“I’m headed into townto visit that biker again.”Daddy said from the doorway of the tack room where Jordon was putting away the saddles and bridles they’d used that morning.“You want to ride along?”
She turned and looked at him, wondering for a moment why he would start asking her on these visits now, but at the same time, she did want to see the man again, even if she’d just seen him the day before.She wanted to see how he was doing and if he was more willing to listen to Daddy.
“Yeah, give me just a couple more minutes to finish this then I’ll wash up some and we can go.Want me to drive?”
“I got it.I’ll be in the house when you’re ready.I’m going to grab another cup of coffee for the drive.”
“All right.”Daddy disappeared from the doorway and Jordon went back to putting things away.It didn’t take her long to get everything hung up, then she headed inside.She needed to wash her hands and face before going into town and make sure her hair didn’t look like she’d just rolled out of bed.
Within ten minutes Jordon sat in the passenger seat of Daddy’s pickup as they bounced along the ranch road toward Bozeman.
“I take it he called?”she asked once they reached the highway.The gravel along the road into the ranch tended to be loud and she didn’t like trying to talk over it.
Daddy glanced over at her then back to the road before answering.
“He did.”
Something about Daddy’s tone told her that surprised him.
“Why did it surprise you?”She never knew what he would answer and what he wouldn’t, but she did know he wouldn’t jump all over her for asking.Rather, if whatever she asked, he didn’t want to share, or not yet, he would tell her.
Daddy looked at her again, as if she’d surprised him by asking.
“I’m not completely sure.I expected to see him again, but I guess I didn’t expect it so soon.Men like him tend to be a little more stubborn, they tend to resist help.”Daddy was quiet for several minutes, his gaze on the road ahead, then he tilted his head, his eyes never leaving the road as he began to speak again.“Then again, maybe what he’s gotten stubborn about is getting back on his feet, so to speak.Maybe he’s decided that if it takes getting help, he’ll do that as long as he can get where he needs to be.”
“Why’d you decide to take me along on this one?”she asked, still watching him, and wondering if he would answer this one too.
He glanced her way then back to the road.
“I’m not sure.When I got the call about him, I just had this feeling you needed to come with me.Maybe you’ll have something to do with being what he needs to get past this and move on.Maybe you’ll get something from this that will change your life.I couldn’t tell you.But I learned a long time ago that when I get a gut feeling like this, then to go with it.Every time I didn’t something horrible went wrong.”He used his right hand, which had been resting on the console between them to knock on the socket to his prosthetic, letting her know that he’d had that instinct about getting on that bull so long ago, and he’d ignored it.
She tilted her head and watched him a moment, wondering if maybe the feeling wasn’t about something horrible happening, but an indicator of some big change coming, or maybe some pivotal moment in his life.Because to her, Daddy losing his leg wasn’t necessarily horrible.Yes, it had changed all their lives, but she could remember before it happened, at least some.She remembered him being gone a lot.She remembered hearing Mama and Daddy fighting a lot.His losing his leg had changed all that.Not that her parents never fought anymore but it had changed after he was hurt.Daddy had changed when he got hurt and she didn’t think it had been a bad change.Though, if she’d been the one to have to learn everything all over again, she might see it as something horrible too.
She turned toward the windshield but only barely registered mountains on the far side of Bozeman getting closer as she lost herself in thought.If this was something that was a pivotal point in Daddy’s life, how would it affect her?Was it something that had to do more with her and that’s how it would affect Daddy?
When the truck slowed, Jordon shook her head and forced herself to focus on the here and now.Daydreaming about nonsense was a good way to pass a car ride but it was time to do what Daddy had come to do.When he parked at the hospital, she hopped out and followed him inside, oddly eager to see the rough and surly man inside again.
