Page 47 of JoyRide

Virgil was down for the count and in a deep sleep. He slept through chores, straight through dinner and he kept on sleeping.

“I’ll crash on the other sofa and be handy for when he wakes up,” I said. “I’ll keep Max and Sarge down here with me.”

“Okay,” said Tammy. “He stinks, but we’ll clean him up in the morning. You okay, Billy? You need help with anything, or can you get to bed on your own?”

“Yep. I’m glad to be home sleeping in my own bed. Too long in the hospital with all those nurses fussing over me twenty-four seven.”

“You saying you didn’t like all the attention those pretty nurses gave you?” asked Tammy.

“It wasn’t bad when I was so beat up I couldn’t move, but after that I just wanted out of there.”

“Get any phone numbers?” I asked. “I saw a couple of cute ones on your floor.”

“Okay, I got two numbers,” said Billy. “Probably won’t use them.”

“You should,” said Tammy. “They can meet you at the Dry Run and buy you a pitcher. That would be fun.”

Billy laughed. “I’m going to bed.”

Chapter Nine

Monday, July 29th.

Wild Stallion Ranch.

I woke up when my brother started shouting and yanking on the chain that attached him to the fireplace hearth.

“Get this goddamned chain off me and let me loose. I’m not your fucking prisoner.”

I rolled off the other sofa, crossed the room and knelt down to take the cuff off his wrist. As soon as it released, he ran for it.

Out the front door and down the steps and good timing by mama bear sent him right back into the house as I was coming out.

“Fucking bear right there at the bottom of the steps.”

“She likes to come on the porch and toss the chairs around.”

“Jesus. You shouldn’t live out here.”

“This is the best place to live on the fuckin planet,” I said. “Get in here, Virge. You probably need the bathroom and Tammy’s making coffee. Just sit down and talk to me for an hour. You don’t have to stay here if you don’t want to, but I’m your brother and I’ve been looking for you.”

He stepped into the house, and I closed the door.

“Where’s the bathroom?”

“End of the hall on the left,” I said.

When he came back from the bathroom, he flopped down on one of the kitchen chairs and Tammy put a mug of black coffee in front of him.

He stared across the table at me with cloudy eyes. “Never knew I had a brother. Always been on my own.”

“Same as me when they took you away from me. I was six and you were four when they split us up. You got adopted and I didn’t.”

“Don’t think I got adopted. Just went from one foster home to the next one.”

Tammy started a pan of bacon and Virge turned his head to watch her. He was probably starved.

“How do you like your eggs?” she asked him.

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