Page 47 of Barry

She tried to hold Barry’s t-shirt and whispered, “He’s going to hurt Gen and Sev.”

Barry rose on his knees and looked over the black box. He blinked at what he saw. Not only did the sniper fire, but there were also bullet holes scattered around the man’schest. In his hand was an automatic handgun. He turned back to her. Yet Jackson’s death grip held onto a gun Barry hadn’t seen. “Honey, he won’t hurt anyone ever again. I promise. He’s dead.”

She stared at him. The desperate emotion in her eyes was gutting him. He lowered a bit, trying to stay out of the doctor’s way, and whispered, “I promise. He will never hurt anyone again.”

“Snakes in the box.” Her eyes traveled to the black plastic box.

He glanced at the large black plastic bin. “We’ll be careful,” Barry assured her. She nodded and seemed to relax. Barry went to work on the twisted wire. He’d just finished removing the wires from her ankles when he heard the helicopter. “I’m taking her to the ranch. I have antivenom there.” The doctor was careful with her as he marked the bite’s radius. He used some kind of blue paper to cover her exposed skin. Her eyes were closed, and Barry felt that old friend rage boiling up under his skin.

What that man had done to her was … He shook the thoughts away. “Shouldn’t we go to a hospital?”

“Yeah. I have a clinic, and it has everything we need. It’s closer, and the sooner she gets treatment, the better,” the doc said as he wrapped gauze around her wrists. “Take that roll and wrap it around her ankles. Not too tight. Ethan, let Mike know we have incoming and to sanitize the area.”

“Roger, already done.” The man’s voice came across the comms still in his ear.

Barry worked beside the doctor as he talked to Kathy. Not that she was answering, but he kept talking. “You’re going to be okay, baby. I love you. You’re going to be okay.” The words were on repeat, and his stupid mouth and mind couldn’t produce any other sounds.

The chopper landed, and Barry scooped her up into his arms. She leaned into him, and that small action gave him a burst of adrenaline. He made it to the chopper in record time and took a seat with her still in his arms. As soon as the doctor’s foot hit the rail, the bird was in the air. The doctor braced himself on the door, and Barry’s foot found the seat across from him, keeping him and Kathy upright and planted in the seat. The pilot was fucking insane, but thank God, he was fast, and fast was what Kathy needed.

He kissed the top of her head. She was sweating way more than she should have been for the temperature.That bastard. The battered woman he held against him was his life. She was the primary reason he’d found his way out of the hell he’d fallen into. He couldn’t lose her now.

The helicopter landed, and Doc helped him out of the helicopter while he held her. It was as if the man knew he wouldn’t relinquish his possession of her until he absolutely had to do so. Doc threw his bag into an ATV, and Barry got into the passenger seat with Kathy in his arms.

The doctor was quick, and they pulled up in front of a building with white siding. It was small, but the locking system on the doors was something he didn’t expect. A person opened the door for him, and Doc Cassidy directedhim into the exam room. “Okay, Barry, here’s where you need to leave. I’ve got her. I’ll let you in as soon as she’s treated and stable.”

Barry laid her down on the tall gurney. He kissed her forehead, which was terribly hot. “Be strong. I love you.” He backed away. He was not looking at anything but Kathy until the room door shut off his view.

Barely registering the sound of the helicopter taking off again, he sank to his ass in the hallway and stared at the door. Sometime later, a pair of cowboy boots appeared in his line of sight. He looked up at Mr. Marshall. “I’d join you on the floor, young man, but by the time I got up, I’d be late for dinner.”

Barry lifted to his feet. Exhaustion was a real thing, and it settled hard and deep into his bones. “Thank you for all your help, sir. She was bitten by a rattler. He’d hurt her, too.” Which was the understatement of the year, but words were difficult right then. His brain and heart were with the woman in the other room.

Mr. Marshall nodded and handed him a piece of taffy. Barry shook his head, not interested in the candy. “You need the sugar. You’ve had a shock.” Mr. Marshall handed him the candy.

“Thank you.” He wouldn’t argue the point. After he unwrapped it, he popped it in his mouth, still staring at the door.

“Heard you did a fancy piece of shooting to keep that other snake from biting your woman.”

Barry glanced over at him. He wasn’t sure how Mr. Marshall knew that, but then again, he wasn’t sure how a rancher knew how to run a military operation either. Not that it was classified as a military operation. It was considered the town going after one of their own, and that was something everyone agreed on. He shrugged. “I’m good with a handgun, but I got lucky, too. When the other bullets hit Jackson, he flew backward, which flipped the snake up. I was able to get a second shot.”

Mr. Marshall grunted, saying something that Barry didn’t catch. “I’m sorry, sir, I didn’t hear you. I’m running on a lack of sleep and a lot of worry.”

“Don’t matter what I said, although I’d like you to answer a question.”

“If I can.”

Frank turned to him. “Is she going to be enough for you?”

What the fuck? She was his life.“Sir?”

“When things get hard, when there isn’t any money, or when you disagree, when the world closes in tight … is the love you feel for that woman going to keep you going?”

Barry’s mouth went slack, and he shook his head. A mule kicking him in the gut wouldn’t have taken the air out of his lungs as quickly. “I don’t think that’s any of your business, but I’ll answer the question. She isn’t ‘enough,’ sir; she’severything.” He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Mr. Marshall. “Are you asking because you don’t thinkI’menough forher?”

Mr. Marshall let out a bark of laughter. “No, I’m asking because, as far as I know, you ain’t got no pop to ask you where your mind is at concerning that young lady.” Frank shook his head. “I got a history. Married for the hope of love once. It ended in two beautiful daughters and a wife who was miserable. She passed before she could leave me and have what she wanted.”

“Respectfully, sir. It sounds like she was the one who needed to be asked if you were enough, not the other way around.”

Frank nodded. “Yep. Both sides should have had that question posed. Kathy is in there; she’s got parents. They’re on their way here. Corrie ask you that question?”

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