He heard soft snoring and chuckled when he realized it was coming from Bear. He gave her a light pat and then turned on the radio. He kept it low, not wanting to wake the sleeping pair.
And in the latest news report, all eighty-eight passengers on Flight 5256 from Houston to Albuquerque are believed dead. At this time, airport officials are refusing to comment on the source of the explosion. There is speculation that a bomb may have been responsible. Airport baggage handlers are being questioned. All flights have been canceled, and the airport has been shut down until further notice.
Naomi moaned in her sleep, and he clicked the radio off.
“How long was I asleep?” Naomi yawned as she stretched.
Lash glanced at the clock on the dashboard. “A couple of hours.”
“Two hours! Why didn’t you wake me?”
“You need your rest. It’s going to be a long drive.”
“Where are we now?” Naomi looked out the window.
“Still in Texas,” Lash grumbled. It felt like he’d been driving forever. “How big is this state anyway?”
Her stomach grumbled and she reached for her backpack. “Great. I forgot to bring food,” she said, rifling through the bag.
“Since we have no hope of getting out of Texas anytime soon, we can make a pit stop in the next town. We’ll refuel you and the car.” Lash looked down at the gauge. “It looks like we’re getting good mileage in this thing. We have about half a tank.”
“Welita loves this clunker. I hope somehow we can get it back to her. I don’t know if it’ll even survive the trip there.”
When they passed the Abilene city limits sign, Lash pulled into the first gas station. As he pumped gas into the tank, Naomi crawled out of the car with Bear.
“Bear and I need to use the ladies’ room. Meet you inside?”
Inside the gas station, Lash grabbed a small basket and threw some snacks and sodas into it. At the end of one of the aisles, he spotted some dog treats. He was about to get a box of dog biscuits when he heard a familiar southern drawl.
“Is that you, Lash?”
He turned and clear green eyes stared into his.
“Oh, my. It is you.” He dropped his basket as Megan wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
He was speechless. This couldn’t be the same Megan he’d taken back to his hotel room months ago. She smiled to reveal a perfect set of pearly white teeth. Her hair glimmered and laid in soft waves on her shoulders. White jean shorts hugged her hips and a pale yellow blouse highlighted a healthy glow, so different from the sallow skin she once had.
“You don’t remember me,” Megan’s pink-stained lips pouted.
“Megan,” he squeaked. He cleared his throat, annoyed that he sounded like a prepubescent schoolboy. “Yeah, I remember you. You caught me off guard. You look different.”
“I bet. I got a full makeover since I moved back home and started taking classes at Abilene Christian University again. You like?” Megan stood back and twirled around as if giving him a fashion show.
“Oh, uh,” What should he say? He didn’t want her to think that he was interested in her in that way. At the same time, he didn’t want to come across as rude. He thought in horror of the way he had treated her, used her. He didn’t want to be like that again. “You look … good. Very pretty.”
Megan beamed. “I have you and your friend, Raphael, to thank for that. Is he here with you?” She looked around the gas station.
“No, it’s just me.” Lash wondered how much she remembered about that night. Obviously, she remembered enough to clean herself up. Maybe revealing himself had been a good thing. Although if she shared this information with her friends and word somehow got out, it could lead Sal to them. “That was some night we had.”
“It changed my life.” Megan leaned against the glass door of the refrigerated case, her eyes staring into the distance as if remembering. She laughed. “I was so wasted. I actually thought I saw wings sprout out of your back.”
Lash faked a laugh. “Yeah, we both were.”
“I don’t remember Raphael being with us at the bar. Did he come in later for a … you know?”
Lash furrowed his brow, trying to figure out what Megan was trying to insinuate. Then he grimaced when he realized what she was asking. The thought of him and Raphael with her … together … at the same time … Raphael naked. He shuddered. “No! God, no! He came after we … you know.”
“Oh. Does he have a girlfriend? He’s cute and sweet. All I remember was that he helped me with my withdrawal, listened and gave me some good advice. I can’t remember exactly. It was the way I felt when he held me.” Megan sighed.