Chapter Fifteen
Wednesday, August 27 th .
Longhorn Motel. Amarillo. Texas.
When me and Virge got up to do the horses the room was empty. “We’re the last ones up,” said Virge. “Better move our butts if we want to get to Annie’s ranch by tonight.”
We pulled on our jeans and rushed out to the parking lot. Travis, Corb and the dogs were outside smoking, and Travis was telling Corb the way it was in our family.
Corb seemed to be listening to every word Travis was telling him and that was a good thing. Travis got pretty pissy when he had to repeat himself on any of the rules.
Travis didn’t follow anybody’s rules, but he expected us to follow the ones he made up for us—to the letter. He also knew when it was time to relax the rules and let us try new stuff. That’s what made him a great father.
“Get the horses done boys. I think we’ll make it to Annie’s by tonight and this is the last time you’ll be feeding them in the trailer.”
“They’ll be happy for that,” said Virge. “They’re getting a little testy.”
We went into the restaurant attached to the motel for breakfast and Corb drew a few stares with his messed-up face and torn clothes. Only clothes he had, and he was too small to wear mine or Virge’s.
“After breakfast we’ll hit a clinic, Corb,” said Travis. “I think you might have a fractured rib. You short of breath?”
“A little.”
“Won’t hurt to get an x-ray and find out for sure.”
“I ain’t never been to a doctor.”
Travis smiled. “You won’t mind it much. You ain’t getting stitches or needles or anything like that.”
Virge made a face.
Medical Center. Amarillo. Texas.
Travis punched medical into the GPS and the map lady took him to the closest clinic. They were just opening for the day and there was nobody ahead of Corb in the waiting room.
The doctor on duty checked him out. An X-ray confirmed Corb had two broken ribs, a sprained wrist and a lot of bruises.
“I’m going to give you some tape, son, to help with the ribs. Not common practice, but your breathing isn’t the best and I think it’s the thing to do in your case.”
“Thanks, Doc,” said Travis. “He’s in considerable pain. Can’t sleep much.”
Corb came out of the exam room with a bandaged wrist and a lot of tape holding his ribs together.
“Wasn’t too bad, was it?” asked Travis.
Corb smiled and that was new. “Piece of cake.”
Travis paid the bill, and we headed south.
Trauma Center. Watertown. New York.
Tammy was allowed out of bed for the first time, and she took it slow. Her head was dizzy, and she was wobbly and a little unsure on her feet.
One of the nurses helped her to the bathroom and back to her bed. “You’re doing well, Tammy. That was your first time out of bed. A couple more times today, and you’ll be able to go to the bathroom on your own.”
“Thanks for the help.”
“That’s what we’re here for.”
Tammy lay on her bed thinking about finding Eldon and having make-up sex with him. Her head swam after getting out of bed and her thoughts were fuzzy.
She tried hard to remember Eldon and how much she loved him, and she couldn’t recall a lot of the past except for the part where they were riding in the truck and heading for the depot.
Trying to picture his handsome face, it kept getting mixed up with Willy’s face. She smiled when she remembered Eldon letting her drive the big truck.
Tammy tried so hard to remember the kind of truck it was. She knew the name and it wouldn’t come to her.
I have to think of the name of the truck.
Maynooth. Northern Ontario.
Bobby sat on the back porch of Mrs. Powell’s sweet log cabin wondering if the old guy down at the general store planned to call Tammy’s mama down in Texas and rat him out.
“I love living here on the lake and if you make me move, that will really piss me off, old guy. You do not want to piss me off.” Bobby patted Cleo’s big head. “Maybe he doesn’t have her number, Cleo. That would be best for us, wouldn’t it?”
Cleo was concentrating too hard on the bear smell to pay much attention to who had who’s phone number. The scent was so strong all around the cabin, Cleo couldn’t leave it alone. She followed the trail down into the ravine over and over.
The result was the same. No bear.
“Should I just sit here in paradise and wait to get kicked out, or should I go down to the store and do a little head bashing?”
Cleo ran off into the woods and didn’t answer.
Abilene. Texas.
Dad towed the big horse trailer into Whataburger, and I followed with the Jeep and the bike trailer. My turn to drive. The best burger place in Texas, according to Dad. It was busy and the parking lot was crowded.
The outdoor patio was jammed with people and their kids, so we ate inside. Corb talked a little more now that he was on the pain pills regular and wasn’t hurting so fuckin’ bad. His face was still a black and blue mashup. It would take some time to heal.
“Were you born in Wyoming, Corb?” asked Virge.
“Guess so. Never thought about it much.”
“You got family who would be looking for you, son?” asked Travis. “You’re only a teen so you must be in the system someplace.”
“Yeah. Guess I’ve always been in the foster system. Got no real parents looking for me, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Good enough,” said Travis. “I don’t want you getting into trouble if you’re supposed to be somewhere else.”
“Nobody would notice if I was gone to fuckin’ Mars.”
Travis felt bad for the kid.
Coulter-Ross Ranch. La Grange.
We pulled through the gate into Annie’s ranch just as the sun was going down. Another long day of driving and we were finally here. Only twenty or thirty miles from our new permanent home in Texas.
Jacks and Lucy helped us unload the horses and get them into the corral. We fed the horses and tossed them a couple of slabs of hay and gave them carrots to celebrate the end of their long boring trip.
Annie took us into the kitchen and fed us leftovers from dinner. Her leftovers were like a gourmet meal to us. She was a fantastic cook and so was Riley.
After dinner and a slice of Annie’s butterscotch pie, Davey took Corb to the garage to see his dog, Bear.
Lucy and I went for a walk down to the river and we were so happy to see each other, we did a lot of kissing and making out.
Annie found places for all of us to sleep, then she and Dad left us to watch movies while they went to the roadhouse for Annie’s shift.
Boots & Saddles Roadhouse. Giddings.
Annie started her shift behind the bar and Travis sat on the end stool with a pitcher of Miller in front of him.
He began to unwind from the long day of driving just as several members of the Black Breed strutted in the front door of the roadhouse.
Four of them walked past the long cowboy bar and chose a booth where they had a clear view of Travis. Two more sat at the opposite end of the bar and stared at him from there.
Travis tilted his head at the guys in the booth and Annie whispered, “I saw them. You expecting trouble, sugar?”
“Nope. Don’t want any, if I can help it.”
“I’ll check it out,” said Annie. She walked over to the booth to deliver their beer and set her tray down. “Why are you guys so far from Houston?” She set their pitchers of beer on the table along with glasses and coasters, salsa and chips.
“Guess we felt like a nice long ride. That ain’t a crime, is it?”
“Nope. Always a treat to have the Breed drop in for a pitcher. How about some queso?”
“Appreciate it, ma’am. Y’all are pretty neighborly here. I figure we’ll be spending a lot more time in this part of Texas.”
“Happy to have y’all as long as you don’t cause me any trouble.”
He laughed. “We never cause trouble, ma’am. But we don’t back down when people cause us problems.”
Annie walked back to the bar, pulled her Beretta out of her waistband and laid it on the bar where it was visible for all to see.