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“We all know it’s Miss Poppy that has done that. She’s a good woman, and we’re all happy for you. Will we be invited to the wedding?”
Shawn laughed. “Of course. We wouldn’t exclude anyone. It’ll be on the ranch like always.”
“Good, good. Sorry I was late today. My wife wasn’t feeling so good so I had to get the kids off to school. I came in at the same time as that lady person,” Henry said, walking off.
“My mother?” Shawn asked.
“No, no, some pretty little thing. Said she was friends with Poppy. Sounded important.”
Something twisted inside Shawn’s gut.
Turning his horse back toward his home, he kicked his legs and the horse took off. There wasn’t a single person who’d visit Poppy at the ranch. The only person who’d even try would be Mrs. Bunt, but he wouldn’t describe her as a “pretty little thing.”
When he was near to the house he didn’t want to cause a stir. Putting the reins onto the fence, Shawn rushed across the backyard.
He heard screaming, and he saw Sarah’s car parked in the driveway.
“They’re mine. You have no right to them.”
“Sarah, what the hell is going on?” Poppy asked.
Shawn went on high alert. In the distance, he heard the sound of horse’s hooves. Casey and Parker were heading toward them.
When they were close enough he signaled for them to stop.
“What is it?” Casey asked.
Shawn didn’t need to say another word as Sarah’s crazy rant came through. “They’re all mine. I’m the one that they’re going to pick. Not your dirty trailer trash ass!”
“I’ll go to the front. You stay here. Parker, get on the phone. Call the sheriff.” Casey went off, and Shawn slowly began to approach the house.
There was blood coming from Poppy’s nose, and she looked scared. Sarah had a gun aimed at her head.
“What do you want me to do, Sarah? I love them.”
“No, you don’t love them. You’re using them. You don’t know how to love. You’re disgusting. Filth. Pure fucking filth. I’m the only one they want, and they should have realized that I was the one for them.”
“What’s going on here?” Casey asked, entering the room. He looked at Sarah, and then at Poppy.
Shawn didn’t like this. He couldn’t make himself known. Sarah had a gun in her hand, and it was trained on his brother and on his best friend, the love of his life. He couldn’t lose anyone.
Taking small steps, he kept on moving, being sure to not make a sound, which was next to impossible to do.
“Casey, can’t you see she’s no good for you? The people in town are talking, and you and I both know you’re better than that.”
“Then let’s go out and talk about this. We can figure out what’s wrong and hopefully no one gets hurt.”
For a split second, Shawn thought she was going to go, that she was going to follow Casey out.
“No, you can talk to me right here, right now. Tell her that you love me. Tell her that you made a mistake.”
“I talked to Ben, Sarah. He said that he caught you hurting a cat many years ago. Did he lie?”
“They’re animals. Disgusting creatures that don’t deserve to walk the earth. They spread disease and cause death. You don’t want that, do you?”
“Did you kill my cows?” Casey asked.
“No one would listen. I told them that I’d be the woman of this ranch one day. No one would listen. I know how to handle everything. No one else.”
She was crazy. There was no other word for it. She’d created an illusion of herself, and thought that she was going to be their love.
“But I see now that you’re never going to see the truth. Not with that whore between us, making you do things that aren’t right. She doesn’t deserve to be here anyway. She’s filth just like those damn animals. Spreading her horrid diseases.”
Shawn saw she was getting angrier with every passing second. He couldn’t risk their lives. Making a decision to strike, he moved up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her waist.
The gun went off as he took her to the ground. His heart raced as he heard a cry. He held Sarah down, keeping her steady as he looked up. “Anyone hurt?”
He looked at Poppy, then at Casey, and then at Poppy again.
“She shot our sofa,” Casey said.
Just then, the sound of sirens filled the air, and Shawn breathed a sigh of relief.
****
“The sheriff got a call about a suspicious smell out at Sarah’s place. Her neighbor said it was stinking the place up. When he got there, he found all kinds of rotting animal corpses that she’d been playing around with,” Parker said, moving outside to take the spare seat on the bench.
Poppy shuddered. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, and he took her hands, offering her comfort with his touch.
