Page 28 of Valor

“Bull moose that came out of nowhere.” He shook his head. “I’m glad I didn’t hit him.”

“Pretty sure he’d have wrecked the truck if you had.” The large animal disappeared into the brush. She glanced at Owen. “How long did I sleep?”

“Thirty minutes. I saw a sign for a road that leaves the highway to some smaller campgrounds.” He shrugged. “I’m not sure if we should get off Highway 14 to hide within one of the campgrounds or stay on until we reach the other side of this mountain.”

“We don’t have any camping gear.” She frowned. “I don’t know what to suggest. I’m afraid we’ll be too easily remembered if anyone stops by asking questions. How long can we stay in the campground without food or water?” She tried not to panic at the thought.

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Probably better to stay on the highway until we get to the other side. We’re going to need gas sooner or later anyway.”

The next hour passed with excruciating slowness. But then she could see that they were finally getting close to the next town. “Dayton? I’ve heard of Dayton, Ohio, but not a city by that name in Wyoming.”

“The town looks larger than I expected,” Owen admitted. “Like some people actually live here year round.”

She nodded but doubted that the town was big enough to hide them. As they grew closer, she saw signs for restaurants and a couple of hotels.

Too bad they’d wasted two hundred dollars back at the Elk Horn Lodge. Money they could have used here in Dayton. If they could find an ATM, she could withdraw some cash.

But she knew Owen wouldn’t want to leave an electronic trail. Not after he’d forced her to leave her phone behind.

“Let’s hope one of the restaurants opens early,” Owen said. “We should eat, gas up, then keep going.”

“Keep going?” She arched a brow. “Do you intend to leave the state of Wyoming all together?”

“Maybe.” He tapped the dashboard. “It may help considering we’re riding in a stolen truck.”

Owen had a point, but she wasn’t keen on the idea of driving all the way east to South Dakota. Or heading north to Montana. The state police communicated across state lines, didn’t they? Then again, Owen had changed the license plate with electrical tape.

“Food sounds good,” she said. “Coffee too.”

As they rolled into Dayton, Owen didn’t stop at the first gas station they came upon. Instead, he drove through the town to a gas station that was in what appeared to be the Dayton downtown area.

Bear woke from his nap, looking around curiously. Once Owen stopped the truck at a gas pump, she pushed out of the car. Owen frowned, then realized the dog needed to go out.

She set the puppy on the grass where he instantly did his business. She praised him lavishly, wishing again that she had a treat for him. Although the praise seemed to make him happy, his little body wiggling and his tiny tail wagging.

“Go on, run around a bit,” she encouraged as Owen filled the gas tank. She found a stick and threw it for him. Bear ran and pounced on the stick, thrilled with the game of fetch.

She played with Bear until Owen came over to join them after he’d gone inside to pay, emerging with a six-pack of water. “Maybe we should get food to go.” She gestured to the puppy. “We need to feed him too.”

“No such thing as a fast-food restaurant here from what I can see.” Owen nodded toward the main road. “I would rather eat at the café down the street.”

“Okay, but I’m bringing Bear inside with us.” She scowled, bracing for an argument. “I don’t want to leave him in the truck.”

“Fine with me. I doubt he’ll be a problem.”

She hoped he was right. She picked up Bear and carried him to the truck. When Owen pulled into the café parking lot, she was glad to see they were open despite the early hour. Probably because May was the start of their relatively short tourist season.

Good thing she had the weekend off, or she’d feel worse about missing work. The emergency department generally experienced a surge of patients seeking care during the summer months.

She quickly sat in the booth, keeping Bear tucked on her lap. The puppy squirmed for a minute but settled down before their server approached. She leaned forward to read the menu, using her upper torso to hide Bear from view.

“Coffee?” The woman’s name tag read Angela.

“Yes, please,” she and Owen said at the same time. It didn’t take long for Angela to return with their coffee and to take their breakfast order.

Keeping one hand on Bear, she sipped her coffee. The café was cute. No sign of a pay phone unfortunately. Not a surprise in the age of cell phones. She eyed Owen. “Are you serious about going all the way to South Dakota?”

He stared down at the table for a long moment. “I’m not sure what to do,” he said, surprising her. “I need to find Hernandez, but I can’t do that until you’re safe.”