Page 69 of Lawless Ride

“Oh, yeah? You’d like to see that happen, Hannah, but it won’t. The county employs me to protect all of its citizens—even the mustangs who live here.” I locked the run wishing I’d never eaten Hannah’s casserole that first day I came to Montana.

Great Falls Airport.

Annie’s charter was waiting on the tarmac when she arrived at the airport with the boys. She parked Travis’s truck near the terminal building and left the keys inside with the manager.

She boarded the plane with Davey and Jackson and while they waited for clearance to take off, she texted Travis telling him where his truck was.

“Your truck is at Great Falls Airport parked in the charter section.”

Travis didn’t answer and she didn’t expect him to. Bullheaded and impossibly stubborn, Travis was lost to her. She should’ve given up on him a long time ago.

The second text she sent was to Harlan, apologizing for not having time to teach him to shoot.

“So sorry I had to leave before I could help you with your shooting, honey. I’m sure you’re aware of the circumstances that forced me to leave. I’d love to have you come to my ranch for a couple of weeks, and I could give you instruction then. Let me know when you can come, and I’ll arrange a flight for you.”

The plane took off and she and the boys slept all the way home to Austin.

Wild Stallion Ranch.

Harlan and I had a tough enough time with the angry rustlers, but there was worse trouble waiting for us when we got back to the ranch.

Tammy and Lucy were both crying as they made supper, and as soon as I walked in the door, they let me know how disappointed they were in me.

“You made Mommy go home early, Travis. She was going to stay until Tuesday to teach Harlan how to shoot, and now she’s gone.”

Reaching into the fridge for beer for Harlan and myself, I said, “I didn’t mean for it to happen. I’m sorry, girls. Truly, I am.”

“Too late now,” said Lucy. “Mommy is gone and she’s never coming back.”

“Did she say that?” I felt a pain shoot through my heart.

“Yep. She hugged us and said she’d see us when we got home at the end of August, and that she was taking us to Vegas to the rodeo in the fall.”

Ignoring the upset of the girls, I asked, “Is dinner almost ready? You girls have to go back to Marilyn’s ranch before seven.”

“That’s why we’re eating early,” said Tammy. “Ten more minutes and the meat will be ready. There’s lots of pie. Mama made everybody’s favorites, before you made her go home, Travis.” More tears from Tammy as she slammed her hands angrily into a pair of oven mitts.

“I get it, girls. I’m the bad guy in all of this.” I took another beer out to the porch while Harlan stayed in the kitchen and tried to calm the girls. He was good at it too. Calm and sympathetic. I was pretty sure they told him everything and left me out of most of it.

Dinner at the kitchen table was a silent affair and Harlan barely ate anything but butterscotch pie. He was pissed at me too, and that hurt more than anything.

I cleared the table and stacked the dishes in the sink while the girls packed up their belongings and got into the squad.

My truck was goners, and it was probably at some airport in Montana where I’d never fucking find it. I couldn’t bear to look at my phone to see if there was a message from Annie. I wouldn’t be able to look for a few days yet.

Pellegrino Ranch. Shelby.

I drove in silence to Marilyn’s ranch north of Shelby to drop off the girls and when we arrived, they jumped out without saying goodbye or hugging me.

Harlan got out of the squad and hugged them, and I could hear him telling them not to cry.

I felt like the biggest turd north of the Texas line and there was no way I could make it up to them. I had single-handedly ruined their perfect weekend with their mother and their brothers.

Ruined my own weekend too, but I was used to that.

As we drove west towards Coyote Creek, Harlan read a message on his phone and the look on his face was one I hadn’t seen before.

He turned and looked at me across the console and I could barely breathe knowing he was going to tell me something I didn’t want to hear.

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