Nothing Is Negotiable (2 page)

She answered him by thrusting the middle finger of her right hand high in the air as she headed down the hill.

Luke loved that about Bonnie. If someone told her she couldn’t do something that was just another reason why she’d try. She was independent and confident. He knew he was lucky to have her. He watched her auburn ponytail bounce from side to side until she made the turn at the highway and disappeared from sight.

He went back into their room and tossed his empty beer can in the trashcan. From his suitcase he pulled out his old jogging shoes, he’d wear them in case this type of fishing required wading in the river.

The street was crowded with minivans, SUVs and travel trailers as he made his way back into town. Only one store in St. Mary sold groceries and every aisle and checkout line was packed with tourists. Luke blew off Bonnie’s list and headed for Old Mill Road. A mile down the road he came to the river and pulled onto the dirt shoulder by the bridge. Grabbing his fly rod and a box full of flies, he went around the bend where the stream widened. It looked like an ideal spot so he put down his gear and rigged his rod.

He’d never done any fly fishing before and after ten minutes he was thankful no one was around to watch him. From watching several programs about it on The Outdoor Channel and didn’t think it looked all that hard. But it took only a minute to find out he didn’t have a clue what he was doing. Half the time he spent getting the line out of the bushes along the bank and the rest of his time he spent trying to learn how to cast a fly that weighed less than a gnat.

The more he tried, the more frustrated he became. This was nothing like bass fishing, he decided. Without a doubt he’d have to take some lessons if he wanted to learn how to do it right.

Time passed quickly and when he checked his watch he realized Bonnie was half an hour late. This wasn’t like her. He glanced back at the bridge and saw a steady stream of cars and campers moving in both directions. The traffic was much heavier than it had been earlier and he began to worry about Bonnie jogging on this narrow two-lane road.

Luke hurried back to the car, tossed his gear in the trunk and headed up the road, tracing the route Bonnie told him she was going to take. The road followed the river and a couple of miles down he saw her sitting on a rock, knee deep in the middle of the river. Something was wrong.

With a rocky cliff on one side and a drop off on the other, he couldn’t stop. He pounded his fist on the steering wheel in frustration. A hundred yards ahead he came to a turnout and pulled over on the shoulder of the road. He ran back but couldn’t find an easy way down to the river and finally pushed aside some branches and vines, sat on his butt, and slid down the rocky wash to the riverbank. He ran the rest of the way through the shallow water to get to her.

“Bonnie! Are you okay?” he said as he got closer.

She was bent over with one hand in the water. “No, I’m sick as a dog and I think I broke my thumb. Look.” she said, pulling her hand out of the water to show him. Her thumb was swollen and red. “I can’t believe it, but this icy water is numbing the pain.”

Luke saw leaves, dirt, and twigs in her hair. Her arms and legs were streaked with red scratches and mud covered one shoulder of her t-shirt. One of her cheeks was red and puffy, as if someone had hit her.

“What happened?”

She propped an elbow on her knee and rested her head in her hand. “About half an hour into the run, my stomach started churning and I felt like I was going to throw up. I stopped and started walking. I was right up there.” She pointed to the stretch of road with the steep drop-off on the near side and a bluff on the other.

“Then it hit me and I started puking my guts out. I heard something and when I looked behind me, a huge camper was coming, hauling ass, right for me. There’s no shoulder and it was muddy. When I tried to get off the road, I slipped and fell down the side of the hill—tumbling, head over heels.”

Luke pulled dried grass and twigs out of her hair. He could tell she was in pain. “Those assholes. Did the camper stop?”

“No. I don’t know if they even saw me.”

“How bad are you hurt?”

She sighed heavily. “I feel like I’ve been trampled by a herd of wild horses and could puke again any minute. Let’s go back to our room.”

Ten minutes later, Luke helped Bonnie upstairs. They saw an older man and a young woman, who looked about college age, sitting outside the room next to theirs. On a small table between them was a bottle of white wine with some cheese and crackers. When the couple saw Bonnie their relaxed appearance turned to concern. Bonnie’s pain was apparent and as they pushed their chairs out of her way, the guy said, “Oh my, are you okay?”

“She took a fall and hurt her thumb pretty bad,” Luke said.

The young lady asked, “What happened?”

Bonnie gave them a weak smile and said, “I was jogging and got forced off the road by a camper, and I slipped down the riverbank. But I think I’m okay, just kind of banged up.” She held up her hand, and turned it from side to side, and added, “I either broke my thumb or sprained it really bad.”

They retreated to their room where Bonnie dropped down onto the edge of the bed, her head in her hands. Luke came over with aspirin and a zip lock bag full of ice.

Bonnie held her thumb up and tried to move it. “I don’t think it’s broken but it hurts like a son of a gun. I can’t believe this. I don’t even know if I can hold my camera with this hand.”

There was a knock on their door. It was the young lady from next door. Luke couldn’t help but notice her striking looks: long blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. In her hand she held a white box with a red cross on it.

She glanced from Luke to Bonnie. “I don’t want to bother you, but we had this in the Hummer and thought something in here might help.”

Luke stepped aside and she walked over beside Bonnie. She set the first aid kit on the bed and opened it. Luke could smell her perfume. She hadn’t been hiking all day that was for sure.

“Thanks, but I’m not sure what I need at this point,” Bonnie said.

“There’s all kinds of stuff in here, even an elastic bandage for your hand.”

“I’m going to take a shower and get cleaned up. Then I’ll be able to see the damage a little better.”

“I’m Christina,” she said, backing toward the door. “If there’s anything we can do, let us know. And if you feel up to it, come out and have some wine and cheese with us. It might help kill some of the pain.”

“We might do that. Thanks,” said Luke.

Christina stepped outside and Luke closed the door behind her. As he turned around, he saw Bonnie rush into the bathroom and slam the door.

Seconds later, he heard her being sick again.

He waited a minute and heard it again.

“You okay?” was all he could say.

“I think so,” she said weakly.

A few minutes later, Bonnie staggered out and sat on the side of the bed.

“Want me to go get something for your stomach?”

“No, I’ve got some Pepto in my suitcase. It was probably something I ate for lunch. But let’s not let this ruin our trip.” She kicked off her running shoes. “I’m already feeling better. I’m going to take a shower, why don’t you have a drink with our neighbors? They seem nice.”

As she disappeared into the bathroom, Luke realized there was nothing he could do, so he stepped outside, and closed the door behind him. The man rose and extended his hand. “I’m Jack, and you’ve met Christina.”

Jack’s grip was firm, but his hand was soft and Luke couldn’t help but notice the gold Rolex on his wrist. He stood about five-ten with curly dark hair and looked to be about fifty, considerably older than Christina.

“How is your wife?” Jack asked.

“Not so good right now,” Luke said. “In addition to her fall, something she ate didn’t agree with her. She’s pretty sick, too.”

“She’s just having a bad day all around, isn’t she?” Jack seemed sincere. “Sit down, Luke. May I pour you a glass of wine?”

“Sure, thanks,” he said, settling into the chair beside Christina.

Jack picked up a leather case beside his chair and opened it. Inside Luke saw two more wine glasses and a silver corkscrew encased in red velvet. Jack pulled out one of the glasses and filled it for Luke.

Jack was a lawyer in Kalispell, a small town on the west side of Glacier National Park. He and Christina came for a few days to do some hiking and just “hang out.” For the next ten minutes they made casual conversation. Jack told some of his favorite lawyer jokes, which led to what Luke did for a living, and then to what brought he and Bonnie to Montana.

A few minutes later the sun had dipped behind the mountain and Bonnie stepped out of their room. She had a bottle of water in one hand and a small digital camera in the hand that now was wrapped in the elastic bandage. Her auburn hair looked freshly brushed and hung beautifully down past her shoulders.

When she sat down, Luke took the camera and motioned toward the mountain to the west. “Glad you brought that. I was about to miss a beautiful shot.”

“That’s a tough shot with the sun setting behind it,” she said.

“She never quits,” Luke said admiringly. He stood up and pointed the camera westward where the huge mountain was silhouetted with golden rays of sunlight reaching skyward on all sides. He took several pictures before setting the camera on the table.

Jack picked it up and examined it closer. “A Canon Elph. I’ve got one just like it. This is a great little camera.” He turned it on them and said, “Move over a little closer and I’ll get a picture of you guys to document your first traumatic day in Montana.”

Jack snapped a couple of shots and handed the camera back to Luke.

“Let me get one too,” Luke said as turned the camera on them and snapped a shot.

After the picture, Jack gave Christina a quick kiss on the lips, and then reached over and picked up the bottle of wine and held it toward Bonnie. “We’ve got a great Chardonnay that will help numb your pain.”

“Thanks, but my stomach is still pretty queasy. I’d better stick with water, but I’ll take a few of these crackers, if you don’t mind.”

He pushed the tray of crackers and cheese toward her. “Luke tells us you’re up here as a speaker at that Photography Workshop over in Glacier.”

“That’s right. I gave my presentation at noon.”

“How’d it go?”

“I think it went pretty good. I got a lot of positive feedback from the audience and quite a few orders for my new book, too.”

“That’s fantastic. Luke told us about your book. We’d like to order one, too,” he said. “Now that you’re done with the workshop, what are you going to do?”

Bonnie looked at Luke and shrugged. “Just some things we found in the guide books. We’ve got another week—a few more days here and then up to Canada for the rest of the trip. We were hoping to get some tips from the locals up here.”

“I can give you some ideas. If I wasn’t a lawyer I’d be a tour guide.” Jack squeezed Christina’s thigh and said, “Sweetie, go grab that box in the back of the Hummer.”

Christina downed the remaining third of her glass of wine and strutted toward the stairs. Her short shorts distracted Jack’s attention momentarily, and then he returned his gaze to Luke and Bonnie. “Over the years, I’ve collected a variety of maps and trail guides. I have a few that will really be helpful to you.”

When Christina returned she carried two boxes. One was a small plastic file box and the other was about half the size of a briefcase and made of beautiful dark wood.

“I thought you’d want to bring this one inside tonight.”

“Oh yeah. I forgot to bring it in earlier,” Jack said. He took the wooden box and set it on the table in front of Luke. “Let me show you something. Being from Texas, I bet you like guns.”

He unlocked the gold latches and opened it. Inside they saw a pistol which, like the corkscrew, lay on red velvet.

“What a beauty,” Luke said. “Is it a Colt?”

“That it is,” Jack said. “I don’t know a darn thing about guns, but what I’ve learned it isn’t just any Colt. It’s a limited edition, factory-engraved .38. The model is a ‘Super Match’. It was made in 1935 and was the first pistol Colt made for National Pistol Matches. And this one’s never been fired.”

“It’s beautiful.”

“I got it when a client was short on cash. I don’t have much interest in guns, so I’d like to sell it.”

“How much?

“Twenty-five thousand,” Jack said.

Luke chuckled and leaned back. “That’s a little out of my price range.”

“Another reason we came over here was to show it to a rancher who thought he might like to buy it. He thought I’d come down to twenty, but I have several others who are interested. So I’m going to hold out for twenty-five.” Jack latched the case and set it on the floor beside the table then opened the other box and pulled out a handful of maps.

During the next forty-five minutes, they pored over the maps and Jack opened two more bottles of wine. It was obvious he knew the area well and Luke took copious notes. When Jack mentioned some great spots to photograph wildlife, Luke looked at Bonnie, expecting a comment. Instead, he saw her holding her hand on her head.

“You don’t look too good, Babe. Are you feeling bad again?”

She nodded with her eyes closed. “I think it’s best I go in now.” She stood up. “Thanks for everything,” she said to Christina and Jack. “Maybe we’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I’m right behind you,” Luke said. He saw Christina whisper something in Jack’s ear and Jack smiled mischievously.

Jack finished his wine and said, “I think it’s time for us to go in too.”

Inside, Bonnie was on the side of the bed, talking on the telephone. “That was Mrs. Johnson, the owner of the lodge,” she said when she hung up. “I asked her if there’s a doctor in town and she said there isn’t. The closest one is at the clinic in Cardston. I guess that’s the one where Rita works.” Bonnie dug through her purse and pulled out a business card. “Rita gave me a card with her phone number on it. I’m going to call her and see what she says.”

Luke went to the bathroom and when he came out, Bonnie was just finishing her call. “Rita told me to come in around ten in the morning and she’ll get me in as soon as she can.”