Page 15 of Longest Ride

“But you didn’t tell Dad?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Shit, Harlan, when Dad finds out that we knew all along that Tammy did this, we’re gonna be in big trouble.”

“Yeah. Keeping stuff from Dad is not the best idea. He fuckin hates it. We have to tell him when we come back from this call.”

“Yeah,” said Virge. “He’s gotta know about this even if it’s the shits or he’s gonna fuckin lose it. If we don’t tell him, we’ll be locked in the barn until fuckin spring when he finds out from somebody else.”

“Jesus, Virge. Think he’d do that?”

Virge frowned. “Course he would. Payback is Dale Burden’s middle name.”

“What is his middle name? I don’t think I ever heard it.”

“Just told you it wasPayback. Couldn’t be anything else.”

I chuckled. “You’re funny, Virgie.”

We got to the crash, and it was a bit more than a fender-bender. Two pickups had gone off the ramp and slid down the bank into the deep snow at the right side of the curve. One of them was on its side half-buried in a drift.

“We definitely need Ted,” said Virge. “Where are the fuckin drivers?”

We jumped out of the squad and ran down the bank to the trucks. Both drivers were sitting in the upright truck with the engine running. Keeping warm and waiting for us to show.

“Holy shit, you guys. This is the fucking pits.”

“Hey, Sheriff. You got a tow coming for us?”

“Yeah. Sit tight and we’ll get you out. Was this a rear-ender orwhat?”

“I couldn’t stop,” said the guy behind the wheel. “Road was all icy. Didn’t mean to clip him. Just happened.”

“Either one of you been drinking?”

“Too early for me.”

“All I had was coffee.”

“Okay, we’ll put it down to weather-related and we’ll get you out of here and you both can go home.”

“Thanks, Sheriff.”

“Stay put and keep warm. Ted will be here in a bit with the tow truck.”

Riverside. Washington State.

I woke up in the sleeper with Eldon’s body raging hot beside me and I thought he had a fever. My nightshirt was wet and bloody in spots and the sheets were splattered with Eldon’s blood.

I sat up and looked down at him and there was enough light from the one tiny window in the sleeper to see how white his face was.

“Eldon, I have to clean you up. You’re bleeding.”

“Pain pills. Get me the pills.”

“I’ll get them for you. There’s still half a bottle of water to take them with.”

I crawled through to the cab and got my purse, found the vial of pills, and crawled back into the sleeper. I held Eldon’s head up enough so he could swallow the pills with the water left in the bottle.

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