by Sue Hardesty
James laughed. "We already did the hard work. All they had to do was arrest people and collect the money."
"Any reward on it?" Loni asked. "I need a new SUV."
"No, you don't." James smiled at her with warm exuberance. "Unless you don't want Carl’s job."
"Carl’s job? I don't understand."
"You're the new city detective if you want it."
In shock, Loni hesitated a minute before she leaped out of her chair to give James a bear hug. "All right! Can I have a vacation between jobs?"
"Yeah, yeah. You can have a few days," James said. "I'm taking two weeks after that. Just enough time for a honeymoon."
Loni stared at James. "When are you getting married?"
"Just as soon as you can come, partner."
Loni felt like the grin on her face was so big it was going to fall off. Hugging James was good. He smelled just like his dad.
CHAPTER 31
July 31, 8:02 p.m.
LONI AND LOLA WALKED out into the cool evening to watch the blue moon rise. Enlarged and yellowed by the dust in the air, it rose in a huge ball as twilight left the desert lit up in shades of purple and grey. "Wow!" Lola exclaimed. "I've never seen anything like this."
"Likely never will again."
"Did you know a blue moon is magical?"
"Why? Because it brings out the crazies?" Loni said teasingly.
"No, that's just a superstition." Lola pushed Loni and took her hand. "This is the time to decide what you want your future to look like."
"And that's not a superstition?"
"Not if you're very careful how you word your wishes." Lola grinned.
"Know what? Maybe the magic in the moon can make the magic in the hard road easier."
"What does that mean?"
"Bahb says the magic is when you walk the hard road and are still true to yourself. It'd be good if the blue moon could stick a little magic wadding on that road. Or better, maybe I could use you for a cushion." Loni wanted to reach over and touch Lola.
Lola walked on, her face toward the moon as though she were accepting its power. "I wonder how often we have a blue moon rising on the perigee?"
"What? Peri what?"
"It just means the moon's cycle is at its closest to the earth."
"I have no idea. I'll ask Bahb and Willie... shit!" Loni stopped.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not yet. I'm tired of crying."
Lola reached over and took Loni's hand again as they silently walked down the old desert road watching the bottom of the moon clear the horizon, silhouetting saguaro and barrel cactus in silvery tinges. Turning back, Loni nearly stepped on Bahb's old barn cat, pure white and deaf. He had been stalking Coco, who was ignoring him. "He can't catch birds so he's decided to follow Coco."
Lola leaned down and rubbed his head. "Good luck with that."
Watching, Loni said, "I do wish that cat would stay out of the road. I nearly ran over him this morning."
Lola smiled. "Still has eight left."
"How come we get only one life and a cat has nine?"
"Well," Lola answered. "We have more than one if we count the times we thought we would die of shame."
"Or love."
"Or boredom."
"Or fear." Loni continued.
"We could go on all day."
"Why'd you bring it up?
"I was thinking about that cat using up one of his lives." Loni paused. "I feel like I've used way too many of mine this month."
"You know what?" Lola stopped and shook Loni's arm. "You have. Every time you walked out your door I swear you deliberately put yourself in harm's way."
"Was that faint praise or were you calling me stupid."
"I haven't decided." Lola laughed and leaned forward, kissing Loni. Loni tried to follow the softness to deepen the kiss, but Lola stepped away again and opened the door to her car. "Where's your cat? I'd hate to be the one to use up her last life."
Loni picked up the cat and held him as she watched Lola's taillights fade into the night. Walking back to the house, she cuddled the purring cat as she absorbed the light around her. She could tell the slow, open flow of the desert was pulling her back in. How does it do that, she wondered.
FROM: Loni Wagner
TO: [email protected]
DATE: July 31
SUBJECT: Staying here
It was a blue moon tonight. Lola and I watched it for a very long time. It was so large in the sky it seemed to be coming down upon us. We walked out on the desert and held hands and talked about its magic.
It felt so good to feel close to someone again as we walked. Lola knows all about things in the sky. She said she spent a lot of time staring up when she was with her husband. She was pretty much a prisoner and wasn't allowed to even shop. Why is it so hard to be good to each other?
I asked her to go out with me, but she said I still had some grieving to do. She did say when I was ready, I should ask her again. That's not a no, right?
Lots of love to all of you,
Loni
The End
About The Author:
Sue Hardesty was born and raised on the Arizona desert. Deciding to get out of the heat and enjoy listening to the sound of flushing toilets, she moved to the Phoenix area and taught Communications for 27 years. Retirement took her out of the heat altogether as she traveled far enough north to stop sweating. Her home for the last two decades has been on the beautiful Oregon Coast where she and her partner of forty-plus years run their dogs on the beach every morning. And where she occasionally even takes time to write a little. Her first published endeavor was a cookbook edited with Sue's partner Nel Ward and their good friend Lee Lynch called the butch cook book.
Book Back Summary
The Truck Comes on Thursday
LIFE SIZZLES for Highway Patroller Loni Wagner in a small Arizona desert town during the long summer nights. She sees it all — a plane wreck, freeway pileups, and dead bodies — as she investigates murders involving human smugglers, drug runners, and her old friend Carl. During the day, she faces high school enemies, a redneck sexist police chief who gives her unwanted jobs, and worries about her Native Indian grandparents — her grandmother is not well, and cattle rustling on their ranch is about to break them. Adding spicy flavors to this mix are two intriguing women, most especially one, who help her through it all as she struggles to move on from the death of her lover.
* * *
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The Truck Comes on Thursday.
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Table of Contents
The Truck Comes on Thursday
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
About The Author:
Book Back Summary
Table of Contents
The Truck Comes on Thursday
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHA
PTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
About The Author:
Book Back Summary