Page 83 of Christmas Wish
“Move aside, darlin’, I’ll take care of this.”
Savannah stepped back and noticed the shotgun in Ryder’s hand and a handgun in his waistband. Her stomach pitched.
“What’re you going to do?”
“The fuckers are on my property. They gotta leave one way or the other.” He opened the door and stepped out on the large wrap-around porch. Brutus bolted out and stood in front of the two men, snarling and barking ferociously.
Savanna stepped into the doorway, arms folded, lips pressed together, heart pounding.
“You’re fucking trespassing,” Ryder bellowed as he leveled the shotgun at the two startled men.
Bret held up his hands and shook his head. “We don’t want any trouble. I’ve just come here to talk to my wife.”
“Call your dog off,” the other man said.
“She’s got nothing to say to you, asswipe.” Jerking his head at the private eye, Ryder bared his teeth. “And you don’t tell me what the fuck to do on my property. Now take your goddamn cell phone out and throw it on the ground.” He glared at Bret. “You too, fucker.” Both men complied. “Brutus, stay.” The dog froze, but his eyes remained fixed on the men. “Slowly open your jackets and show me what you got inside.”
“I don’t have a gun, if that’s what you’re asking,” Bret said.
“I’m notaskingshit, I’mtelling. Fucking do it. Now.”
Bret glanced at Savannah, but she stood resolute in the doorway, although inside she was dying, praying that the situation didn’t get out of hand. It was true that she despised Bret, but she didn’t want Ryder to kill him.He wouldn’t do that, would he?
“Toss your piece real slow toward me, and if you do something stupid I’ll blow your fucking brains out,” Ryder said to the private investigator. The man complied.
“I don’t go in for guns. I’d never have one,” Bret said as he held his jacket open widely.
Brutus growled, his bright eyes fixed on her shaking soon-to-be ex-husband.
“Why the fuck do you keep talking? I don’t give a damn what your fucking thoughts are on guns.” Ryder went over to the handgun that was on the ground and picked it up, his gaze never wavering from the two men. He tossed it behind him and it landed with a thud on the wooden porch. Savannah jumped—her frazzled nerves were sparking.
“Savannah said she already talked to you and told you to fuck off. You being on my property tells me you didn’t take her seriously.” Still holding the gun on them, Ryder took a couple of steps backward. “Darlin’, do you wanna talk with this fucker?”
She cleared her throat. “No. Bret, I told you everything I wanted to say at the restaurant. We’re finished. Please leave me alone.”
“You can’t be serious about wanting this uncouth barbarian. The guy has a gun on me. Is that how low you’ve fallen?”
“You’re on his property. You’re bothering me. He’s protecting me—something you never did.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“You never stood up for me once when your mother was so horrible to me. You tried to make me feel like white trash all the time. You threw your mistresses in my face, telling me how much better they were than me. You’re were an awful husband … and father.”
“Can’t we talk about this without having a damn shotgun pointed at me?” Bret said.
“There’s nothing more to talk about,” Savannah said. “I don’t love you anymore. I want a divorce.”
“My mother was right to say I shouldn’t have gone over to the other side of the tracks for a wife. You never fit in—you were always an embarrassment to the family.”
Savannah gripped the wood bannister. “I fit in just fine with the rich world, but you’re right about not fitting in with your family, and I’m glad I don’t. If I did that would mean I’m cruel, cold, and manipulative. I pity you, Bret.”
Bret’s nostrils flared. “You ungrateful bitch!”
In less than two heartbeats, Ryder was on him, punching and kicking him. The goon started to run over, but Brutus rushed toward him and he stopped dead in his tracks then the dog grabbed his pant leg with his teeth.
“Get him off me!” he yelled.
“Brutus!” Savannah yelled. The dog backed away a bit, but he stood erect with eyes fixed on the trespasser, ready to pounce at the slightest provocation. She bent down and picked up the handgun then pointed it at the man who’d scared the hell out of her for the past week. “Stay where you are. It’s their fight, not yours.”
