Randall On The Run. Judy Christenberry

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      “Yeah,” he said, just barely above a whisper.

      “I should give you some more aspirin. Are you in pain?”

      “Yeah.”

      Well, he was a big conversationalist, wasn’t he?

      She put the aspirins in his mouth and then lifted his head slightly so he could drink the water.

      After a long drink, he sank back. “Where are we?”

      She was afraid her answer would shock him. “Utah.”

      “Why?” he asked, his brow wrinkling.

      “I was on my way home. You didn’t tell me where you wanted to go, and I couldn’t just let you lie there and bleed to death, so I brought you along with me.”

      “Too dangerous,” he muttered.

      “I think we’re safe enough now. Though I did worry when the policeman pulled me over.”

      “When?”

      “Last night in L.A. on the freeway.”

      “Why?”

      Another one-word response. “He said my vehicle fit the description of one belonging to a perp who’d robbed a store. He wanted to search my car, but I told him no.”

      “How did you know you could refuse? Most people—”

      “I asked a policeman who was a consultant on a cop show I did once. He told me.”

      “And the officer said okay?”

      “Yes. He looked into the back and let me go. Then I gave him a phony destination.”

      “Plates. They can track—”

      “Doesn’t matter. I changed plates.”

      “How?”

      “I kept my Wyoming plates for sentimental reasons. So, after he stopped me, I changed back to my Wyoming plates. And they haven’t expired. Then I cut across to the highway that leads to Salt Lake City.”

      “You said Wyoming.”

      “Yes, that’s where I’m headed. Do you want me to drop you off somewhere?” She was surprised at the reluctance she felt at turning him out on his own. She’d saved his life, after all.

      “No, they won’t look for me there.”

      “Who, Steve?”

      He swallowed hard. “My partners. They shot me… I think my boss is in on it too. That’s why I have to get to Washington.”

      “You’re in no shape for that,” Jessica told him. “Right now we’re just trying to get you to a doctor in Wyoming—”

      “No doctors!”

      “If you’d let me finish, the doctor is my cousin.”

      “But they have to report it to—”

      “The law, who is her husband. I’ll explain everything, and he’ll do the right thing.” She hoped he didn’t ask what the right thing would be. Mike would try to help, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t report the wound.

      “Okay.”

      It was as if she could read his mind. She was sure he was thinking he’d have time to get lost again, because it would take his enemies time to get to Wyoming. She didn’t bother arguing with him.

      “So, we’ll be on our way, Steve. That is your name, isn’t it?”

      “Yeah.”

      “Are you hungry? I can stop—”

      “No. Just drive.”

      So the man had a bit of an attitude. Jessica wanted to remind him that men usually went out of their way for her, not the other way around. Some men even found her attractive. Then she caught herself up. That was a Hollywood thought. She needed to remember how life was in Rawhide. She’d be home soon.

      She got behind the wheel, gave Murphy a pat and started the engine, automatically locking the doors. Then she eased back onto a highway that didn’t have a lot of traffic. It was a relief after Los Angeles.

      They picked up traffic again as they got close to Salt Lake City. Steve had gone back to sleep, so she had no conversation to relieve the boredom of the drive, but she felt a growing excitement about going home.

      For lunch she chose a restaurant this time, rather than fast food, because she thought she should get something for Steve. She locked him and Murphy in the car and went inside. After she placed an order to go, she went to the ladies’ room. Then she returned to wait for their food.

      It only took fifteen minutes, but she was impatient. Finally, she carried a big sack of food out to her SUV and put it behind her seat.

      When she got in, she stopped Murphy from pawing through the sack. “No, Murphy, you have to wait. When we get to a park, I’ll let you get out and eat your dinner.”

      On the other side of the city, she found a park that didn’t have many people out in the middle of the day. She took out Murphy’s steak and put it on the grass and led him to it. He began chowing down at once.

      Jessica returned to the SUV so she could feed Steve the beef broth she’d bought for him. “Steve, can I prop you up so you can eat some lunch?”

      “Yeah,” he whispered, though she wasn’t sure he was really awake yet.

      She took the second pillow and got it behind him, then she opened the container and began feeding him the soup.

      He kept sniffing, reminding her of Murphy.

      “Why do you keep sniffing?”

      “Because I can smell steak. I want to know how much of this slop I have to eat to get to the good stuff.”

      Chapter Two

      After staring at him, Jessica said, “Sorry. The steak is for Murphy, not you.”

      “The dog? I need steak to help replace the blood I lost.”

      “No, you’re still running quite a bit of fever. This is all you get for a while…unless you want to see a doctor?”

      “No!” he protested, though his voice was weak.

      She’d left Murphy’s door open, and he jumped into the seat and put his head over the back of it.

      “Damn it! He’s big enough to be a horse!” Steve exclaimed.

      “No, he’s not. Murph, you’re drooling on our patient. Sit!”

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