Read Online Borders of the Heart by Chris Fabry - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Chris Fabry
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no registration. Add some oil when you fill up.”
Maria rolled her window down, and J. D. had to plug his left ear and hold the steering wheel with his knee.
“There’s something else you ought to know,” Win said.
“What’s that?”
“There’s a loaded .45 in the glove compartment. I keep it there for coyotes.”
J. D. looked at Maria, her hair swirling in the hot wind. Like a vision of something that fell from heaven or crawled up from hell—he couldn’t tell which.
“I’ll get the truck back to you. But I can’t say when.”
He could picture the man’s face, grimacing with regret. “I’m praying for you, J. D. That you’ll go to the police. Let them handle this.”
“It’s not just her now, Win. I’m mixed in too. Do me a favor and call Slocum. I won’t be back today or at the farmers’ market tomorrow. Explain what happened.”
And then it hit him. He had a stash of cash in the schoolhouse. For an emergency. He thought about asking Win to retrieve it, but he couldn’t do that. The police would be at Win’s any minute. In fact, they might have heard the whole conversation.
“Good-bye, Win. Thanks for everything.”
He flipped the phone closed, and like a flash of lightning, Maria grabbed it and tossed it out her window.
“Why’d you do a fool thing like that?” he said. “That’s our lifeline.”
“It’s also a way to locate you. It will get you killed or arrested. The same with your credit card. They will find you. And if they don’t, he will.”
“You talking about Muerte?”
She nodded.
“Who is he? How do you know him?”
She shook her head, and he interpreted the silence the same as his words to Win. The less he knew, the better, at least from her perspective.
“You keeping quiet isn’t helping—”
“Your friend is right. You should go to the police. Drop me at the next exit.”
“I’m not dropping you anywhere.” He glanced at the mountains all around them and the blue sky so clear it looked like a glass bowl over them. “So what do you suggest we do?”
“I try to stay alive.”
“This isn’t just about you. I’m throwing in with you, as they say back home. Good or bad, we’re together.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I feel sorry for you.”
She didn’t respond.
“You said yourself that maybe God brought us together.”
“What do you believe about God?”
“I don’t think it matters what I believe. It’s an exercise to make sense out of stuff we’ll never make sense of.”
She was quiet, so he went on. “But if you’re right and the big guy is up there pulling the strings, there’s a reason I’m mixed in with you. And the question becomes, how is he going to help us survive?”
She said something he couldn’t hear, then turned to him with those big brown eyes all cloudy and red. “I said I don’t know.” She choked it out before turning to stare out the window again. He thought she was probably thinking of the place where she grew up or maybe her mother’s tender kiss at night or a favorite dog she had as a little girl. Who can know what goes on inside the mind of a beautiful woman with secrets?
They passed a sign for a Quality Inn and another cheap hotel, but it was too close to La Pena. There was a Holiday Inn at the Duval Mine exit, but he kept driving, kept the engine gauge moving upward toward hot.
“We could head up toward Phoenix. Maybe stay at Casa Grande. Someplace this Muerte guy wouldn’t think to look.”
Maria shook her head. “I need to stay here.”
“And why’s that?”
She didn’t respond. When they passed the Harkins Theatre, she was all eyes, taking in the restaurants and stores.
“When’s the last time you went out to see a movie?” he said.
“We have only a small theater in the town where I live. They play old movies.”
“Well, when this is all over, what do you say we go?”
“I would like that, but I don’t think this will ever be all over.”
J. D. shook his head
Maria rolled her window down, and J. D. had to plug his left ear and hold the steering wheel with his knee.
“There’s something else you ought to know,” Win said.
“What’s that?”
“There’s a loaded .45 in the glove compartment. I keep it there for coyotes.”
J. D. looked at Maria, her hair swirling in the hot wind. Like a vision of something that fell from heaven or crawled up from hell—he couldn’t tell which.
“I’ll get the truck back to you. But I can’t say when.”
He could picture the man’s face, grimacing with regret. “I’m praying for you, J. D. That you’ll go to the police. Let them handle this.”
“It’s not just her now, Win. I’m mixed in too. Do me a favor and call Slocum. I won’t be back today or at the farmers’ market tomorrow. Explain what happened.”
And then it hit him. He had a stash of cash in the schoolhouse. For an emergency. He thought about asking Win to retrieve it, but he couldn’t do that. The police would be at Win’s any minute. In fact, they might have heard the whole conversation.
“Good-bye, Win. Thanks for everything.”
He flipped the phone closed, and like a flash of lightning, Maria grabbed it and tossed it out her window.
“Why’d you do a fool thing like that?” he said. “That’s our lifeline.”
“It’s also a way to locate you. It will get you killed or arrested. The same with your credit card. They will find you. And if they don’t, he will.”
“You talking about Muerte?”
She nodded.
“Who is he? How do you know him?”
She shook her head, and he interpreted the silence the same as his words to Win. The less he knew, the better, at least from her perspective.
“You keeping quiet isn’t helping—”
“Your friend is right. You should go to the police. Drop me at the next exit.”
“I’m not dropping you anywhere.” He glanced at the mountains all around them and the blue sky so clear it looked like a glass bowl over them. “So what do you suggest we do?”
“I try to stay alive.”
“This isn’t just about you. I’m throwing in with you, as they say back home. Good or bad, we’re together.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I feel sorry for you.”
She didn’t respond.
“You said yourself that maybe God brought us together.”
“What do you believe about God?”
“I don’t think it matters what I believe. It’s an exercise to make sense out of stuff we’ll never make sense of.”
She was quiet, so he went on. “But if you’re right and the big guy is up there pulling the strings, there’s a reason I’m mixed in with you. And the question becomes, how is he going to help us survive?”
She said something he couldn’t hear, then turned to him with those big brown eyes all cloudy and red. “I said I don’t know.” She choked it out before turning to stare out the window again. He thought she was probably thinking of the place where she grew up or maybe her mother’s tender kiss at night or a favorite dog she had as a little girl. Who can know what goes on inside the mind of a beautiful woman with secrets?
They passed a sign for a Quality Inn and another cheap hotel, but it was too close to La Pena. There was a Holiday Inn at the Duval Mine exit, but he kept driving, kept the engine gauge moving upward toward hot.
“We could head up toward Phoenix. Maybe stay at Casa Grande. Someplace this Muerte guy wouldn’t think to look.”
Maria shook her head. “I need to stay here.”
“And why’s that?”
She didn’t respond. When they passed the Harkins Theatre, she was all eyes, taking in the restaurants and stores.
“When’s the last time you went out to see a movie?” he said.
“We have only a small theater in the town where I live. They play old movies.”
“Well, when this is all over, what do you say we go?”
“I would like that, but I don’t think this will ever be all over.”
J. D. shook his head
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