“Dios mios. Those hurt. After he gets the first one, you’ll have to lock him up or you’ll never find him for the rest of the series.”
“I think we sometimes underestimate Willy. I don’t think he’s afraid of pain. I just watched Doc Hayden clean the bite, disinfect it with iodine and stitch it up. Willy never made a sound.
But I certainly don’t want to have him go through the agony of those shots. That’s why I’ve got to find Joe. We’re going to track the dogs. I’m a decent tracker, but nothing like him. I’d never be able to track the pack over what may be rocky ground. Only Joe can do that.”
Horse took Esperanza into his arms for another hug and then turned and went into the bedroom. He came out in his stocking feet, carrying his hunting boots. He walked out to the back porch and sat down on the steps to put them on. Esperanza came out and sat beside him, draping her arm over his shoulders and leaning against him.
“Joe lives way back in the hills off the highway, doesn’t he?”
“Yes. No roads to his place. That’s the way he likes it.”
“Are you going to ride Canyon?”
“No. Take longer to hitch up the trailer, get him in and out and then saddled up than it will for me to drive out there and walk it. Besides, it’s a great day for a hike.”
Esperanza laughed.
“Something tells me there’s paperwork on your desk!”
“Caught me! But what a great excuse.”
Horse stood up and started around the house. Esperanza came with him. He stopped beside his cruiser and looked out at the Black Mountains to the east and the Needles down the Colorado River to the south.
“I never get tired of looking at this.”
They hugged again.
“You have water?”
“Canteen in the trunk.”
Horse got in his unit and backed down the driveway to the place where he had created a turnout. Before he pulled in to turn around, he looked back to the house. The woman he loved was standing in the driveway, waving at him. It made him smile.
He waved back, drove down the dirt road and turned right onto Highway 95. When he passed five mile road, he keyed his mike twice.
“Dispatch.”
“Fred, I’m just about to turn up the hill toward the Southern Cal Gas compressor station. When I get over Monument Pass, I’ll be out of radio range. Hand any emergencies to Andy. Over.”
“Roger. Anything else?”
“That’s it. I’m clear.”
Cover photo by Ginny George
Text Copyright © 2015 Gary George
All Rights Reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the author is piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. Thank you for respecting the intellectual property rights of the author.
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Mojave Desert Sanctuary Page 30