Wild, Hard, Sweet | Page 2

about fifty yards back from the road and tried to rest.
It was stupid to have made those runs for Harry. It had seemed like a joke. Don't think about it, he told himself. Stay focused. He had to get away, stay free, stay alive. The certainty of this steadied him, and the hours passed, slowly and then faster as he listened to small noises in the night.
At dawn, he started through the woods, staying thirty yards from the road. He crossed a number of driveways and smaller roads. Dogs barked, but no one saw him. Rafer's truck was in front of his house. He waited out of sight until he heard the truck start and drive down the road. Gus, Rafer's lab, barked as he came out of the woods.
'Gus, Gus, good dog. Good dog, Gus.' He eased open the porch door and let the dog sniff his hand. 'Good Gus.' It felt good to talk, to hear his own voice. He entered the house and quickly gathered a razor, Avon Skin-So-Soft for the bugs, a loaf of bread, cheese, and a bottle of water. He took a blanket and cut a length from a clothes line on the porch. He left a hundred dollar bill in the cheese drawer. No note. Nothing to get Rafer involved.
On the way out, he grabbed a black baseball cap from a shelf by the door. As soon as he was in the woods, he rubbed the Avon on his neck and face and ate half the bread and cheese. He drank most of the water and would have gone back for more, but it felt like the wrong direction. He rolled everything in the blanket and tied the ends, making a rough pack that he slung over one shoulder.
Rafer would keep his mouth shut. No problem there. Ginny's phone might be tapped. When he could, he'd call somebody else, maybe Darlene, and ask her to give a message to Ginny. Tell her he was out of there. Tell her to find someone else, have some kids, get a life. Truth was, she ought to do that anyway. It was more out of habit than anything else that they were still together. High school was the good time, but that was--what?--five years ago. He began to feel bad, lonely, but he pushed the hurt away.
He walked for an hour, found a sunny spot, and slept most of the day. By dark, he was behind the Quik Stop, waiting for it to close. Fred finally turned off the lights and drove away. Charley waited five more minutes, before he went around to the pay phone by the front door. He was taking a chance, but he could see car lights coming before they got there.
Darlene answered.
'Darlene, this is Charley. I haven't got much time. When you see Ginny would you give her a message?'
'Charley?'
'Tell her something came up. She'll hear about it. I've got to get out of here. Tell her have some kids, have a decent life. We had some good times but it's all over. Thanks, Darlene.'
'Charley?'
'Gotta run. Take care of that sweet ass of yours.'
'Charley, wait! You want a ride' The cops are all over the place.'
He was surprised.
'I don't want to get you in trouble, Darlene.'
'You can hide under some stuff in the back of the truck. If we get caught, I'll say you forced me.'
'Jesus, I don't know.'
'Where are you?'
He made up his mind. 'At the Quik Stop. You sure?'
'Shit, Charley.'
'O.K. I'll be in the woods just past the big curve. If anybody's around, keep going and turn around. Just pull over. I'll jump in back and lie down. We can take the ridge road, by Valda's; there won't be cops up that way. Figure out where to go from there.'
'Half an hour,' she said.
'Thanks, Darlene.'
He walked quickly down the road and crossed to be on the right side. He put the blanket roll behind a maple and waited where he could crouch out of sight if a car came. Four cars passed before Darlene's white Chevy slowed to a stop. He picked up the blanket, threw it in back, and jumped in after. There was a tarp folded in the bottom. Darlene was turned, looking at him through the rear window. He smiled, banged twice on the glass, and lay down, spreading the tarp over him and putting the blanket under his head. She took off up the road.
Damn near comfortable, he thought. It was great to be moving. No more bugs. He lay there, rolling a little with the curves, tensing when Darlene got to the stop sign on Route 1 and crossed over. She took back roads to Valda's, shifted down, and headed up the long hill. On top, she bounced along for five minutes and pulled