Free The Ranch (Book 1): Troubled Times by Brian Quest Page A

to protect their little sisters.
    The gunfire lasted for only a minute or so, and then there was nothing but silence. Time seemed to move in slow motion, and a few minutes later, Debbie was relieved to hear the bell ring three times, but then quickly realized one scary thought…James knew about ringing the bell three times. What if it was him?
    “Don’t get up, Con. There’s a chance it could be James.”
    Connie hadn’t thought of that, and she was glad her sister did. They stood, guns pointed at the bedroom door. As they stood there, they could hear footsteps on the stairs. It sounded like more than one person, and soon they heard one door after another open and close. The steps drew closer, and then the knob on the bedroom door started to turn and the girls held their breath.
    The door flung open and Andrew stood there, a look of relief on his face. “It’s over, girls.”
    Debbie and Connie let out deep sighs of relief and then Debbie asked, “Is everyone okay?”
    “We’re all fine. You won’t have to worry about James or his friends ever again.”
    Andrew and the guys made it a point never to speak about what happened to the men who threatened to take over the ranch. That decision came easily because they didn’t want the girls to think about anyone else dying in the place where they already had lost their mother. For the time being, Andrew was comfortable knowing that only the guys knew where the four unmarked graves lay, deep in the woods. The girls, however, didn’t seem to want to let the issue go.
    “Where are they, Daddy?” Amy asked.
    “Don’t worry, little one. You are safe now.”
    “But, Daddy, what if they come back? How many were there?”
    “They won’t be coming back.”
    “But,” Amy started, “What if they DO?”
    Andrew couldn’t believe how much his baby girl was growing into a young woman who had so many traits of her mother. He knew he never would be able to get one by her, because she likely would question him to death, just like Sandra used to do. He missed his wife, and it was times like these when he wished she was here. “Baby Girl, we worked really hard to make sure you and your sisters are safe. James won’t be able to ruin that again. He is far away and can’t come back; neither can his friends.”
    Smiling, and hugging his neck, Amy replied, “Okay, Daddy. I love you.”
    “I love you too, Baby Girl.”
    For the next week, things were run quite tightly on the ranch. Winter was coming and there was so much to do to get prepared. They knew they should have begun preparing sooner, but so much had happened in the previous weeks that time seemed to get away from them.
    Andrew could see a noticeable difference when it came to his daughters. Amy and Beth seemed to look to Connie and Debbie more than they used to. They relied on their older sisters for more, and it gave Andrew an incredible feeling knowing that they felt they could count on each other for anything. Connie went from being his fifteen-year- old daughter to taking on the role of a much older, more responsible woman. She really embraced the idea of taking care of her little sisters, and even tried to take better care of the men on the ranch. It was an honor for Andrew to see the transformation. Debbie, after such a horrible ordeal, decided she would learn from the experience and not cower because of it. She stepped up her role as protector of her sisters, and was viewed as more of a mother figure.
    All in all, Andrew was not just proud of his daughters for how they handled the entire situation, but was also proud of his ranch hands, who became more of a family than ever before. Everyone, adults and kids alike, joined together to make life safer, and more enjoyable, and Andrew couldn’t have been prouder. For the time being, he felt good about where life was headed, but knew in the back of his mind that life could change at any moment. Yet he was more prepared than ever to take on any challenge that may come