Joelle quickly pushed back the part of the bag that she’d used for cover, pulled the edge of her sleep shirt down to cover more of her legs, and made her way on her knees to the door. The sun had just begun to light up the sky, and the snoring coming from the two tents was causing a poor old possum that was between them some major issues. The animal would sneak up to one of the tents between the loud noises and then run back to the safety of a tree when the chorus of snores started up again.
“You’ve got to see this,” Joelle said.
Ford came out of his sleeping bag and eased over beside her. “What am I looking at?”
She pointed toward the tents and the tree where the possum had taken refuge. “Watch for it! Watch for it! Here it comes.”
“That’s a possum,” Ford said.
“Yep, watch what happens when the noise starts,” Joelle said with a giggle.
The animal eased up to the edge of Billy Joe’s tent and sniffed at the edge. Then the snoring started, and it made a hasty retreat to the tree.
Ford chuckled. “And that is why I’m sleeping in the bus. I found one set of earplugs in my duffel bag, and even they didn’t block out all the sound. But I am a little worried about you.”
“Why would you worry about me?” Joelle asked.
“You didn’t even open your eyes or wiggle when I slipped in here and crawled into my sleeping bag. I could have been anyone…”
She stopped him by putting up a palm. “I knew when you arrived, and I sleep with a Smith & Wesson under my pillow. If you’d been someone about to harm me, I would have shot you and kicked your sorry carcass out the door.”
“I think I love you,” he said with a grin.
“Why? Because I can take care of myself?” she asked.
His grin widened. “Because I slept like a baby last night for the first time in weeks. I think maybe you havemagic powers.”
“Sure, I do,” she teased. “But, honey, it wasn’t me that helped you sleep. It was finally getting some peace and quiet after a long day on the road, a heavy supper, and getting away from that tent out there.”
“Don’t forget the power of earplugs,” he teased—or was he flirting?
***
Sharlene, Nita, and his grandfather hadn’t lost a bit of momentum during the next two days on the road, but they perked right up as they got closer to the dude ranch. Ford wondered if this was what it would be like to take a bunch of young kids to an amusement park. That made him think about having a family and all he had given up to make a career of the service.
You are only thirty-eight years old, boy.His grandmother’s stern voice popped into his head.That’s not too old to start a family, and it’s high time you settled down. It would be a shame to let the ranch that’s been kept in the family for years go to strangers.
Ford might have argued with her, but Sharlene yelled and startled him. “Stop! Don’t go past it!”
“Past what?” Ford asked.
“The sign that we’re coming into Colorado,” Nita said. “We want to get our picture made with every welcome sign we pass.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Ford pulled over close to theWELCOME TO NEW MEXICO sign and a few miles on farther down the road he did the same at the WELCOME TO COLORADO sign and let them all get out of the bus and take pictures. Two pickup loads of folks honked and waved as they went by at the last sign. Another stopped long enough to ask if they’d sell the bus and trailer.
“Not in a million years or for a million dollars,” Sharlene told them.
Ford shook his head in disbelief that anyone would really be interested in buying anything as unsightly as the VW bus. If it could talk, he figured the poor thing would ask to hide in a garage with a cover thrown over it.
“We’re almost to the dude ranch,” Joelle said. “Are y’all ready to sleep in real beds tonight?”
“Yep,” Billy Joe answered, “but the camping out has been fun. I could do this all summer.”
Ford bit back a groan. “You’d get tired of tents when it gets really hot.”
“Are you speaking from experience?” Billy Joe asked.
“Yes, sir, I am,” Ford answered. “Next stop…”
