“We could hitch to Vancouver,” I said.
“The cops might see us on the road and too many people will remember three girls—we stand out. Same with the bus, the cops can track us.”
Dani was sounding annoyed, but I couldn’t stop my questions. “What about the gun under the seat? We’ll be stuck here for a couple of days.”
“They don’t have any reason to look under the seat. Once the truck is fixed, we can get the hell out of here. No one knows where we’re heading.”
I glanced back where the guys had gone into the bushes, saw them walking out.
“You think they’re okay?” I whispered.
Dani turned and looked at them. “Yeah, they’re just typical boys hoping to get lucky. If they want to be nice, fine, but we don’t have to do anything else.”
*
We climbed into the back of their truck, throwing our gear and the cooler in with us. The boys had helped us load the remaining boxes into the cab of our truck so we could lock it up. Brian said he’d come back with a tow truck later in the day. It would be added to our bill but he said he’d get his uncle to cut the rate.
They brought us through town. It looked even smaller than Littlefield, and it was obvious the guys knew everyone—people waved at the truck as we drove past, giving us curious looks. I focused my camera and took a few pretend shots of downtown, which had only a couple of stoplights. I noticed a few stores, a diner, a brick motel. Between a pizza shop with some plastic chairs outside and a florist, a bulletin board was crammed with notices like no one had ever taken anything down. The hardware store had a sign for the post office. There only seemed to be one garage: “That’s where I work!” Brian yelled through the rear window. He pulled in front of one of the shop bays and got out.
“Just have to talk to my uncle and make sure he’s cool with everything.” Gavin got out and went inside with Brian.
We stayed in the back of the truck. The sun was beating down, reflecting off the black metal, hot to the touch. Courtney had her head resting against the plastic box under the rear window. It ran the length of the cab and had a padlock. Some of the men in Littlefield had the same boxes in their trucks for tools. Courtney’s hand was covering her burn. Dani was watching her and chewing her nails.
I noticed a pub beside the garage, or at least I thought it was a pub, with music thumping and the smell of greasy food. The back door opened into an alley between the two businesses. Above the pub an open window looked down on the garage. Some curtains blew in the breeze and I wondered if people lived up there.
The back door opened and a boy came out. He looked about my age, with blond hair that fell into his eyes. He brushed it away. His face was flushed like he was hot, his white apron stained. He glanced around and lit a cigarette, leaning back against the wall, his eyes closed as he took a long drag and slowly exhaled.
Brian and Gavin came out of the shop, voices loud, door banging shut behind them. The boy in the alley stood straight, looked right at me.
Our eyes met, held. Then he glanced at the boys. Something in his face, the way his eyes narrowed, told me he didn’t like them.
Gavin gave him the finger. The boy didn’t react, just took another long, slow drag. An older man with a full beard and silver-streaked hair came out, looked like he was about to say something, then noticed us. Brian and Gavin climbed back into the truck. The man watched us pull away.
The boys stopped outside a general store. Brian hopped out of the truck.
“Gotta get some beer.”
“Is there a bathroom?” Courtney said.
“’Round back.”
We piled out and went around the back of the store. Through the window I could see the boys picking up a couple of cases of beer. Gavin was elbowing Brian and they were laughing at something. I glanced at Dani—Courtney was in the bathroom. Dani was also watching the boys. I gave her a look.
“They’re just being guys,” she said, but she sounded worried.
Courtney came out and also noticed the boys. They glanced up, feeling our gaze, and gave us big smiles, lifting up a case of beer like a trophy.
“See?” Dani said as she moved toward the bathroom. “Typical boys.”
*
We left the town and drove through some farms, then down a winding country road, the pavement cracked and rough. We passed a tractor, the old man giving us a nod. The air was filled with the scent of hay from recently cut fields. Dani’s eyes were sad, and I knew she was thinking of Corey.
The road changed to dirt and we hunkered low but still got coated with a fine layer of dust, coughing and rubbing our eyes. Finally the boys turned off onto a smaller road and stopped at a metal gate. Gavin jumped out and opened it.
“Almost there,” he said with a smile.