~There's a New Sheriff in Town~

Chapter 7

AN: I'm still happily floating down the river d'Nile...


Andy could tell by the tone of her voice that she was frustrated, but then again, so was he. Unlike her, he didn't take it out on the person next to him. He wasn't going to let her do that to him, even if she was the sheriff. Shaking his head hard, he whispered as loud as he dared, "Oh, no this isn't my fault. I have nothing to do with this." He waved his hand around indicating the quandary they were in. "You… now let me repeat that again, you basically lead us to this part of my land. You can take the blame this time. Every problem we are having is because of you!"

Sharon whipped her head toward him to complain but stopped herself. She reeled in her anger, unlike him, and thought for a moment. "Andy, you are right about that." He looked at her stunned. She could tell it caught him off guard that she agreed with him. She thought over what was happening and explained, "only a few people know that you went home early this morning and that I came out here to question you."

Not catching on to her train of thought, he asked, "Yeah? Yeah. So…"

"How did your shooter know that we would be here?" Sharon asked him accusatorily.

"That's a very good question. When you think about it, these young men seem to know quite a lot our where-a-bouts." It took a few seconds to sink in but suddenly Andy didn't like her tone. He couldn't believe she thought the situation they were in was his fault. Ok, so some of it was but still, his temper rose. He clenched his jaw, and looked at her hard as he gritted out, "I know what you're thinking and all I have to say is that, did you think that maybe they followed you out here?"

She paused, taken back by his gruff attitude. Sharon pointed at herself as she questioned him, "me? You think I brought them here? They are probably your friends that you double-crossed. Oh, and I can blame you if I want to. You can't tell me what to think. I can blame you for…" another bullet whizzed by, putting a stop to her tirade.

He mood lighten at the shocked look on her face. Knowing he was right, he smirked as he said, "Seems to me that every time you move or raise your voice we get shot at. Sooo as I said..."

She interrupted him, "Is that your way of telling me to shut up?"

"No, I would never say that." He added softly, "besides I like the sound of your voice." Andy sat down next to her with his back against the dirt incline. He kept one leg stretched out in front of him and the other was leaning on the heel of his boot bent towards his chest. In a smooth slow move, he slid off his hat and set in on his knee as he said in a low voice, "just maybe from now on when you scold me, keep it down."

She offered no reply. They sat in the quiet for a while before Andy suggested, "I think we might have to bunk down here. We should probably scoot closer to each other to stay safe and to share body heat. You know… to keep warm." At the death glare he received, Andy explained, "it can be freezing at night."

Sharon scowled at him, "it's been over 100 degrees today." She was exaggerating like Andy was earlier about the temperature.

He shrugged and ignored her displeased look. "You think I'm kidding?" He asked.

With a roll of her eyes, she stated, "I'm not staying out here all night with you and I am definitely not sharing body heat or anything else with you either."

"I don't think you'll have a choice if this takes much longer." From what he had learned of her so far, Andy knew his comment wasn't going to go over well, but there was something about her when she got worked up. It was that spark that kept him risking his life to light that fire within her, even if was just anger for him, for now.

She didn't like the feeling of not being in control. As her temper rose, she pointed a finger at him and declared, "There is always a choice. I happened to think if we…" There was another shot nearby her, causing Sharon to jump this time. "Ugh, why do they keep aiming at my side?"

Andy muttered under his breath, "I can only imagine."

"That's not funny! Why aren't you doing anything about this?" she practically hissed.

He yawned then laid his head back saying, "Oh, I am. They know we are armed, so they won't venture much closer until we are out of ammo or freeze to death."

She almost laughed at Andy latest attempt. "Nice try, but I am not sitting any closer to you." Sharon shrugged saying, "besides it's not that cold."

"Yet." He tapped her leg with his hat that he took off his knee, before placing back on his head, leaving it low, just over his eyes. "Might as well get comfortable. It could be some time before Nolan and our rescue party gets here." Andy smiled as he heard her let out a long sigh. He finally suggested, "with dusk setting in, whoever is shooting is aiming wildly. I don't think they can see us. If we stay still and be quiet, they'll think they killed us and either give up or they will to come to make sure."

"Whoever? Seriously, you are going with that?" Sharon asked in disbelief. "You know darn well who it is. Don't you think it would be easier for you to explain it all to me? I'd like to know what we are up against and if I can trust you aren't actually the outlaw who deserves to be shot?" When she saw him start to say something, Sharon quickly continued, "No more twenty questions or me answering any of yours. Tell me who's out there trying to kill you and now me. Don't even try and say you don't know."

Andy rubbed his neck as he thought about telling her. It didn't matter that he tried to keep her out of this mess, somehow the beautiful lady sheriff was smack dab in the middle of it. As he sucked in a deep breath and drew up some courage to face her, he tilted his head up and met her not so happy glare. Even in the low light, he couldn't miss what her eyes told him. That and seeing her hand on the butt-end of her gun convinced Andy that he needed to explain now, or she'd be his biggest threat, not the dirtbag out there with bad aim. He had an idea she was a much better shot. "Ok ok, I'll tell you everything, just don't shoot me first or even after I tell you, deal?"

With a shrug, Sharon said, "I can't make any promises." She couldn't help the slight grin that escaped at Andy's surprised look. "Fine, deal; I won't shoot you, yet, but I reserve the right to shoot if I feel you are lying to me."

"Sounds fair enough. Why not relax for a little bit?" After receiving another look, he patted the ground next to him then waited patiently until Sharon sat next to him. "Remember when I quickly mentioned that my brother was in jail?" When she nodded Andy continued to explain, "Well, he managed to get word to me that there was another prisoner that wanted me dead."

"Why, would anyone want to kill you? Except for the obvious reasons." Sharon gave him a half smile.

It was Andy's turn to glare at her. "Funny. We found out that he tracked my family history to the ranch."

"Was this where the bait and trap come in? So, you are the bait." When he didn't answer Sharon asked concerned, "Was that the guy who shot you and is he the one shooting at us now?"

"No and no." He answered frankly.

Sharon countered by asking, "How can you be so sure?"

"Oh, I am sure. I put two bullets in the son-of-a …" He stopped himself and went with something less harsh, "I double tapped the asshole who shot me, so he couldn't have gone far." Seeing her eyes narrow, he shrugged innocently. He wasn't apologizing for his language and he wasn't going to waste what little energy he had to go looking for the guy that bushwhacked him. Andy finished, "We do know from my brother that my attacker was working for the guy in jail and he still wants me dead. The proof of which is the shooter aiming at us out there. Also, we did find out that the moron that ambushed me on my way back to my ranch name was Bobby Harris." When she gave him a questioning look he shrugged, "Never heard of him, but do know he couldn't have been too bright to bring a knife to a gun fight.

"What?" Sharon asked surprised. Suddenly a shot sprayed more dust by her side of their shelter, this time she didn't flinch. She just lowered her voice and continued, "You never mentioned a knife."

With a lopsided smile he said, "Well, you didn't ask."

She rolled her eyes before saying, "You left the doctor's office before I could question you and you haven't been very forthcoming with what happened that night. I'm asking now and don't hold back any more information."

He shrugged and reluctantly agreed, "umm, that's true. We had a bit of a scuffle and he might have gotten me a little." Andy lifted his shirt to show her a bandage wrapped around his torso and there was a red stain seeping through the gauze on his right side below his ribs. He watched as Sharon moved closer and tenderly laid her fingers on the irritated skin above the covered cut. He sucked in a breath at her cool touch and didn't breathe again until she stopped stroking his skin. She must have realized what she was doing because she pulled her hand away and quickly sat up straight. He then pulled his shirt down and they both let out a soft sigh. When she finally looked up to meet his eyes, he could see the concern and he let her know, "it didn't hurt. I mean, your touch didn't hurt, if that's what you think." His voice was deeper than usual.

"There was so much blood when I found you, but I assumed it was only your shoulder. From the size of the bandage, you must have gotten over thirty stitches in your side alone. Why didn't you tell me you were hurt there too?" Sharon leaned back to put some space between them. She needed to figure things out and to control the sudden surge of heat that ran through her.

He saw that she was taking a minute to slip back into sheriff mode, but he wanted to keep Sharon here. He jokingly said, "I think I pulled a few of the stitches Doc. Morales put in me when you grabbed me and threw me to the ground."

"Hmmm, I was trying to protect you." Getting her thoughts back on track, she concluded, "So, let me get this right. Not only were you shot last night, you first were ambushed, attacked in a fight and you were stabbed?" He lifted his good shoulder nonchalantly. At his no big deal attitude, she let out a laugh, then quickly covered her mouth with her hand, but it wasn't quick enough to stop the sound from echoing through the air. They both sat stone still and waited. They weren't disappointed, the bullet hit a half a foot from where she sat. Once it was silent around them again, Sharon turned back to Andy and said softly, "What I was going to say before we were rudely interrupted, I suppose you'd say, you should see the other guy."

Andy let out a muffled laugh, "well, yeah. I think I got the better end of the deal." It didn't go unnoticed by him that she was already getting to know him and how he thought. "The way I think it went down was that it must have been his partner, the one that's who is shooting at us now, that shot me after I fought off Bobby. Because Dead Bob didn't have a gun and was in no shape to fire one the last I saw him. The other idiot must have thought he had done me in then left." He paused then whispered, "What a lucky scoundrel I am that a beautiful sheriff came to my rescue." He gave her a wink.

"It was your horse that saved you." Sharon in return gave him a frown, but her insides warmed at his comment and she felt her face go flush. She knew Andy Flynn was a natural charmer and she shouldn't let him get to her. She was sure he flirted with every woman he encountered. She couldn't help the tremble that went all through her and settled in her core.

Even in the fading light of day, he saw the slight blush on her cheeks and her body shiver. He decided he liked how he affected the tough Sheriff Raydor. Though he wasn't sure if it was him or the change in the weather that was the source of her shiver, he stated, "I know you are colder than you are letting on. Your fingers were chilled when you touched me." When her face grew stern, Andy grew bolder. He kept his voice low as he spoke, "it's ok. You can admit you're freezing, just move over here and I'll happily warm you up."

She didn't move or acknowledge what he had said. Since she had come to know Andy's personality more, she was curious to know something. So, keeping her down as to not draw the gunman's attention again, she asked, "Hmmm, so this person that has basically put a hit out on you, did you assault, threaten or irate him in any way?"

Andy rubbed the back of his neck again before saying, "um, well, I told him when he went to jail, I know he killed the undercover informant and I would dedicate my life to proving it."

Her brain clicked into high gear when she heard about this informant. She wanted to know who it was and who he was working for, but she'd let that go for now. She did know this man couldn't just let things go, especially with a criminal. He would have to have the last word and if it annoyed the guy, even better. Sharon shook her head as she asked, "then what did you do?" As she talked, she subtly edged closer to Andy. Sharon scooted slowly on the ground and shortened her proximity to him all the while hoping he didn't realize it. She really didn't want to admit he was right, but she was cold and in need of some of his body heat to stay warm. The nearer she got to him she could feel that he was like a furnace. She wondered, how he put off so much heat? She knew exactly how he caused her blood to flow hotter and faster and she was feeling it all the way to her toes.

"Umm, I don't know something else came up. I didn't realize he was holding a grudge after all these years." He adjusted his hat and leaned back to see her better. He needed to read her eyes to see if she trusted that what he was saying was actually legit. Andy knew it would take only the truth for this inquisitive, highly intelligent, beautiful sheriff to accept what he said, or she would see right through him if he was less than honest. Then she would probably shoot him. Andy didn't let on that he noticed Sharon had closed the distance between them. He kept talking as she inched closer. He thought it was cute that she thought he wasn't aware that she maneuvered to be beside him. It was just enough to have their shoulders and thighs touch, but it was enough to cause his pulse to race. It wasn't easy to keep the conversation going without showing any reaction. He hoped she couldn't feel hi quickened heartbeat or especially tell the tightness of his pants. He was sure that would get him shot on the spot. Not to mention what would happen if she knew what he was thinking. He stared at her sensuous kissable lips and wondered what they would feel like against his.

She listened intensely as he talked. Her instincts told her that he was being forthright and genuine. Sharon believed what he was saying, though she still had a lot of questions. "So, who is the person wanting you dead and why? More importantly, who is this we you keep talking about?"

Andy stammered a moment, relieved she didn't notice he had been lost in inappropriate, though most pleasurable, thoughts. Just when he was ready to explain the we, and who, they both heard the sound of thunder, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky. With a peak around their shelter, they realized that the sound was horses galloping toward them. Sharon didn't know if they were friend or foe from this distance. They hadn't been shot at for a while, so she knew the time was now. She was a take action kind of woman and wasn't going down without a fight. She certainly wasn't going to just sit there and wait with their guns drawn for whoever came around the bend. Besides, she didn't want the guy trying to kill them to have accomplices ride in and lower their odds of making it out alive. They would be outnumbered, there was no way she and Andy could win unless they had some leverage. She planned on using the shooter for that.

As she looked away from the approaching dust cloud, she noticed the gunman who was shooting at them earlier was loading a bag with something over where Bill and Laura had been standing. He was now hurrying to his own horse and not wanting him to get away, she turned and nodded at Andy. Then she quickly stood up and cautiously approached the man running. Sharon raised her gun level with him and firmly commanded, "drop the bag! Put your hands in the air!"

It took Andy a bit longer to stand up since he wasn't aware of the plan going on in Sharon's mind. Surprised when she jumped and ran, he quickly as he could got to his feet, flexed his stiff joints and made his way over to her. At the sight in front of him, he couldn't help but call out, "Sharon, stop!" Andy's heart missed a beat as he watched the confrontation before him.

There was complete silence except for the horses bearing down on them. It was as if the world stopped spinning in anticipation of what was going to happen. There was no breeze, no birds or animals calling out to each other. Andy wasn't even sure either he or Sharon was breathing.

When the riders closed in, without taking his eyes off of her, Andy held a hand up to slow them down, though he wasn't sure they would follow his unspoken command. They honestly weren't his biggest concern right now. The woman staring down a possible killer was. He quickly stepped a few paces to stand beside her. Andy saw the dirtbag's eyes twitch back and forth between him and Sharon, who hadn't moved an inch. When his hand flinched toward the gun on his hip, Andy instinctively stepped in front of her.

As the showdown built up among the three of them, the pounding of hooves on the gravel trail grew louder, causing Sharon to tense. She held her stance, digging her boot heels into the rocks under her feet as she tightened her grip on her gun. She wanted the man in custody before his friends arrived, but she also didn't want to have to shoot him to do it. If there was any way possible, she wanted to have a peaceful outcome. Frankly, she was tired of bullets. She had heard Andy call out to her. She was putting her faith in him that he wasn't trying to stop her because this was his partner she had in her sights. She had believed him and wanted to keep believing that he told her the truth.

As the dust billowed around them, she heard the expelling deep breaths from the posse of horses that were now standing right behind her. Sharon knew it was too late for a calm resolve and called out again, "put down your weapon or I'll shoot!" She let out a low growl when Andy pulled what he thought was a chivalrous heroic act by blocking her, but she wasn't going to have any of that. She didn't need anyone protecting her, she was the sheriff after all. With a huff, she took one side step and two ahead to put her alongside him. With her onward movements, the guy took it as an aggressive sign and lifted his six-shooter from its holster.

Just then, the sound of multiple guns cocking filled the air. Andy heard Sharon gasp and with him being so close to her, he felt her stiffen at the dangerous echoes coming from behind them.

She felt the hot exhale of the horses wafting through her hair and across her neck. It caused a shiver to run down her spine. She reinforced her stance. Without taking her eyes off the man with a gun aimed at her, she refused to budge. Sharon was sure she was a faster shot and she was about to bet her life on it. Even being surrounded wasn't going to stop her from doing her job.

With a deep inhale to steady herself, she tried to focus her overthinking mind. What crept into her thoughts was doubt, fear, and mostly the need to trust what Andy told her earlier was the truth. She was starting to second guess everything she had done since she became acquainted with him. What happened next would give her an answer.

~TBC~


A thank you to lissianne for trying to catch all my errors and for sprinkling in her creative magical words.

Thank you for reading my AU fic and for the follows, favorites, and reviews. I really truly appreciate them.