Black Stump Ridge Read Online Free PDF Page A

out.”
    “Why did she hate you so much? I mean, I remember her, too, from a couple of backyard barbecues. She wasn’t really nice to anyone, but she seemed to really have it in for you.”
    “I’m not absolutely sure, but I think it had something to do with Charlie’s bachelor party.”
    “What happened? Did you do something?”
    “Not intentionally. You have to understand, Amanda, we knew Charlie long before he started dating Janine. So, when he said they were getting married, we all wanted to throw him a party. You know, tradition. We didn’t plan to do anything too weird. Actually, compared to some I’ve been to, what we planned was pretty tame. Now, while we knew Charlie, none of us had done much more than meet Janine. We didn’t know her and she wasn’t all that keen on making our acquaintance. Well, the guys put me in charge of the entertainment. Why? I have no idea. I guess because I was, technically, the only single man in the group. Actually, I was divorced, but the concept holds. So, I thought about hiring a stripper, maybe giving him a last lap dance before he got his ba – his wings clipped. It’s not like I was hiring a hooker.” He chuckled. “Maybe I should have. Might have turned out better.”
    He sighed. “How was I to know the dancer had been Janine’s college roommate or that she was one of the bridesmaids?”
    Amanda squealed. “You’re kidding!”
    “I wish I was. I mean, Janine always acted so high and mighty, like she shit rose petals and pissed perfume. That was the first impression she laid on everybody. How was I to know she had a stripper for a friend?
    “Course, it all makes sense to me, now – her bein’ so pissy at me all the time, I mean. It’s sad she never got over it. I kept thinking she had to see the humor some time. I guess Janine was never one to see humor in anything – especially if she thought she was at the center of it. And, she always acted like she was the center of everything.
    “Anyway, we got Charlie’s car stashed, got the Jeep loaded, and headed out. All day – through Dallas and Texarkana and across Arkansas – everyone was having a great time. I mean, it felt so good to get away from everything. Like Willie Nelson says in his song: “On the road, again…” Of course, everyone had their quiet times, too. Sometimes I’d look in the mirror and see your daddy lookin’ out the window like he was thinking about something. Most times he’d catch me at it and shoot me a smile as if to let me know everything was cool.
    “Charlie was different. At first, he cut up like everyone else. He seemed more relieved than usual that we were finally on the road. When we started getting close to Texarkana, though, he seemed, I don’t know, nervous somehow. A couple of times we passed State Troopers. One was alongside the road running radar and another one passed us with his lights on. Both times Charlie sank down into the seat like he was trying to be part of the cushion.
    “When we crossed into Arkansas, he seemed to relax a little. He still watched every cop car we saw until it was out of sight, but he didn’t try to hide like he did in Texas.
    “We spent the night in a little motel just off the interstate about halfway between Memphis and Nashville. Johnny said he didn’t feel well and kept to himself. Charlie, on the other hand, got some serious nerves, especially when Dave wanted to watch the news so we’d have an idea what kind of weather to expect. Between your daddy’s quiet and Charlie’s jitters, I was starting to think the weekend was gonna be a bust.
    “The next morning we ate breakfast and then headed out. It looked like whatever was eating at your daddy was finally leaving him alone. Charlie, though. Something was up with him. I didn’t know what it was, but I figured I’d talk with him after we got settled in. Maybe I could help him with whatever it was. I never got the chance, though. I wish I had. Sometimes I think it might have