“Fenton you have a visitor,” Agnes Hardy said to her son the next morning, after Gertrude had already left for work.

Fenton was feeling much better today, and was sitting up in the living room. He turned his head to see who was there, and was shocked to see Paul.

“Paul!” he said, and then struggled to get up, but the teen quickly crossed the distance between them and stopped him by sitting down next to him.  “No, Fenton. Don’t get up.”

“I’m okay,” Fenton assured him, “Your father does good work.”

“Yeah, you look fine,” Paul said taking in his pallor. While he was making a remarkable recovery, Fenton was still a bit weak and pale.

“Would you like a coffee?” Mrs. Hardy offered, but Paul politely declined, flashing her a charming smile.

“No thank you, ma’am, coffee makes me hyper. But I’ll take a glass of water, if I could.”

Pleased with his politeness, she quickly gave him a cold glass, which he thanked her for. And then he looked at Fenton, whom he knew was curious about what would have put Paul on his doorstep.

“Fenton, I think we need to talk – about Laura.”

“Well Agnes, I think that is our cue to beat a hasty retreat,” Francis Hardy said, putting his newspaper down and standing up.  “Fenton, we’re just going by the store to pick up some stuff. We’ll be back in about an hour.”

“Okay Dad, thanks,” Fenton said, and then waited until his parents had gone for Paul to say any more.

“She can’t be a cop’s wife,” Paul said bluntly.  “She took one look at you all shot-up, and knew she couldn’t spend the rest of her life waiting for it to happen again. And wondering each day if that was going to be the one she’d get the call that you had been killed in the line of duty.”

Fenton was shocked, and Paul continued, “She does love you, Fenton, and so she pulled away. She would never ask you to choose between her and being a cop…but I will.”

Paul finished, “If you really do love my sister and want to marry her, then you’ll quit the police force.”

“And do what?” Fenton asked, when the teenager finished speaking.

“Huh?” Paul wasn’t sure what Fenton had asked.

The cop said quietly, “Quit the police force to do what?”

“I don’t know,” Paul shrugged, “Not get shot?”

Fenton smiled at that, and then sighed and leaned back against the couch.  “I do love your sister, but if I’m not a cop, then I don’t know what else I can be. My granddad was a cop…my dad was a cop, and it’s never occurred to me that I would be anything else but a cop.”

Paul sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly.  “You gotta do what you gotta do. I’m only here because you deserved an explanation. And now that you have it, the ball is back in your court, Fenton.”

Standing up, Paul looked down at the dark-haired man, “Either way, Fenton you’re a good guy, and I’m glad I got a chance to know you.”

And then the blond-haired teenager let himself out of the apartment, leaving Fenton grim-faced and undecided.

He did love Laura…but he was a cop….

* * *

Laura Scott had finally had as much as she could take of being in her room – she had to get out.

So, quickly pulling on a pair of jeans and a light sweater, she ran a brush through her hair and then headed downstairs. She felt like going for a ride this morning.

She had heard Paul leave over an hour earlier, and wondered where he had gone. Very close, they normally kept good track of each other’s comings and goings, so she was a bit anxious that he was gone somewhere without telling her first.

Fenton.

She pushed all thoughts of him out of her head, although she had a nagging feeling that Paul’s errand had to do with that officer.

“It had better not have,” she muttered as she walked into the stable and inhaled the sweet smell of fresh hay mixed with horse, “I’ll have to kill you if you did,” she finished, and then spent a few minutes greeting each of the horses before leading the gray horse out of its stall.

She’d ride Apple today.

* * *

The man’s head jerked up as he saw the girl for the first time in four days now. She’d just gone to the large barn out behind the house.

He had already seen the boy leave earlier, and he grinned, well, well, looks like today is going to be my lucky day….

* * *

Paul pulled the truck up in front of the house and got out.  He had thought about his sister and Fenton all the way back, and hoped Fenton would make the right decision.  Although honestly, he had no idea what the right decision was. He tried to put himself in Fenton’s place, and wondered what he would do if Gwynne ever asked him to give up riding for her.

But then, shaking his head, he knew that this was different. For one thing, although he cared deeply for his girlfriend – he knew he didn’t love her, not yet, anyway.

Tall, with long black hair and big doe eyes, Gwynne was beautiful, but a bit headstrong; and sometimes Paul just tired of butting heads with her over every little thing.

“Larry, I’m home!” he yelled out when he got in the house.  ”I’m taking Grace out for a bit!” And then he went out towards the stable.

* * *

The man snuck into the barn and watched the girl starting to put a saddle on a large gray horse.  He held the rag in his hand and knew exactly what he had to do.

Quickly he moved towards her but she turned at the last moment.  “Wha—“

He shoved the cloth at her face, but Laura managed to duck, surprise turning to fear as she felt the stranger grab her and try to get the cloth on her face again.

“NOO!” she managed to scream as she brought up her knee and nailed him in the groin. When he doubled over, cursing at her, Laura crawled under Apple’s stomach, lurched to her feet and started running towards the back of the stable.

“STOP!” the man managed, recovering and pulling out a small handgun. He didn’t even take aim; he just fired in the direction of the retreating girl.

And then he was hit from behind –

* * *

Paul heard Laura scream, and ran the last couple of feet into the stable. When he saw a strange man point a gun at his running sister, he didn’t even think of himself, he just dived at him.

The shot went off just as Paul hit the guy knocking him to the ground.

“RUN, LARRY!” he yelled as he wrestled with the man while trying to keep the gun from being pointed at himself.

* * *

Laura heard the bullet as it thunked harmlessly into the side of a stall. She heard Paul yelling at her, and glanced back, momentarily paralyzed when she saw her brother wrestling with her attempted abductor.

She held Paul’s vibrant gaze for one intense moment, and then she heard him yell, “GO! CALL 911!” and she ran.

The girl never had any doubts in her mind that her brother could take the other guy – if she had, she never would have left him….Never.

Paul was strong.

But there was one thing she never knew – the other guy was stronger. 

And with one mighty yank, the kidnapper pulled his gun free, raised it back, and the last thing Paul thought before his world went black was… Run Laura, run…