Page 146 of The Doctor's Irreplaceable Love

Gavin laughed from his spot on the sofa.“Touching—but it won’t save you.”

“Give me that gun, Shelley.We’ll last longer than you will, you piece of …”

Harper stopped talking, raised the doorstop above her head, and ran screaming at the back door just as it flew open.

Shelley tried to put herself between Jim and the front door when she saw the handle move.She raised the gun.Jim stepped up beside her, broom raised.

And then the door flew open, and the men rushed in.

Only the men were Trip and Travis.Shelley lowered the gun with shaking hands when she realized it was them.Trip reached her in two long strides.Trav wasn’t far behind him and took the gun from her.Trip wrapped his arms around her and crushed her to his chest.Travis hugged Jim, and to her surprise, he chuckled at the sound of a continued struggle behind them.

When she turned, she had to laugh, too.Emmett was lying on his back on the floor, and Harper was sitting astride him, slowly lowering the doorstop as she gave them a rueful smile.

“I thought he was one of the bad guys,” she explained.

Emmett chuckled.“And I thought I’d been attacked by a mountain lion—they’re beautiful but ferocious, and I didn’t want to hurt …”

“Hey!”Harper slapped his arm.“I’m not ferocious!I’m loyal.I was defending my friends.”Her smile faded.“And did you just call me a cougar?”

Shelley turned back to Trip when she realized how hard he was breathing and how fast his heart was pounding against her own as he held her to his chest.

“Are you okay?”she asked.

He rested his forehead against hers and looked down into her eyes.“I am now.Are you?He didn’t hurt you?”

“I’m fine.”She glanced at Jim.“We’re all fine, right?”

He didn’t agree immediately, instead he looked around the cabin.

“Aye, I’m fine, but where’s Cash?”

“Oh for fuck’s sake!”Gavin spat from where he was still sitting trussed up on the sofa.“Why do you always expect that asshole to be the hero?He’s not!He never was, and tonight just proves it—he’s not even here!”

Shelley clung tighter to Trip when Cash came barreling in through the front door.

“I’m here.You fooled me once, I’ll admit that, but you weren’t going to fool me again.”He turned to Trip.“I cleared the area around the cabin.Found Jeb lurking—he said he was supposed to come help but waited when he saw you guys coming.”

“What’ve you done with him?”Jim asked.

“You don’t need to worry about him or Darryl, Jim.I took care of it.”Cash approached the sofa and hauled Gavin to his feet.“Now I’ll take care of him.”

Shelley watched Jim, wondering how he’d react to Cash’s words—and what exactly Cash meant.

“You can’t let him!”Gavin squealed as Cash dragged him toward the door.“Uncle Jim, please!”

Jim ignored him and instead met Cash’s gaze.“You can’t do what you want to do, you know.”

Shelley was relieved when Cash gave him a grim smile.“I know.Out of respect for you I wasn’t even considering it.”He gave Gavin a shake.“But I’m going to make sure that you never set foot in the state of Montana again.”

“Aye, that works,” Jim agreed.He turned to Gavin.“I’ll have to redo my will again now—you’ve made sure of that.See, I’d written in enough of a gift for you that you would’ve been set for life.Now, you won’t see a red cent.”

Shelley straightened when Jim turned to her.“Can you tell him what’ll happen now?”

Trip kept his hand at her waist as she stepped forward.

“Cash is the sole beneficiary of the new will; Jim trusts him to do as he asks.”

Jim nodded.“Aye, because he cares more about family than the law, and like me, he knows that family isn't always blood.”He looked at Gavin and shook his head sadly before adding, “And blood ain't always family,” before turning away.

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