them with water from the garden hose. Just tell me how to get there,” Sadie said, undaunted.
Rose gave her the address and directions, mentioning where Lena hid a spare house key so she could get inside, then hung up. Moments later. Rose was on her way back to her son’s home, which was only a few miles away. Lena needed the best care, but she didn’t have much money. Maybe onceRose spoke to Clifford, he’d agree to waive his fee or barter for something he needed. Eventually, Lena could trade him for some of the rare plants in her garden.
As she drove down the narrow dirt road that led to her son’s hogan, a flash of light in her rearview mirror caused her to glance back. Rose’s heart began to race as she saw a truck coming up from behind. It looked like the same vehiclethat had followed her once before—the tan pickup. But this time the driver wasn’t keeping his distance.
Rose saw the cloud of dust trailing the truck as the driver raced toward her at high speed. Suddenly realizing that he’d never be able to pass her on this narrow rut of a road, she slowed, gripped the wheel tightly, and started to pull to her right. Her pickup lurched as the left wheel enteredthe rut where the right wheel had been. With one wheel in the track and the other outside, she had to hold on tightly to maintain control.
Rose glanced in the rearview mirror, and her heart jumped to her throat. The truck was closing in from behind, but his path indicated he didn’t intend to pass—he was on a collision course.
With the truck almost upon her, Rose decided she had to act fast orget struck from behind. Gritting her teeth, she gripped the steering wheel even more tightly, then veered sharply to
the right, taking her foot off the gas. The truck shot past her as she left the road and careened down a hillside. Rose hung to the wheel, struggling to keep traveling in a straight line, afraid that if she hit the brakes she would flip over. For one breathless moment, she was certainthat her old truck would hit a patch of sand halfway down the hill and overturn.
Somehow, the pickup remained upright, and she slowed enough to finally risk using the brakes. Rose brought the pickup to a stop, reached down, and turned off the engine.
She brushed a tear from her face. Perhaps the driver hadn’t meant to hit her. She’d probably just overreacted because of his high speed. Memoriesof her nearly fatal accident several years ago, when a drunk had swerved into her lane and struck her nearly head-on, were still too fresh in her memory. She was still shaking so badly she was afraid to touch the wheel.
Rose took deep breaths, hoping to slow her pounding heart as she tried to make sense out of what had just happened. One of the first things that occurred to her was that therehad been purpose and intent behind the driver’s actions. Unlike her accident at the hands of a drunk driver, this incident had been a deliberate attempt to frighten her.
Anger swelled inside her as she started up the truck again and circled back onto the road, then parked to take a look around. Only the settling dust revealed the direction the other truck had taken. Remembering some of the thingsher daughter looked for at crime scenes, she reached for the camera Willie had loaned her, got out of her pickup, and photographed the tire imprints at close range. As a backup, she also made a quick sketch.
Doing something positive helped her feel more in control of the situation, and soon she was back on the road. A short time later, she arrived at Clifford’s hogan, but there was still no signof her son or his family.
Although the driver who had frightened her was nowhere in sight now, she still had to report what had happened. Rose walked to the front door of the main house. Clifford never locked it unless he was going to be away more than a day.
As she reached for the knob, she saw a piece of paper on the concrete step that had apparently been thumbtacked to the door at one
Rose gave her the address and directions, mentioning where Lena hid a spare house key so she could get inside, then hung up. Moments later. Rose was on her way back to her son’s home, which was only a few miles away. Lena needed the best care, but she didn’t have much money. Maybe onceRose spoke to Clifford, he’d agree to waive his fee or barter for something he needed. Eventually, Lena could trade him for some of the rare plants in her garden.
As she drove down the narrow dirt road that led to her son’s hogan, a flash of light in her rearview mirror caused her to glance back. Rose’s heart began to race as she saw a truck coming up from behind. It looked like the same vehiclethat had followed her once before—the tan pickup. But this time the driver wasn’t keeping his distance.
Rose saw the cloud of dust trailing the truck as the driver raced toward her at high speed. Suddenly realizing that he’d never be able to pass her on this narrow rut of a road, she slowed, gripped the wheel tightly, and started to pull to her right. Her pickup lurched as the left wheel enteredthe rut where the right wheel had been. With one wheel in the track and the other outside, she had to hold on tightly to maintain control.
Rose glanced in the rearview mirror, and her heart jumped to her throat. The truck was closing in from behind, but his path indicated he didn’t intend to pass—he was on a collision course.
With the truck almost upon her, Rose decided she had to act fast orget struck from behind. Gritting her teeth, she gripped the steering wheel even more tightly, then veered sharply to
the right, taking her foot off the gas. The truck shot past her as she left the road and careened down a hillside. Rose hung to the wheel, struggling to keep traveling in a straight line, afraid that if she hit the brakes she would flip over. For one breathless moment, she was certainthat her old truck would hit a patch of sand halfway down the hill and overturn.
Somehow, the pickup remained upright, and she slowed enough to finally risk using the brakes. Rose brought the pickup to a stop, reached down, and turned off the engine.
She brushed a tear from her face. Perhaps the driver hadn’t meant to hit her. She’d probably just overreacted because of his high speed. Memoriesof her nearly fatal accident several years ago, when a drunk had swerved into her lane and struck her nearly head-on, were still too fresh in her memory. She was still shaking so badly she was afraid to touch the wheel.
Rose took deep breaths, hoping to slow her pounding heart as she tried to make sense out of what had just happened. One of the first things that occurred to her was that therehad been purpose and intent behind the driver’s actions. Unlike her accident at the hands of a drunk driver, this incident had been a deliberate attempt to frighten her.
Anger swelled inside her as she started up the truck again and circled back onto the road, then parked to take a look around. Only the settling dust revealed the direction the other truck had taken. Remembering some of the thingsher daughter looked for at crime scenes, she reached for the camera Willie had loaned her, got out of her pickup, and photographed the tire imprints at close range. As a backup, she also made a quick sketch.
Doing something positive helped her feel more in control of the situation, and soon she was back on the road. A short time later, she arrived at Clifford’s hogan, but there was still no signof her son or his family.
Although the driver who had frightened her was nowhere in sight now, she still had to report what had happened. Rose walked to the front door of the main house. Clifford never locked it unless he was going to be away more than a day.
As she reached for the knob, she saw a piece of paper on the concrete step that had apparently been thumbtacked to the door at one
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