Page 56 of River Ride

Tuesday, July 9th.

Grand Junction. Colorado.

An unfamiliar sound caused Bobby to open his eyes and he was startled to see Cleo with her head on the side of the bed staring at him and whining.

“What’s the matter, girl. You need to go out?”

Cleo ran to the door of the room and sat down with her leash in her mouth. “You are so smart, girl. I lucked out when I got you.”

She wagged her tail while Bobby pulled on a pair of jeans and shoved his feet into his boots. “I’m ready for our walk. Do me good to get some exercise too. I’m so stiff and sore and out of shape, it’s fuckin criminal.”

Laughing at his own joke, Bobby locked the room and left with Cleo. They walked down the road, through neighboring fields and along residential streets in the area for half an hour before coming back to the motel and checking out.

Before leaving Grand Junction, Bobby hit a drive-thru for breakfast and coffee. He felt healthier than he had since he was shot and that elevated his mood.

He and Cleo headed south on route 550.

Wild Stallion Ranch. Montana.

“Today is a practice day,” said Rowdy at the breakfast table. “I’ll be in the back field with Davey and Jacks for most of the day getting them in top shape for tomorrow’s competition.”

“Billy can handle the office tomorrow,” said Travis. “This will be the last rodeo we get to see for a while, so me and the boys will take the day off.”

Virge grinned at me. He loved watching the competitions and I did too. I was thankful to spend the day with Lucy instead of working. Today was starting off great. I watched Annie pull a pan of biscuits out of the oven and wondered if it could get any better.

Hampton Inn. Abilene. Texas.

Tammy enjoyed her night alone at the Hampton Inn. She watched a movie and then slept well in the big queen-size bed. To her, staying in a hotel felt luxurious, and she lapped it up.

Feeling like a pampered princess added more fuel to the fire and spurred her on with her mission. She had to catch up to Eldon and make him love her again.

After the last round where Eldon had tased her and left her behind at the rest area, her feelings for him had shifted slightly. Her trust in him came into question.

If they couldn’t get married and live the dream like she wanted to, Tammy had an alternate plan. She’d take the money from the cabin, kill Eldon and live the dream on her own.

Tammy stood under a long, hot shower, then dressed in her new clothes. There was nothing else she could ask for except having Eldon back in her life. Never before had she doubted she could make it happen. Her focus had been unwavering.

Doubts were creeping in.

Before leaving her room, Tammy emptied the contents of Darryl’s wallet into the new purse Darryl had bought her in the leather store at the mall. He had sixty dollars in cash, two credit cards and two different gas cards.

Tammy wondered if he collected points on the gas cards like Eldon did. Too late to ask Darryl. She gathered up her belongings and went downstairs for breakfast.

The room was a little too crowded with tourists and their kids to suit Tammy, so she fixed a coffee for the road and picked up an apple and a banana from the fruit basket on the counter. That would keep her going until she stopped for lunch.

Before leaving Abilene behind, she pulled into Love’s and filled up the Freightliner with diesel fuel. It came to a huge amount similar to what the gas cost for Eldon’s truck. Tammy smiled and charged it to Darryl’s gas card.

Before moving on, Tammy lit up a smoke and checked the GPS to see how far it was to her destination. Pleased to see she didn’t have too far to go, she put the big truck into gear, hummed a song and headed east across Texas.

Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek. Montana.

Molly had gone across the street to the diner, picked up the breakfast containers and fed the prisoners in the run by the time we got to the station.

Jed Carpenter and his son were being arraigned for the second time and it was our job to transport them to the courthouse and get them there on time.

Fifteen minutes before we were ready to leave, Carpenter’s lawyer came in the front door of the shop asking to see his client.

Travis wasn’t happy to see the lawyer show up, but he was polite enough. “Almost ready to leave for the courthouse, sir, but you can have ten minutes in the run with your client. That’s all the time I can give you this morning.”

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