Chapter Eleven

Wednesday, July 10 th .

Wild Stallion Ranch. Montana.

The horses’ breakfast came first, then we loaded them into the trailer. We were next and ate fried egg sandwiches that Mom made for us. She handed out traveler cups and we took coffee with us in the trucks.

Rowdy drove his own rig, pulling the trailer hauling the horses for Davey and Jacks. Both boys rode with Rowdy, along with Annie and Mick.

Dad drove our truck. Virge rode shotgun and me and Lucy had the back seat all to ourselves.

We left Max and Sarge at home. Billy would take them to the station in case he needed them. They were working dogs and liked being on the go. The station was their second home and Molly spoiled them every single day.

During the trip to Columbia Falls, I held Lucy’s hand and was grateful for the time I’d get to spend with her at the rodeo. She’d be leaving tomorrow and just thinking about not seeing her for months was doing a number on me.

Were we going to see other people while we were living separate lives? I was scared as shit to ask her that, because I didn’t want to hear the answer. I didn’t want Lucy going on dates with Texas guys I didn’t know. Hell no. Did she want me taking other girls out? I hoped she didn’t. We needed to talk.

Best Rest Motel. Oklahoma City. Oklahoma.

While Cleo ate her enormous breakfast, Bobby called Joel Adamson, his realtor in Huntsville, Texas, who had handled the sale of the Midway house.

“Hey, Joel, this is Bobby Prescott. Remember me?”

“Sure do, Bobby. I’ve got a check in the safe waiting for you.”

“Fantastic. I’m happy to hear you still have it, Joel. I’ll be there later today to pick it up.”

“I’ll be waiting for you, Bobby. Be nice to see you again.”

The call ended and Bobby stood up. “You ready to go, Cleo? We’ve got money to pick up in Huntsville, but it’s not cash like I wanted. I have no idea what I’m going to do with a goddamned check for two hundred thousand dollars.”

Cleo wagged her tail like it wasn’t her problem.

Midway. Texas.

At daybreak the rumbling in Tammy’s stomach woke her up and she got out of bed starving. She was on a search for food like a bear coming out of hibernation.

She rummaged through the kitchen cupboards looking for something to eat—she’d even settle for a stale cookie—but there was nothing.

The house had been professionally cleaned. Eldon had mentioned it and she had forgotten.

Not wanting the neighbors to see her pull out of Eldon’s driveway in the Freightliner, Tammy walked downtown to the main street looking for food.

Her new leather purse slung over her shoulder, Tammy grabbed a cart at the small market. She bought enough food to last her for a few days and paid at the checkout with a credit card from Darryl’s wallet.

The bags were getting a little heavy by the time she walked all the way back to Eldon’s house. She hurried down the driveway and went into the house from the back.

Tammy unpacked the groceries on the kitchen counter and made herself a ham and cheese sandwich. She sat on one of the stools at the breakfast bar and drank a cold Coke wondering how much longer it would take Eldon to get to Midway.

Where is he? He should’ve been here by now.

Columbia Falls Rodeo. Montana.

The crowd was huge and getting bigger by the minute as we got to the fairgrounds. Travis joined the lineup to get in and we waited our turn.

Second round of the competition. All the lesser competitors had been eliminated and today the times posted on the scoreboard would be quicker, and the events would be harder to win.

Every contestant would be doing their absolute best to post their best score and possibly break a record. Jacks always tried for records. Rowdy had taught him that.

Rowdy taught other kids too, but only if they were good enough to compete on the circuit and if they could afford him. Rowdy Butler was the highest paid rodeo coach in the business. For up-and-coming guys over eighteen and for wannabee kids.

Mick stuck with Davey and talked to him non-stop. Funny because Mick only talked to Davey and to Annie. Once in a while he said a word to Rowdy, but no long conversations.

Virge ate more than any of us. Every time I lost sight of my brother, I’d look around and see him lined up at a different food truck. For sure he would be puking on the way home. I couldn’t wait to laugh at him while he hung his head out the window.

Travis took me and Virge on a stroll through the tables of vendors who had guns and knives for sale. He showed us what made a good knife and let us each pick out a new one. He bought both of us beautiful blades made with the best steel and quality grips.

We had like the best dad the fuckin Fates ever made and we knew it.

Me and Virge wore our new knives on our belts for the rest of the rodeo. When the competition was over, Jacks and Davey both won their classes and Rowdy was all smiles. He took every win the kids had as a personal win for himself. In a way it was.

Travis bought all of us rodeo T-shirts to celebrate the winners and we wore them home, happy and laughing and having fun.

Best day ever.

Whataburger. Dallas. Texas.

Hungry at lunchtime, Bobby pulled into Whataburger. Years on the road turned him into an expert on where to eat. He ordered a double burger for himself and for Cleo, but only fed her the meat and tossed the bun.

Bobby laughed at how fast she gobbled up the meat he handed her. “Chew your food, Cleo. You don’t want to go to the vet, do you?”

Heading south out of Dallas after his lunch break, Bobby kept an eye peeled for the sign for the I-45 cut-off. It came up faster than expected and he had to crank the wheel to make the turn.

The tires on the Wrangler squealed as Bobby slid around the bend onto the ramp and almost ran over a girl hitching a ride. Standing right on the curve was a fuckin death wish, but there she was.

Bobby couldn’t stop dead on the turn and cause a pileup, so he gave the girl a wave and drove on. He stopped as soon as the highway straightened out and he could pull over onto the shoulder.

Backpack on her back, she ran to catch up and opened the passenger door to jump in. Bobby was in the process of getting Cleo to jump into the back seat and she wasn’t cooperating. She liked sitting up front and didn’t want to move.

She growled at the girl and Bobby had to speak firmly to her to get her to jump into the back seat.

As soon as Cleo was out of the way, the girl jumped in and tossed her backpack into the footwell. “Thanks for stopping. I’m Emma. You have a huge dog.”

Bobby winced. This girl had the same name as his dead wife and that wasn’t easy for him to deal with.

I wish she had a different name.

Blonde hair and a cute face, she was about twenty-six or seven. Not a teenager. Bobby made it a practice never to pick up teenage kids. That was asking for trouble.

“I’m Fletch. Where are you going, Em?”

“Looking for a place to crash just about anywhere. I’ve been homeless for a while and drifted a bit, but I ain’t a druggie.”

Bobby listened to her brief life story and nodded.

“Nothing like that. Had a few bad breaks and figured I might do better in Houston. Think I’ll look for a job when I get there.”

“Umm…I’ve got a place you can stay for a few days. I already sold it, but it will be empty until the new owners move in and take over.”

“Is it far from here?”

“No, not too far. Down in Midway. I’ll drive by and you can decide. I won’t be staying there with you, if that’s what you’re worrying about. I’m on my way somewhere else.”

“Thanks for the offer. That’s nice of you.”

Cleo kept up the growling and Bobby had to give her a wave. “Stop it, Cleo. Lie down and be good.”

Em laughed. “Your dog doesn’t like me.”

“Funny, because she’s pretty friendly with most people.”

Midway. Texas.

Bobby drove south to Midway and cruised by his bungalow on one of the back streets. He parked the Wrangler in the drive and found the key for the house tucked away in his wallet.

“You can look inside and see if you want to stay for a day or two. My furniture is still in there. I guess I’ll have to hire a mover and take it out before the end of the month.”

“I can’t believe you’re going to let me stay here. You must be the nicest guy I’ve ever met.”

Bobby chuckled over that one.

He opened the front door with the key and let Em go in first carrying her backpack.

Tammy jumped out of the shadows and tried to grab Bobby and Cleo went on the defensive. She sunk her fangs into Tammy’s leg and knocked her down onto the floor.

Screaming her head off and holding onto her leg, Tammy rolled on the floor. Blood gushed through her torn jeans and made a lake on the floor.

Cleo ripped a big hole in Tammy’s pants and bit a huge chunk out of Tammy’s leg just above her right knee.

“We have to get out of here right now,” said Bobby. He wondered how in hell Tammy got to Texas. He looked out the windows for a vehicle and spotted the Freightliner cab in the backyard.

“She stole that fucking truck.” Bobby turned and headed for the door. “I’m leaving, Em. “You coming with me?”

“No, I’ll stay with her. Maybe I can help with her leg. Your dog is a fucking monster.”

Bobby shook his head. “You’ve got that backwards.” He pointed. “That’s the monster lying there in front of you.”

He and Cleo left the girls to kill each other or whatever. Meant little to Bobby at this point. They ran to the Wrangler and beat it for Huntsville.

“Nice job on Tammy, Cleo. She won’t be winning any races in the next week or so.” Bobby leaned over and patted Cleo’s big head.

Cleo wagged her tail and licked his face.

Why didn’t I kill her when I had the chance? I might never get another one.

Bobby tried to figure out why he’d beat it out of his house instead of finishing the job on Tammy.

ReMax Office. Huntsville. Texas.

Trying to shake the creepy feeling that had come over him after seeing Tammy hiding in his house, Bobby met Joel Adamson at the Huntsville ReMax office and signed for his money.

He put the bank draft carefully into his wallet and shook hands with Joel. “Nice seeing you again, Joel. Thanks for taking care of the sale and my money.”

“You too, Bobby. Any idea when you’ll have your furniture out of the house?”

“I’ll work on that tomorrow. I’ll contact a company to haul it for me to my new place.”

“Where are you moving to?”

“Tennessee. Yep. I’ve got a place in Tennessee. Love it there.”

“Close to Nashville?”

“South a few miles. Easy drive to catch the bands and the nightlife. Great place to live.”

Midway. Texas.

Tammy continued to scream and clutch at her leg and Emma had no idea how to help her. A huge quantity of blood had leaked out of Tammy’s leg and Emma thought she should call an ambulance.

Tammy protested when Emma mentioned it, but when Tammy passed out, Emma found her phone in her backpack and made the call.

Tammy opened her eyes and struggled to sit up on the floor. “What are you doing?”

“Calling 911 to get you some help, girl.”

“I don’t want your help, you bitch.” Tammy fumbled around getting Darry’s gun out of her waistband. “I told you not to call.”

“What are you doing with that gun?” Emma backed away from Tammy. “I’m trying to help you. You’re going to bleed to death.”

“Don’t need help.”

Bang .

Tammy shot Emma in the face and killed her.

Emma flopped into a heap on the floor and her blood blended in with Tammy’s.

Dragging herself along and leaving a streak of crimson across the floor, Tammy got to the bedroom with great difficulty. She rested on the floor for a few minutes, then pulled herself up.

She gathered up her stuff, sat on the bed and rested again, then tried for it. She fell twice on the way to the back door and while she was down, she had a couple of doubts about her ability to drive.

Out the back door of Eldon’s house, Tammy forced herself to limp on the leg and get to the Freightliner.

Took two tries to pull herself up into the cab of the truck, but once she was in, she was okay. She waited until her breath came back, then figured she was good to go.

Tammy cranked up the engine, put the big girl into gear and beat it out of Midway, Texas. She had no idea where Eldon had gone, but she was determined to find him. When she did, the first thing she’d do was kill his dog.