Stephen Bly's Horse Dreams Trilogy: Memories of a Dirt Road, the Mustang Breaker, Wish I'd Known You Tears Ago

by Stephen A. Bly

  “And I thought we were talking about Popsicle partners,” he gulped.

  “Hmm. Men. Are you trying to break the engagement?”

  “No, ma'am, I'm just worried that when daylight comes, you'll regret promises made while under the influence of an orange Popsicle.”

  “Popsicle promises are the best kind. They last forever.”

  Coop put his arm around her shoulder. “Dev, this isn't a joke to me.”

  She laid her head on his arm. “Nor me, Cooper Tallon. You're the most peaceful, comfortable man I've ever been with. You bring me something I've never had. Deep, deep contentment. I like it. I want it for a long, long time.”

  When the Popsicles were gone, they continued to sit on the bench and talk.

  “Well, Miss Dev, do you think I ought to get you home?”

  “I think we should talk and talk and talk and let me fall asleep right here with your arm around me.”

  “I've pondered that myself.”

  “Oh? And just what else did you ponder?”

  “I believe a crime was committed by Mr. Hunter Burke. We just can't figure out what.”

  “That's what you are thinking?”

  “Dadgumit, Dev. You are a beautiful lady, and it wouldn't take but a blink for my thoughts to run away with me. I have to think about something else. I'm going to do this right, Ms. Worrell. Are you sure all the money was in the safe?”

  “I looked in a half-dozen of the boxes.”

  “Let's go check out the others.”

  With the safe again open, Cooper waited out in the bedroom under the single lightbulb fixture. “Bring one out here.”

  Develyn pulled off the lid and shoved it toward him. “See, still crammed with…”

  He pulled the top bills off the stack.

  “Paper? Plain old paper?”

  “These aren't real.” Cooper turned over the bills to a blank side. “These are photocopies on top and white paper on the bottom. He did it. He stole Mrs. Tagley's cash!”

  Dev scooted back into the safe, then hollered, “They are all that way!”

  “We were right. Quint's gun was the diversion. He wanted to steal Mrs. Tagley's guns, but when he discovered the cash, he left the guns.”

  “But it's her money. It will be the children's wing of the hospital some day. He can't do that.”

  “He just did.”

  “We have to call the sheriff.”

  “Can't reach him until he gets out of the Big Horns.”

  “Then we're going to catch him ourselves. I will not let him get away with this!” Develyn ranted.

  “How are we going to catch him? We don't know which way he went.”

  “He didn't go north. That was all a ploy. If you were going to get out of this country in a hurry and didn't want to be on the blacktop, which way would you go?”

  “South through the oil fields. A man could drive to Utah though those oil field roads.”

  “We're going after him.”

  “There is no way to catch him. He had a two- or three-hour head start.”

  “But it was pouring rain. You can't go fast on those roads in the rain. The wind has been blowing for an hour. The roads are drying up. Maybe we can gain some speed on him.”

  “We won't know which roads.”

  “The biggest one south. That's the right one. Do you know your way around these oil fields?”

  “I laid a ten-million-dollar pipeline through them.”

  “Then let's get going.”

  “Dev, this sounds impossible.”

  “What do we have to lose? We will be inside the cab of the truck talking for the rest of the night. That's OK, isn't it?”

  “You've got very good logic.”

  “So are you going to marry me for my logic?”

  “That's one reason. Not the one I'm thinkin' of at the moment but a definite consideration.”

  “Mr. Tallon, should I be worried about being in a truck with you tonight?”

  “No more worried than I am.”

  Within twenty minutes of bouncing south down still-muddy dirt roads, Develyn was completely lost. “I don't know if this was a good idea.”

  Cooper pulled off to the side of the road.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Looking.”

  “At me?”

  “At that mess by the side of the road. Someone was stuck there tonight. See the ruts? Piles of mud where someone was digging? Someone was in a hurry to get back on the road.”

  “An oil field worker?”

  “Nope. They'd all know better. They'd just pull over and take a nap. An hour after the wind picks back up it will be dry enough to drive out of any ditch.”

  “It could be Hunter.”

  “Could be, but we're still miles behind him.”

  “For Mrs. Tagley's sake, we've got to try.”

  They crested a pass and dropped into a small basin. Even in the night shadows, Develyn spotted a familiar sign. “Coop, have you ever heard of one of those gas field warning sirens going off?”

  “A few times. They have drills like fire drills at schools, I reckon.”

  “What are you supposed to do if you hear one?”

  “Get to higher ground in a hurry. The gas will hover like invisible ground fog. You're supposed to drive out of the danger area as fast as possible using the ascending roadway. I've never been out here when an honest leak occurred. Don't think I want to, either. One time, Blamey Jim's pals played a trick on him when he was out in the sage. Well, let's just say Blamey Jim took a Cabela's catalog with him to the sage and read ever’ page before he returned. Anyway, T. Clark tripped the alarm on the gas field, and ol' Blamey came runnin' out of the sage, with his… well, sorry, Dev. I don't usually tell my stories to ladies.”

  Develyn laughed. “I get the picture.”

  When they bounced over a slight rise, Develyn waved her hands. “Stop!”

  Cooper slammed on the brakes.

  “What is that in the road?”

  “Part of an old recap tire, I imagine.” He started to roll forward.

  “Wait, Coop, I'm serious. It's a kill strip. One of those took my tire out last week, and Hunter Burke showed up five minutes later. I think it fell out of his truck and he came back to retrieve it. He was in a hurry to load it up.”

  Cooper parked the truck in the middle of the road and hiked out to the dark object in the shadow of the headlights.

  She watched as he pulled off his hat and stared. Develyn scurried up to him. “Was I right?”

  “You were right, Ms. Worrell. This means either Hunter knows someone is following or expects someone to follow. That means it might be dangerous to keep going.”

  “Coop, do you know how to trip the gas field alarm?”

  “There isn't much to it. T. Clark showed me how. Why?”

  “What do you think Burke would do if the siren went off now?”

  “Is he dumb or smart?”

  “Very, very smart.”

  “Then he'd drive up the nearest incline and get out of the gas field.”

  “Where would the oil people come from to check out the leak?”

  “From the south. Hunter won't want to run into them because they will question him and record his license plate number. Are you saying we should set off the alarm and see if we can force Hunter back here?”

  “It's a thought,” she said.

  “We could get in big trouble if we get caught.”

  “We could get in big trouble if we just park in the dark and smooch.”

  “Maybe that kill strip would be helpful,” he grinned. “We'll leave it, that way he won't be suspicious if he drives back this way.” He took her hand and led her back to the truck.

  Cooper Tallon rumbled the black Dodge truck back up to the top of the grade next to the gas field warning signs. “Well, Miss Dev,
let's see what happens.”

  Cooper shorted out some wires and soon had the annoying roar of the sirens churning across the central Wyoming night.

  “They're louder than I thought,” she called out. “Sort of like tornado warnings back home.”

  “What did you think they would be like?”

  “Maybe like an alarm clock. What do we do now?”

  Cooper studied the drying mud on the road. “Figure out a way to stop his truck, if he does come this way.”

  “Do you have a plan?” she quizzed.

  “Yep. It worked before.”

  “Where?”

  “In a John Wayne movie,” he replied.

  Develyn studied the roadway in the dark shadows. “Tell me again how this works.”

  “My truck blocks the road. Those boulders and the warning sign barricade the north side. I'll be stretched out on the ground like I'm injured to stop him on the south. When he gets out, I'll jump him.”

  “And I step out from behind the sign and wave this at him?”

  “That is a 38/55, half mag, saddle rind carbine. It will set Burke down in a hurry. He knows his guns. Are you sure you are up to this?”

  “All I have to do is wave a gun. You have to lie in the mud and hope he doesn't run over you.”

  “He won't.”

  “I wouldn't put it past him.”

  “I would. It would throw the truck alignment out. He'll stop to drag the body into the ditch.”

  “And if I have to shoot this?”

  “Fire one shot over his head, then cock it quick and point it at him. Dev, I don't think you'll need to. I'll have him pinned down by then. I've got some plastic ties for binding…Looks like someone's coming. Sure hope it's Hunt.”

  She stepped behind the sign. “I hope he doesn't run over my cowboy. Doesn't this plan sound amateurish?”

  “We are amateurs,” he replied.

  “Point well taken.”

  Cooper sprawled in the drying mud in front of his diagonally parked truck. “Just in case something goes wrong here, I love you Develyn Gail Upton Worrell.”

  The approaching headlight bounced up and down on the approaching dirt road. “I love you too, Cooper…Cooper…”

  “Worthington.”

  “Your middle name is Worthington?”

  “Yep. You want to call off the engagement?”

  “No, I love you too, Cooper W. Tallon.”

  Develyn held her breath when a white Ford slid to a stop.

  It is Hunter Burke.

  The driver didn't get out but backed up the truck and headed straight at the boulder next to Develyn.

  Is he coming over here? That's not what we planned. He's going to roll the boulders away instead of the “dead body.”

  With headlights on high beam, the truck stopped. Hunt slammed on the brakes and hopped out of the truck wearing a red bandanna over his mouth.

  “This is just what I need,” he mumbled as he stooped down and gripped a granite boulder the size of a large watermelon. “First a gas leak, now this guy is passed out. I can't believe this.”

  Lord, help me.

  She jumped out in front of him. “Maybe you can believe this!” She pointed the carbine at him.

  “Mrs. Worrell? What are you doing here? It's a bad dream.” He continued to roll the rock. “No Indiana schoolteacher is going to shoot me. Besides,” he hollered above the siren, “you don't have a clue what's in my truck.”

  “You have a million dollars cash that belongs to Mrs. Tagley,” Develyn yelled. “And you greatly underestimate the teaching profession.”

  With the carbine lodged in her shoulder, she pulled the barrel inches to the left and blasted the left tire of Burke's pickup.

  The explosion of the gun and the tire drove Hunter Burke to his knees with his hands up. As Develyn cocked the lever, Cooper slammed Hunter's face down in the mud and yanked his arm behind his back.

  “Son, never rile a Wyomin' cowboy girl.”

  Devy, it's time to go.”

  “I don't want to go.”

  “We've got to go home now.”

  “I want to stay here forever.”

  The tall, thin man with a dark brown butch haircut stooped down and hugged the ten-year-old. “The Lord gave us a precious gift this summer: a busted water pump, ruptured radiator, and a parts store that got the order wrong twice.”

  “Why was that a present, Daddy?” Develyn whimpered.

  “That's how he guided us to Argenta. All those problems led us here and kept us here. Now it's time to go home.”

  “Why can't I take Brownie to Indiana?”

  “Sweetie, we've been all through that. Besides, Brownie is a Wyoming horse. This is his home. He belongs here.”

  “So do I, Daddy. I can't leave. I just can't. Why don't you understand? I've got Wyoming in me now, and I can't leave.”

  “Devy, your mind is filled with prairie and sage and horses. I'm sure part of your heart will always be here. Do you know what?”

  “What?” She sobbed.

  “You get to take every one of those memories with you.”

  “But they are only in my mind.”

  “And your heart. That's the good part. What does Mama do with all the pictures she takes on one of our trips?”

  “She puts them in an album,” Develyn sniffed.

  “How often do we take them off the shelf and look at them?”

  “Hardly ever.”

  “Now you see what I'm saying?” Mr. Upton continued. “Wyoming won't be in some faded scrapbook. It will be in your heart every day of your life. And just think, every night you can let your heart just ride through those memories over and over.”

  “But, Daddy, I might forget. What if I forget about this summer and Brownie and Mrs. Tagley?”

  “Devy, you'll have some bad days. We live in a world that sometimes treats us mean. But even on those days, you can run away to Wyoming, to your memories of this dirt-road town. Do you really think you will forget Wyoming?”

  “No, Daddy.”

  “So come on, honey, get in the car. Mama and Dewa are waiting.”

  Develyn rubbed her upturned nose with the palm of her hand. She glanced down at the spots on her yellow blouse. “Can I have an orange Popsicle?”

  “Mama said you can't have them in the car. But I think when we stop for lunch in Cheyenne you can have one.”

  He hugged her and kissed her cheek. “It's time to go, Devy.”

  It really is time to go.

  Develyn shoved her sunglasses on top of her head. Well, it's not the cabin we stayed in thirty-five years ago. It's not the cabin I spent the summer in, but it's just as difficult to leave. Lord, if I had to repeat one summer over and over, it would be this one. Thanks.

  Casey Cree-Ryder burst through the cabin door, waving her left hand. “Look, look, look! Is that the most awesome diamond ring or what?”

  “Oh, honey, it's gorgeous!”

  “It belonged to Jackson's grandmother and then his mother. She insisted that I take it. Dev, I never thought I'd be engaged.”

  “Jackson is one lucky guy, honey.”

  Casey slipped her arm around Develyn's waist. “Hearing that means more than you know. You were the first person in my life that made me glad I'm me.”

  “And Jackson is the second?”

  “Yeah, and he's cuter than you.”

  “Are you disparaging my pathetic white skin again?”

  “Hey, I like your farmer tan. But Devy, never go out in a two-piece bathing suit.”

  “Thank you for the advice, countess. I'm thinking of wearing a paper bag over my head.”

  “A brown paper bag?”

  Develyn stuck out her tongue. “Now, Ms. Cree-Ryder, are you sure you want to take care of My Maria and Uncle Henry?”

  “Yes, yes, yes. I know the mare is a pill. I'
m used to temperamental horses. But I'm not sure Uncle Henry can survive without his mama.”

  “Coop said he will help you.”

  “Yes, he said I can live in the cabin until me and Jackson get married. He's going to pull a trailer back to the springs so he can work up there.”

  “Have you set a date for the wedding?”

  “Not really, but whenever it is, you have to be the matron of honor.”

  “Casey, that will be one of the most joyous days ever. All teasing aside, you are a great friend.”

  “Let's go outside, Dev. Others are waiting for you, and I'm about to cry.”

  Delaney relaxed on the porch, her feet hung over the edge. Leon perched next to her. When he saw Dev, he jumped up, ran over to her, slapped her on the arm, then ran down the lane toward his grandmother's.

  “I love you too, Leon,” Develyn hollered.

  “I know,” he shouted back.

  Dee walked over to her mother. “I think that's the best he can do, Mom. I think he wants to hug you, but he just doesn't know how.”

  “I know, honey. Touch is a powerful statement. Leon has just never experienced tenderness. Right now, it's beyond him.”

  “Mom, I laid awake most of last night thinking about it. I decided I'm going back to Purdue.”

  Develyn slipped her arm around her daughter's waist. “Oh, that's good, Dee. I'm happy to hear that.”

  Delaney slipped her fingers into her mother's. “I want to teach.”

  “Are you serious? What happened to the drama major?”

  “I decided I want to teach kids like Leon.”

  “That's a wonderful goal.”

  They walked hand in hand over to the Jeep Cherokee.

  Develyn bit her lip, then stared across the pasture. “I can't believe I'm leaving again.”

  “Again?”

  “I left when I was ten, remember? I was just thinking about that day. I think a person shouldn't have to relive a sad day. Of course, it was different back then. I remember the lecture Dad gave as we left town.”

  “You miss Grandpa, don't you?”

  “Yes, I do. And you miss your dad, don't you?”

  “Is that OK, Mom? Are you alright with that?”

  “Sure, baby. No one can take the place of a girl's daddy. I'll make you a promise. I won't ever say anything negative about your father again.”