Page 37 of Tack’s Bounty

Lake walked closer to Jolene, circling her. “May I?” she asked Sophia.

Sophia nodded, though she wasn’t sure what Lake had planned. Lake pulled scissors out of her pocket and cut through Jolene’s blouse and pants, dropping the pieces on the floor until Jolene was in her underwear and shoes.

“Hmm,” Lake said, continuing to walk around Jolene before grabbing her hair, lightning-fast and yanking hard. Jolene screamed, but Sophia realized it couldn’t have hurt too much. Lake was holding a gray-haired wig in her hand with a couple bobby pins hanging from the wig. Jolene had a couple more that were dangling in her hair. Sophia stared, stunned because she couldn’t believe how she’d been deceived.

The door opening had them all turning, with Ruthy pointing a gun at the door.

“Hey, it’s just me. Hear me out, I had an idea for you,” Shield said, sheepishly. The box he had in his hand was practically vibrating.

Sophia stepped away from Jolene and Rufus to listen to Shield’s idea. She chuckled, shaking her head. It was freaking perfect.

“Let’s do it,” she said, winking at Shield. She consciously kept her mouth closed while Shield worked because she didn’t want to ruin the surprise by narrating her thoughts.

Shield cut the clothes off Rufus. He handed the box to Lake for her to keep closed while he opened the small bag he’d brought with him. Removing a butter knife, he opened the jar he’d brought and spread the all-natural peanut butter thinly over Rufus’ thighs, chest, and face, doing the same to Jolene.

“What are you doing?!” Jolene screamed.

Shield kept quiet, continuing to work. After he applied the peanut butter, he took the apples that he’d cut into little pieces, smearing them into the peanut butter to attach them. After the apples, he poured squirrel feed onto the peanut butter until it was covered. He motioned to Lake to help him, and they turned Rufus and Jolene’s chairs so they were facing each other.

He paused, looking at Sophia. “Should we tape this? I hate for the guys to miss it. Plus, what if you need a good laugh sometime?”

Sophia giggled. Shield was so serious about making sure everyone didn’t feel left out.

“You can tape if you want, but we finished Church and realized something was up,” Tack stated, his voice startling her because she hadn’t heard the door open. His arms slipped around her, dropping a kiss on her head. “This is your show. We’d already decided that the next step needed to be yours because Rufus and Jolene had wronged you.”

Sophia breathed a sigh of relief.

“How the hell did you come up with this idea?” Pit questioned Shield.

“I remembered that old Ray Stevens song,” Shield grinned, sweeping his hand to show his handiwork.

“Wait, no, no, no, no. I’ll tell you anything!” Jolene screamed. “I hate squirrels.”

Shield cocked his eyebrow at her, and Sophia nodded, smiling. Shield took the box, tilting it toward their laps as he took off the lid. Four squirrels fell onto their thighs. Jolene and Rufus’ screams were music to her ears. As far as she could tell, the squirrels weren’t even hurting them, except maybe their little claws scraping as they ran. They were scampering across Rufus and Jolene’s thighs and chests, trying to get the apple pieces and the feed.

The Saint’s Outlaws were laughing and calling encouragement to the squirrels.

"We should have tagged the squirrels and bet on who would get the most food,” Justice mused.

“Ouch. That had to hurt,” Stinger said when a squirrel nabbed a piece of feed off of Rufus’ nipple.

Sophia chuckled as the squirrels had Jolene screaming out their plans. Lake had a notebook and was taking notes. After a while, Jolene wasn’t saying anything new and watching the squirrels was getting a little boring. Even though Rufus was now crying with snot running down his face, it wouldn’t bring her parents back. She was glad the threat was neutralized, but the satisfaction she’d thought she’d feel was missing.

“You ready to be done?” Tack asked.

She nodded, leaning against his chest. She was. It had been a long day, and she had a lot to process.

“Shield, collect the squirrels and thanks for the inventive idea. I’m taking my woman to bed,” Tack said, picking her up and carrying her out the door.

The quiet of the night was a welcome reprieve from the yelling and screaming, and being in Tack’s arms had become her safe place.

“I can walk,” she protested, but she hoped he didn’t listen to her.

“You can, but I want to carry you. You’ve had a big day, babe. How about I run us a bath to relax?” he offered, his warm, deep voice settling inside her to remind her that with him, everything would be okay.

“Perfect,” she said, settling against his chest. No matter what life threw at her, Tack would be beside her, keeping her safe and reminding her she was loved and wasn’t alone.

Tack ran the washcloth over Sophia’s arm. Cradling her between his thighs, her hair up in a messy bun and her plush breasts brushing his arms, was perfect. His woman was strong, but she’d had so much thrown at her today.