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    Christmas in Coyote County
    Christmas in Coyote County
    Christmas in Coyote County
    Ebook82 pages1 hour

    Christmas in Coyote County

    By Mary L Briggs

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    About this ebook

    In Coyote County, Christmas means festive lights, the town parade, hot coffee and cinnamon rolls...not creatures from another planet. While a glowing green Peeping Tom with two antennae is a little hard to buy, Libby Hawkins doesn't believe her former school teacher suffers from either dementia or a runaway imagination. There's a logical explanation, and she intends to discover it before the older woman is placed in a nursing home. After a twelve year absence, Sheriff Jackson Carter returns to Coyote County to clear his father's name. He never expected to be waylaid in his quest by alien sightings, and it doesn't help that stubborn Libby Hawkins—his former girlfriend—is determined to meddle in the investigation. He hurt Libby when he left town after his father's death, but it was for her protection. Now Libby's stumbled on something dangerous. Can he keep her from harm this time? He doesn't know, but one thing is certain: Christmas in Coyote County has never been so interesting.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWhite Rose Publishing
    Release dateDec 9, 2011
    ISBN9781611161397
    Christmas in Coyote County

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      Book preview

      Christmas in Coyote County - Mary L Briggs

      Page

      Christmas in Coyote County

      Mary L. Briggs

      This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

      Christmas in Coyote County

      COPYRIGHT 2011 by Mary L. Briggs

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or Pelican Ventures, LLC except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

      eBook editions are licensed for your personal enjoyment only. eBooks may not be re-sold, copied or given to other people. If you would like to share an eBook edition, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with.

      Contact Information: titleadmin@pelicanbookgroup.com

      All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version(R), NIV(R), Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

      Cover Art by Nicola Martinez

      White Rose Publishing, a division of Pelican Ventures, LLC

      www.pelicanbookgroup.com PO Box 1738 *Aztec, NM * 87410

      White Rose Publishing Circle and Rosebud logo is a trademark of Pelican Ventures, LLC

      Publishing History

      First White Rose Edition, 2011

      Electronic Edition ISBN 978-1-61116-139-7

      Published in the United States of America

      Dedication

      To my husband, A.E. Briggs. Thank you for your love, ideas, and encouragement in my writing ventures.

      Boom!

      Libby scrambled to a sitting position, her heart pounding in sequence with the pulsing echo that filled the darkness.

      Boom!

      Shotgun blasts. From up the road.

      Her foot tangled in the sheet in her haste to exit the bed. The pine plank floor was unforgiving when knee met wood, and she winced at the pain that shot up her leg. Once standing she turned on the bedside lamp and quickly shimmied into her jeans, followed by the pair of boots at the end of her bed.

      Her fingers shook as she punched in 911. Waiting, she opened the closet door and removed her jacket, only hesitating a second before seizing her grandpa’s old .22.

      A man answered. Nine-one-one. State your name, location, and your emergency.

      This is Libby Hawkins on county Road 25. I heard a couple of shotgun blasts that sounded like they came from Maddie Thompson’s place up on Mill Road. Please send someone. She cradled the receiver and grabbed the keys from atop the dresser. Opening a drawer, she snatched a handful of rifle shells and stuffed them in her pocket.

      The truck coughed in the bitter night air. She pumped the gas a couple more times, and it snarled to life. Turning on the lights, she rammed the truck into reverse, narrowly missing her mailbox as she exited the drive.

      Ahead, the glow of red and green Christmas lights spilled onto Mill Road. Her foot pushed the gas as she shifted into third. Her stomach lurched and shook with the gravel beneath the tires.

      Taking a hard left into the driveway, she hit her brakes. The bright yellow headlights revealed Maddie standing on the front porch of the ranch house, her skinny white legs bare under the old blue robe she had wrapped around her tiny figure. She cradled a shotgun in her arms.

      Libby took a deep breath and touched her forehead to the steering wheel. Thank you, Lord. Just seeing her standing there was a wonderful sight. She switched off the truck and grabbed the rifle. Just in case.

      She stopped at the bottom of the steps. What happened? Are you all right?

      Maddie ignored her questions. Hurry up and get on the porch! It might still be around.

      Libby’s hair prickled on the back of her neck as she stepped up. What might still be around?

      Maddie shook her head. I’m not sure what it is. All I know is I scared it real good.

      Did someone try to break into your house? A police siren keened in the distance. At least the law would be here in a minute.

      I don’t know if it intended on coming in or not. It was looking in my kitchen window right there when I saw it.

      The siren drew closer. Libby glanced at the window, then down at the floor of the porch. They were standing in pieces of the window pane. Maddie, you’re barefooted! You’re going to cut yourself to pieces. You stand right there while I get something to sweep up this mess.

      She returned with a broom and an old pair of house shoes that had been inside the door. Put these on, she shouted over the sirens. A truck turned into the driveway. From its dashboard, red and blue flashed like strobe lights in disco fashion across the white siding of the house. The sirens stopped and an officer exited the truck. He aimed a flashlight at the porch.

      Is everything OK, Miss Thompson?

      Jackson? Please, please don’t let it be Jackson. Fine. She’s fine, Libby answered. If she’d known he was going to show up, she’d have taken time to dress. Or maybe stayed at home. What was the sheriff doing on duty at two a.m.?

      There was a long pause. Libby? Is that you?

      She took a deep breath. Yes. I came up to check on Maddie. Are you just going to stand out there in the shadows?

      He took a few steps forward. The blinking Christmas lights decorating Maddie’s porch reflected off the handgun he carried. He holstered the pistol and stepped onto the porch.

      In the faint glow he still looked much the same. His lanky frame had filled out by a few pounds, and his dark hair was just as wavy as ever, with a few strands standing up on top. He’d wasted enough money on hairspray when he was a teenager. Maybe he’d finally let his hair go its natural way.

      Did somebody try to break into your house, Miss Thompson? His eyes were trained on the broken glass that Libby had begun to sweep into a pile.

      "I shot at ’em before

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