Chapter Two

Friday, September 20th.

Fontana Residence. Sicamous.

Annie was up first and had the coffee brewed when Travis dragged himself out of bed and shuffled into the kitchen.

"I feel like I been rode hard and put away wet, Annie-girl. Can't take much more. Don't like the way this one is headed."

"I'll sort it out, sugar. I just need time, and a lot depends on Eldon and his prognosis."

"I don't want Tammy saying she's going to marry that guy. She ain't known him a fuckin week. Understand what I'm saying?"

"Sure do," said Annie. "Tammy is strong-willed. She didn't come home for a reason and Eldon Fontana might be a big part of that reason."

"I don't want him to be the reason," mumbled Travis.

Annie smiled. "If Tammy has her mind made up, it will take some doing to change it. I'm sure you're well aware of her stubborn streak." Annie laughed. "If I didn't know better, I'd think she got that from you, but I was married to Jackson Traynor and I know exactly where that mule-headedness came from. Jackson got it from his father, Stan Traynor—scum of the earth—and now Tammy has that same stubborn recklessness that could get her into a lot of trouble."

Travis stared. "You trying to cheer me up?"

The girls made a big breakfast for all of us and while we drank coffee, Dad said something that surprised me. "We're leaving for home this morning, boys. Annie will stay here with Lucy and sort Tammy out."

"You're not coming home with us?" asked Virge.

"Not yet," said Tammy. "I can't go yet."

"But you are coming home, right?" I looked her in the eye.

"I'm not sure of anything right now, Harlan. I have to talk to Eldon to get my head straight and I can't do that until he wakes up."

Travis looked like he had a lot to say to Tammy, but he pushed it down inside of him and didn't say a word.

Anne smiled at Travis and gave him a friendly nod, like they had talked this out already. Seemed like Annie could make my dad do most anything she wanted him to do. Huh.

Me and Virge got ready to go and one of us had to drive the bounty hunter's Jeep. Old and dirty and like a garbage dump inside, no fuckin air freshers could cut the stink of it. Wrappers and beer cans and take-out containers all smashed up and tossed in the footwell. The ashtray was overflowing with butts and the air inside smelled like a nicotine factory.

"Who's driving the Jeep?" hollered Travis.

"I'll do it," said Virge.

"Go with him, Harlan. Follow me. We'll clean up the mess as we go. We can't trade it in looking like that."

"Copy that, Dad."

Annie, Tammy, and Lucy hugged all of us before we jumped into the trucks and left for home. I had a sick feeling like I might never see them again.

I told Virge how I felt, and he said I was being a wussy asshole and I had to agree, but the feeling was still there.

As soon as the boys drove out the lane, Tammy wanted to go to the hospital to see Eldon.

"It's a little early," said Annie. "The doctor said to come after two. That's the earliest Eldon would be awake."

"I can wait a little bit, Mama. I'm just worried he'll be looking for me when he opens his eyes, and I won't be there."

Annie smiled and gave Tammy a hug. "I understand how you feel, but before we leave, I want to make a shopping list. We'll need more of everything if we're staying here for another week or so."

"Great idea," said Tammy. "I only shopped once since I've been here." She started to cry. "I'm glad Travis is gone, Mama. Did you see the way he was looking at me?"

"He's worried about you, honey. That's all it is. He loves you so much and he's been worried sick that he'd never find you."

"I couldn't go home after those guys beat on me and raped me all over again. I knew how Harlan and Virge would look at me and I couldn't take it."

"You'll feel better in time," said Annie. "You suffered a traumatic experience, and those things don't disappear overnight. In time, it will fade, and you won't ever forget it, but the memory will be less painful when it comes around."

"I want it to fade, Mama. It's still in my head every day and I can barely stand it. Bad things happened to Eldon too, and that's why we're the perfect couple."

For the time being, Annie was keeping the truth about Eldon Fontana—Bobby Prescott—to herself while she figured out a plan for Tammy.

Golden British Columbia.

We drove for three solid hours and Travis finally pulled in for gas at a station in Golden. We filled both vehicles with gas, then got ourselves some lunch at a McDonald's drive-thru.

Me and Virge went inside and got drink refills for the road. We got on the highway again, and we hadn't gone too far when Travis pulled into a car wash.

He parked and pointed at the vacuum and the trash containers. "Clean her out and then we'll put her through the wash before we try to trade her in."

We all worked on the Jeep. I vacuumed the interior while Virge got rid of the garbage. When I finished with the vacuum, Virge ran her through the wash while Travis and I had a smoke.

He came out and wiped the Jeep down. "Don't look so bad, Dad. I wouldn't mind keeping it."

"It's got a VIN number, son. We have to get rid of it and leave it up here in Canada. We'll trade for something else."

"What about the plates?" I asked. Travis wasn't stupid. He would have something in mind.

"Umm… thinking on that. We'll try a big box store when we get to Calgary and get us a different set of plates."

I nodded. "Good idea."

"How far is Calgary from here?" asked Virge.

"About two hundred and fifty miles."

"Jeeze," said Virge. "Harlan can drive for a while."

"What about me?" asked Travis. "Don't I get a break?"

"Sorry, Dad. Ain't your turn to sleep yet."

Enderby Hospital.

I sat in the waiting room for a couple of hours and was allowed to see Eldon only three times. He wasn't even close to waking up and talking to me.

"Let's go home and come back later, Tammy," said Mama. "We're wasting our time here, and it's only upsetting you."

"You're right, Mama. Let's come back tonight."

"That's my good girl." Mama hugged me and we left for home.

Home Depot. Calgary. Alberta.

The sun had set over the Rockies leaving an orangey glowing twilight quickly fading to darkness. We drove into the huge Home Depot parking lot following behind Dad. He pulled up tight to an SUV at the back of the lot near the dumpster.

Virge parked beside him, and we both hopped out in case Dad needed help, but he didn't. He switched out the plates so slick and fast it was scary.

Virge was in awe of the skills Travis possessed. Strangers never got to see the skills from Dad's days undercover as Dale Burden—one of the most feared bike gang leaders in Texas. We were the lucky ones.

"Done," said Travis. "Let's get a hotel and some food. You guys hungry?"

"Sure are, Dad."

"Pick a hotel close to a restaurant and we'll stay here for the night. The car lots are closed, and we'll have to wait until morning to do the trade-in deal."

Watching the exits as we came into Calgary, the next one had a long strip of hotels, restaurants, and service centers.

Best Western Hotel. Calgary. Alberta.

Virge pulled into the Best Western. Dad pulled in behind us and went inside to get us a room. By the way he walked and held his side, I could tell he was bone-tired and hurting.

He came outside with the key card in his hand. "Park the Jeep and we'll go eat. We got us a room."

After pizza and a couple of beers at a place close to our hotel, we were in for the night. Snow was coming down pretty hard and the temperature had dropped. Felt like the snow might stay around for a while.

Dad parked and we hurried to the hotel entrance.

"Temperature is dropping like a rocket," said Travis. "Ain't gonna be a picnic driving tomorrow. Let's get some sleep while we can."

"We ain't got winter coats with us, Dad." Virge blew on his hands as we came into the hotel lobby out of the cold.

"Have to work on that tomorrow, boys, if the weather gets worse."

Fontana Residence. Sicamous.

After the disappointing visit to the hospital, Annie stopped at the market in Sicamous. The girls helped her fill the cart with everything she thought they might need for their stay in the cabin.

Annie hoped Eldon would be out of the hospital in a week and that would speed things up for her. By then, she'd have a plan ready to go and wouldn't be stuck in the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia.

Tammy didn't have much enthusiasm for shopping. Still crying over Eldon not waking up to talk to her, there was no consoling her. She'd been this way once before when Travis had been hurt in Texas. Annie had no tolerance for crybabies, and she wouldn't put up with Tammy's depressing mood.

But seeing Tammy so devastated over Eldon's condition alerted Annie to trouble ahead. Tammy loved Eldon Fontana, a.k.a. Bobby Prescott—the Interstate Rage Killer—and Annie had to figure out what her next move should be.

"Come on, girls. Pick out a couple of your favorite flavors of ice cream and we'll have a treat after dinner."

Lucy perked up right away and chose cookies and cream. Tammy stared at the selection and didn't open the door of the freezer.

"Luce, pick one for Tammy," said Annie. "We're not waiting all day for her to stop pouting."

Lucy opened the door and chose caramel turtle fudge for Tammy. "I know you like this kind, Tammy. Don't be such a baby."

Tammy stood in the ice cream aisle and cried.