Free See Bride Run! by Unknown Page B

flailed her arms and finally grabbed a handful of his hair. Sam let a few obscenities fly before he realized someone had pulled up behind them. He turned but was blinded by headlights. He blinked several times before he realized it was the highway patrol.
    “Dammit to hell, Annie, look, what you’ve done now.” He heard the door open and close, was barely able to make out the silhouette of a patrolman.
    “What’s going on here?” the uniformed man said.
    Annie continued to pummel Sam in the back but glanced around at the sound of another’s voice. “Oh, Officer, thank God you’re here. I’m being abducted.”
    “Abducted, huh?” The patrolman spit what looked like a wad of chewing tobacco on the ground, and Annie wondered if everybody in Pinckney chewed it. “Well, we don’t put up with the likes of that in Pinckney, Georgia ma’am.” He reached for his gun. “I reckon I don’t have any choice but to shoot him.”

Chapter Four
    I n disbelief, Annie watched the patrolman pull his gun out of the holster and aim it at Sam. She screamed. “No, wait!”
    “Put her down, pal,” the armed man said. “I’m warning you, I got this sucker aimed right for your goozle.”
    Sam sighed heavily and dropped Annie to the ground. She landed in a heap.
    “Now move away, lady, so I can finish him off.”
    “Officer, please let me explain,” Annie cried, crawling along the gravel as fast as she could. She pulled herself up by the man’s pants leg. “He, uh, Mr. Ballard here, was only offering me a ride. I was lying about being abducted.”
    “He probably told you to say that, didn’t he?” The patrolman pushed her aside. “You need to turn your head, miss. I’ve done this sort of thing before, and it ain’t a pretty sight.”
    “Oh, my God, no!” Annie threw herself in front of Sam, acting as a shield.
    Sam stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, the lines in his face tense, as if holding himself in check while Annie sobbed and carried on like a character in a bad soap opera. “Okay, Buster, you’ve had your fun. I’d like to go home now.”
    The other man chuckled and stuck his revolver back in its holster. “Listen, Sambo, you’re going to have to learn to start charming the ladies a little better. You can’t just throw a woman over your shoulder like a sack of taters and haul her off. You have to buy them flowers and candy and—” He paused and looked around as though wanting to make sure they weren’t overheard. “You might have to write a few lines of poetry. It don’t matter if it don’t rhyme.”
    Annie’s head swiveled from side to side. “Excuse me, but do you two know each other?”
    Sam looked at her. “This is Johnny Ballard, my cousin. Folks call him Buster. He’s a real prankster.”
    “So all this was just a big joke at my expense,” she said. She glared at Sam. “You let me grovel and beg for your life like some idiot nutcase. How dare you!”
    A car screeched to a halt, and Darla jumped out and came running. She looked panicked. “What’s wrong? Is somebody hurt?”
    “Well, now, ain’t you a sight for sore eyes,” Buster said. “Why don’t you and me go for a spin in my patrol car. I’ll even let you play with my siren.”
    “Annie, what’s going on?” Darla asked.
    Annie tried to explain everything that had happened since she’d last seen her friend. It was all she could do to get the words out, what with her stammering and sputtering. Her heart was still racing.
    “Didn’t the bartender give you my message?” Darla asked. “Hank needed cigarettes. I told the bartender to tell you I was going to the convenience store not far from here, and that I’d be right back. Only, I didn’t know Hank was going to hang around and look at dirty magazines.”
    “Would you please take me home?” Annie asked, realizing that she was trembling. “You’re welcome to go back to Ernie’s and stay as long as you like, but I’m exhausted.”
    “Sure, honey. We