Chapter 12

Jake greeted the two men inside the big Ram 3500. “Mister Gilroy, Jimmy. What brings you fellas down here on such a beautiful day?”

“Cut the Mister crap, you’re almost as old as I am.”

“Not even close, Clint.”

Clint turned to his passenger. “Hey, Jimmy, did you notice that we’re here? You can get out of the truck now.” Jimmy did as he was told and went over to where Jamie and the horses rested. “Wow ... anyway ... Jake, the fryer scrapped out, completely. Now, we can go without french fries for a day, but the Fish Fry is on Friday and we can’t miss that. I packed a bag for you. We’re going to Denver to get a new one.”

“Denver, now?”

“Yeah, They will keep the warehouse open for us until ten o’clock tonight.”

“Denver is ... how far away?”

“About nine hours, and we’ve only got eight hours to get there. Let’s go.”

“Okay, just gimme a minute.”

Clint watched in his rearview mirror as Jake went over to where Jamie stood. He couldn’t hear their conversation, of course, but he saw her shoulders slump, and then Jake took her in his arms and kissed her hard ... and kept kissing her ... and even some more after that.

“When will I see you again?” she whispered.

“Soon, I hope.”

“Okay.” Little pangs were tearing at her heartstrings. She felt that she had no right to miss him like this ... to feel like this ... but she did.

Clint tapped the truck’s horn and Jake disengaged from her. “I have to go, honey, the boss man is waitin’ on me.” He gave her one last hot kiss, took a deep breath, turned, and walked towards the truck.

The big dually roared down the dirt road, dust billowing behind it as Clint fought to keep it on the road at such a high rate of speed. They got onto the highway, and Clint set the cruise control to 87 mph. “That oughta do it.”

“Yeah, just keep your eyes on the prize, old friend. Emphasis on old.”

“Asshole,” Clint said, and they both laughed. He eased around a big tractor-trailer on the two-lane highway.

“So, Jake. I couldn’t help but notice you and that attractive little filly...”

“Jamie.”

“Yeah, Jamie Caldwell. Now, forgive me if I’m wrong, but isn’t she a guest? And married?”

“Ummm ... her last name is Lawrence, she’s not married. Chad Caldwell is her fiance, though.”

“Well, that’s my mistake, then. Don’t we have a rule about fraternizing with the guests?”

“Yes, boss. It says that you ‘frown on such things’.”

“What’s my face doing, Jake?”

He looked over at Clint. “Well, gee, boss, I do believe your face is a-frownin’.”

“That it is, my friend. That it is.”

“Is it because we have to go to Denver?”

“No, shithead. It ain’t cuz we gotta go to Denver. Well, that’s part of it, but quit changing the subject!”

“Distraction is often the better part of valor.”

“That’s supposed to be discretion, jackass, and that’s what I want from you, alright? A little discretion? I can’t have you two kissing and feeling up each other all over my ranch.”

“Well, to be honest, I was thinking of banging her against the fence back there but then you guys showed up.”

“Jake! She’s engaged and barely legal, and a guest, and you’re an old fart and–”

“Hey, she’s 24, Clint, she’s legal.”

“And you’re what? Pushin’ 80 now?” They both laughed.

Then Jake sighed heavily, turning serious. “I know all those things. But there is something about her, something that I’ve never felt before.”

“You’re so old and senile, you probably have felt it but just don’t remember.”

“Ha! No, I don’t think so. She’s very ... very special.”

Clint looked over at him. “You’re kinda sprung on her, huh?”

“Yeah, I sure am, I really am.” Jake looked at the mountains going by outside his window.

Clint continued on. “Her fiancé is a piece of work.” He’s a piece of shit, Jake thought to himself, but he knew better than to say that out loud. His boss continued, “She’s not going to marry him, is she? I kicked him out, you know. He was so arrogant and kept whining about you on the trail ride and the bear. But Calvin told me what happened, and that asshole wasn’t even sorry for what he did ... I told him to pack his bags. We don’t need his type up here, we got enough problems.”

“Huh, I thought he left on his own. Like, because he was ashamed or something.”

“Nope. I kicked his ass out.”

“I have even less respect for him now than I did earlier, and that wasn’t much.”

Night fell, and they stopped for fuel. “Piss quickly, old man, time’s-a-wastin’.”

Clint laughed. “Eat shit, I’m gettin’ a Red Bull. What do you want?”

“Same, and some Red Vines. Might as well get some Red Hots, too. Keep it all red.”

Jake took the wheel and got back up to speed after they fueled up. “So, what kind of problems? You mentioned that earlier.”

Clint took a pinch of Skoal tobacco and stuck it between his cheek and gums. He chewed for a few moments before spitting into a plastic cup. “Well, you know, just the usual shit. Competition is taking guests, I’m trying to keep the ones we get happy, the clientele itself is changing, social media and all that shit. It’s hard for me and Marcy to keep up sometimes with all this new technology.”

“You thinking of getting some help? Hirin’ somebody?”