Page 3 of Final Ride

“Lay down,” said Willy-John and both dogs flopped down on the porch and never moved.

“This is our second round of canvassing, Doc. We’re still looking for the driver of the wreck and his passenger—if theyain’t dead. I’m guessing you haven’t seen any strangers, or you would’ve called the station.”

“That’s right, Sheriff. I said if I saw anybody wandering around I didn’t know, I’d call, and that hasn’t happened. This is a quiet road, and the mountain folk don’t have many visitors unless it’s their own kin.”

“True enough,” said the sheriff.

Tammy sat on the side of the bathtub and waited for Willy to be done talking on the porch to whoever was out there. If it was the sheriff again, Tammy needed to leave, or Willy-John would be in big trouble for helping her and she couldn’t let that happen.

Willy was a good man who did love her. She could tell that. He wasn’t like Eldon who only pretended he loved her, took the sex she offered, and then when it came down to the nitty gritty, he dumped her in a rest area with a taser burn on her neck.

Tammy opened the bathroom door when Willy-John tapped twice. He smiled and pulled her into a hug. “It’s all okay. They’re gone.”

“I need to leave here, Willy, or you’ll be in big trouble when the sheriff finds out you’ve been helping a wanted fugitive. Can you drop me in town at a bus station?”

“You’re not fit to go anywhere on your own yet, Tammy. The healing of your leg wound is still going on and you can’t move around too much yet. Please, sit down and we’ll work out a plan.”

“Do you have an idea?”

Willy chuckled. “I think I’m hatching one, but I’m not ready to tell you about it yet. My brain needs to do more work on it.”

Tammy sat on the sofa and said, “You’re a good person, Willy, and I’m a bad person. I can’t stay here, or I’ll turn you into a bad person like me and I don’t want to do that. I love you too much to hurt you like that.”

Willy smiled. “I love you too, Tammy, and I know you’re a lot younger than me, but I can’t deny how I feel. I don’t want you to leave. If you do leave, I want to go with you.”

“You would leave your cabin and go with me?”

“That’s what I’ve been thinking of doing. Yes. I’d leave here and go with you if we were going to try life as a couple.”

“I’ll ruin your life, Willy.”

“My life isn’t much now. There isn’t much for you to ruin, girl.”

“Where would we go?”

“Let’s have a coffee and think about that a little more.” Willy-John smiled and felt a surge of excitement race through his body. “We might be close to solving this problem.”

“I think there is a solution,” said Tammy. “And this is it. I should give myself up and you should pretend you never met me. That’s the only thing I see as a solution.”

Willy smiled. “That’s not even close to what I’m thinking of doing.”

“Tell me your idea.”

Shadow Mountain. West Virginia.

Bobby slept late and made himself some breakfast when he got up. There was nothing to do at the cabin and some days were so long and boring, he nearly lost his grip on reality. He understood now why mountain people went hunting. It was something for them to do to stay sane, but hunting wasn’t for him.

When Ray was with him, he was irritated and annoyed most of the time with Ray’s constant worrying, but he was never lonely and never bored.

Every single day, he cursed Tammy for killing Ray.

“Do you think we should look for Tammy and make her pay for Ray, Cleo?”

Cleo wagged her tail and Bobby nodded. “I’m thinking of doing exactly that. Just need to plan how we’re going to find that looney and then we’ll go get her and put a bullet in her head. Same as she did to Ray. Payback, Cleo.”

Cleo pushed her huge body closer and licked Bobby’s face a couple of times.

“Wish you wouldn’t do that, Cleo.”

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