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T imber managed to retrieve two of the bullets, but the others eluded him, at least for the moment.

He needed a metal detector on hand now, but it wasn’t something he could just dredge up out of nowhere, and it wasn’t something he was willing to invest his time or money in when it came down to it, not right now anyway.

He needed his money for other things. He had a pretty decent-size bank account and an investment account as well, but he also had some significant expenses coming up on the property, and that was without the budget for the animals themselves.

It was clear that he would have to step up his plans to take care of his rescue business in a big way, and he never would have imagined that this attack was something he should have planned for.

He was grateful that Tiffany was okay but was also pretty pissed that it happened in the first place, especially while she was here.

He also couldn’t be sure who she told and what she said, but, a few hours later, he got an answer to that, as he watched as yet another vehicle pulled up into his driveway.

He stood here glaring, as Richard got out of the sheriff’s vehicle, and matched him glare for glare. “It would have been nice if it wasn’t Tiffany who called us,” he snapped.

“Would have been nice if you guys had done your jobs and had stopped those punks from coming back out here in the first place.”

Richard stared at him, “Did you really expect me to do that right off the bat?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “All I can tell you is that they were here.”

“But you didn’t get a good-enough look to recognize them, did you?”

He grimaced. “What do you think?”

“I think you have a pretty good idea, but, if push came to shove, you would struggle with lying about seeing the driver.”

Timber crossed his arms. “I’ve pulled some bullets out of the cabin.”

“They really shot up your place?”

“They really shot up my place,” he stated, with a nod. “As far as I’m concerned, that’s a declaration of an all-out war. If they come back, they’ll get the same treatment.”

“Look, buddy. I get it, but please don’t do anything hasty.”

“I’m not doing anything hasty,” Timber declared, glaring at him. “But I am also not taking that shit from anybody.”

Richard winced. “I get it. I hear you. I just wanted to come out and confirm that what Tiffany told me was true.”

“That depends.… What did Tiffany say?”

He glared at his old friend and muttered, “Come on, man. I’m not the enemy here.”

“Neither am I,” Timber spat. “I came here peaceably, and everything’s been fine, until I find trespassers shooting up animals on my land,” he repeated, “and it’s just gone downhill from there. I didn’t start it, but you can damn-well bet I’ll finish it.”

“Jesus Christ, don’t be such a hard-ass,” he roared.

“I’m not being a hard-ass,” Timber countered, “but you better get a handle on this, or I will. Now, if you’ve got nothing else for me, I’ve already lost a bunch of time on this crap.”

“I didn’t even hear what happened,” Richard said, cutting him off. “I need to take a statement from you.”

“Why? At least you came alone this time. Thank you for that.”

He groaned. “I know you didn’t think much of my partner, but Foster isn’t a bad guy.”

“No, but he is somehow related to the little felon who’s running around shooting things up, isn’t he?”

“I’m really hoping that’s not the case,” Richard muttered, raising a hand, “but, if he is, action will have to be taken.”

“Yeah, but it won’t be action fast enough to stop this, will it?”

“It should, yes.”

“ Should ,” Timber repeated, staring at him. “Jesus, don’t tell me the little asshole is related to the judge too.”

“What do you expect? It’s a small town in a rural area.”

“And they’re all okay with this?”

“No. Nobody is okay with it,” Richard replied in frustration, “and I can tell you that Andy will be livid.”

“According to Andy, he’s already livid, but nobody seems to care anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“I suspect, with age, Andy’s already lost any control he had over these people, at least regarding the use of his property,” Timber shared, “and they’ll just keep running roughshod over what they perceive to still be his land and to do what they want regardless.”

“That shouldn’t be happening,” Richard noted, staring at him. “He’s well known and highly respected in this area.”

“I’m sure he is, and I don’t know if the little shit giving me trouble is related to Andy, but I suspect he is, and, either way, he is one entitled and arrogant waste of space.”

Richard winced at that. “Let’s not judge him too harshly just yet.”

Timber stared at him. “Did you have another reason for coming here?”

“Yes, damn it, I need a statement.” Then he quickly pulled out his recorder and said, “Now, tell me what happened.”

It didn’t take much, a few short words as he described what had happened, and then Timber stated, “And that’s it.”

Richard nodded. “That certainly aligns with what Tiffany reported.”

“So, hang on. You thought Tiffany lied?” he asked curiously.

“No, I wasn’t thinking she lied,” Richard said in frustration. “I was just hoping that maybe she got something wrong.”

“It was pretty hard to get anything wrong in this case. And I get that you’ll say they were just out on a lark—”

“No, that’s way past a lark,” he stated, as he stared at his old friend, “and you and I both know it. This is where the danger comes in, and that is something we both know too much about.”

“We also know what happens when bullets start flying,” Timber added, “and neither one of us are up for getting caught by one of those.”

“No, damn it. There have been way too many bullets in both of our lives.”

“Exactly, so if they come back on the property again…” Timber left that sentence hanging.

Richard groaned. “I’m asking you not to kill them.”

“I might not set out to kill them,” Timber began, “but it depends what they’re doing. I will defend my land and the animals on it, and myself if need be.”

Richard sighed, then looked around. “Tiffany mentioned the doe was doing okay.”

“The doe is doing okay, but she has zero trust for man, believe me.”

“No, of course not,” he agreed, with another sigh. “And what was that about her being pregnant? Tiffany said she saw her foal?”

“Yes. She dropped a fawn the very next day after that kid shot her with an arrow.”

“Stupid-ass kids,” he muttered.

“Yeah, they didn’t care though, did they? It’s all about getting out and being big men, shooting things, and killing things for fun,” Timber said, his tone hard.

Richard winced but nodded. “I know, and I get your frustration. Both of us have seen way too much of that shit for real. But we have to remember the younger generation hasn’t gone through the same lessons.”

“No,” Timber agreed in a bored tone of voice. “At the rate they’re going, those are lessons they may not live long enough to learn either.” When Richard just glared at him, Timber laughed. “Just had to add that.”

Richard looked at him with enough relief on his face that Timber realized his friend really was afraid Timber would go off half-cocked.

“Just listen to what I’m saying,” Timber explained.

“I’m not looking for trouble, but they’ve already had their warnings.

If they come back yet again, we’ll have trouble.

I won’t wait and get shot at a second time.

So you deal with them first, or I’ll do it myself.

You might want to tell them personally that’s how I feel about it and that I mean business and have the ability to back it up. ”

Richard winced and then nodded. “Yeah, I hear you.” He walked back toward his truck. “Are you sure you’re staying in town?” he muttered, as he looked over at him.

“I’m staying. I’m putting down roots, good roots,” he stated calmly. “That’s what I need to do for myself. There shouldn’t have been an issue. I’ve just been out here, minding my own business.”

Richard walked over to his vehicle and took one last look around. “What have you got, four or five acres here?”

Timber looked at him, a small smile playing around the corners of his mouth. “I’ve got sixty, looking to get more.”

“Sixty? Jesus, man,” he muttered.

“Animals need space,” Timber pointed out.

“You’re really stuck on the animal thing, huh ?”

“I’m really stuck on the animal thing. Yes, that’s correct.”

Richard looked at him sadly. “I presume that’s due to your lack of love for humans.”

“Let’s just call it an abundance of love for non-humans.”

Richard nodded. “Point taken.” With that, he got into his vehicle and drove off. Timber stared out into the tree line for a long moment, wondering if he should call Tiffany, when his phone rang. He looked down to see it was her.

“I called him,” she admitted right up front. “I don’t know that I should have, but I felt as if somebody needed it.”

“There was a good reason why I wouldn’t,” Timber admitted, “though I did tell you that I would message him.”

“I know, and I’m not sure whether I did the right thing or not, but I called Richard, and I do trust Richard.”

“As it turns out, Richard is the old military buddy of mine,” he shared, “but I also think he’s between a rock and hard place.

Apparently I’ve moved into an area that everybody took to be theirs.

He did ask me how much land I had and was quite surprised when he found out.

I’m hoping for more,” he added, with a chuckle, “but that would put a crimp in my actual budget for fixing up the place.”

“If you accepted help from some people, you might make that happen.”

He snorted.

“Right, back to that whole you don’t like people thing.”

“It’s more than not liking people. It’s more about that kind of thing usually has strings attached.”

“But not always,” she replied. “So maybe get off your high horse and talk to Badger.”

He snorted again. “I suppose you’re good friends with them too.”

“Certainly with Kat anyway,” she shared cheerfully. “We go way back. Even before getting her help with a couple patients.”

“Of course you do,” he muttered, followed by a sigh. “Will I have them interfering now too?”

“Maybe,” she admitted, with a cheerful voice. “If so, you can thank me later.” And, with that, she abruptly ended the call on him.

He stared down at the phone, but instead of being pissed off and angry at somebody else butting into his life, he felt a sense of humor and surprise that she had potentially done something he may not like, yet he found himself not pissed off at her the way he would have expected. And, with that, he got back to work.