JJ was curious about the steers that were being doctored by the vet. Josie hugged him and told him not to worry about things and that it was all under control. He said he hoped it wasn’t anything he’d done to make them sick because he’d actually given one of the little bulls a handful of corn when nobody was looking.
Josie laughed and told him of course it wasn’t his fault. They just had tummy problems, and it was going to be taken care of very soon.
They watched movies until bedtime. Josie had just turned out the lights and climbed under the covers when her burner phone rang. Her burner phone that only Sheriff Marlowe had the number for. Well, Raines had it, too...
Her heart raced as she said hello.
There was a pause. “It’s Raines,” he said quickly. “We need to get to the airport in the next ten minutes to make our flight.”
She was half-asleep. She blinked. “Our flight.”
“Yes, our flight!” he said. “We’re heading for Mexico. Things are in motion. Bring your gun. I’ll pick you up at the ranch house.”
“What do I tell the Everetts?” she asked sleepily, her brain not really working yet.
“Tell them that our eccentric buyer for the land is coming in very shortly, and we both have to meet him. Then we’re going to a motel to have a meal and sit down and talk about the property.”
“When do I tell them that I’ll be back?” she asked worriedly.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ll tell you when I find out. Don’t keep me waiting.”
He hung up.
Josie got out of bed and immediately phoned the sheriff on her burner phone. When he answered, he was wide-awake, even though the hour was after midnight. “Hello,” he said roughly.
“You’re still up,” she said, surprised.
“I don’t sleep much,” he said.
She knew he’d been in the service, and she was equally sure that he wasn’t going to talk about it. But there must have been terrible things that he had to see and had to live with afterward, like most military people did.
“I’m sorry to disturb you,” she said, “but Raines just called and said we’re on our way to Mexico in about twenty minutes.”
“Any idea where in Mexico?”
“No,” she said sadly, “and I probably won’t know until we actually get there. I’ll do my best to call you, but keeping in touch is going to be very dangerous and I’ll only do it if I think I can do it safely.”
“Do you know which flight, anything about airline seats, whatever?”
“No,” she replied, “and he won’t tell me until I’m in the car with him and then I won’t be able to phone you.”
“Keep your gun locked and loaded,” he said. “Be aware of your surroundings. Don’t turn your back on anybody and don’t trust anybody.”
“Wow. Rules for living,” she said, and smiled. “Not bad, Sheriff.”
“I have trust issues,” he said and he wasn’t joking.
“What about the calves?” she asked.
“The vet’s got them, and he’s got a secure place on his ranch where he’s going to treat them. Since only Raines supposedly knows about the drugs in the calves’ stomachs, or so we think, they’re not likely to be stolen. You have good neighbors around the Big Spur. No cattle thieves or rustlers that we know of.”
She was listening to him talk as if she was part of the Big Spur, part of the Everett family, part of the ranch. It was surprising to her that she felt that way, but she did. The Everetts had become the family she still had when she was little. Her father had loved her. He’d taken her places and bought her things. But very soon after she was in grammar school, he was gone most of the time and her mother, God rest her soul, was always helping other people with very little thought to the people she lived with. That was how it was with some social workers who became so buried in their work that they were blind to anything except the people they were helping, period. It wasn’t a bad thing. But it was hard on a little girl who was an only child and had nobody to play with.
“You sound very thoughtful,” Marlowe remarked.
She laughed self-consciously. “I was just thinking that I feel like part of the Everett family. It’s a dream.” Her face fell as she looked at her feet. “I haven’t had a family in years, long before my mother passed. She was always helping people and Dad was always off with some other woman. Mama cried a lot where she thought I couldn’t hear her.”
“Life hurts,” Marlowe said.
