Page 48 of Midnight Ride

Tammy had dinner ready when Travis got home. We had the chores done and were drinking a couple of beers while we waited for him. Billy didn’t know where he had gone after he left the station, and neither did we. Dad was acting a bit weird.

Tammy opened the fridge, took out a can of Miller and handed it to Travis. “We waited dinner for you, Daddy.”

“Thanks. I had to stop at the Inn and talk to Olivia. That asshole Miller Ravary is giving her trouble again.”

“Isn’t he her boyfriend?” asked Billy.

“Was. She dumped him.”

Billy raised an eyebrow. “Are you seeing Olivia again? Is that why Ravary is in a fizz?”

Travis shrugged. “Could be, I guess.”

“Was Savanna in the right when she got mad and punched you?” asked Tammy.

“Nope. Didn’t happen until after that.”

“Huh,” said Tammy.

I could tell Tammy was mad at Dad. She and Savanna were besties.

After everybody was in bed sleeping, Tammy and I met in secret in the barn. We saddled our horses and went for a midnight ride in the dark. One of our favorite things to do lately and we looked forward to being together.

We rode all the way to the back of the thousand acres, hopped off our horses and laid on the grass. The September nights were getting cool, and tonight was close to being a little too cold to lay on the ground.

Tammy heard the growl first and whispered, “Bear. Get up, Harlan. We’d better go.”

“Yep.”

We mounted up and the growling got louder. “Go hard, Tammy. She’s chasing us.”

Tammy gave a little squeal as we raced back to the barn, adrenaline pumping through our veins.

We put the horses in their stalls, cooled them out and gave them carrots. Still hyped a little by the bear chasing us, we made out more than we should’ve before we sneaked into the house and went to bed.

Chapter Ten

Wednesday, September 11th.

Wild Stallion Ranch.

I could tell Dad still had a headache when he sat down at the table with a black coffee in front of him. He was staring into his mug, not saying anything.

“What’s going on with Olivia? Are you guys giving it another shot?”

“I’m not giving anybody another shot. Not ever. All I do is screw it up and hurt people and I’m not going that route again.”

“Okeydokey,” said Virgil. “From now on, no commitments for the super stud in our family.”

“Shut up, Virge. Shove those eggs in your mouth.”

We all laughed. Even Billy.

Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek.

Travis called our first ever staff meeting when we got to the station. We gathered around Molly’s desk in the squad room so she’d be included. She couldn’t run off and abandon the front desk or the phone.

“We have Trevor Oliver in custody, and before his arraignment, I want to make sure we have both Harlan’s and Tammy’s reports filed, stating they heard Trevor and Alison confess to the murders.”

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