Dodge the Bullet (23 page)

Dodge hung his head, let out a sarcastic
snort and sauntered to the doorway where she stood with her hands
on her hips. “What you are is in the way. I think you proved the
other night you can’t handle trouble.”

“
What?
”

“You heard me, slugger.” Dodge carelessly
lifted a shoulder. “This could be dangerous and I won’t stand for
you being in harm’s way.”

“
You won’t stand for it
?” When Dodge
stood his ground and said nothing, Sarah turned her attention to
Tommy, who watched them with amusement flashing in his eyes. “Tell
me where Burwick is meeting his henchman tomorrow.”

Tommy sobered. “I…uh, Dodge?”

“No,” Sarah demanded. “Answer me or I swear
I’ll call your cousin at Burwick’s office and find out for
myself.”

Tommy looked at Dodge. “Is she serious?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” Dodge grabbed her arm,
pulled her outside the barn door, and squinted against the setting
sun. “Are you trying to get yourself killed? Burwick’s made
promises to Saxton he intends to keep.”

“That means my family’s in danger. I won’t
stand by while he takes pot shots at us. You can’t ask me to.”

“I won’t play Russian roulette with your
life. Damn it.” He kicked the dirt with his boot. “He’s through
with scare tactics, Sarah. Why can’t you trust me to take care of
this?”

“It’s not your job to protect us, Dodge.
There’s nothing about guard duty in the lease.” Sarah covered her
face with her hands, pulled them back in frustration. “Why don’t I
just call him and tell him he can forget about my land, that no
matter what he does I won’t ever sell. We don’t have to play this
cat and mouse game. I’ll end it with a phone call.”

Dodge grabbed her shoulders. “You don’t get
it. It’s too late for him to back down. Tommy’s cousin was warning
us for a reason. He’s in too deep to renege.” He saw the
resignation in her eyes and loosened his grip and softened his
voice. “Let me handle this, Sarah. I don’t want you getting
hurt.”

She pushed his hands off her shoulders. “Do
you seriously expect me to sit around and wait for you to rescue
me? I’m not a helpless moron.”

“You’re pig-headed!”

“And you’re a chauvinist!”

Tommy peeked his head around the corner.
“Are you children done squabbling?”

“No!” they both shouted.

Tommy put a hand on Dodge’s shoulder. “The
name of the bar is Coasters, off Highway 128, just north of Ft.
Marland. I’d offer to go myself, but I promised Kimberly I wouldn’t
show my face.”

“I’m going with you,” Sarah said to
Dodge.

“No way. The man knows you. You don’t think
he’ll get suspicious when you stroll in a dive bar nearly fifty
miles from home?”

“I’ve never met him. I’ve only talked to him
on the phone.”

“He wants your land, Sarah. He probably
knows what you ate for breakfast. He’s trying to figure out where
you’re vulnerable.”

“You pissed him off in Wyoming. Do you think
he doesn’t remember what you look like?”

“I think I can blend into a crowd a hell of
a lot better than you can.”

“Maybe, if you take that enormous chip off
your shoulder.”

Dodge’s temper hung on by a thread. He
stepped toward her, ducked his head so they were nose to nose. “You
want to come with me, fine. But my ‘I told you so’ may come with a
very big price.”

“What the hell is that supposed to
mean?”

“You should let me handle this. Alone.”

###

Dodge and Tommy pulled up to the cabin to
get Sarah. Tommy had agreed to stay with Lyle in case anything
happened while they were gone as Kevin had finally wrangled a date
with Shiloh. Dodge had borrowed his dad’s truck for their mission.
That’s how he thought of their outing: a duty, a responsibility to
keep Sarah and the kids out of trouble. He also needed to keep his
livelihood safe, but that was secondary to everything else. Sarah
was too naïve to understand the danger of the situation, to fear
what desperate men did when ran out of options. Burwick was no less
dangerous than a wild animal backed into a corner.

As they stood on her doorstep he wished for
the hundredth time that day that he’d followed his gut and left for
Ft. Marland without her. Stubborn as she was, he knew she’d just
come right along on her own.

When she opened the door, his jaw dropped in
surprise. Sarah stood before him in a thin, tight blouse, form
fitting jeans and heeled sandals that played peek-a-boo with her
red painted toes. Her hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders
and she had on more makeup than he’d ever seen her wear. After a
cursory once over, her knowing smile made him wish she’d stay home
for a whole new set of reasons. The woman had all but dared him not
to touch her.

Tommy broke the silence with a whistle.
“Sarah, you sure clean up nice.”

“Thank you, Tommy.”

“What the hell are you wearing?” Dodge
said.

“What do you mean?”

“We’re supposed to blend in with the
crowd.”

“What do you suggest I wear to a bar? My
bath robe?”

The image of her in that short little
nothing she called a robe didn’t help his wandering thoughts. Damn
it, this was not a good idea.

“Never mind. Are you ready?”

“Just let me get my jacket.”

###

As they headed through downtown Hailey
toward Ft. Marland, the tension in the truck seemed palpable. Dodge
drove in silence with a scowl that mirrored Sarah’s. She watched
families enter restaurants, trucks pull into driveways after a long
day’s work and brooded in the bouncy cab of Dodge’s borrowed truck.
And he’d criticized her truck. All the bouncing managed to draw out
the faint smell of his aftershave, cause it to drift over and
mingle with the perfume she’d dabbed under her earlobes. She’d
actually looked forward to spending time with him tonight. What a
fool she was. He’d practically called her a slut when she opened
the door to him earlier and now he sat stone-faced and silent.

She thought about Kevin, on his first
official date with Shiloh. She’d walked him over to the Winslow’s
house, much to his embarrassment, and left him for Mrs. Winslow to
escort to a movie. She had to hand it to Kevin; Shiloh was a pretty
girl. And from the look on her face she was definitely smitten with
Kevin. Sarah had lectured him on the walk over about using manners,
opening her door, and treating the Winslow’s with respect. He’d
naturally rolled his eyes.

Her reminders were unnecessary, but she’d
needed to fill the time talking about something other than her
worries about the date. She’d wanted to remind him that girls were
gross, like he’d said back in third grade when Mandy Holloway tried
to kiss him at recess. She’d wanted to tell him to stop growing up
so fast. “Look at me,” she’d wanted to say. “Do I look like I’m
having so much fun as an adult?” Male-female relationships were
wrought with pot holes and curves in the road. Dating was a long
and torturous highway to drive when you were never sure of the
destination.

Sarah wanted to remind him to respect
Shiloh’s right to say no to a kiss, and, please, God, no more than
a kiss. She’d even felt the slightest nudge of anger at Todd for
leaving her to deal with teenaged boys and their urges alone. She
needed to have a talk with Kevin about responsible sexual
behavior.

“Wondering about the big date?” Dodge
asked.

“How’d you know?”

“That you were wondering or about the date
itself?”

Sarah wondered if Kevin had talked to Dodge
about going out with Shiloh. For a fleeting moment she considered
asking Dodge to talk to Kevin about being sexually responsible.
“Both, I guess.”

Dodge grinned. “I overheard Lyle teasing him
about it the other day. Kid’s nervous.”

“Why do you say that? He sure didn’t seem
nervous when I dropped him off.”

Dodge lifted a shoulder in half shrug, let
his eyes linger on her face. “He yelled at Lyle when he teased him.
If he wasn’t nervous, he’d have ignored him.”

Sarah felt herself relax. It was good to
talk to a man about her feelings. “He’s growing up so fast, both of
them are. This whole dating thing…” She absently brushed her hair
back from her face. “It scares me.”

“You’ve raised fine boys. They’ll have their
ups and downs, but they love you. They don’t want to disappoint
you. I can see that already.”

Sarah twisted in the seat to face him,
waited until he looked at her. “Do you mean that, or are you just
trying to make me feel better?” He moved his hand from the wheel
and covered hers, but pulled it quickly away. Just that brief
contact made her feel like she’d touched a live wire.

“They’re not angels, no boys are. But
they’re grounded and responsible.”

She stared out the front windshield at the
passing yellow lines. “Thanks.” Her throat tightened with emotion.
Lately, she felt like all she ever did was disappoint her kids. It
felt good to hear a compliment, especially from Dodge.

They pulled into the parking lot of Coasters
at a quarter until nine. It sat right where Tommy had said, along a
stretch of barren highway with nothing around but an old gas
station that looked like it had closed sometime in the last
century.

Coasters looked to Sarah like a mobile home
in need of a power wash and a fresh coat of paint. An old screen
door flopped open in the breeze at the main entrance and a set of
double metal doors were on the side near the dumpster where Dodge
parked. A smattering of cars littered the dirt lot, mostly old
trucks and cars.

“Do you remember the plan?” He slid the gear
shift into park and turned in the seat to face her.

Sarah sat up straight, recited the plan back
like a student to a teacher. “We find a quiet table and order
drinks. Keep our heads low and our eyes open.”

“I’m serious, Sarah. If Burwick recognizes
you or gets spooked, I want you to get out of the line of
fire.”

“Are you carrying a gun?”

“No, I just want you to get out of the way
and keep yourself safe. I’m not locking the truck and we’re parked
right by the side entrance. If something happens, you come out to
the truck and lock yourself in.” He reached over, put a small key
in a lock box between their feet on the floor and opened the heavy
lid with a squeak. “I’ll give you the keys so you can get at this
if you need it.” He lifted the corner of an old work rag to reveal
the barrel of a shiny black gun.

“Are you nuts? I’m not using a gun, for
God’s sake. I’d probably shoot myself.”

“It’s not loaded.” He closed the lid and
secured the lock, handed her the key ring. “But if you need to
flash it around to make someone go away, it’ll do the job.”

“Are you trying to scare me?”

“I want you to be prepared for anything.”
Dodge reached over, gave her knee a quick squeeze. “Ready?”

She took a deep breath, let it out with a
sigh and got out of the truck.

If the outside of Coasters needed a good
scrubbing, the inside needed an insecticide bomb from a hazmat
unit. Sarah didn’t want to touch anything, not a chair, a table
top, a door handle and certainly not a glass. She’d landed as far
from her suburban neighborhood back home as Dorothy in the Land of
Oz.

Dodge surveyed the sparse crowd, didn’t see
Burwick or anyone particularly interested in the two of them and
led Sarah to a small table near the back. They had a good view of
the interior and the hallway that led to the restrooms and the side
entrance.

“Stay here and don’t talk to anyone,” he
said. “I’ll get us a beer.”

“Make sure it’s in a bottle.”

The moment Dodge walked away, Sarah glanced
around to get a look at the people. There were only two other women
in the bar. One worked as a waitress, a heavy set woman in her
fifties with long gray hair pulled back in a loose braid. The other
woman was with her date and stood between a large table and an old
foosball game with missing handles. She and her gentleman friend
appeared drunk and used each other to prop themselves up under the
guise of dancing to the crackling jute box music.

Most of the handful of men congregated near
the bar, making small talk and love to their drinks. The two or
three of the younger men wore biker attire and sported long braided
hair and ponytails with bandanas wrapped around their heads.

In the middle of the bar stood Dodge, his
backside framed in his not-too-tight jeans, his boot resting on the
metal pole that ran along the base of the bar. He looked like a
living, breathing movie poster. His talk of danger and guns had
distracted her from her overwhelming desire for him. He drew her
like a magnet. As if he’d felt her stare, he turned his head,
caught her eye and winked. She felt her stomach drop at what he’d
probably intended as a reassuring gesture.

He walked back to the table with his casual
gait as if he hadn’t a care in the world. He slid into the seat
opposite her, handed her a beer.

“It’s cold,”

“And in a bottle, as requested.” He clinked
the neck of his bottle with hers and took a long swig.

She took a small sip, then another when it
tasted good. “Do you see anything? Recognize anyone?”

“No.” He glanced around the room. “But it’s
not quite nine.”

Sarah twisted her hair in her fingers and he
scowled at her to stop. She picked the label from the bottle and he
reached over to still her hands. When her feet began tapping the
floor under the table, he gave her a gentle kick on the shin. And
still no one came into the bar.

Dodge took the last sip from his beer, set
it on the table. He looked at his watch. “It’s ten after nine. I’m
going to take a look in the restroom, then pop outside.” He stood
up and paused, looked down at Sarah. “Do you want another
beer?”

She felt the weight of her half empty bottle
in her palm. “No, thanks.”