Page 1 of Longest Ride

Chapter One

Thursday, September 19th.

Enderby Hospital.

Driving straight down Route Ninety-seven, it took about half an hour to get to the hospital where Tammy said she was.

We ran inside following Annie, and Dad was a mess. I could tell by his chalk white face he was close to losing it.

Easy to see Annie was the glue holding Dad together. She asked at the first nurses’ station we came to and found out where the waiting room was for the families of surgical patients.

We took the elevator down one floor and saw the sign. A few steps away was the waiting area and there was Tammy curled up in a chair.

She jumped to her feet when she saw us and started to sob about the guy being shot and only Annie knew what she was saying. Who was the guy and why did he matter to Tammy?

Annie wrapped her arms around Tammy while she cried and stroked her tangled hair. “Don’t cry, baby girl. It’s going to be okay. Mama is here now. Don’t cry.”

Something bad had gone down at the cabin where the trucker lived, and Tammy was shaky and so pale, I thought she might faint. Seen it happen lots of times when she looked exactly the same way.

Travis moved in closer and took Annie and Tammy in his arms and held them in a group hug. “You’re okay now, Tammy. Whatever happened, it doesn’t matter. As long as you’re safe. That’s all we care about.”

“Have you eaten anything?” asked Annie when the group hug broke up.

“Our breakfast is still on the stove,” sobbed Tammy. “The bounty guy came to take Eldon before we had time to eat.”

“Never mind that now,” said Annie. “Let’s get food and coffee and then we’ll talk to Eldon’s doctor and see how he’s doing.”

Tammy nodded. “Gut shot, Mama. It’s bad. I know how you hate it when your guys are gut shot.”

“Recovering from a gut shot will be a struggle for Eldon, but we’ll help him through it, Tammy. He can make it.”

I didn’t have a clue who this Eldon guy was, but Tammy seemed to be totally into him for some reason. Did she get a boyfriend that fast? Or was she upset because this guy gave her a ride in his truck, and she owed him…or something?

“Let’s get coffee in the cafeteria,” said Travis. “Sounds like it will be a long wait before we know anything.”

“How long has Eldon been in the operating room?” asked Annie.

“A long time,” sobbed Tammy. “I thought he died, and they didn’t want to tell me.”

“They’ll tell you,” said Virge. “They don’t let dead people hang around long.”

We found an empty table in the cafeteria and me and Dad lined up with two trays and bought six coffees and six turkey sandwiches. The sandwich specials came with fries and coleslaw, and we had to get more fuckin trays.

A lot of food for the girls, so me and Virge would probably have to finish their sandwiches. I always finished Tammy’s lunch. Used to it.

Dad paid for the whole load, and we carried the trays over to the table where Tammy, Annie and Lucy were sitting.

Now Lucy was listening to the story and crying as much as Tammy. Jesus. I hated it when they cried a lot. “Can you girls be done crying now? I want to enjoy my lunch.”

“Stuff that sandwich in your face, Harlan and leave your sisters alone.”

“Copy that, Dad.”

Virge smirked and covered his plate of fries in a torrent of ketchup. I made a face at him, and he gave me the finger when Dad was looking at Annie.

After we ate, we went back to the waiting area with more coffee and sat with Tammy. Annie made one trip to the nurses’ station to ask how the surgery was coming along, and she was told the doctor was just finishing up.

“Almost finished,” said Annie. “The doctor will come and talk to us soon.”

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