3. 3
3
S avage blinked his eyes open and bit back a groan. He wanted to roll over and go back to sleep but knew if he wanted to get food, and more importantly, caffeine, before they hit the road, he needed to get moving.
He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, sitting there for a moment as he blinked against the light streaming in the window across the room. The bed in between him and the door wasn’t empty, not that he’d expected it to be. For the trip he and the only other single fully patched member on the trip were sharing a room, at least on the road. He didn’t know for sure what was waiting for them at the ranch, but from what they’d packed in the way of gear it may be tents, and Savage had brought his own tent. Sleeping rough he didn’t mind as long as he had access to showers and decent food. But if he was living in a tent, even if only for a little while, he wanted his own space.
Deciding he’d sat there long enough, Savage pushed himself to his feet, used the facilities and dressed, doing so as quietly as he could so he didn’t disturb Sackett. He’d let the other man sleep as long as he could, at least until he was in danger of being late. Then Savage would check on him, if he hadn’t seen him before then.
Stepping out of their shared room, Savage scanned the area. There had to be a diner of some kind nearby. Somewhere he could get food and coffee. If there wasn’t a diner he’d take a convenience store. They usually had coffee, and even if that was undrinkable, which he had encountered before, he could grab an energy drink.
“What you looking for?” Mac asked as he stepped close to Savage and stopped.
“Somewhere to get food.”
“There’s a Denny’s about a block that way,” the road captain said with a jerk of his thumb back the way they’d come in. “And a mom and pop place about the same distance that way,” he indicated the opposite direction. “It depends on what you’re looking for and how long you want to take.”
“You already eat?” Savage asked, eyeing the cup in the older man’s hand.
Mac nodded. “Elyse had her heart set on the mom and pop. We just got back. The food’s great but the service is a little slow.” He checked his watch. “You probably have time, if you hurry.”
“Where’d you get that?” Savage nodded to the cup in the captain’s hand.
“There’s a gas station just down the block, the coffee’s decent and they had sandwiches, burritos and stuff. They looked good, and people were buying them so who knows,” the older main said with a shrug.
“Thanks. I better go get something before I run out of time.” He glanced at his bike and debated whether or not to take it down to the gas station. He could probably walk faster but it wouldn’t hurt to make sure he topped it off so they’d start the day with a full tank of gas.
Twenty minutes later he walked his bike back into line with the others and killed the engine. He sat there a moment wondering where would be best to eat, when the door to the room he shared with Sackett opened. Good his roommate was up. He could use the table in there to eat, then pack the last of his shit before they hit the road again.
“Morning, where’d you get that?” Sackett asked as he stepped in the door.
Savage told him as he sat and pulled the burrito from the bag the cashier had put his things in. He unwrapped it and closed his eyes at the burst of flavor. This was perfect. Just what he’d needed and between it and the coffee, would get him started on the road.
This would be their third day on the road and if Mac was right, not that Savage doubted him, their last full day on the road. They could push through and get to the ranch tonight, but if they were going to be sleeping in tents, it was better to spend the night somewhere else and arrive earlier in the day, so they had plenty of time to set up camp and get things situated while there was plenty of light.
When he’d finished eating, Savage gathered the last of his things from the room. He was carrying them, and the extra drinks he’d gotten from the gas station out to his bike. He packed away his stuff, but pulled out the small lunch box cooler he kept in one saddle bag, put the energy drinks and a couple bottles of water inside and went in search of the ice machine. One of the advantages of living in the desert was adapting to ways to keep drinks cold. He’d debated leaving the cooler behind, but now was glad he’d kept it. By the time he’d finished icing down the drinks and packing the cooler back in the saddle bags, the others were starting to gather. He made sure everything was secure then went to join them.