#blogtours

An old pickup, with new shiny green paint, slowed down beside her until it crawled along at her pace. A quick glance sideways revealed black-hat-cowboy-guy grinning down at her.
A jolt of awareness cleared some of the fog from her head. He was more good-looking than she’d remembered, and also incredibly large above her in the truck.
“Good morning, darlin’,” he called down.
“Drive on,” she called out.
“Headed into town? We’ve got room.”
“I’m going to walk.” She wouldn’t get into a car with a single person from that party. She walked forward, not looking at him.
“Hold up, you dropped something,” he said, stopping the truck.
Randi whirled around, scanning the empty ground behind her. Her fingers lost their grip and her bags crashed down, things spilling out onto the gravel road. Her eyes burned.
Buck turned off the truck engine and leaned out the window.
“That’s a lot of gear to haul all the way into town,” he said, cheerfully.
“That was a dirty trick.”
“I just want to talk to you for a minute.”
“Leave me alone please!”
“Listen. Hugh, in the passenger seat, and I are headed in for some breakfast. If you ride with me, this gas guzzler will have a full cab. Darlin’, that’s a load off my conscience.”
Randi’s belly shuddered and her lips quivered. The dam burst. Her hands flew up to cover her eyes and a hiccupped sob exploded out.
“I can’t jump in some stranger’s pickup,” she mumbled through her fingers.
“Hey now,” he said, the amused condescension in his voice making her glare up at him. “You hold on to that pepper spray if it makes you feel better. Land’s sake, girl, we hauled around passed-out-Sarah last night. You’re practically part of the family. And Hugh here has about twenty sisters, so he’s well-trained.”
The door of the truck opened. She took a step back, pulling up the inside collar of her dress to dab at her face.
Buck’s eyes crinkled at her, a lopsided half-grin on his face. It was probably the way he looked at cows right before he lassoed a rope around their necks, or whatever. But he had helped Sarah. And her.
Her shoulders slumped. Defeated, she was beyond resistance. If they murdered her, at least she might be sitting down.
“All right?” he asked.
She exhaled. “All right, I’ll take a ride to the closest bus stop. Thanks.”
Buck picked up her bags and put them in the back of the truck. She hauled her heavy backpack off her aching shoulders and turned to sling it up, but Buck was already gripping the top and lifting it out of her hands.
“Hi,” said a burly man sitting on the passenger side of the bench seat, a gentle smile on his face. Like she was a crazy person. Which she was. With a deep breath, she hoisted herself up into the cab next to him.
“Sorry about Buck,” the big guy said, glaring at the culprit with one eye squinted. “He’s devious about getting what he wants.”
Buck landed on the seat beside her. “Hugh keeps the standards up. Probably why he’s so grumpy all the time.”
Hugh crossed his arms, leaning into the passenger door. His buzzed blond head and muscular frame brought to mind a late-twenties version of Mr. Clean, minus the jewelry.
“I ain’t grumpy. Just tired of your ugly face.”