Page 22 of Final Ride

“Let’s start with the White House and then the Capitol Building. Lincoln Memorial. Then the Smithsonian.”

“That should be enough for one day, Willy. I’m tired just from hearing your list.”

“The Smithsonian is huge. We might not be able to see all of it today.”

“There are acres of stuff in there,” said Tammy. “I saw it on TV. It will take all day to see half of it.”

“It’s not that big.”

“Is so. Leash the dogs, Willy. We’ll have to take them with us.”

“This is going to be one of the best days ever.”

Tammy had her doubts, but it was what Willy wanted to do and it was his truck…at the moment.

Red Roof Hotel. Martinsburg. West Virginia.

“Look at that, Cleo. First we were behind her and now we’re ahead of her. Tammy turned off the interstate and drove into Washington, D.C. Do you think she’s having a patriotic moment?”

Cleo wagged her tail.

“I don’t think so, girl. Tammy is only true blue to Tammy. Nobody else counts in her world. She’s in her only little crazy place robbing and killing her way across the country.”

“She’ll come back to the highway when she’s finished her business in the city. She’s heading for Canada and the I-81 is the best way to get there from here.”

“There’s no way we can search for her in a city jammed with feds who are looking for us, girl. We’ll wait right here for her. It’s the safest way for us.”

Austin-Bergstrom Airport. Texas.

The plane touched down in Austin and I hadn’t slept much but Virge did. He was out cold a few minutes after takeoff and didn’t open his eyes until the landing gear bounced down on the tarmac in Texas.

Dad stayed in his seat and didn’t try to get into the aisle until a bunch of the passengers cleared out ahead of us. No point. We were all going to the same place anyway and we’d have to line up again soon enough.

At the National rental counter, Dad took care of the paperwork for the Cherokee we’d be using while we were in Texas. The clerk gave us the key fob and we picked our ride up out back. Dark blue.

“Where to from here, Dad?” asked Virge.

“Budget Inn in La Grange. That hotel should be handy to everything we need.”

I programmed it into the nav system.

Budget Inn. La Grange. Texas.

It took more than an hour to get clear of the Austin traffic and drive out to our hotel in La Grange. Dad told us that was the closest town to Annie’s ranch, and that’s where Virge and I wanted to be. Being close to Annie’s ranch and our family was the whole thing for me and Virge.

Dad checked us in, and our room was nice. We wouldn’t be staying in it a lot anyway. Not if we were out looking at ranches every day.

Travis sat in the easy chair in the corner of the room and called Annie to tell her we were in Texas. While Dad tried to hear, Virge scrolled through the TV channels seeing how many we could get.

“Put the sound on mute, Virge. I can’t hear Annie.”

“Hey, Travis.”

“We’re here, Annie-girl. On a mission to find us a ranch.”

“I’ve already had a preliminary chat with Kevin Bennett at the ReMax office in Smithville and he’s getting properties ready to show you and the boys.”

“Thanks. You’re way ahead of me.”

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