She loosened the ties on the sleeping bag and unrolled it into the bunk and then sat back down on the fender of the horse trailer to watch the stars come out. She hadn’t prayed in a while, but she did right then, asking for protection and a way out of the mess she was in. She recalled Wilbur saying he would pray for her when she’d called him and told him she had to leave in a hurry and that her horse was in trouble. Maybe his prayers added to hers would be heard. The wind picked up and whistled past the horse trailer, and she listened to the mournful sound.
Her ears pricked up when she heard another sound besides that one.
Shit. Someone else is pulling over. She went to the passenger side truck door and removed her gun, loaded it, and checked the safety, hoping they’d just leave her alone. She locked the driver side door. Time to watch and wait.
The familiar rumble of a big diesel engine drew nearer, and her heart hammered as the truck pulled up right behind her, its headlights blinding in their intensity.
Shit, now I have spots in front of my eyes. She blinked rapidly as the engine was left running but the lights were shut off. Another vehicle pulled in behind the diesel and her heart sped up to double time. Don’t panic. Stay calm.
She heard footsteps in the gravel on the other side of her truck and nearly peed herself when a beautiful voice laced with worry called out, “Gwen!” Julián.
“Gwen!” And Chris.
She raced around the front of her truck and threw herself at the first hard body she encountered. Julián caught her in his arms and she looked up at him in the dim twilight, loving the sight of his handsome face. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. “I’m so, so glad to see you, Julián!”
“Elmer Fudd, what were you thinking?” Chris asked as he tugged at the hat she was wearing, mainly for comfort that time but also because the cold breeze was pretty stiff out there.
“I have to save Zephyr. That’s all I was thinking.”
Julián put her down on her feet again and stroked her cheek as he peered into her eyes. “At any price, love?”
“No! Hell no. But I’ve got to do something, guys. Roger was serious. He’ll have her put down and turned into dog chow if I’m not there by Sunday afternoon.”
Julián rubbed his chin. “Did you have a plan?”
“No. At least not yet. I was figuring one out when I—”
Chris gathered her long hair in his hand and ran it through his fingers. “When you what?”
Gwen was glad it was dark so they couldn’t see her blushing. “When I ran out of gas.”
Even in the dim light, she saw Chris when he gaped at her. She returned the favor, gaping at him as he suddenly went off into a rapid stream of Italian, gesticulating at the road, and at her truck, and at her, then pulling at his hair as he looked up at the sky, probably beseeching God to save him from simpletons.
Julián started laughing as Chris went on. “He’s done that several times today since you left. Do you see how you get to him?”
“I didn’t realize he knew that much Italian.”
Julián shrugged. “I think it’s mostly cursing and Sicilian insults. Evidently there’s a pig in my family tree somewhere for not being more open about my whereabouts this week.”
“How did you find me?”
“Ace Webster helped us locate you with the GPS on your phone, which was thankfully still turned on.”
The sound of the diesel engine still running finally caught her attention. What’s wrong with this picture?
“Julián, since when do one of you drive a diesel?”
“Since I picked up a fancy new truck. You’re gonna love it.”
“I’d love to get the full tour and story but is there any way we could secure me transportation so I can get my ass to Colorado to see about Zephyr? I have no idea what to do but I have to do something.”
“You know,” Julián said, as Chris finally ran down from his Italian venting. “If you’d come to me and asked for help, I might’ve been able to give you a solution that didn’t involve traipsing into West Texas by yourself and breaking down in the middle of nowhere.”
She knew he was right. “I know I should’ve talked to you before leaving. Both of you. Instead, I had a knee-jerk reaction and took off, just like before.”
“Yes, and only this time, you were leaving us, not coming to us. Just like you’re willing to do whatever it takes to save Zephyr, we’re willing to do whatever it takes to help you. Even saving you from yourself.”
“I’m self-sufficient. I thought I could handle it.”