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“We’re headed to Bozeman, Montana. We left Loveland, Colorado this morning,” Jace volunteered.
One of the men whistled. “That’s a helluva drive, Sonny. We seen your rig. What’re you and the missus haulin? Cattle?”
“Oh, she’s not my…I mean, we aren’t…never mind…we’re hauling a very special mare home to Bozeman.” He looked at Dani and shrugged.
She had a smile playing around her lips at his discomfort. ‘Maybe I should really make
him uncomfortable and act like I’m offended that he doesn’t claim me as his ‘missus.’
She decided to behave herself and explain. “He’s a friend who agreed to help me get this mare home. It’s his truck and my trailer.”
The men went back to drinking their coffee and bullshitting about various subjects. Neither Jace nor Dani thought the men around the table believed the ‘only friends’ part of the explanation but it didn’t matter. They were going to have a sandwich and be on their way.
Jace paid the bill saying, “My treat this time since you’ve done more than your share of the driving today.”
They climbed back into the truck for what they hoped would be the last leg of the journey. Jace turned the key but nothing happened. He tried several more times to no avail. He pushed his hat to the back of his head and muttered, “What the heck? I know I’ve got a half tank of gas but it doesn’t seem to be getting any fuel. Damn!”
He exited the cab and lifted the hood. Everything seemed okay but he wasn’t a mechanic.
He went back inside and asked the men if there was a garage or a mechanic in town.
They all nodded. “Yessir. Eddie’s the best mechanic in a hundred-mile radius. His garage is just down that side street and around the next corner.”
“Does he have a phone number?”
They laughed and one slapped his knee. “Well he’s got one but he never answers it. Says he ain’t got time to talk on a phone.”
He went back out, told Dani to stay put and started walking to the garage.
He convinced Eddie to come back with him since the likelihood of having a wrecker tow the truck to Eddie seemed remote at best.
Despite their circumstances, Dani had to chuckle. It really did seem they had dropped into Mayberry. She fully expected Eddie to look like Gomer and to see Floyd on the bench outside the barber shop.
Eddie wiped his hands on a garage towel he had in his back pocket and poked around a bit under the hood. “It’s your fuel pump. Those darned things can just up and quit on a person. Just that quick,” he said as he snapped his fingers.
“I’m glad to hear that’s what it is,” Jace said. “That’s an easy fix, right?”
“It’s an easy fix if I had a fuel pump for your truck,” was Eddie’s answer.
Jace’s heart sank. Things weren’t getting any better, for sure. “So how long will it take to get one?”
“Well, if I can get over there to NAPA first thing in the morning, I should have you back on the road before noon.”
Jace turned to look at Dani. “What do you think?”
“Well, I think we better find out if there’s a place to stable my horse and then find a hotel.”
“Our town ain’t got no motel or hotel but there’s Mandy’s Boarding House a few blocks up the street. I don’t know if she’s got room; there’s several workmen from the highway construction crews stayin’ there right now.”
“Great,” was Dani’s only reply.
They walked to Mandy’s and rang the bell. A middle-aged woman with curly hair came to the door, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel.
“Yes? Can I help you folks?”
“We certainly hope so…umm…Mandy?”
“Yes, I’m Mandy. I’m sorry for being rude.” She offered her hand while saying, “I should have introduced myself right away. Now what can I do for you?”
