Jack
I heard the shot and waited for the end, but a moment later, I was still breathing. Maybe Sherif Williams was really that bad of a shot? I opened my eyes and saw the Sherif sprawled out on the ground, his face cratered. I looked behind me, and through the shattered bunkhouse window, I saw the barn. Mr. Bell was still alive.
I turned to Corey, who was still bleeding profusely. He looked pale. “What the hell you look in’ at me for? You ain’t no doctor. Go get Jessica.”
Corey was right. Other than some battlefield medical training, there was little I could do to help. Plus, Corey seemed to already have it under control. He had already formed a makeshift tourniquet with his belt and was busy removing his shirt to clot the wound in his shoulder. I didn’t need to be told twice.
Barefoot and shirtless, I sprinted across the pasture toward the main house. Under normal circumstances, the briars would have torn my feet to shreds, but if they were, I didn’t care. I didn’t care about the burning in my lungs or how close I had come to death. The only thing on my mind was getting to Jessica before it was too late. My heart froze when I heard the blast of a shotgun inside the house. Then a second and third. I found another gear.
When I reached the front porch, I saw the front door was ajar. That meant Jake was already inside. My military training told me I should enter the house cautiously, but fuck that. I wanted that asshole to know I was coming. I lowered my shoulder and blew through the door like a linebacker.
The downstairs was dark and quiet. The shotgun went off again upstairs. I wasn’t waiting. I didn’t know how much time I had left. All I knew was that Jessica needed me right this second.
I bound up the stairs two at a time. I hit the center landing and grasped the handrail, pulling myself around the corner. Before I reached the top, I saw Jake standing next to a closed door that had been splintered with buckshot. He saw me as well. Before I could slow my momentum, he was already taking aim with his pistol and wasted no time firing three shots. One grazed my ribs. I lost my footing and fell onto the wooden floor. I grunted in pain and heard Jessica scream from inside the closed room. I didn’t feel pain. I felt relieved. That meant that she was still okay. Now, I just had to get this asshole before he got me.
Jake fired again, but I rolled away and took cover behind the stairway banister. I tried to count the fired shots in my head. Was it seven? Eight? It didn’t matter. I was sure the pistol held at least ten, and since it didn’t sound like he was reloading, there was only one conclusion. I was fucked. “I told you I’d see ya’ again,” mocked Jake. I could hear his footsteps getting closer. It was just a matter of time before he had a shot at me. I peered through the white balusters. Maybe I could jump? Still, it was a ten-foot drop, and that’s if I didn’t get tagged first. There was still only one conclusion. I was fucked.
***
Jessica
I heard the shots, followed by Jack’s deep growl. I couldn’t stop the scream from escaping my lips. My bedroom door was in tatter, but I still couldn’t see through it. I heard more shots. The fear I felt was indescribable. Jack needed help. Without thinking, I rose to my feet. “Mom, I have to help him,” I pleaded as my mother tried to pull me back down.
“Jessica, we have to stay here.”
“No,” I said defiantly. I was done being afraid. I was done sitting around and waiting for someone to save me. I put my hand on the shotgun. For a moment, I thought my mom would fight me for it, but her grip softened, and I took the weapon in my hands. I gave my mother a nod, and she nodded back.
“I told you I’d see ya’ again.” Hearing Jake’s voice only enraged me further. I quickly crossed my room and pulled my bedroom open. The was a small splitter of red blood on the wall, and Jake was stalking closer to where I assumed Jack had taken cover.
Jake looked to be about six feet away. I put the shotgun into my shoulder and pumped the action. Jake heard the sound, stopping in his tracks and slowly turning his head over his shoulder. “Hey, Jake!” I called out. “Miss me?” I pulled the trigger, and the force of the powder caused my body to rock back. The lead pellet hit Jake square in the chest.
***
“You stole my line.” Jack was sitting next to me in the waiting room at Sacred Heart Medical Center. The doctors had already wrapped gauze and a bandage around his wound. Fortunately, it had been only superficial. He had gotten lucky. We all had—even Corey. The shot to his leg had been the most serious, but even that managed to miss both his femur and femoral artery. Jack and I were waiting to see when he would be released.
“What?” I asked.
“What you told Jake. I was supposed to be the one to deliver the superhero one-liner.”
Jack was smiling at me, and it made my heart melt. In my mind, I had lost him twice that night, and now that he was sitting here next to me, I never wanted to let him out of my sight again. “Well, don’t get shot next time, and maybe you will get your chance,” I said playfully with a wink.
“Next time? Why is there going to be a next time?” Jack laughed.
I shrugged my shoulders a laid my head on his shoulder. Just touching him made me feel light-headed. “You knew I was trouble when you met me.”
“Yeah, I guess I did.” Jack put his arm around me and kissed the top of my head. I felt him pause to take in my fragrance. “You are worth every bit of it.”
Jack put his finger under my chin, lifting my face to meet his, and kissed me deeply. I wished I could freeze time and let that kiss last forever. The perfect ending to how I met the man of my dreams. Little did I know, our story had just begun.
Source: reddit.com/r/Erotica/comments/12vp00h/the_ranch_chapter_14_jack_and_jessica_conclusion