Texas Fire

by Gerry Bartlett

  “Seriously? You want to play that card? On day one? Threaten to get me fired?” His big hands gripped the steering wheel.

  “Forget I said it. Low blow. And I’d never follow through.” Megan stared down at the dog in her lap. The truth hurt, but she blurted it out anyway. “I couldn’t if I tried. Get you fired.”

  “Way I understand your situation, Megan Calhoun, you not only have to work this next year to earn your inheritance”—his hands finally relaxed and he smirked at her—“you have to do a satisfactory job at it.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Megan stroked Lucky’s head. “My father wrote the strangest will.” She raised her chin. “So, I’m stuck and so are you.”

  “I have your evaluator’s number on speed dial.” Rowdy started humming. “Screw up and I’ll let him know it. Then we’ll see who’s stuck.”

  Megan wanted to shoot him the finger but knew that was childish. So she stared out the window, giving him the silent treatment.

  “Put in that CD. I believe I’ve played your game.”

  Megan shoved it in, gritting her teeth as the music filled the cab. Damn him for being right. Messing up this year with Rowdy would be just plain stupid and could cost her everything. She took a breath and turned down the volume.

  “Rowdy, seriously. You usually do this trip by yourself. Surely you get takeout or eat out every meal.” That woman’s work thing was not going to fly. Not in her lifetime.

  “No, I cook for myself. At least at night. A lot of the food on the road is crap or fast food that packs on the pounds.” He gave her an inspection. “But if you don’t care . . .”

  “What the hell does that mean?” Megan knew she was curvy and didn’t apologize for it. They rode in silence. Obviously Rowdy knew better than to touch that question.

  “I can’t cook. Never needed to learn.” She hated that she sounded a little pitiful when she said that.

  “Would you like to know how?” Rowdy shook his head. “Calhoun Petroleum is in trouble, everyone who reads a newspaper knows that. You might end this year with a share of nothing. Knowing how to feed yourself could come in handy.”

  “Oh, please. Even if we have to file bankruptcy, there are enough assets for me to come out just fine.” Lucky yelped, and Megan realized she was squeezing him. “Sorry, pup.” She sighed. “Oh good. There’s the truck stop. My bladder is about to burst.” She looked down at the puppy. “And we need to find a patch of grass for this dog.”

  “Fine. Take care of him then lock him in.” Rowdy pulled into a parking space with room for the trailer, then tossed her the keys. “See you inside.” He bolted out of the truck.

  “Well, Lucky, guess we aren’t the only ones needing a bathroom.” Megan realized she was going to have to dip into her gift card again when the dog scampered across the parking lot and she had to give chase. This was a big truck stop, part of a chain, so hopefully she’d find a collar and leash inside as well as puppy food. By the time she caught up with Lucky, she had two burly truckers interested in her and the dog. It did her ego good to have the men flirting with her. She sure wasn’t charming Rowdy.

  “Looks like a pit to me.” A trucker named Bullseye took her elbow as she carried Lucky across the busy lot. “But he’s a tiny thing.”

  Megan told him how she’d saved the dog from a watery grave.

  “That just tears me up.” A big bruiser named Leroy growled. “Sons of bitches. There’s rescue groups that woulda found that pup a good home.” He glanced at his big rig. “I got two goldens in my cab right now. You can’t keep Lucky, I’ll take that sweet little critter.”

  “Thanks, Leroy, but I can’t let him go.” Megan grinned up at the man. “You two are restoring my faith in mankind, that’s for sure. I’ve got to go inside and get him a few things. Collar, leash, food.”

  “Don’t let that boss of yours try to talk you out of keeping Lucky. But here’s my number if you need me.” Leroy handed her a business card. “I’ll take the pup and make sure that man knows your value before we part ways.”

  “Now, hold on, Lee. I saw her first.” Bullseye gave Leroy a shove. “I got a card, too.” He dug in his pocket, then set a card into Megan’s hand. “Honey, put up the dog, then run along inside. Leroy and I are going to get this settled. Man to man.” He grinned, a gold tooth gleaming in the sunlight.

  Megan looked from one to the other. Were they going to fight?

  “Go along now, little gal, and keep an eye on this weather. There’s storm warnings ahead.” Leroy popped open the passenger door of her truck and took the dog. “Lucky will be all right. I’ll watch the truck for you. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again, if you’re going west.” He winked when Megan nodded. Leroy then took Bullseye’s arm and dragged him away but still in sight of the truck.

  “What the hell was that?” Rowdy strode across the pavement.

  “New friends.” Megan shook her head and ran inside, straight into the women’s restroom. It was sticker shock when she started shopping. Everything was ridiculously expensive. Thank goodness she and Rowdy had done their grocery shopping at a discount store while still on the outskirts of Houston. She had to settle for a sad-looking rope leash, not the leather she wanted, and generic dog food for Lucky. She complained about the prices to Rowdy.

  “It’s the convenience you’re paying for, Megan.” Rowdy started the truck and eased out of the lot, ignoring the two men who waved at Megan from beside their rigs. “Did you notice we left civilization a while ago? Now we’re in the middle of nowhere. You need something, you pay the price.”

  “Obviously. For gas, too.” She’d noticed the price at the pump was a good dime a gallon higher than it had been when they’d filled up at the edge of Houston. They’d driven several hundred miles since then.

  “Transportation costs make everything out here more expensive. Just wait till you see the prices in the town where the drilling is going on. Renting a room in a house costs so much the roughnecks sleep two to a room and work long shifts just to get ahead.”

  “I remember visiting some of the well sites with Daddy one summer. Dirty, noisy, and dangerous.” Megan sighed. She’d loved those times with her father. He’d obviously thought it was the oil business she was showing an interest in, if you could believe his will. Instead, it had been the undivided attention she’d had from her dynamic dad. She’d pretended for a while to care about drill bits and rig counts. But it had been the way Conrad had treated her, like they were pals, riding along together in a company truck, that had kept her by his side for most of the summer.

  She stared out the window at the bleak landscape—desert, tumbleweeds, and a few cows looking for decent grazing. Not much to see. It was lonely, and the tune coming out of the stereo wasn’t helping her mood. She missed larger-than-life Conrad Calhoun with a sharp pain in the region of her heart. Yes, she knew now that he’d had a dark side, but he’d never shown that to her.

  For a while she’d shared her dad’s enthusiasm for the whole thing—hunting for black gold, the excitement of bringing in a good well. But, just like it always did, her interest flagged, and she’d found herself desperate for an escape. Looking back, she honestly couldn’t remember much of anything she’d learned that summer, not about oil. Now she remembered how her father had laughed when she’d been scared of a tarantula. And that he’d loved finding little local cafés and had called all the waitresses “Darlin’” while he’d left big tips that had made them gasp. The landscape blurred and she sniffed.

  She also remembered Daddy’s face when she’d told him she was off to Mexico to look for designer jewelry to help a pal start a little boutique. Yep, she’d left him in the lurch without a backward glance, because there’d been something new and shiny beckoning. And when that had begun to bore her, she’d gone on to the next new thing. She couldn’t even remember what that had been now. God, what was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she stick with anything?

  “Hey, if this music is that depressing, I’ll turn it off.” Rowdy reac
hed for the stereo controls, and Megan realized a tear had escaped down her cheek. Just then rain hit the truck hard, and he switched on the windshield wipers instead.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. Keep your music on. A deal is a deal. Leroy warned me the weather looked bad. Obviously he was right.” Megan frowned as the wind howled and the rain made it almost impossible to see the road.

  “Yeah. The trailer is making this tough driving.” Rowdy was frowning, both hands gripping the wheel.

  “You’re doing good. Toss me a what-if. It’ll pass the time. Take your mind off the weather.” She scrubbed off the tear and snuggled Lucky against her. He shook when thunder boomed. “Surely you can think of one.”

  Rowdy frowned. “I’m not really into games. But, okay, let me think.” That finger tapped the wheel again. “Okay, here it is. What if you could be anywhere in the world right now? Anywhere but here. Where would you be?”

  Megan liked the question. It was the kind one of her friends would have tossed at her. She studied Rowdy with new respect. Maybe he had potential. So she thought about it. She’d been plenty of places. Had been fortunate that way. The rain stopped as suddenly as it had started. Weird.

  “Right now?” She stared out at the desert. It had soaked up the brief rain, and you couldn’t tell it had even gotten wet. The thermometer on the dashboard said it was ninety outside, though the sky was a strange dark green and that should have made it cool down. At least the air conditioner in the truck was doing its job. “I’d be next to the pool at home, one of our housekeeper’s Bloody Marys in my hand and something cheerful on the stereo.” She grinned at him. “You? Where would you like to be?”

  “In a ditch. Shit, Megan.” Rowdy pulled the truck to the side of the deserted highway and turned off the motor. “Get out of the truck. Hurry and bring the dog.”

  Megan gasped when she saw a huge funnel cloud dancing along the desert toward them. It was hopping up and down, pulling up shrubs and stirring up the sand into a cloud that looked to be taking up everything in its path inside it. She wrapped Lucky in his towel and flung open her door, following Rowdy as he ran away from their truck and trailer. The land was flat except for a slight dip a few dozen feet from the edge of the asphalt highway.

  “Lie down here and cover your head!” he yelled over the scream of the wind as it came closer. Sand flew around them, stinging her skin everywhere it touched. Lucky wiggled frantically, trying to get free, when Megan fell into the depression next to Rowdy. She pressed her face to her forearm, the other protecting the dog. Forget about her head. The storm came closer and she was battered and scraped, sand-blasted. She shrieked when a piece of cactus hit her leg and stuck, going straight through her pants.

  When Rowdy’s arm came around her, she pressed her face to his chest, the dog between them. Were they going to live through this, or be picked up and taken to Oz? She fought back a hysterical giggle. Breathing was next to impossible, Rowdy’s cotton shirt giving her nose only a little filter against the endless sand swirling around them.

  Finally, finally there was silence. Rowdy moved first. A heavy layer of sand slid off of him before he helped Megan get up and try to stand.

  “Ow!” She looked down at the spines still in her leg and backside. It hurt like a thousand knives were sticking her.

  “You’re bleeding.” Rowdy didn’t reach for the cactus. Smart move. Then they’d both be bleeding.

  “What hit me?” Megan stroked Lucky with a shaking hand. If all that was hurt was her leg, she was as lucky as this little dog.

  “Cactus. Don’t touch it. You’ll just make it worse.” Rowdy pointed toward the highway. “Holy shit. Would you look at that?”

  Megan turned and swayed on her feet. No, this couldn’t be happening. Oz would have been a better outcome. Mother Nature had just played a cruel trick on them. The truck and trailer were scattered along the pavement like broken toys.

  Lucky wiggled free and scampered over to a bush to lift his leg. As a statement, it pretty much summed things up.

  Megan swayed but was afraid of falling down on the cactus. “All we need now is a rattlesnake.”

  Rowdy grabbed her arm when Lucky started barking. “You just had to say that, didn’t you?” He nodded toward the dog. “Can you stand on your own long enough for me to get my gun?”

  “Yes, go. Lucky! Come here!” Megan clenched her teeth and managed to stand on both legs. It hurt like hell, but she had to stay still and stay put. She knew about rattlesnakes. Her late uncle Buck used to come to South Texas every year for the Rattlesnake Roundup. He’d shown her his hatband and belt made of snakeskins and had even made jewelry out of the bones and rattles. The damn snake was poisonous, and her brave little dog was determined to take it on. She could hear the rattle going when Lucky paused for breath between frantic barks and growls. “Lucky!”

  The dog was just like every male she’d ever encountered—stubborn as hell.

  Chapter 3

  Rowdy ran toward the truck, which had been pulled apart from the trailer and had landed several feet away. The truck was on its roof, the passenger door popped open. That was a great piece of luck. He crawled inside and managed to get the glove compartment open to pull out his gun. He kept it loaded and he took off the safety as he hustled back to Megan’s side. The dog was still barking like it wanted to take on the rattler.

  “Any developments?” Rowdy touched Megan’s shoulder. She was pale and shaking but still on her feet. He could see the back of her jeans was soaked with blood. Damn it. The cactus spines had to hurt like hell.

  “No, Lucky hasn’t gone any closer. Just keeps barking like he’s telling the snake he’s a badass.” She tried for a laugh and failed miserably. “As if.”

  “Call him again.” Rowdy stepped slowly and carefully closer to the dog and snake.

  “Lucky, come here, baby.” Megan sounded on the verge of tears. She patted her good leg. “Come on. Leave it!” She firmed her voice. “That’s what they teach in dog training. I think he’s had some training, the way he sits and heels. Leave it!” To their shock, the dog actually looked at her and moved toward her.

  “Are you a good shot?” Her voice trembled.

  “We’ll see.” Rowdy steadied his aim, not surprised that he was pretty shaken up himself. Tornado. Rig in a mess. Woman bleeding next to him. But he remembered his training from the army. Aim and shoot. The snake had its mouth open, fangs ready to strike. He blasted its fucking head off.

  “Good shot.”

  Rowdy did a fist pump, then looked back to see Megan swaying like she was going to fall over. Well, shit. He grabbed her, careful of her wound. “Steady. It’s dead.”

  “Lucky!” She held on to Rowdy’s shoulder. “Don’t let him do that.”

  Of course the dog was on the snake’s body, grabbing and shaking it now that it was no longer any danger to him. “Let him go. It’s not going to hurt him. Rattlesnake meat is good eating.”

  Her eyes filled with tears. “Damn it, Rowdy. He, we, could have been killed.”

  “Yeah, well, you’re right.” He checked to see where the cactus spines were, then decided the only thing to do was to put her in a fireman’s carry over his shoulder. “Sorry about this.” He heaved her up and over.

  “Hey!” She beat on his back. “Stop. What the hell?”

  “You rather I put my hands under your butt? Poke those spines in harder?” He stalked over to the trailer. One look and he knew there was nothing to see there that would help much. But a cushion was within reach. He carefully set her on her feet next to the metal shell that looked like a giant had stepped on it.

  “Lean on this while I pull some things out for you to lie on. Can you do that?” He figured she didn’t have much choice.

  She was breathing through her mouth, rapidly. “Yeah, yeah. I’m trying not to be sick. Upside down like that wasn’t so great. But, hurry.” She waved him off when he reached for her again. “Cushions. Lots of them. A bottle of water would be nice, too.” Lucky ca
me up to them dragging the snake carcass. “Get that away from me.”

  “It’s a prize.” Rowdy did take it away and tossed it on top of the trailer. “Here, Lucky. Dog treat.” He picked up a can of Vienna sausages that had rolled out of the smashed door and popped it open, pulling one out and handing it to the dog. “Good, brave dog.”

  “Stupid, brave dog.” Megan waved a hand in front of her nose. She sighed when Rowdy dumped a pile of cushions next to her. “Oh, thanks. Let me see if I can sit.” She eased down on her good hip. “Should we pull these spines out now?” She craned her neck, trying to see the place where the cactus had bit into her.

  “Later.” Rowdy looked at the mess the tornado had made of their rig. He pulled his phone out of his back pocket. “Thank God I had my cell with me. The trick is to get reception.” He waved it in the air. No bars.

  “Lucky! Come back here!” She’d let go of the dog, and he scampered around them, sniffing everything and watering a few bushes.

  “Let him go. He’s the least of our worries.” Rowdy looked back at the wreckage of their home on wheels. The tornado had obviously picked up the truck and camper and taken them for a wild ride. Sometime during that, the two had come unhooked. Now the RV was on its side in the middle of the highway. It was a totaled mess. The door had been ripped off and interested vultures were already circling in case there was food to be had. He did manage to get a bottle of water out of the fridge and passed it to Megan. She opened it with shaking hands.

  He walked back to the truck a few yards farther down the highway. He’d noticed that Megan’s purse was still safely stowed in the side pocket of that open passenger door and he grabbed it for her.

  “What are we going to do? You know I can’t just ignore these needles.” Megan had wrapped Lucky’s towel around her fist and was trying to reach part of the cactus stuck on the back of her leg.

  “Hope someone comes by soon. But this debris is a road hazard. I need to hunt for flares.” Rowdy knelt next to her. “Careful. I’m telling you, if you try to pull it out, you might just make it worse.” There were tears in her eyes. “Hurts like hell?”