in the morning. They’ll be moving her to a room in a few minutes. She’ll come through these doors.” The doctor had hardly finished speaking before he left.