Page 55 of River Ride

Tammy thought it was every bit as bad, but she didn’t say anything. She gathered up her shopping bags while Darryl got his stuff out of the sleeper.

He led the way, and she followed him inside. “I’ve been meaning to clean this place up, girl, but I wasn’t expecting company neither. You came into my life as a complete surprise. Sorry about the mess.”

“Don’t worry about it, Darryl. This shitty trailer is the last thing you need to worry about.”

Bang.

Tammy shot Darryl in the back of the head with his own gun, and he crashed to the floor in front of her. She knelt down and lifted his wallet and truck keys and left Darryl bleeding out on the filthy tile floor.

On her way out with her bags of new clothes in her hand, she locked the door behind her.

“Bye-bye, Darryl.”

Tammy climbed up into the driver’s seat of the Freightliner, cranked up the powerful engine and backed out the short driveway onto the road.

She put the truck into first gear without too much grinding and drove out of the trailer park. As soon as she hit the main road, she programmed a destination into the GPS.

Smiling, Tammy turned up the radio and stepped on the gas.

Coyote Creek Inn. Montana.

Travis called the Inn earlier in the day and made a reservation for ten people. When he arrived at six-thirty with Annie, Mick, Billy, Rowdy and all of the kids, the long table was ready for them.

Susan Westfall, the woman who managed the Inn for Travis, rushed to the door to welcome them personally.

Sadness surrounded Travis as he walked into the dining room towards the beautifully set table.

Annie noticed how melancholy Travis had become since walking into the Inn and she did her best to cheer him up.

“The table looks lovely, Travis. Thank you for bringing us here for dinner. I’m sure it was difficult for you.”

“I’m getting a little better,” he whispered.

Annie chatted about the horses and the upcoming competitions and tried to keep Travis’s mind off Olivia Best.

The food was excellent and especially the dessert. Taking us all to the Inn was Dad’s way of saying thanks to Annie for all she’d done for Tammy.

Tammy wasn’t fixed and all of Annie’s efforts had turned out to be useless in the end. Mom had tried so hard for months to help Tammy and Dad appreciated it. I knew he did. Things weren’t the same between them anymore, but Travis still loved Annie and he always would.

Dry Run Roadhouse. Coyote Creek.

After our great dinner at the Inn, the celebration continued a mile up the road at the roadhouse. I was happy Travis decided we’d stop for a pitcher because it gave me one more chance to dance with Lucy.

She’d soon be moving on to the next rodeo and that was something I couldn’t stand to think about.

After seeing Penny Darkers hanging with those older guys from the mill, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t ask her out again. We were over and it was for the best. Lucy was my girlfriend, even if it was long-distance, and I wouldn’t cheat on her.

While we danced and fooled around in our own booth near the dance floor, Travis and the rest of the adults sat at the bar and talked to Jack.

Billy’s cousin owned the roadhouse, and he knew Annie from her other visits to our ranch. She and Jack were friends, and they talked a lot about the problems of running their roadhouses. She wanted to say hello to him and get caught up.

Hampton Inn. Abilene. Texas.

Tammy was worn out when she got as far as Abilene and booked a room for the night. She was close enough to her destination to get there by the following day and that made her happy.

All she needed was a shower to get the smell of Darryl off of her and a good night’s sleep.

Chapter Ten

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