Page 2 of River Ride

“How far will they get by tonight, Dad?”

“Having to pick Tammy up at the hospital first, they won’t get an early start, Harlan. Annie sent me the route they were taking, so we could follow along in case we wanted to.”

“Hell, yeah. I do,” said Virge. “I can’t wait until the girls get here and we go to those fuckin barrel races again. I love watching those.”

Travis laughed. “Rodeos are a big part of Montana summertime. Everybody loves the rodeos.”

“Who’s the rodeo champion of the world?” asked Virgil. He always wanted to know stuff like that.

“Rowdy Butler is the current champion,” said Travis. “He’s held onto that title for several years now and nobody can beat him, but I think he’s about set to retire.”

“Wish I could see him ride in person,” said Virge.

“Might never happen for you, son,” said Travis. “But you might see him on TV on a sports channel.”

“You ever seen him compete, Dad?” I asked.

“Umm…can’t say I remember watching him at a rodeo, but I do know him.”

“What do you mean you know him?” Virge’s eyes widened. “Like howdy, Rowdy…like that?”

Travis laughed. “Yep. He might remember meeting me a long time ago, but I doubt it. He meets thousands of people at the rodeos, and they all want his autograph.”

“Hope we don’t get any cases fuckin us up while the kids are here, Dad.” Virge screwed up his face and made me laugh. “If we have to work at the station every fucking day, that will really mess us up.”

“I’ll send out a bulletin telling all the baddies in Harrison County to cool it while rodeo season is on,” said Billy. “Something like—we got no time to investigate your crime.”

Travis chuckled.

“Hope they listen,” said Virge. “I ain’t working while my family is here in Montana.”

“Good to know, Virge. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Coulter-Ross Ranch. La Grange. Texas.

Mick and the boys had the horses loaded and secured inside the big red Coulter-Ross trailer, and all of the luggage was in the load bed of the red Ram diesel.

The four kids crowded into the back seat and jockeyed for position. “Y’all will be able to spread out a lot more when we meet up with Rowdy. The boys can ride with him, and you girls will have some space.”

“Is that tomorrow, Mommy?” asked Lucy.

“Whenever we get to Las Cruses, Rowdy will be there waiting for us,” said Annie. “That’s not far from his ranch in Arizona, and we have to turn north there anyway to head for Montana. We’ll follow the Rio Grande for miles as we drive through New Mexico, and it will be a beautiful river ride.”

“Have you gone that way before, Mommy?” asked Lucy.

“Nope, but I’m looking forward to the adventure.”

“Me too,” said Davey. “I’ve never seen the Rio Grande.”

Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek. Montana.

Molly took a call and wrote the details down on her yellow pad. When she had all of it, she ended the conversation and turned to the boys.

“There was a shooting on a ranch near Black Eagle Pass.”

“I’m listening,” said Travis. “What happened?”

“The owner of the ranch, Jed Carpenter, caught a poacher hunting out of season on his posted land and he shot him.”

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