Chapter Seven

Wednesday, September 25th.

Wild Stallion Ranch.

Me and Virge finished up the morning chores and I locked the barn doors. The horses nickered when we left them inside because they were used to going to the corral in the daytime, but it was winter. The snow was too fuckin deep, and it was too cold for them to stay outside all day while we were at work.

Virge heard it first. "Growling," he hollered and ran for the back door of the house. Running close behind him, I turned my head to look and there she was—Mama Grizzly—coming around the woodpile.

I ran in behind Virge and locked the back door. "Are the dogs in here?" I hollered.

"I've got them," said Virge. "Snarling to get out the front door."

"She's a big one, Dad," I said. "Shouldn't she be hibernating by now?"

"The snow came too early and fucked up their schedule," said Travis. He kept his head down and I figured he had a doozer of a headache. Tequila always did that for him. He should stick to beer, but I wasn't the one telling him that.

I took a mug out of the cupboard, filled it with coffee and sat down at the table. "Hear anything from Annie this morning?"

"Nothing yet. Might not hear from her." Travis stood up and walked to the stove. Turned the burner on under the frying pan and stared at it.

"Why not?"

"She ain't happy with me right now."

"You have a fight?"

"Nope. She said if I didn't adjust my attitude she'd come up here and pound the shit out of me."

Virge laughed. "That would be fun to watch, Dad."

"Yeah. Hilarious if you weren't the one getting your nose busted."

"You think Annie would punch you right in the face?" I asked. "I can't picture her doing that."

"Yep. For sure she would. One of her signature moves when she's pissed."

"Tell me another move." Virge was still laughing.

"Putting a bullet in your kneecap is one of her favorites. Seen her do it lots of times. Or she likes to shoot something right out of your hand when you ain't expecting it. Scares the shit out of you."

I laughed at Travis. "I'd like to see all of that happen."

"To me?"

"Not to you, Dad. Not to you. Just to some person Mom was mad at."

"You'll see it someday, son. Guaranteed."

"I'm fuckin praying for it," mumbled Virge.

Love's Truck Stop. Amarillo. Texas.

I parked and gathered up all of Eldon's smelly garbage before I went inside the store to use the bathroom. One quick stop at the side of the building and I heaved all of the trash into the blue dumpster.

When Eldon lost consciousness, he stopped eating and drinking, and I had no idea how to feed him anything good for him to keep him alive.

If he was in the hospital, he'd be hooked up to an IV. Me being the stupid, selfish bitch I was, I didn't give him the chance to heal up and get better.

I hadn't been eating much either, but I went into the restaurant, sat at the counter, and ordered a fried egg sandwich and a large coffee to go.

We'd made it as far as Amarillo and I wondered how many more miles it was to Midway. Mama told me that Texas was a huge state, but I was hoping I could get there today while Eldon was still alive.

When I got back to the truck, I fiddled with the GPS to see if I could make it tell me the distance. When it said five hundred miles to Midway, I couldn't hold back the tears. Still a long way to go.

"We'd better get going, Eldon. We want to get there by tonight."

I turned my head to see if he heard me, but I didn't think he did. Same as he'd been for the past twelve hours. Never moved once.

Prescott Residence. Midway. Texas.

Fletcher Bowden, lead investigator for the Blackmore Agency, had worked the original Bobby Prescott case and when the opportunity came up, Fletch was happy to go back and put more time in at the Prescott house in Midway. He hated having an open, unsolved case on his record.

Not worrying about Prescott being there, Fletch let himself into the bungalow and verified everything was exactly the same as he'd left it months before when he'd sealed the property.

Satisfied nothing had been touched, he went back to his truck and listened to the radio.

Sheriff's Office. Coyote Creek. Montana.

Suffering badly from a brutal hangover, Travis drank coffee in the break room while everybody else worked. The perks of being number one.

Olivia's name showed up on his phone and she told Travis to come for dinner and bring the boys.

"Yeah, I can do that. Thanks, Liv. Everything has gone to shit. The boys haven't had a decent meal in days."

"Looking forward to seeing you, sweetheart." Olivia's voice was soft and gentle, just like her.

I do love her…in a way.

"I'm a mess, Livvy. A goddamned mess. Never been worse."

"We'll talk about it when you get here. I love you."

"Thanks, babe. Love you too."

When it was time to pack up and quit for the day, Travis said, "Good news, boys. Olivia is making dinner for us."

Virge's eyes lit up. "I like eating at her place, Dad. I love her cooking."

"Same. Best place to eat for miles around."

Coyote Creek Inn.

We got to the inn after six and Olivia had a table set up for us in her fancy dining room. There wasn't enough room for all of us in her tiny kitchen in her private quarters. I knew because I'd eaten in there a couple of times with Dad.

She treated us like special customers and fed us roast beef and gravy, mashed potatoes, and lots of other good stuff.

Eating great food like this made me miss Annie. She was our step-mom. I never had a mom of my own. Foster mothers didn't count.

Prescott Residence. Midway. Texas.

Fletch was parked across the road from the Prescott house, sleeping in his truck. The noise of the big Freightliner roused him and half-asleep, he watched it pull into the driveway.

Giving his head a shake, he got ready to do what he was there for. Help Annie's step-daughter with the wounded Bobby Prescott and keep Tammy safe until Annie caught up.

The truck engine shut down and Fletch waited until he saw the young girl step out the driver's door. She left the door of the truck open but Fletch figured she couldn't get Bobby Prescott out of the sleeper by herself. Annie had warned him that Prescott would be dead or close to it by the time the girl got him to Midway.

Fletch jumped out of his pickup and strolled across the road. Not wishing to scare the girl, he said, "Tammy, don't be afraid. I'm a cop. My name is Fletcher Bowden and your mom sent me to help you."

"How did Mama know I was coming here?"

"She's your mom, and she knows things like that. Why don't we call an ambulance and have those medical boys take Bobby to a hospital?"

"Yes, please." Tammy started to cry. "I shouldn't have taken him out of the ICU at that other hospital. If Eldon dies, it's my fault."

Fletch called for an ambulance and gave them the address in Midway—a town too small to have a hospital of its own.

"Why don't we sit in the truck until the ambulance comes? Are you okay? That was a long drive for you all the way from northern British Columbia."

"Did Mama tell you that?"

"She did."

"I didn't know it was so far, but Eldon wanted to come home. That was before he went unconscious and didn't talk to me no more."

"It must have been a grueling trip for you."

"The longest ride of my life." Tammy began to sob. "I'm sorry to be crying, but I'm so tired and I can't help it. Is Mama mad at me?"

"She's worried, Tammy. A worried mother is someone not to be messed with." Fletch pulled out his cell. "I'm going to call and tell her you're here and we're waiting for an ambulance for Bobby."

"Okay. I know his real name is Bobby, but I got used to calling him Eldon before he told me the whole story."

"What did he tell you about himself, Tammy?"

"That three welders raped his wife, and he killed them. He told me that when I told him about the guys who raped me in their trailer. We were both sad and he said he'd look out for me."

"I see how you kind of connected with Bobby."

"I love him…and now I killed him."

"We don't know that for sure. The ambulance will be here soon."

"Is Mama's ranch far from here?"

"About an hour or a bit more. La Grange is southwest of where we are now."

"An hour ain't too far."

"I'm going to call Annie now and let her know everything is okay with you."

"Thank you for coming, Fletcher. I was scared of being here alone with Eldon almost dead in the truck. I wasn't sure I could find his house, and I didn't know if there was a key for it on the ring."

Annie answered on the first ring and Fletcher said, "Hey there, boss. Tammy and I are waiting for an ambulance for Bobby. They should be here in a couple of minutes, and I'll call you back as soon as I know where they're taking him."

"Thanks so much, Fletch. Tell Tammy I'm leaving now, and I'll sit with her at the hospital."

"I'll tell her that."

"What did Mama say?"

"She's coming to sit with you at the hospital."

Tammy cried. "I made so many mistakes. If Eldon dies, it's all my fault."

"Let's see how he makes out, Tammy."

The ambulance pulled in behind the Freightliner and the siren went silent.

Fletch jumped out of the cab and hollered to the paramedics. "The patient is in the sleeper, boys. He's unconscious and it's going to be difficult getting him out."

"We can handle it."

The paramedics jumped into the cab of the rig and worked swiftly to get Bobby Prescott out of the sleeper and onto a stretcher. They quickly started an IV and shoved the stretcher into the back of the ambulance.

"Where are you taking him?" asked Fletcher.

"Huntsville Trauma Unit."

"We'll follow you."

"Can I ride in the ambulance with Eldon?"

"Sure. You go ahead, Tammy. I'll be right behind you."

"Thank you, Fletcher. Thank you for coming to help me."

"Annie didn't want you to be alone when you got here with Bobby."

"I love my Mama."

"I'm sure you do."

Huntsville Trauma Unit.

Bobby Prescott was given first priority when they got to the trauma unit. His vital signs barely existed, and his life hung by a thread.

"This is all my fault," mumbled Tammy. "I never should've moved him. Mama will be so mad at me for being stupid. She was right and I was wrong."

"Mama's are usually right, Tammy. They have experience that you don't have and that makes them smarter."

"Right. I see that now."

"Sit down in the waiting area and we'll wait for the doctors to come and tell us how Bobby is doing. If Annie left when we talked to her, she'll be here soon."

"I'm grateful to have a Mama who loves me, even when I'm doing stupid things, Fletcher. I never had one of those before."

Fletch came back with two coffees and met Annie and Mick coming in the door of the waiting room.

Tammy jumped up and ran towards her crying. "I'm so sorry, Mama. I did a stupid thing, just like you said, and I'm sorry."

"It's over now, Tammy, and you have to live with what you've done. Just like we all do. Has the doctor said anything about Bobby yet?"

"Not yet," said Fletch. "I think it will be a very long night."