Page 86 of Final Ride

“We can do that,” I said.

“Yeah, we can,” said Virge. “Harlan can cook a couple of things, and we can survive.”

Mick was quiet in the restaurant, and he looked tired. We drank a beer before our steaks came and they were cooked to perfection. Virge could hardly finish his and we had no room for dessert.

One cup of coffee and Mick drove us home to Annie’s house in Summerlin.

Crazy day. Helluva day.

Summerlin. Las Vegas. Nevada.

“Do you think any of the Breed will be waiting for us at your house, Mom?” asked Virge.

“Anything is possible, but we eliminated a lot of them today and they might need time to regroup and bury their dead.”

“Hope they do,” said Virge. “I’m dead beat and I don’t want them killing me in my sleep.”

Annie laughed. “I’ll make sure they don’t do that, Virgie.

We drank a couple of cold ones out by the pool, and it wasn’t a bit cooler than it had been all fuckin’ day. Dark but still about a hundred dry, crackling degrees.

Annie made phone calls to Blaine, Farrell and the kids while I texted Lucy.

“We got Travis and he’s in the hospital.”

“Fantastic. When are you coming home?

“Don’t know until we talk to the doctor in the morning.”

“I miss you.”

“Same. When things settle down at our ranch, we’ll go out on a real date, okay?”

“Okay. I love you, Harlan.”

“Same.”

After talking to Lucy, I felt better like I always did. Her life was so solid, she grounded me. I glanced over at Virge, and he was asleep in his chair.

I rousted him out of his chair and hauled his tired ass into the house. “Time to sleep, Virgie. Tomorrow might be another long day getting Dad home to Texas.”

“Yeah, I need sleep.”

Chapter Twenty

Monday, September 1st.

Summerlin. Las Vegas. Nevada.

Annie had coffee made when I got to the kitchen. She and Mick were sitting at the kitchen table talking. “Hey, honey. Did you get enough sleep?”

“Still a bit tired, but I’ll be fine. I want to get to the hospital to see how Travis is doing.”

“I called,” said Annie. “He’s not awake yet. Doctor Canton is meeting us there at ten. That’s when he’ll be finished his rounds and able to talk to us.”

“Ten? I was hoping it would be earlier.”

Annie shook her head. “Nope. Ten it is. We’ll be packed to leave in hopes Travis will be released. Then we’ll go straight to the airport.”

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