The Branson Beauty Read Online Free

his coat, trying to avoid the wind created by the speeding boat. They pulled up alongside the dock. Convinced he was twice as frozen as before he’d left land, Hank eyed the four-foot vault off the boat.
    â€œChief! Chief! Here, sir!”
    Well, thank goodness. For once, he was grateful for the Pup’s inexhaustible exuberance. He took the offered hand and hoisted himself onto dry land.
    â€œGood to see you, Chief,” said the Pup.
    â€œThanks, Sam. How long have you been here?”
    â€œGot here right as you were pulling away to go out to the Beauty ,” he said. “I’ve been coordinating with Larry and the fire guys. Got five other deputies up at the park doing crowd control. The roads guys haven’t been very cooperative, though. They’re threatening to take their bulldozers and go home.”
    Nice.
    â€œAnd the press is screaming for somebody to make a statement,” Sam the Pup continued. “They cornered Gallagher a little bit ago, but I got them pushed back to the top of the road. They’re not allowed down here at the dock anymore.”
    Even better. After that, Gallagher would probably be in a fine mood for their little chat.
    â€œWhere is Gallagher now?” he asked.
    Sam pointed over toward a stand of trees just off the dock. Hank saw the Company Man crouching as he tried to balance a laptop on a rock. Gallagher stood silently over him.
    â€œThanks, Sam. Now I need you to get me whoever is in charge of the road guys. We don’t need the bulldozers, but we do need saws and drills and maybe some sledgehammers. Get the supervisor down here so I can talk to him.”
    Sam gave a quick head bob, then turned and bolted up the hill. Hank watched him go. After almost six months of working with the kid, Hank still had no idea how he managed not to trip over those enormous feet.
    He took a deep breath, which thankfully did not lead to a bout of choking on the frigid air, and strode toward Gallagher.
    â€œMr. Gallagher. Could I have a word?”
    â€œOf course.” They moved off to the side. Hank explained the tugboat and the boulders and the food shortage.
    â€œWhy can’t you ferry them all to shore in motorboats?” Gallagher asked.
    â€œSeveral reasons. The wind keeps increasing, and the water is too choppy for all but the healthiest people to handle. And this dock requires a four-foot jump to get up on it from the boat. We need a landing location that can handle a gangplank, and this is not it.”
    Hank took a breath and continued.
    â€œIf we remove the paddlewheel, we can get the boat to a suitable docking location within two or three hours. But we think that’s going to mean basically hacking the thing off. If we take the time to do it right, those passengers will still be out there come morning.”
    Gallagher looked out through the gathering darkness at his boat. The pinched look on his thin face got even worse. Hank stuffed his hands in his pockets and waited. After a very long minute, Gallagher let out a long breath. Hank didn’t realize he’d been holding it.
    â€œAll right, Sheriff. It is…”—he paused—“… the only good option for my passengers. But I would like to get my maintenance men down here to help with the work. They might know how to salvage at least some of it.”
    â€œOf course,” Hank said. “We now have two boats capable of taking people out to the Beauty . I need to get back out there myself.”
    â€œI’ll have my men here in fifteen minutes. With equipment.” Gallagher spun around and marched toward the Company Man, who had given up on his laptop-balancing act. A few swift sentences, and the Company Man was running up the hill to the road, where he could get a cell signal and call in the death warrant for his boss’s boat.
    *   *   *
    Half an hour later, Hank clambered back onto the Beauty . He’d been forced to hike to the