Second Chance Pass (Virgin River #5)(124)



“You taste like soot,” she told him.

“I know,” he said. “You taste so good.” He jerked his head in the direction of his bar, his boys. “I hate when they do that.”

“I think I’m starting to get used to it.” She smiled. And she kissed him again.

As anxious as Jack was to get home, he needed a few minutes alone with Mike Valenzuela. They sequestered themselves in the RV behind the bar. Jack told only Mike the details of his rescue, and stayed there while Mike called the sheriff, repeating the story as well as the license-plate number. When Mike hung up, he slowly turned to look at Jack.

“Well, they were ahead of you. A couple of growers—partners—had a little lover’s spat. One was shot, the other set him on fire to conceal evidence, thus the fire. They’re investigating a drug-related murder covered by arson. A suspect was arrested trying to get away,” Mike said.

Jack swallowed. “Was it our guy?”

“I’m guessing here, but if it was our guy, he would not have stopped for you. In fact, he might’ve put a bullet in your head to keep you from talking to the police. He definitely wouldn’t have told you anything about the fire. Jack, that guy isn’t what we think.”

“What do we think?” Jack asked.

“That he’s an ordinary grower. He might even be law enforcement, and if he is, they’ll pull him in, relocate him and we’ll never know.”

Jack stood up. “Well. I guess that’s it, then. The way he was driving, he probably wrapped himself around a tree before he got out of the county. I’m going home.”

“Have a good sleep.”

“Long sleep. And, Valenzuela. Thanks. For looking for me.”

“It’s just what we do. What you do. I’m just glad we didn’t have to bring a crispy critter home to Mel.”

“Yeah. Me, too.”

Jack, Preacher, Mike and Paul went to their homes, their wives, to their showers and then their beds for a long, clean sleep. The others had too much of a drive ahead to think about just taking it on after no sleep in twenty-four hours. Phillips and Stephens were headed for Reno and went over the mountain pass with a big thermos of strong coffee from the bar and two sets of eyes to stay on the road. Zeke and Corny took the night in Jack’s guesthouse before tackling their long drives. Joe took Nikki back to the cabin.

That left Muriel and Walt with no instructions and a bar on their hands.

“I’d say we’re done here,” Walt said. “We didn’t exactly clean the place, but the food’s put away and the dishes done. We did our part.”

“I did my part,” Muriel said. “By now Buff has exploded in his kennel and although Luce is an angel, it’s possible she had a few accidents and ate my house out of boredom. She’s a Lab. These things are inbred.”

“Preacher left keys. What do you say we lock up and give up.”

“Let’s,” she said. “I’m wrecked.”

“I bet you’re tired.”

“Wrecked,” she repeated. “That goes beyond tired.”

Walt put a hand to the small of her back and escorted her out, locking the door behind them. He stood on the porch for a moment, looking at the sky. “I don’t know how to thank you for coming to town, helping like you did.”

“It’s my town, too, Walt. Now. And it was worth it. These are my guys, too, now. Not just yours.”

He laughed. “True. If you feed ’em, they’re yours.” He dropped his chin. “You know, I’ve been in some real hot spots over the years. I came here for peace and quiet, but today wasn’t either one.”

“I grew up in these mountains,” she informed him. “It gets dicey sometimes. It’s not an easy life all the time. Beautiful, but there are issues. In the end, it’s usually worth it. But, Walt, you shouldn’t get the idea it’s simple. It’s not. It can get rugged.”

“You saying beautiful isn’t always easy?” he asked her.

She grinned. “I’m not sure that’s exactly the message, but I guess so.”

“I’ll be sure to remember that.”

“See that you do,” she said. “I’ve been away a while. I had almost forgotten,” she added. “This can be rough country. Fire’s the worst, I think. We live in the middle of a lot of wood.”

“Did you wonder, just for a second, whether it was worth it?”

“Hmm?”

“When Jack came back, all scraped up, scorched, and picked up his little wife like he did, almost as if he’d been late from the store or something, it reminded me about what I love about this—that these people face this stuff like it’s just part of the package. They just man up, even the women. Everyone dives in, gets it done. It reminds me, if I’m going to belong to a group of people, I want to belong to people like these. They’re tough and resilient. They don’t quit early. They can count on each other. They hang in. That’s why I loved the Army.”

“Walt,” she said, putting a hand on his chest. “We’re just mountain people. We take what comes. The fact that it doesn’t come easy? There’s really not so much more to it than we don’t give up. We fight. There’s a lot to fight for here.”

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