[]—[]
Exercise had never been a part of Rayburn’s life. His zero body fat and sinewy body came naturally, augmented by hard work. Things had changed now. Nadine quickly learned that therapy and exercise were necessary for Rayburn’s recovery and she made sure that he got both. Luckily there were no serious problems. After several months he was back to normal or even better. He was ready to return to Winchester when they got the call.
“Grayson, what is going on, brother?”
“Just a small bit of news, that I thought that you might be interested in. It seems that Ozman and your wife left for Sturgis this morning. They are on his bike, so I figure it would take about three days.”
“Were they there in Winchester?”
“No! After the problem at the Monkey Barn, they moved down to Chattanooga. That is why we couldn’t find them. He was bragging to a few old friends here in town, and that is how I found out about their trip.”
“What the hell was he bragging about?”
“The beat down. He is claiming that he is the only guy that was ever able to take Rayburn Watley.”
“Well, that sucks.”
“It gets worse. He is also claiming that he took your wife.”
Nadine chimed in about that time. “I’ll have the truck packed and ready in an hour. Rayburn, go drop the boys off at Garnets, and be back here in ten minutes, no more. We got a long trip ahead of us.”
[]—[]
It took them exactly twenty-four hours to cover the 1600 miles. Nadine was able to get a room in Deadwood. That was close enough for what they needed to do. You just can’t compete with a crowd of half a million people. Most of the first day was spent sleeping and refueling their bodies. They had no idea where to start looking or how to go about it.
Since most of the town was blocked off from all traffic except motorcycles, they ended up having to walk almost everywhere. Nadine thought it was a bit of fun, but it just pissed Rayburn off. They spent ten hours looking the first day and had no luck.
The second day started no better. They decided to split up and keep in touch with their cell phones. It was about four in the afternoon when he found the Ozman. He and JoLynn were partying heavy with a rowdy bunch in the middle of a packed beer hall. He called Nadine and told her where he was. Rayburn watched his wife and her new man for about ten minutes, and then slowly worked his way through the crowd. If he tried to start something inside, it would be quickly stopped. He had to get him outside, where there might be a chance.
He got within ten feet of their table when JoLynn saw him. “Oh shit!” Their table mates all turned around to look when she yelled. Rayburn wasn’t that big and wasn’t that nasty looking, but he did get everyone’s attention. Ozman knocked over his chair trying to get up. He started pushing and shoving through the crowd trying to get to the door. He had at least thirty feet to go. JoLynn crouched down and tried to make herself appear invisible. It didn’t work. Rayburn followed but didn’t rush.
Ozman gave one last look over his shoulder and then darted out the door. He never heard the siren or the squeal of brakes from the EMT vehicle when it hit him. Ambulances and firetrucks were the only exceptions to the traffic rules. Nadine arrived just in time to see him get creamed.
There was quite a commotion going on by now, and it didn’t take long for JoLynn to end up kneeling beside her escort. The EMT people were right on the problem, but she was still looking around the crowd for Rayburn. Then she noticed Nadine right by her side. She was forced to make a choice, so in the confusion, she slipped away through the crowd. Nadine followed her as she disappeared into the RV /bus parking area.
Ozman got a square hit from the EMT vehicle and ended up with two broken legs.
[]—[]
Rayburn quietly watched as the EMT crew loaded Ozman in the back of the vehicle with their other patient. He was amazed that they could get two stretchers in it at one time. It was a long drive to get here and he didn’t even get one shot in. Ten minutes later Nadine returned.
“Did you lose her?”
“Nope!”
“Are you gonna tell me what is going on?”
“Not until I have a cold beer.” She was sort of giggling as they walked into the beer tent. Nadine was not a giggle type of girl, so it seemed a bit odd.
“Your wife was sort of darting all around in the parking area, trying to get someone to let her in one of the vehicles. Most of them were empty. She finally found a couple of guys who must have agreed to let her hide in their bus. I waved at one of them. and he came over with a grin on his face. However, it was not what he expected. My Spanish sucked, but I ended up giving him eight hundred dollars if he agreed to take JoLynn with them when they left.” Nadine finished half of the long neck in one swig.
“Where were they going?”
“Don’t know! Didn’t ask! But the logo on the side of the bus said ‘Diablos de Juarez'”.
We both sort of chuckled at that. “By the way, you owe me eight hundred bucks.”
[]—[]
When we got back, there was a big red Freightliner parked at the motel. Nadine had kept Roger updated on our location, but had not expected him to show up. I left Nadine and Roger to use the room, and I found the Deadwood Legends Steakhouse. I ordered a big ribeye, but couldn’t finish it. My sister and her husband were still in the room when I got back, so I made myself comfortable in the pickup and tried to catch a few winks. He didn’t seem too afraid of her.
The tapping on the truck window woke me from a light nap. I figured Nadine and Roger were done, but I was wrong. It was a twenty-some-year-old girl, dressed like a what-a-be biker chick.
“I’m not interested. Go to the truck stop about a quarter-mile down the road.”
“I am not a hooker damn it! I just need to ask you a question.” I think I pissed her off.
“What?”
“I see that you got Virginia plates on your truck. Are you going back there?”
“Yeah!.
“I need a ride to Harrisonburg.”
I moaned and groaned a bit and then got out of the truck. I gestured toward the motel dining room and started walking. She picked up her backpack and followed me.
“Do you want some coffee?” I got a nod, but nothing more. When the waitress started to approach the table, she leaned over and whispered, “Could I get a burger also?”
I added a large plate of fries to the order and then introduced myself. “My name is Rayburn. What’s yours?”
“Wanda. Wanda Stiles.”
“How did you get here, Wanda?”
“One of the guys that I worked with convinced me that we would have a great time here at the rally. He might be having a great time, but I am not. Two days on the back of a Goldwing might sound like fun to some people, but not me. He didn’t even get a motel room. I refuse to spend one more night in a camping tent.”
“That’s it?”
“No! The son-of-a-bitch offered to share me with some of his new biker buddies. That is when I decided that I had to get out of here.”
Wanda ate the burger like she hadn’t eaten in days. She did a pretty good job on the fries also. She wasn’t skinny and she wasn’t fat. More like a corn-fed farm girl. About that time Nadine and Roger walked in. I made the introductions.