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For lunch she chose a restaurant this time, rather than fast food, because she thought she should get something for Steve. She locked him and Murphy in the car and went inside. After she placed an order to go, she went to the ladies’ room. Then she returned to wait for their food.
It only took fifteen minutes, but she was impatient. Finally, she carried a big sack of food out to her SUV and put it behind her seat.
When she got in, she stopped Murphy from pawing through the sack. “No, Murphy, you have to wait. When we get to a park, I’ll let you get out and eat your dinner.”
On the other side of the city, she found a park that didn’t have many people out in the middle of the day. She took out Murphy’s steak and put it on the grass and led him to it. He began chowing down at once.
Jessica returned to the SUV so she could feed Steve the beef broth she’d bought for him. “Steve, can I prop you up so you can eat some lunch?”
“Yeah,” he whispered, though she wasn’t sure he was really awake yet.
She took the second pillow and got it behind him, then she opened the container and began feeding him the soup.
He kept sniffing, reminding her of Murphy.
“Why do you keep sniffing?”
“Because I can smell steak. I want to know how much of this slop I have to eat to get to the good stuff.”
Chapter Two
After staring at him, Jessica said, “Sorry. The steak is for Murphy, not you.”
“The dog? I need steak to help replace the blood I lost.”
“No, you’re still running quite a bit of fever. This is all you get for a while…unless you want to see a doctor?”
“No!” he protested, though his voice was weak.
She’d left Murphy’s door open, and he jumped into the seat and put his head over the back of it.
“Damn it! He’s big enough to be a horse!” Steve exclaimed.
“No, he’s not. Murph, you’re drooling on our patient. Sit!”
As always, Murphy obeyed her at once and disappeared from Steve’s view.
“Now finish your broth so we can get on the road again,” she said, trying to be patient.
“I don’t want anymore,” he grumbled.
“Don’t be a baby just because you didn’t get steak.”
“That’s not it. I—I need to use the facilities.”
“Oh.” After a minute she said, “I need to stop for gas. You can take care of things then. But first we’ll need to take off that bloody shirt.” She rummaged in the back of the vehicle and found an oversized zippered sweatshirt that had been her favorite on a damp morning.
With assistance from her patient, she carefully took off his bloody shirt, which she tossed in a trash can, and zippered him into the sweatshirt.
Steve was stoic through it all.
Next she put away his broth, ignored her own lunch and got back on the road. At what she thought was the last gas station outside town, she pulled in. After she stopped, she shook Steve.
“I’m awake.”
“I’m going to put in the gas. Do you need help getting out?”
“No, but the dog’s in the way.”
“I’ll move him.” When she got out, she motioned for Murphy to come to her seat. She’d left her window down, and Murphy hung his head out while she pumped the gas and Steve slowly ambled over to the restroom. She thought everything was going well until the station attendant stuck his head around the back of her SUV.
“Howdy,” the man said, grinning too broadly.
“Hello.” Her hand loosened on the gas handle and she almost spewed gasoline everywhere. She looked over her shoulder to see if she could see Steve returning.
“You headed to Wyoming?”
She stiffened. Even without Steve, she didn’t like to tell strange men where she was going.
“I saw your plates and guessed,” the man added, still grinning.
“Yes, I’m going back to Cheyenne, my hometown.” She patted herself on the back for coming up with another good story. But then that had always been one of her few talents.
“I been there once. It’s a nice city. Lots smaller than Salt Lake.” He moved closer.
“That’s true. Are you from Salt Lake City?”
“Naw. I move around. Don’t like to stay in one place all the time.” He kept staring at her.
Through the windows, she saw Steve coming back. She smiled at the man, wanting to keep his attention on this side of her vehicle so Steve might be able to get in unobserved. “I like Salt Lake City, but I have to leave because my mother is sick. She wants me to come take care of her.”
“Aw, that’s too bad. But you’ll be coming through a lot to visit your friends, I bet. Will you stop by here again?”
“Probably. This is a good location.” She replaced the nozzle in its holder and opened her purse, taking out some bills. “May I pay you?”
“You sure can. I’ll go get your change.”
“Oh, just keep it. You’ve been very kind.”
She opened her door and jumped in, moving Murphy over to make room. Unfortunately, Steve hadn’t gotten in the back. He was sitting in the front passenger seat. She shoved Murphy in the back so they could get out of there.
“Do you think it’s wise to sit up in the front? I can’t hide you if you’re up here.”
“We’re almost in Wyoming, aren’t we?
“In an hour or two. But I’m afraid that man was suspicious. He asked where we were going.”
“He was just hitting on you,” Steve said.
“I hope that’s the reason, because you look like you’ve gone through World War III.”
“I don’t think he even noticed me, right, Murphy?”
Murphy had hung his head over the seat, almost resting on Steve’s left shoulder.
“I can’t believe he didn’t bark when I first put you in the car. He growled at the policeman,” Jessica said, frowning.
“He probably realized I was injured and couldn’t hurt you.”
Jessica didn’t answer because her attention was focused on the rearview mirror.
“What is it?” he asked quietly.
“There’s a car coming up on us fast. I’m worried—” She broke off as the car roared past them. They could see two teenagers in the car laughing hysterically.
She breathed a big sigh of relief. When she turned to look at Steve, he scarcely seemed aware of her panic. Pain was visible on his face.
“I’m having trouble sitting up,” he managed to say.
She eased the car off the road. “There’s a button that will lower the seat for you.” She released her seat belt and leaned over him to find it, which put her very close to him, a fact she noticed at once. Fortunately, she got the chair lowered quickly. Then she reached in the back seat for the pillow and put it under his head. Feeling his forehead told her his fever was still high. She pulled one of the blankets over him.
“Better?” she asked.
“Yeah.” His eyes were already closed and she didn’t think he’d be awake for long.
Jessica pulled back onto the road and pressed down on the accelerator. She wanted to be in Wyoming as soon as possible.
WHEN SHE NEXT STOPPED for food, they were in Wyoming. She’d headed north, working her way across the state. The sun had set and she’d considered stopping somewhere to sleep, but she’d decided to keep driving until she reached Rawhide.
Beside her, Steve hadn’t uttered a sound since she’d gotten him settled hours ago.
She pulled the cover up over his shoulder, entered a burger place drive-through and placed an order.
The girl at the window looked at Steve. “What’s wrong with him?”
“He’s not feeling well. He has a cold.”
“It’s probably the cold front coming through. My mom always gets a headache when we have a change of weather.”
“Are they expecting snow?”
“In the mountains and farther north they are. Not here, though.”
“I see. Thanks,” Jessica said as she took the drinks and bag of food, then pulled away quickly, wanting to be out of sight of the inquisitive young woman.
“People ask a lot of questions, don’t they?” Steve muttered.
“So you’re awake?”
“Yeah. And hungry.”
“As soon as we get out of town, I’ll stop and get you your food.”
“Do you think you could raise the seat a little?”
Jessica thought about that. Reaching over him would practically put them body to body again. Not a good idea. “How about I put another pillow under your head? After you eat, you’re going to want to lie down again. That’ll be easier.”
“Okay.”
When they were out of town, she pulled off the road and dug out Murphy’s food first. Opening up the paper the burgers were wrapped in, she put them both out for Murphy.
“The dog gets served first?”
“If I don’t fix his first, he eats mine…or yours. Do you want that?”
“Nope.”
“Now, here’s your hamburger and fries. I’ll put your drink in the holder. If you can’t reach it, let me know.”
“We’re not going to stop to eat?”
Jessica shook her head. “Didn’t you hear the girl? There’s a front coming in.”
“But she said it wouldn’t snow here.”
“We’re not staying here. We’re heading north.”
JESSICA HAD BEEN driving for several hours. By her calculations, she had only three hours to go. That was when she saw the first snowflakes in the glare of her headlights. Since she was traveling northeast, she had hopes of outrunning the brunt of the storm.
Some winters the snow held off until mid-November, but here it was only a few days into the month and it was snowing hard already. The farther north she drove, the heavier the snow fell. She pushed a little harder on the accelerator.
The sight of flashing red lights in her rearview mirror made her stomach roil. Immediately she slowed and pulled off the road. Then she made sure the blanket was pulled up over Steve’s shoulder.
It was too late to hide him.
She lowered her window partway and waited for the policeman to reach her side. “Good evening, Officer,” she said.
“Evening, ma’am. May I see your license and registration?”
“Yes, of course.” She bent over and found her purse on the floorboard. Then she took out her license. Thankfully, she’d kept her Wyoming license in her billfold underneath her California license. Now she handed the man both.
“You have two licenses?” the patrolman asked in surprise as he examined the articles with the flashlight.
“I kept my Wyoming license when I got my new one in Los Angeles. Now I’m moving back to Wyoming.”
“I see, Miss…Randall? Are you part of the Randall family in Rawhide?”
“Yes, I am. My father is Brett Randall.”
