Ride to Restoration (Ride Series Book 2) Read online

  “Oh, God. Who would have thought? … Me, too!”

  Laughing at her sexually suggestive remark, opening the door, I flipped on the light. “Ladies first.”

  “Uh ... no way ... no way in Heaven or Hell are we staying here tonight. There’s a bed, a lamp and a fan. D, there’s no bathroom. Where the hell is the bathroom?”

  “I think it’s at the end of the hall. I believe it’s communal,” I continued, dragging this out for all it was worth. “At least sit on the bed.”

  Against my better judgment, I did, as the springs slowing sank within inches of the floor. “No way. It’s not happening. We’ll ride all night if we have to. I’m not staying here.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to check out the bathroom … just in case?”

  Grabbing his gonads, I looked sternly into his eyes while tightening my grip to his great discomfort. “What part of no do you not understand, little brain or big brain, whichever one of you is listening at the moment?”

  “Uh, at the moment, they both are. Vic, you can let go now? … Please?”

  “I need a drink.”

  “Me, too, although a little Novocain would be better.”

  Releasing his testicles and taking his empty hand, I dragged him out of the room before he could turn off the light or close the door.

  “Will? Two Molson’s, please,” I announced. “Thank you for letting us look at the rooms. We’re gonna pass on them tonight. How far to the next town? We’re going east.”

  “It’s at least a good hour to Hudson Bay. You might try the Porcupine. I believe they have a few rooms with a shared bath.”

  Choking on my beer, I mouthed, “Thank you.”

  The look on Vic’s face was priceless.

  “Ma’am, I hate it for you. We have the very best rooms in town. I’d love to have your business tonight.”

  “Tell her the truth, Will. Not only are they the best rooms; they are the only rooms in town.”

  “Yes, ma’am. He’s correct. Unless you count the hunting lodge across the railroad tracks on the other side of town. Now that’s a fine place but you have to be hunting with them to stay there.”

  Taking a swig of Molson, I quickly changed the subject. “When is your busiest season?”

  “You’re looking at it. On Friday and Saturday nights when everyone’s had too much to drink after Karaoke, we fill up fairly quick. Like tonight, maybe.”

  “Drink up, Vic. I guess we’d better ride.”

  In three turns of the bottle I obliged him.

  Chapter 23

  Turning left out of the parking lot onto Railway Ave, in less than 30 seconds, I gave Vic the scenic tour of Mistatim, passing the single pump gas station / general store combination and the Postal Office. Taking a right on 2nd Ave. and then another immediate right, drove us directly to the timber framed lodge, my original destination, less the delectable detour. Many fond memories since the early nineties have been created here. Duck hunts, goose hunts, bear hunts and deer hunts weaved their way into my life and those I called friends. I’ve watched Greg’s children grow up and have children of their own. How I miss those days.

  I wonder if this is the hunter he was talking about? “Why are we stopping here, D? We’re not hunting.”

  “Ah, but we have cameras. Maybe we can persuade Greg to let us shoot something with those.”

  “Good luck with that. Greg, you said? Sounds like you know him better than you let on.”

  “Come on girlfriend, let’s check it out.” Greeting us at the front door was Debra, Greg’s wife and lifelong companion. Exchanging hugs, “By the looks of things, I see you got Greg’s message. It’s really good to see you. How long’s it been Jon David, seven years?”

  “I didn’t get his message, I’m glad he got mine. Seven sounds about right — give or take.”

  “He’s out scouting for you now. We don’t have another group of hunters due in until late Monday. Excuse me, Miss. I’m Debra. This man has no manners to speak of. And you are?”

  “Victoria. After where we’ve been, it’s both a pleasure and a relief to meet you.”

  Speaking up before the conversation went south, “I took her to the hotel and let her check out the rooms. She was not impressed.”

  “That sounds like something you would do. So she doesn’t know she’s staying here tonight?”

  “She does now,” I relented.

  “Now I understand your last statement, Victoria. Jon David, go get your luggage. Victoria, come with me and I’ll show you to your room. I’m sure you’d like to relax and maybe even have a bath after riding all day with this clown.”

  “That sounds marvelous, Debra. If you only knew. Bring the bags to our room, Jon David,” I instructed before turning and sticking my tongue out at him.

  Dropping the gear in the bedroom, I pounded on the bathroom door over the sound of running water. “Your luggage, Miss. Should I wait for the tip or come back later?”

  “Kind sir, if you’re naked, you can claim your tip in the tub now. Otherwise, later please. I’ll be clean and fresh and ready to give you a tip to remember.”

  “Works for me.” I made my way to the great room. Its walls adorned with North American wildlife trophy mounts of all shapes and sizes. In the adjoining library, a new addition since my last visit, were numerous exotic mounts from Africa. Greg has been a busy boy, during my long absence, I mused to myself. Sitting down at his desk, I flipped through his journals until I found me, proudly kneeling beside a rather large black bear, many years and far too many, unheralded memories ago.

  “Where are you, D?” I called out, bouncing into the great room, dressed in sweats and a camo t-shirt that read Mistatim Outfitters. “You like? It’s a gift from Debra. You have one just like it, only bigger.”

  “Cute, girlfriend. I never quite pictured you in camo. It’s … well … different.”

  “Different good or different bad? You’d better say good. If the host gives you something to wear; you wear it.”

  “Gotcha. You look delicious, in a woodsy sort of way. How’s that?”

  “It will do. One question. Why did you take me to Will’s place and put me through that torture earlier knowing damn well we were coming here?”

  “Wine you, dine you, make you laugh.”

  “You left out—”

  “Shhh ... Look around you. These walls have ears. Besides, with you, that’s a given. Did you happen to see all the animals?”

  Gazing up and down and side to side, I tried to embrace the moment just for him. “They’re beautiful, D. Did he, Greg isn’t it, shoot all of these?”

  “I think so, Debra too. But there may be a few strays mixed in. You know, shot by others, but displayed here. Come on; let’s go for a walk. I’ll show you around town.”

  “Didn’t we like just do that in like 30 seconds?” What did I miss? What did I miss?

  “Kinda, but we were riding. This will be the walking while exercising tour.”

  All the streets in town are hardpan gravel and make an excellent base. That is until they get wet and soggy from rain and snow and quickly turn to sticky, clingy muck. Vic and I wandered up and down the two main streets as well as a couple of the side streets before stopping by the little community store. Stacked floor to ceiling with everything you could imagine, food, hardware, automotive and farming gear in every size and shape imaginable, this store was the lifeblood of the town. And why not? The next closest town is almost an hour away. “Could you live here, girlfriend?”

  “Absolutely not. This gives new meaning to the words quaint and rural. I thought I knew what rural was being from Iowa. This takes the cake, hands down.”

  “It’s a hard life here, especially with the long, cold winters. But these are good, strong people in this town who use the gifts God’s given them to survive and thrive. Look around you; almost all the houses are small, neat and maintained. Nothing pretentious here, excluding you.”

  “Smart-ass. I can see that, otherwise you’d
pack up and haul ass to the big city.”

  “Want to go grab a beer with Will before we head back?”

  “Absolutely. Now that we’re not staying there, let’s give him some business. I want to talk to him about some long overdue upgrades.”

  Three Molson’s apiece, four and two if I’m being honest, two games of darts and an hours worth of banter and local gossip later, it was time to go. “Will, thank you for filling us in all on the happenings going on over the last year.”

  “My pleasure. Not much happens here, but when it does I don’t easily forget it. Tonight is Karaoke. Remember? If you’re not doing anything after eight, come on back.”

  “I can tell you right now we probably won’t. I’ve got some unfinished business to undress about that time,” I said winking, before latching on to D’s arm and escorting him out the door, mid sentence.

  “Subtle is not your middle name, Victoria?”

  It’s taken him long enough to figure that out. “Nope, as long as I’m breathing and you’re breathing, we’re good. Remember?”

  “How could I forget,” I replied, while pinching her on the rear, leisurely swinging her hand in mine as we traipsed back to the lodge.

  Chapter 24

  Walking into the den, Debra emerged from the kitchen announcing dinner would be ready soon. “Greg’s back and in the basement. He asked me to send you down when you got back. Victoria, I could use some extra hands in the kitchen.”

  Hands I’ve got. I hope that’s all she needs. “My pleasure. I have to warn you, I burn toast.”

  “She has other skills, don’t let her fool you, that more than make up for her lack of culinary charm. She’s a high priced … lawyer and worth every penny.”

  Walking into Greg’s shop, I found him busily laying out an assortment of clothes for our adventure tomorrow. “Jon David, it’s great to see you again. How have you been? You kinda dropped off the face of the Earth a few years back. I tried multiple times to reach you, but my cards and letters were returned and the last phone number I have for you now belongs to some character named Lodi.”

  “It’s a long story that’s still being written. It’s best you stay in the dark. I’m here now and I’m coming back. We had some great times, didn’t we, Greg? Duck hunts, grouse hunts, bear hunts. We did ’em all. I enjoyed the fellowship. I guess that’s what I’ve missed most, the fellowship.”

  “You’ve got another opportunity tomorrow, if only for the day. She wants to see bear and moose, yes?”

  “If possible. I know that nothing is guaranteed.”

  “Speaking of that, I’ve got to issue you a license so you can carry a gun in the woods with you. I’ve laid out all the clothes I have here on the table. Bring your friend down after supper and try them on. We’ll leave early afternoon. I found an active bait area twenty miles north that has a two-person film stand over it. We’ll haul the four wheelers with us and use them the last five. To make it memorable, we’ve gotta cross three beaver dams. You think that will be a problem for her?”

  “Only if we wind up wheels up like that last bear hunt you dragged my ass on.”

  “Oh, I’ve got side by sides now. They’re a whole lot more stable. Except when they turn over, then they’re a bitch.”

  “Copy that. Then I’ll do my best to keep us upright and wheels down.”

  The intercom buzzed. Debra announced, “Dinner is served.”

  Catching up on old times and sharing new stretched our meal into a two-hour ordeal. “You been staying up on the news?” asked Greg. “Somebody just made a whole lot of people millionaires. It’s all over CNN. Rumor has it that the only connection anyone has come up with is that they were all victims of that banker, A.J. Standford, and that Ponzi scheme he ran out of Texas.”

  My tea glass slipped slowly through my fingers before I caught it just as it reached the table, while Victoria choked violently on her last sip of water. “Are you OK, Vic?”

  Catching my breath, “The question is, are you OK, D? And so it begins.”

  Oblivious to our conversation, Debra spoke up, “If only … we were so lucky.”

  Startled, I inquired further. “Debra, would you like to be a millionaire too?”

  “Heavens no, Victoria! We’ve got all we need here. It’s just ... There is this seriously ill six year old, neighbor girl, Missy Bryan, who has a rare disease called MDS — Myelodysplastic Syndromes — that is waiting for a clinical trial and stem cell transplant that could possibly save her life. The only hospital that has done this procedure before is in St. Petersburg, Florida. All Children’s Hospital, I believe is the name of it. They say it will cost up to a million dollars U.S. because it’s still in the experimental stage. So far, between the farmers and ranchers, here and in Tisdale, we’ve raised one hundred eighty thousand Canadian in the last three months. I’m afraid she’ll run out of time before we can raise the rest.”

  Without looking over, I felt Vic’s piercing green eyes staring right through me all the way to my heart. “Victoria and I would like to make a contribution before we leave. Right, Vic?”

  “Yes, Debra, D and I would be glad to help. Everyone, regardless of circumstance deserves a second chance and sometimes even a third. Miracles happen everyday. Don’t they, D? Sometimes, you just have to run across the right miracle worker. You’re lucky, I happen to know—”

  Grabbing her knee in a vice grip before she could utter another word, “So Victoria, how did you like the moose balls?”

  “What?” taken aback by his abrupt change in the current conversation, “ Uh, well, I ... Debra said they were meatballs, not moose’s balls.”

  “Meatballs made with moose meat, not moose balls, silly. Think about it.”

  “Whew, you scared me because I liked them a lot. I was hoping Debra would show you how to make them for me when we get back.”

  “Honey, Jon David knows. I taught him how to make them a long time ago,” chuckled Debra, much to my chagrin.

  “We don’t have moose meat in Tennessee, ladies. It’s a little tough to make them when you’re moose-less.”

  “It’s getting late,” announced Greg, “thank you for your generous offer to help Missy, every little bit helps.” Looking directly at Vic, “come down stairs with me and try on some hunting clothes I’ve gathered up for you, Miss.”

  “Wait, we’re not going hunting ... are we?”

  “No, in a manner of speaking, yes. Greg has been so kind to create for us an impromptu adventure. Don’t bother asking for the details, it’s a surprise.”

  “Then a surprise it will be,” I proudly exclaimed, “I wear a size 10, in some things a 12 in Misses, just so you know.”

  The table erupted in laughter, laughing not so much at her, but with her. Nope, that’s not true, we were laughing at her and the naivety she brought with her to this place. The laughter continued long into the basement.

  OMG! “These clothes stink! What is that smell, D?”

  “A little urine, a little blood. Wouldn’t you agree, Greg?”

  “I would, and maybe a little musk and bile thrown in.”

  “And you expect me to wear them on this body,” I asked, before tossing them on the floor.

  “They’ve been washed, Vic. They’re clean, I promise — just not scentless,” I explained, gingerly trying to allay her fears.

  Picking up a man’s size small, “Then, I’ll take these. But, I’m wearing my own clothes under them and you’re not stopping me.” There. I’ve said it, whew!

  “Not a problem, Miss. No perfume and you’ll have to wash what you’re wearing tomorrow in scent-free soap. Where we’re going we need to smell like we belong,” shared Greg convincingly. “Here, Miss, you’ll need these rubber boots, plus a hat and gloves. Rummage through this box for those. D, I’m done here. She’s all yours.”

  “Tell me again, why do I need to wear all this?”

  “For our surprise adventure, Victoria. Humor me or at least try to.”

  I’m totally confu
sed. “An adventure? How long will we be gone?”

  “Eight hours, maybe.”

  “Joy, D. I’ve got to smell this horrendous odor for an entire day? I just bet you’re going to make me pee in the wilds again?”

  “Nope, you pee in a bag.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Wise Guy. Now I have even more to worry about. How am I supposed to do that by the way?”

  “If you can sit it, you can hit it,” I assured her, cracking a smile that hushed her up.

  Moving beyond the incessant whining, “thank you, Greg. I’d like to borrow a truck and take Vic on a tour of the countryside right before dark.”

  “Pins and Greenies are feeding ten miles south. Honkers are feeding about five miles west. Is that what you’re looking for?”

  “That’s the bulk of it with a little light show thrown in.”

  “You’re in luck. Skies been screaming the last few days around 7:30.”

  “Come upstairs before you leave and I’ll have you some directions to the fields. Keys are in the four door green Dodge I call the Green Mule.”

  “Why are you men talking in code? Speak English.” I mean, I’m standing right here.

  “It’s another surprise. Date night, just me and you and for once on this ride, bike-less.”

  Chapter 25

  “Time to go, Vic. The green mule awaits. Don’t look so lost, Vic. It’s a truck silly.”

  “Good to hear, D. With you, I never know what your surprises consist of.”

  “Every moment with me is a pleasant surprise, is that what I’m hearing?”

  “You nailed down the surprise part. I’d be going out on a limb to say they’re all pleasant. Earlier tonight sure was. I’m sorry if I bubbled over too much at dinner. I was trying to reassure Debra that we, mostly you, had this. God, it feels good when you can jump into the impossible and make it possible. Aren’t you proud of me, D? I’ve come a long way from the pompous, amorous bitch you met that night in the casino.”

  “I am proud of you, Victoria. We make a fine team, you and I. Especially, since I’m the one that’s always giving.”