She nodded and took his hand. As they walked back to the house, he thought he heard something rustling in the bushes. “Who’s there?” When there was no answer, he rushed Eileen to the back door and pushed her inside.
It might be one of his friends who dared him to lift Mr. Stanton’s wallet. He sidled to the shrubs. “Joe?” he whispered.
But a hand much larger than Joe’s grabbed his arm. “Where are the dollars?” a harsh voice growled.
“I don’t have any dollars.” In trying to tug his arm away, Jed fell against the fellow, and the tight grip loosened enough that he was able to tug free and run for the house. He stumbled inside, then jumped up and threw the dead bolt.
The acrid taste of fear clung to his tongue. If only Dad were still alive. He’d know what to do with the danger that drew closer every minute. Jed wanted to go to his cot and cover his head, but he wasn’t a little kid anymore. Lucy and Eileen needed him to figure out what to do.
He turned back toward the window. Something moved at the edge of the outhouse, but he couldn’t see in the gloom. And it didn’t matter. Nothing on earth would make him go out there again.
The story continues in
Blue Moon Promise
by COLLEEN COBLE
Also by Colleen Coble
A novella included in Smitten
Under Texas Stars novels
Blue Moon Promise
The Lonestar Novels
Lonstar Sanctuary
Lonestar Secrets
Lonestar Homecoming
Lonestar Angel
The Mercy Falls series
The Lightkeeper’s Daughter
The Lightkeeper’s Bride
The Rock Harbor series
Without a Trace
Beyond a Doubt
Into the Deep
Cry in the Night
The Aloha Reef series
Distant Echoes
Black Sands
Dangerous Depths
Alaska Twilight
Fire Dancer
Midnight Sea
Abomination
Anathema
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
RITA finalist Colleen Coble is the author of several best-selling romantic suspense series, including the Mercy Falls series, the Lonestar series, and the Rock Harbor series. She lives with her husband, Dave, in Indiana.