She closed her eyes.
The shot sounded.
Then another.
Wha…?
Her lashes blinked open.
She was…fine?
Bradly.
Her eyes went to where she’d last seen him standing.
He hopefully lay dead in the street, bleeding from one wound to his head, and another to the side of his neck.
She raised her eyes.
Julian, her wonderful Julian looking like an avenging angel, stood down the road, his legs spread apart and his arms up, pointing his weapon directly at the downed Bradly.
Hearing a scuffling foot, Petula turned her head.
Statler also stood in the street, twenty feet away, affecting the identical stance.
It seemed both men had shot at the same time, and both had connected.
They’d save her life.
But…
She looked down and wailed. It was too late for Jefferson.
He gasped his final breath, then lay still.
Petula lowered her head to his chest and wept.
He’d given his life for hers, and she’d always remember that.
He’d been brave. True. And a loving brother to the end.
CHAPTER 30
Petula sobbedon Julian’s shoulder as Jefferson’s ashes were interred.
Statler remained tight-jawed and stoic, but Julian could see that the burial was affecting him, as well.
It was a truly sad occasion. The siblings would never know just how much Jefferson had matured. What theydidhave, was that in the end, he’d truly cared for them.
He was being laid to rest in Julian’s family’s private burial ground, which took up just under a quarter of an acre behind one of the huge lumber barns on the Sothard’s property. The place had been used for family burials since the eighteen-hundreds, and Julian’s parents had kindly put it forth as an option to the Bothswait siblings, who had swiftly and without hesitation, accepted the generous offer.
And as the service got underway, Julian recalled the aftermath of the shooting.
The whole, terrible incident had been heartbreaking.
After the shooting, the police had arrived along with the coroner, and pronounced both Jefferson and Bradly, deceased. Bradly wouldn’t be missed, but Jefferson would.
An investigation into their deaths was underway, which was simple protocol. During that time, both Julian and Statler had been required to turn in their guns, but nobody had any doubts that the conclusions the police reached would completely vindicate them.
