My Knight

Chapter 2

"Thanks Ryan, start looking around, see if we can find anyone that'll fit what we are looking for. Keep the search on the down low, I don't want to tip our hand." Ryan nods standing up stretching his arms up.

"Not a problem, by the end of next week we should have names. After the wedding we will be able to take a ride out and deal with the measures." I nod at his words, rubbing at the back of my neck.

"That works. Have a good night, I'll see you in the morning." He walks out of my office, shutting the door once more, the soft creaking of the fan is the only sound that can be heard. Leaving me to my thoughts, that's one dangerous game for me. Heaving out a sigh, I focus my attention on the orders I'll need to be making tomorrow. Making a list, I get the numbers sorted out, amounts written down. I'll have to call into the shops early, pick it all up Friday, shaking my head with a sigh, the lovely life of a ranch owner.

Scanning other paperwork, like checks that need to go out, offers for animals, and offers for new ranch hands. As soon as my father learned of my discharge, he passed the paperwork over to me. Probably hoping that I would take it easy, I've only been back from the hospital for two months tops. Dropping my pen I lean back in my chair, my hand working it's way under my shirt, touching the scars. Taking a deep breath, I'm brought back to that night overseas. My unit and I were doing some routine recon.

It was all going well, until a terrorist cell was alerted to our recon mission. The intel we were gathering would've been imperative to take down one of the biggest operating cells in the area. I still don't know who leaked our location, our operation. The longer we were pinned the more severe it came. We had limited supplies; ammo, medical supplies. We were gunned down, brutally, four of us went in, two of us came out. One dead, I was on my way out the door and my other teammates were wounded, minor injuries.

An IED exploded destroying the building I was headed towards for cover. Knocked me on my ass, as they fired down. Tearing into my chest, the surgeons did what they could. I know I wasn't left with a pretty chest. I was cut open, my bones cut moved while they worked on me. It took hours to get me fixed up. And they still left bullet fragments in me, too dangerous to pull out. Dropping my hand, to my stomach I trace the ink I know lies there. I smile wistfully two revolvers crossed, flowers surrounding them, above it 'You'll only cross me once'. I love tattoos, always have had a thing for them.

My upper back has a simple Semper Fi tattooed across my shoulder blades, I think that one hurt the most. I chuckle thinking about the one on my lower back, flowers and hanging jewels with the lower portion of a skill, the eyes covered by the arrangement of flowers. On my left wrist I have 'Death before Dishonor' written in cursive, the opposite has 'Faith Hope Love' with the corresponding symbols. For every tattoo focused on my life in the Marine core, I have one representing the woman in me.

I pull my hand completely from under my shirt, standing up. I walk to the window, staring out over the land. The house, on the left side, to the right is everything that's needed to run a ranch correctly. Round pens, arenas, pastures even holding pens for animals for sale, coming or going. O'Kane's Ranch has been in business for five generations, soon it'll be passed down to me - completely. I shake my head in thought. I just wish the blood sucking developers would lay off. No means no, I don't intend on them getting this place. They'll have to pry it from my cold dead hands.

For the past year developers have become blood sucking leeches, sending in offer after offer. Multiple attempts have been made, threats of court and lawsuits have been made. I know it has to do with the fact that this land is worth more than they could ever dream of. The land sits on a large oil reserve not to mention that it's over a thousand acres, the natural terrain alone is a profit. Views worth millions, the mountains, valley's, and even plateaus large enough to build large buildings. Maybe just a damn housing community. It's large, and profitable.