Pearl River Junction: The Sons of Daniel Shaye

53

An arm snaked around James’s neck from behind and was tightened with such strength that James could not breathe.

“You stay away from her!” a voice said urgently into his ear.

James couldn’t make a sound and suddenly his feet were not touching the ground and it was as if he were hanging from a gallows. He grabbed at the arm that was strangling him, but it was too large and strong for him to dislodge. Finally, he started to reach for his gun when the man abruptly released him, letting him drop to the ground, and he became aware that someone was talking to him…

Thomas knew he should have stepped in sooner, but there was still no weapon being used. However, he eventually closed the distance between himself and the man who was strangling his brother and jammed his gun into the man’s back.

“Let him go or I’ll blow out your spine!” he hissed.

The man released James, who fell to the ground.

“Just stand still,” he told the man. “James, you okay?”

“Jesus—” James said, getting to his knees. “I couldn’t breathe.”

“I saw that,” Thomas said. “Get to your feet.”

The other man was not making a sound, just standing there. He was a big man, as tall as Thomas, but with more girth. Not as big as their brother Matthew had been, though.

James staggered to his feet and turned to look at his brother and his attacker.

“What the hell—” he said to the man.

“You stay away from Belinda,” the man said, again.

“Let’s take this somewhere else so we don’t attract attention from the house,” Thomas said. “You live in town?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, you’re gonna take us home with you.”

“I ain’t gonna—” the man started, but Thomas jabbed him in the back with his gun even harder.

“I’ll take you to my shop.”

“Okay,” Thomas said, “get to walkin’ then. James?”

“Right.” James took one last look at the sheriff’s house and fell into step behind his brother and the other man.

They had to walk all the way through town, almost to the livery, before they reached the man’s hardware store. He used a key to open the front door and they all went in. James found a lamp and lit it.

“Let’s find a seat for that gent that ain’t near any hammers or pry bars,” Thomas said.

James looked around and found a chair. He set it in the center of the floor and they made the man sit there, out of reach of any potential weapons.

“Now what’s your name?” Thomas asked, still holding his gun.

“Alvin Simon,” the man muttered.

Simon was in his late twenties, it looked, about Thomas’s age. He had dirty blond hair and was powerful through the chest and shoulders. He also had very large hands. The size of his torso made his legs look too short for him.

“And you own this store?”

“Yes.”

“Why were you tryin’ to kill me?” James demanded.

“Wasn’t tryin’ to kill you.”

“It sure felt like it.”

“I was…mad,” Simon said. “I lost my head.”

“Why?”

“You were with Belinda.”

“So?”

The man stuck out his jaw and said, “She’s my woman.”

“Is that right?” Thomas asked. “Does she know that?”

“Of course she does!” the man said. “We’re in love.”

Thomas and James exchanged a look.

“How long has this been goin’ on?” Thomas asked.

“About six months.”

So it wasn’t possible that this man was the father of her baby.

“So you were followin’ her tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“And you saw her with my brother and got mad.”

“Yeah.”

“Why?” James asked. “We were only talkin’. We had supper and we talked.”

“She kissed you!” the man accused.

“That was just…that was nothin’,” James said angrily. “Sure wasn’t enough for you to try to strangle me to death!”

“Settle down,” Thomas said.

“‘Settle down’?” James repeated. “He damn near killed me. He woulda killed me if you hadn’t…what were you doin’ there?”

“I happened to see you two leavin’ the café and him followin’ behind you, so I followed too.”

“So you were there the whole time, outside the house?”

“Yes.”

“And it took you that long to get him to let me go?”

“He never woulda sneaked up on you if you didn’t have your head in the clouds, James,” Thomas said. He hadn’t planned on berating his brother in front of Simon, but James opened the door. “And another thing. You let that gal hang on to your gun arm the whole time. You’re double lucky you ain’t dead right now!”

James glared at his brother, then switched his glare to the man that deserved it and kept quiet…because Thomas was right, damn him.