Blanco County 04 - Guilt Trip by Ben Rehder Page A

of.
    “Uh-oh,” Billy Don said. “They’s three of ‘em now.”
    “You always was quick with numbers,” Red replied, throwing his truck into park. He spotted their boss, Jack Chambers, pulling ten-foot T-posts off a trailer. “I’ll do all the talking,” Red said.
    Billy Don groaned. “Then we’re screwed for sure.”
    “You wanna keep this job or not?” Red snapped.
    “Jeez, Red, I was just kidding.”
    “Then let me handle it.”
    Both men got out and walked over to the trailer, where Jack was wiping sweat off his forehead, smiling as they approached. “I was wondering if I was gonna see y’all again,” he said. “Where were you boys yesterday?”
    Red played it innocent. “Flooded in at home. You mean you was working?”
    “Me and Jorge got out here right after lunch. Put in a good six hours, just the two of us. I left a message for you.”
    “Yeah, sorry ‘bout that. We was outside cutting up a pig,” Red said. It wasn’t a lie, either. Yesterday morning, they’d made it back to Red’s trailer with the truckload of wild hogs just fine, crossing the river as soon as it got low enough, no sign of the rancher. But since most of their night had been wasted sitting in the truck, waiting for the rain to stop, they’d had to use the afternoon to butcher the hogs before they spoiled “Besides,” Red said, “we kinda figured the job was on hold, what with Mr. Scofield being drownt and everything.”
    That brought a frown to Jack’s face. “Well, yeah, he might be, but he already paid in advance. That means we gotta finish it up.”
    Red kicked the mud with the toe of his boot. “I see you got some new boys working.”
    “When you didn’t call me back, even last night, I had to do something. Jorge brought a couple of his cousins along.”
    Red glanced over at the trio of Mexicans, busy as bees, unloading tools from the bed of Jack’s truck, ready for a long, sweaty day. “We sure could use the work, Jack,” he said.
    Jack removed his cap and scratched the crown of his head. “You’ll show up when I need ya?”
    “You know we will. It was just that damn rain the other night. A misunderstanding.”
    Jack appeared to think it over. “Listen,” he said, “I promised them two new ones a full day’s work. But you come back tomorrow and I’ll get you back on the job, okay?”
    Red figured that was a reasonable proposition, so he shook Jack’s hand and he and Billy Don turned for the truck.
    “Hey, Red,” Jack called. “I saw Loretta last night.”
    That stopped Red dead in his tracks. Billy Don, too. They both turned around.
    Billy Don said, “My ex-wife?”
    Jack shook his head. “No, I said Loretta. Red’s ex-wife.”
    “Yeah, she’s mine, too,” Red said.
    Jack was puzzled. “Wait. You saying you was both married to her?”
    “It’s a long story,” Red said. “Where’d you see her?”
    “I was married to her first,” Billy Don said.
    Lucas knew he should feel different about the whole situation—nervous or scared or that remorseful thing they were always talking about on cop shows—-but he didn’t. It was damn near impossible. He was tooling along the roads of Florida in a brand-new Corvette, the girl of his dreams by his side, and all he could feel was great. If there was hell to pay later, then that’s what he’d do—pay it later. For now, he was going to see how long he could make it last.
    “What you got in your suitcase?” Stephanie asked, after she’d drained her third beer. She’d been tossing the empties—hers and his—out the window at cattle-crossing signs, making a game of it. Hit the cow, win a prize.
    “‘Bout forty pounds of black-tar heroin.”
    “Shut up.”
    “You asked.”
    “No, seriously.”
    “Clothes, mostly.”
    “What else? Anything special?” She said it all singsongy, like she was angling for something. He knew what it was, too.
    Ecstasy.
    She loved the stuff. Lucas, well, he could take it or leave it. He did, however, enjoy