Page 80 of River Ride

“But you didn’t forget how, did you, Billy?”

“Hell no, Virge. I grew up in Montana. I was in the saddle as soon as I could sit up. I think I was six months old when I first rode solo. My mom has pictures.”

“Calling bullshit on that one, Billy,” said Virge.

Travis snorted.

Love’s Truck Stop. Atlanta. Georgia.

Tammy opened her eyes and was surprised to see a naked body in the sleeper next to her. Guilt flooded through her veins making her feel like she’d cheated on Eldon. That spawned an even uglier and more disturbing thought—had Eldon been cheating on her?

The naked guy rolled over and through a hungover drug haze, Tammy recognized him as Rick, the guy she’d had coffee with the night before.

He flashed her a smile. “I’ve got morning wood for you, girl. You up for it? Want me to show you what I’ve got?”

“No thanks,” said Tammy. “I’ve got to get going.”

“You told me you were taking it easy for a couple of days because of your leg and now you’re in a hurry to get rid of me?”

“Come on, Rick. Go back to your own truck. I have to go inside to use the bathroom and get cleaned up, then I’m leaving.”

“Where you going, Tammy?” Rick had a sarcastic ring to his voice. “I bet you don’t even know. I can tell when a chick is trying to get rid of me.”

Tammy laughed. “That means you’ve had lots of practice.”

“That ain’t what I meant.”

Tammy tried hard to think of places Eldon talked about going, but her brain wasn’t working right.

Rich taunted her. “See, you can’t even tell me where you’re headed. You’ve got nowhere to go.”

Her thoughts all messed up from the strong pain pills, she gave Rick a shove and reached for her clothes. She pulled a T-shirt over her head and grabbed her filthy uniform pants—the only thing that would go over the bandage.

Rick sat up watching her and made a face. “That’s a gross looking bandage you have on your leg, girl.”

“Don’t look at it if it bothers you.”

“Look at all that pus and blood soaked through the tape. Got any clean gauze or tape on hand? I could change that for you before you put those dirty pants on. I can see you getting an infection pretty damned soon. A mess like you’ve got could turn into gangrene and you could lose your leg.”

“You a doctor?” Tammy laughed at Rick.

“Almost a paramedic. Hadn’t quite finished the course when I got the chance to buy my truck. Couldn’t pass up the deal.”

“I won’t get infection,” said Tammy. “I’ll change the bandage later.” She finished pulling on the dirty pants and struggled out of the sleeper.

“Hang on a minute, Tammy. Don’t be so fucking testy. I’ll go inside with you and grab a coffee.”

“Coffee is what I need.” Tammy shook a pill out of the vial and popped it in her mouth. She shoved the pill bottle into her pocket before she jumped out of the truck. She needed them handy—just in case she needed another one in a hurry. Sometimes the pain came in waves and one or two pills wouldn’t stop it.

“Slow down,” hollered Rick as he climbed out behind her. “You can be annoying.”

“So can you,” mumbled Tammy.

Burke & Burke Funeral Home. Coyote Creek.

Hundreds of game wardens from all across Montana attended Kody Kollard’s funeral to pay their respects. It was a huge event for Coyote Creek and all of Harrison County.

The funeral home parking lot overflowed and vehicles were parked up and down the street. The Burke brother’s place was a small facility, and they weren’t equipped to handle a funeral of this magnitude.

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