“No, they won’t look for me there.”
“Who, Steve?”
He swallowed hard. “My partners. They shot me… I think my boss is in on it too. That’s why I have to get to Washington.”
“You’re in no shape for that,” Jessica told him. “Right now we’re just trying to get you to a doctor in Wyoming—”
“No doctors!”
“If you’d let me finish, the doctor is my cousin.”
“But they have to report it to—”
“The law, who is her husband. I’ll explain everything, and he’ll do the right thing.” She hoped he didn’t ask what the right thing would be. Mike would try to help, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t report the wound.
“Okay.”
It was as if she could read his mind. She was sure he was thinking he’d have time to get lost again, because it would take his enemies time to get to Wyoming. She didn’t bother arguing with him.
“So, we’ll be on our way, Steve. That is your name, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you hungry? I can stop—”
“No. Just drive.”
So the man had a bit of an attitude. Jessica wanted to remind him that men usually went out of their way for her, not the other way around. Some men even found her attractive. Then she caught herself up. That was a Hollywood thought. She needed to remember how life was in Rawhide. She’d be home soon.
She got behind the wheel, gave Murphy a pat and started the engine, automatically locking the doors. Then she eased back onto a highway that didn’t have a lot of traffic. It was a relief after Los Angeles.
They picked up traffic again as they got close to Salt Lake City. Steve had gone back to sleep, so she had no conversation to relieve the boredom of the drive, but she felt a growing excitement about going home.
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