Page 13 of Final Ride

“Can I do a thorough search of this house?” asked Virge. “Might come up with something on the mother.”

“Sure. Why don’t you and Harlan do that? I’ll drive back to the station and send Ted to Shelby. Virge, do you have Vicki’s cell number?”

“Yep.”

“I know you’ve tried time and again but keep calling to see if anything changes on her end.”

“Already called her twenty times and she didn’t answer, but I’ll keep trying.”

“Attaboy.”

ReMax Office. Coyote Creek.

Travis was a little overwhelmed by how quickly things were moving. He figured he had tons of time to pack and get ready to leave Montana, but now he didn’t have much time at all.

The Inn was sold, and the ranch would be next. The thing bothering him the most was the location for the new spread. The boys were keen on not being too far from Annie and the kids—their extended family—and he wanted Harlan and Virge to be happy above all else.

The location didn’t matter so much to him. He’d grown up south of San Angelo and that was a helluva long way from Annie’s ranch.

In Bob Crockett’s office, Travis signed everything marked with a little yellow ‘X’.

“That’s it, Travis. You’re all done with the Inn until the closing date. The ranch is next on our list.”

“I’ve been thinking about it and you’d better search for a ranch for me and the boys within a fifty-mile radius of Austin.The boys don’t want to be more than an hour away from their step-mom and their foster family. They are attached to those kids.”

Bob grinned. “That helps narrow it down a lot, Travis. Texas is a big state.”

“Yeah, it is.”

“I’ve got buyers meeting me at your ranch this morning, so I’d better get up there. Talk to you later.”

“Yep. Let me know if they like it.”

“You’ll hear from me.”

Coyote Creek Inn.

Travis left the office and stopped by the market down the street to pick up more cardboard boxes. He didn’t have nearly enough. Next on his list was something he didn’t want to do but couldn’t put off any longer.

He parked behind the Inn and entered through the back door next to the huge restaurant kitchen. On his way in, he spoke to Susan Westfall, the manager.

“I’ll be in the apartment this morning, Susan. The Inn has been sold and I have to pack the apartment up and clear it out.”

“I’m not sure I’m looking forward to meeting new owners, Travis. We’ve had such a great working arrangement, and you’re the best boss we could have.”

“You’ll meet the new owners soon and I think you’ll like them. They seem like nice people.”

“They won’t be as nice as you.”

He laughed. “Sure they will be.”

Carrying an armload of boxes, Travis unlocked the door of the apartment and went inside. He had no intentions of moving anything from the space except for Olivia’s personal belongings.

Before starting his off-putting task, Travis tried to prepare himself. He sat on the end of Olivia’s bed and lit up a smoke. Hadhe ever smoked in here before?

Couldn’t remember, but there were a lot of other memories that wouldn’t be leaving his head anytime soon. He’d never forget Olivia Best.

This might be the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

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