“Why are you doing this?” Larry asked, trying to buy time. “What do you want? I’ll give you anything you want?”
Josh looked down at Larry with malice in his eyes. “What do I want? I want to destroy your little pet project, that’s what I want. And it looks like I just succeeded!” Josh’s body shook as he let out a sinister chuckle.
“Who sent you? Who do you work for?” Larry asked, hoping to at least get information out of this thug. Even if he didn’t survive, he would die knowing who had done this to him.
“That’s none of your business. Now say your prayers old man!” Josh held the bat above his shoulder, tightened his grip and rotated his torso. But he was too late.
“Stop!” a voice bellowed from the darkness. Before the bat made contact with Larry’s head, the intruder slammed hard into Josh, like a forward tackling a quarterback. Instead of crushing Larry’s head, Josh swung the bat wildly against his knees. Larry screamed as both men catapulted forward onto the ground. While Josh was big and strong, the muscular figure was quicker and moved with the agility of a seasoned martial artist.
Roy struggled to hold onto Larry’s arms as he watched his partner wrestle with the intruder who had the guts to take on two big men. His jaw relaxed as he watched the intruder spring into the air like a kangaroo and thrust the side of his foot into Josh’s face.
Josh’s head snapped sideways several times before his body crumpled around him. Roy took a hard swallow as the intruder slowly approached with a look on his face that meant business. Roy released his grip on Larry and backed a step, weighing his odds of taking on the skilled intruder or to escape to freedom. But before he could make a move, another older man appeared in the harsh light of the fire and yanked him off of Larry. The man pinned him to the ground with his knee and held his hands behind his back. Two other ranch hands burst onto the scene with shotguns and took over from Ano as he rushed to Larry’s side.
“Larry, Larry! Are you alright!?” Ano asked in panic. He turned his head, watching as another figure approached from the shadows.
“Yes, it’s just my legs! Check the pump!” Larry was more concerned about his irrigation pump than he was about his own well-being. He blinked to keep the pain at bay and tried to make out the approaching figure that had saved his life. When his vision cleared, he saw Daniel’s face come into view.
“Daniel? What are you doing here?” Larry asked, surprised and grateful at the same time.
Before Daniel could answer, another figure emerged from the darkness.
“Larry, are you alright. Oh my gosh. I’m so glad you’re okay!” Kana sputtered as he ran to Larry’s side.
“Kana, you too? What are you doing here? Why are you two here?” Larry’s forehead creased with confusion.
Kana spoke first. “I was just coming to check the readings. I have to have them submitted monthly to keep the project approval in force.”
Larry wasn’t sure what Kana was talking about. His head was blurry, and he felt dizzy from the excruciating pain in his legs. The bat that had been intended for his head had landed squarely on both knees. He grabbed them in pain as Ano held him up in a sitting position.
“What are you doing here?” Kana asked Daniel, suspiciously. “Are you the one that blew the pump up?”
All eyes turned to Daniel. This was not how he wanted to make his entrance. He still wasn’t quite sure what had just happened, but he knew whatever it was, it didn’t look good. He opened his mouth to speak. But before he could, Elizabeth’s voice came rising over the pasture.
“Larry! Larry! Are you alright? Oh my dear Larry!” Elizabeth flew across the grass followed by Mave, Kahili and Michelle. The three older women ran to Larry’s side and began administering care. But Michelle just stopped. She looked straight at Kana and Daniel and then at the blazing irrigation pump behind them. She saw the look of surprise on Daniel’s face and knew that he had nothing to do with the explosion. But why then was he here? she wondered.
“Well, answer me!” demanded Kana. He turned and took another step closer to Daniel. “What are you doing here?”
Daniel took a step back and held his hands up defensively. “I know how this looks, I do, but ...” All eyes were on him. The women stopped and looked up at Daniel with nothing but love in their eyes. Even Ano and George knew that Daniel couldn’t have done something like this. But Larry, he wasn’t so sure. He continued to writhe in pain while he squinted at Daniel.
“Yeah, what are you doing here? Did you come to save my life or were you part of these thugs?” Larry said with an interrogating voice.
Daniel paused and looked around. Josh and Roy had stopped fighting and were curious to know who this guy was too. They would have to report back to their boss about the screw up, and they wanted names.
Daniel turned to Larry and Elizabeth. He heard the sirens of the fire trucks approaching and knew he had to speak now. “Mr. Clemens, Elizabeth, I swear I had nothing to do with these men. If I did, why would I try to stop them?” Daniel stopped and shook his head before staring straight into Larry’s eyes. “I came here tonight because I’m in love with your daughter.” Daniel turned his head toward Michelle and gave her a smile.
Elizabeth smiled broadly, and Larry’s face froze. Mave and Kahili shouted for joy while George and Ano high-fived each other as they kept their guns pointed at Josh and Roy. Kana stood with a look of defeat on his face.
Before Michelle could say a thing, Larry spoke. “Daniel, I don’t know how I feel about you yet. But you did just saved my life, and I am very grateful. Please stay the night, and we will talk about this tomorrow.”
Daniel smiled as Michelle ran to his side and hugged him. She fell into his strong arms and felt her heart swell with happiness. But the moment was short-lived. Police, firemen and EMTs swarmed on the scene. They ushered Larry into an ambulance and Elizabeth rode with him to the hospital. The police stayed behind and took statements from everyone there. When they finally left, it was well past midnight. Kahili offered to make a snack, but everyone declined. The women retired for the evening, leaving Kana with George, Daniel and Michelle.
“Well, good to see you again, son,” said George, shaking Daniel’s hand. “Your timing is impeccable!” He laughed as he kissed Michelle on the cheek and then headed back toward the house.
“Yeah,” said Kana, with a thick layer of distaste. “Impeccable.” He turned and walked toward the house with George.
Michelle and Daniel watched the two men exchange words by the porch and then watched as Kana walked to his truck at the side of the house. He got in and drove down the back entrance of the farm. Daniel didn’t think anything of it and instead turned his attention to Michelle.
“You came back,” Michelle said with tears in her eyes. “You came back for me.”
Daniel smiled and kissed her gently on her head. He took her hand in his and the two made their way back to the house as the pump fire smoldered down to ashes.