“This isn’t bad,” I said, taking in the scenery. “A little dry and rustic, and I don’t see any really good places to shop, but it’s not as bad as you made it sound.”
“This is Bend,” Dylan replied. “We’re still three hours away. This is where girls from town would come to prom or wedding dress shop. This wasbasically our Portland.”
“Wow,” I said. “That’s kind of crazy.”
We headed inside, and were seated at a booth by the window, our tail sitting not far from us. I studied the bikers covertly over my menu, however, I realized one of them caught me staring at him. He smiled so I smiled back, slipping out of my seat and setting my menu on the table. “I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?” Dylanasked.
I didn’t answer her as I strolled to the biker’s table. “Hi,” I said. “I’m Addison.”
“I’m Train,” the eldest of the two said. “This is Cheese.”
Cheese gave me a big, toothy smile, and I immediately realized why he was called ‘Cheese.’ Train’s name was somewhat self-explanatory. He was huge. Dwayne Johnson huge.
“It’s nice to meet you. Since you’re stuck with us for the moment, whydon’t you join us?” I offered. “My treat.”
Train nodded. “Why not?”
I led the bikers back to our table, introduced them to Dylan as I sat beside her, then we continued our meal with a couple of very nice men.
After dinner, Dylan drove us on two-lane roads through more trees and over more desert. We continued for three hours and saw maybe forty cars on the road.
“Traffic’s a little heavy onaccount of the fair,” Dylan explained between pointing out landmarks like the Sleeping Indian Princess (a series of mountains), and Picture Rock Pass (a sheer pass with a gravel side road leading to petroglyphs).
“I feel like we’re driving through one of those old-time westerns,” I said. “Any minute now, Billy the Kid and Sundance Cassidy are going to ride onto the road with rifles and holdus up. And that—”
“Technically, it’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid who were part of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch gang.”
I ignored her tutelage and pointed to a loose ball of weeds bouncing across the road. “Ohmigod, that’s a tumbleweed, isn’t it?”
Dylan gave me a tight grin. “I tried to tell you.” Her knuckles were white on the steering wheel, and her posture was rigid.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s just been a while.”
I could only remember Dylan going back once since she turned eighteen. “That time right after graduation...was that the last time you were home?”
She nodded. “Yep. It was the longest two weeks of my life. Dad thought I would stay since I was done with school. I’d told him I was going to Portland to get my degree, but then I just kinda stayed in the city aftercollege. Fair warning, I’m sure the guilting will be epic.”
“He expected you to come back? Does your dad know you at all?” I asked.
“He knows who he wants me to be.”
It was the type of answer I expected from Dylan. My bestie wasn’t exactly a pushover, but she was anti-drama and anti-conflict to the point of sacrificing her own wants to appease others. I used to argue with her about it, butnow I understood her easy nature better, so I focused my energy on making sure nobody took advantage of her.
“So is bipolar Dylan going to come out?” I asked.
She rolled her eyes. “No, it’s not like that. I just...I might get a little more hickish.”
I gasped. “Oh God, there’s another level?”
“Ha-ha,” she deadpanned.
A little after eight we crested a hill, revealing a valley of lights. “Thisis Lakeview?” I asked. When Dylan nodded, I said, “Looks bigger than you described.”
“It’s spread out. A lot of farms and ranches.”
