Page 8 of The Sheriff and the Outlaw

When Logan was away, she had taught herself how to use a gun and how to use a lasso, too, just in case. Yes, the next time he came for her, she swore that she would be ready. But when it happened, the reality was much different than she had expected. Josey had never wanted him to die, but at least now he’d never come after her again. And if she ended up hanging for her crime, then so be it. At least Logan wouldn’t have the chance to hurt her again. She just hoped that the law would wait until after the baby was born before they hung her. The baby deserved better, if not her.

All of a sudden, the ground started swirling under her as she dragged her feet through the lichen on the forest floor. Josey knew she was making too much noise, attracting too much attention, but she was just so tired. She needed a decent night’s sleep. Not the broken sleep that she had been enduring.

When she looked up, in the distance were flickering lights. At first, Josey was so tired and delirious that she thought they were stars. But then she realized they were too close to theground to be stars. As she got closer, she realized they were candles, flickering from the windows of a house. When she drew near, they were shining from the windows of a house with a wrap-around wooden front porch. If only she could go inside and warm herself, but she didn’t dare knock on the door. Who was to say that she wouldn’t literally stumble into someone worse than Logan, worse than Austin, or the worst man she could possibly imagine, perhaps the devil himself? No, after being married to Logan, she was through with men and had no intention of getting involved with another. Not now, not ever.

Josey was about to move on, but she knew that if she didn’t stop soon, she would fall where she stood. And she had the baby to think about. She had to stay alive.She needed to find shelter and to hide before Austin Slater found her. She had heard of the despicable things he had done and could only imagine what he would do to her if he found her. Josey looked to the left where a red barn stood. Did she dare? It would be the best shelter she had since she started running. It was far enough away from the house that she might be able to sleep and get out unnoticed before first light. When she woke, she would decide what to do then.

No, she couldn’t… could she? But she was so tired….

Just then, a stick fell from a tree and landed beside her, causing her to jump. She placed a hand to her heart, trying to steady herself. Her stomach lurched again, and she began to shiver.

I’m too jumpy, too tired,she thought, catching herself from stumbling again.Maybe some sleep would do me some good.

Although she knew she was breaking her own rule of sleeping during the day and traveling at night, she just couldn’t help herself. She looked toward the house to make sure no one was coming, and let out a deep breath, relenting.

“Okay, but I’ll only sleep for a little while. Then I’ll be on my way again come first light,” she reasoned, talking herself into it, willing herself to believe it.

Josey looked once more at the house and jumped when the flickering candles suddenly went out and the house fell into darkness. Summoning all her courage, a burst of energy coursed through her veins as she ran toward the barn and through the door, which was cracked open. After pulling the door closed, relief swept over her. She looked around and in the back of the barn was a pile of loose straw. Josey never thought she would be so happy to see a pile of straw in her life.

She crawled into the straw, laid on her side with her back to the wall, and covered herself the best she could, hiding, leaving only her eyes uncovered. Any other time, she would have been afraid that she may disturb a stray family of field mice or something worse, but at that moment, she was too tired to care. She watched the barn door, listening to the wind whistle through the cracks between the boards. Hunger grabbed her, but she needed sleep more. Josey ran a hand over her stomach, thinking of the baby as her eyes began to close. She just hoped that Austin didn’t find her before she woke.

“Hold it right there,” a strong male voice resonated through the barn, waking her, sending chills down Josey’s spine. He took a step closer.

Josey opened her eyes, and the faint rays of morning sunlight shone into the barn, sending a man into silhouette. Oh, no! She had slept too long and now he found her. But when she looked closer, it wasn’t Austin. Instead, it was a man with dark brown, wavy hair… holding a gun.

As slowly and silently as she could manage, she reached behind her, took her gun out of her jeans, and gripped the cold handle, steadying herself.

The man looked around, but not directly at her. He knew someone was in there, but he didn’t know exactly where. He hadn’t seen her… yet. Maybe if she stayed perfectly still....

“I know you’re in here,” he announced loudly.

The man took a step closer. “Listen, mister. I don’t know who you are or what you’re doing in my barn, but unless you want a belly full of lead, you’d better make yourself known… now!”

Josey froze, unsure of what to do next. Her body suddenly grew cold as her heart raced.

The man took another step closer, looking around, his gun raised. “I’m going to give you to the count of three and you’d better show yourself or I’ll start shooting. It’s your choice.”

Josey didn’t move.

“One!”

She couldn’t breathe.

“Two!”

Quicker than she would have thought possible, she stood and aimed her gun at him, her hands shaking, thinking only of the baby. “Don’t take another step closer or I’ll shoot! I swear I will!” Tears streamed down her cheeks as her hat fell off, and her long blonde hair fell over her shoulders.

The man stared at her in obvious disbelief. “Don’t be afraid. I won’t shoot.” Then he released the hammer of his gun and held it up. “Lower your weapon.”

“And let you do God knows what to me?” She cocked her gun, her hands shaking as tears came to her eyes. “I don’t think so.”

He raised an eyebrow but made no other move. “You’d shoot an unarmed man?”

She motioned with her head toward the gun in his hand. “And what do you call that?”

He slid it into the back of his jeans and held up his hands again. “Better?”

Josey looked in his eyes and, for some reason, she knew this man was different. He didn’t have the wild look in his eyes that Logan had when he drank, or the wild look that Austin always had. No, Josey sensed that this man wouldn’t hurt her. But she shook her head to clear her mind. She couldn’t afford to get soft, not now. “You’re confusing me! Just let me go and no one will get hurt.”

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