“Yeah, way too long.”
“So, did you finally get rid of the bastard?”
“I wish,” she says.
He props the shotgun against the doorpost. “I’m always here ….”
“It’s not that easy.”
“I’d do anything for you.”
“You’ve already done plenty. That was huge, what you did for my girl. Wish I could show you ….”
“Just dump him.”
“Yeah … he’s got his claws too deep into me. Anyway, he’d kill us both.” Tess stuffs her hands in her pockets. “Say, have you seen any sign of her since you let her get away?”
I sit straight up inside the pickup. Is she still alive?
“Sorry,” he says. “But the honest truth is I didn’t let her go. She busted out on her own.”
“I thought you were going to take her to the bus station … give her some cash to get away.”
“Well, when Bryce came around to collect her she was gone. I wasn’t gonna tell him we let her escape.” He folds his arms across his chest. “And you never came around asking.”
Tess turns and kicks the dirt. “Damn you.”
“It’s not like I didn’t try to find her. I drove up and down the damn highway several times, searching. But she must have holed up in the woods, figuring the highway wasn’t a safe place.”
She glares at him.
“And I searched all through these woods. All I found was a hut a couple miles from here, but I guess it’s abandoned. A few months after she ran off, my sister’s boy was helping out around the ranch. He said he’d seen a crusty old man living there. Doubt she’d have trusted a crazy buzzard like that—after what Bryce done to her. My guess is if she didn’t catch a ride out on the highway, she couldn’t have survived the first winter on her own.”
I slink down in the seat. Bryce is right. She got eaten by coyotes or murdered by a truck driver.
Tess points to me. “Eric, we got a situation here. The girl and I have to lay low for a while.”
Eric grunts. “Thought I’d be the last person he’d trust after the other girl got away on my watch.”
Tess shrugs. “As if he trusts anybody.”
“So what’s the emergency?”
“This time I’ll be doing the babysitting. All we need is a place to hang out. Bryce’ll hike over here when the smoke clears and let us know it’s safe to go back. I figure it’ll take about a week.”
“There’s an empty stall in the barn for the girl. You can have the couch.”
Tess tucks her hair behind her ear. “What about sticking us in your spare room so I can keep a closer eye on ….” She grins. “You know, things?”
Eric shakes his head. “My sister’s boy stays with me now. She took off a little over a year ago to follow her boyfriend up to Portland. Didn’t want a stringy 16-year-old tagging along.”
Tess yanks me out of the pickup. “Do you have some chain and a couple of padlocks? The old man gave me orders.”
“You must have a wild one.”
Tess frowns. “You can say that. She’s the reason my life is in the dumper. But I’ll keep her on a short leash while we’re here … she won’t cause any trouble.”
“You’ll find what you need in the tack shop. I’ll get some blankets while you get her settled.”
Tess shoves me. I step barefoot on a patch of tiny burrs … start hopping. She laughs—shoves me again. “Dance, girl.”
I hop around, driving the stickers into the soles of my feet.
“Keep moving.” She pushes again.
When she opens the barn door, horses snort. Paw the ground. A big brown one bucks against its stall.
I fall to my knees.
Tess kicks me … I crawl all the way to the end of the barn. She herds me into an empty stall and stands over me, hands on her hips. “This is your home for the time being. Get used to it.”
I keep my eyes down.
She walks away.
I don’t peek up … even when she comes back.
A chain rattles on the stall’s gatepost … again when Tess loops it around my neck. The padlock snaps shut. I flinch. She pats my head. “Just relax. You won’t be going
“So, did you finally get rid of the bastard?”
“I wish,” she says.
He props the shotgun against the doorpost. “I’m always here ….”
“It’s not that easy.”
“I’d do anything for you.”
“You’ve already done plenty. That was huge, what you did for my girl. Wish I could show you ….”
“Just dump him.”
“Yeah … he’s got his claws too deep into me. Anyway, he’d kill us both.” Tess stuffs her hands in her pockets. “Say, have you seen any sign of her since you let her get away?”
I sit straight up inside the pickup. Is she still alive?
“Sorry,” he says. “But the honest truth is I didn’t let her go. She busted out on her own.”
“I thought you were going to take her to the bus station … give her some cash to get away.”
“Well, when Bryce came around to collect her she was gone. I wasn’t gonna tell him we let her escape.” He folds his arms across his chest. “And you never came around asking.”
Tess turns and kicks the dirt. “Damn you.”
“It’s not like I didn’t try to find her. I drove up and down the damn highway several times, searching. But she must have holed up in the woods, figuring the highway wasn’t a safe place.”
She glares at him.
“And I searched all through these woods. All I found was a hut a couple miles from here, but I guess it’s abandoned. A few months after she ran off, my sister’s boy was helping out around the ranch. He said he’d seen a crusty old man living there. Doubt she’d have trusted a crazy buzzard like that—after what Bryce done to her. My guess is if she didn’t catch a ride out on the highway, she couldn’t have survived the first winter on her own.”
I slink down in the seat. Bryce is right. She got eaten by coyotes or murdered by a truck driver.
Tess points to me. “Eric, we got a situation here. The girl and I have to lay low for a while.”
Eric grunts. “Thought I’d be the last person he’d trust after the other girl got away on my watch.”
Tess shrugs. “As if he trusts anybody.”
“So what’s the emergency?”
“This time I’ll be doing the babysitting. All we need is a place to hang out. Bryce’ll hike over here when the smoke clears and let us know it’s safe to go back. I figure it’ll take about a week.”
“There’s an empty stall in the barn for the girl. You can have the couch.”
Tess tucks her hair behind her ear. “What about sticking us in your spare room so I can keep a closer eye on ….” She grins. “You know, things?”
Eric shakes his head. “My sister’s boy stays with me now. She took off a little over a year ago to follow her boyfriend up to Portland. Didn’t want a stringy 16-year-old tagging along.”
Tess yanks me out of the pickup. “Do you have some chain and a couple of padlocks? The old man gave me orders.”
“You must have a wild one.”
Tess frowns. “You can say that. She’s the reason my life is in the dumper. But I’ll keep her on a short leash while we’re here … she won’t cause any trouble.”
“You’ll find what you need in the tack shop. I’ll get some blankets while you get her settled.”
Tess shoves me. I step barefoot on a patch of tiny burrs … start hopping. She laughs—shoves me again. “Dance, girl.”
I hop around, driving the stickers into the soles of my feet.
“Keep moving.” She pushes again.
When she opens the barn door, horses snort. Paw the ground. A big brown one bucks against its stall.
I fall to my knees.
Tess kicks me … I crawl all the way to the end of the barn. She herds me into an empty stall and stands over me, hands on her hips. “This is your home for the time being. Get used to it.”
I keep my eyes down.
She walks away.
I don’t peek up … even when she comes back.
A chain rattles on the stall’s gatepost … again when Tess loops it around my neck. The padlock snaps shut. I flinch. She pats my head. “Just relax. You won’t be going
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