Page 20 of Stormy Ride

I stood up to leave. “Talk to your boys and let them know what kind of rig I’m looking for, Marilyn. Please, take precautions.”

“I won’t forget. I’ll talk to the hands at supper. Thanks for the visit, Travis. I missed you.”

I smiled at her. So pretty and sincere. “I missed you too. Maybe I’ll see you at the Dry Run and we’ll dance a slow dance.”

“Possibly, I still go there once in a while.”

As I drove back from Shelby, I called Molly and told her about Marilyn seeing the killers a couple of weeks previous.

“Oh, my, Travis. That makes me nervous. They are circling around this area looking for horses to steal.”

“I’m not too happy about it, Molly. It’s past time for you to leave, but tomorrow morning I’m going to need a list of horse ranchers in Harrison County. And we should also check robbery reports from the neighboring counties, just so we’re in the know.”

“Sure. I can get a list of horse ranchers from the county office, and for similar robberies, I’ll call the neighboring county sheriffs’ offices.”

“Great, thanks.”

“I’ll call the county now before I leave and put a request in. I know some of the ladies who work there.”

“I want to put up a poster in the post office and in the feed store and the bank.Be on the lookoutwith a description of the truck and trailer.”

“Great idea.”

“We’ll work on it tomorrow. You have a great night.”

“You too, Travis. Oh, I had a thought—what about Wyatt Thompson? I’ll call him tomorrow and I’m sure he’ll put something in the paper to help you.”

“Yeah, we need to do that too. We’ll talk to him tomorrow.”

Dry Run Roadhouse.

As I passed by the Inn and saw Olivia’s outdoor lights glowing and lighting up the park-like grounds surrounding her establishment, I wondered about what had happened between us earlier in the day.

“She probably thinks I’m a fucking animal,” I said to the dogs.”

I slowed down and asked myself, “Should I go in and talk to her or let it gel for a day?”

Being basically a coward around women, I decided to text her—something I’d never done before—to see how the wind was blowing.

I parked behind the roadhouse, sat behind the wheel of the squad, and sent a text to Olivia.

“Any second thoughts about lunch?”

While waiting for an answer, I let Max and Sarge out of the truck to run around the parking lot. When they came back to me, I harnessed them so they could go with me inside the bar.

I checked my phone and Olivia had answered me.

“None.”

“I had concerns.”

“No need.”

“Thanks. Talk later.”

I forgot it was Friday until I walked through the front door of the Dry Run and heard the band warming up.

Jack gave me a wave and pointed at my regular stool.

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