Page 69 of River Ride

Wagging her tail, Cleo ran around the perimeter fence, did her business and ran right back to Bobby.

He leaned down and gave her a hug. “You saved my life. What a good girl you are.”

Chapter Thirteen

Friday, July 12th.

Silver Star Motel. Biloxi. Mississippi.

Bobby took Cleo out for her morning run around the motel property before feeding her breakfast. While she chomped down a huge bowl of kibble, he took a shower and got dressed.

He’d decided to go back to the cabin in West Virginia for a while until things settled down for him. He and Ray loved the little mountain place nobody knew about—especially not Tammy.

“She’ll never find us there, Cleo. We’ll lay low and figure things out, girl. Plan our future.”

Cleo wagged her tail and Bobby leaned down and gave her a hug. She was a huge dog and had a sweet disposition when she wasn’t in kill mode. He loved her a lot already.

No free breakfast and no coffee available at the motel, so they were out of luck.

Bobby headed north on route forty-nine. Out of habit, he stopped at the first truck stop north of Biloxi for breakfast. Hands down, the truck stops had the best food for the best prices.

Today he planned to cruise along at the speed limit and stop frequently for Cleo. An easy day of driving and he’d be close to the cabin by nightfall. If he was dead tired from driving, he might not make it all the way.

Gulfview Motel. Breaux Bridge. Louisiana.

Tammy had taken too many pain pills the night before and she slept like the dead. She never heard a thing until someone pounded on her door and hollered at her.

“You’re past your check-out time, lady. You let me in to clean your room and you go to the office and check out.”

“I’m getting up.” Tammy struggled out of the bed and limped to the door. Her leg was stiff as a board when she first tried to use it in the morning, and she cried out in pain. “Ow. Ow. I can’t step on it.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks and she brushed them away in anger. Fuming at the motel staff for making her get up, she yelled, “Hang on. I’m coming.”

Her eyes brimming with more tears of pain, Tammy jerked the door open and let the women from housekeeping come in.

“I’m sorry. My leg is hurt really bad and I’m slow in the morning. Can I have a half hour to get dressed? I’ll get out of here as fast as I can.”

The woman pushed her cart into the room and paused to take a look at Tammy’s leg. She made a face. “Big bandage. What happen to you, girl?”

“A big dog tore my leg open. I have a lot of stitches but it’s not healing very fast.”

“You get dressed and I come back in a few minutes to do your room.”

“Thank you so much.”

“I leave my cart.”

“Sure.”

Tammy limped across the room and picked up the vial of pain pills from the nightstand. It was empty. Advil helped but wasn’t strong enough to kill the constant pain. She’d have to find a way to get more of the pain pills. They were the only thing that gave her any relief.

Wild Stallion Ranch. Montana.

Me and Virge did the chores and fed the horses, and it didn’t feel the same. We were missing Lucy, Davey and Jacks being in the barn with us. Chores weren’t as much fun as they had been while the kids were here. Lucy texted me every day, but it wasn’t the same as her being here at our ranch.

Virge felt it too. We were lonely without our foster brothers and sister, Lucy.

Breakfast was quiet, all of us feeling bad about Kody Kollard being dead and not knowing what happened to him. If he drowned, or somebody drowned him on purpose it would be hard to find the killer and even harder to prove it.

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