High Desert Barbecue Read Online Free PDF Page B

guys.”
    O ne of the men in the lobby, decked out in boots, a cowboy hat and brown, leathery skin, looked like he was going to protest. His wife, in blue jeans and with an outdoorsy complexion to match, put her hand on his arm. The man’s gaze dropped to the toes of his boots and his entire body seemed to sag. He looked like a deflated balloon. Scott nudged Lani ahead of him and brushed by as quickly as he could.
    “ I can’t even imagine,” he said. “That fire took everything.”
    “ I can’t either.”
    R on escorted them through the dining room to the outdoor seating area along Leroux Street. A tiny two-top crowded a corner, partially projecting under the light chain that separated the area from the public sidewalk.
    “ Thanks, Ron.”
    T he manager’s eyes were spot-welded to Lani as he helped her wriggle into a chair between a post supporting the upstairs balcony and another diner. A goofy grin clung to his face as the woman writhed inside her tight t-shirt in an effort to take her seat.
    “ I said thanks, Ron.”
    “ Oh, no problem. I’ll have Pam out to take your order.”
    S cott chuckled as the manager disappeared into the dining room.
    L ani blushed again.
    “ OK, you’re right. Just shut up about it.”
    S till chuckling, Scott turned his attention to the street. After his conversation with Ron, he viewed the street traffic with a different eye. The usual tourists and college kids still prowled the few scant blocks of Flagstaff’s downtown area. Middle-aged couples popped in and out of trinket shops; teens and twenty-somethings wheeled bicycles along the sidewalk under the bored gaze of two city police officers. But another element was added to the mix.
    C oncentrated in Heritage Square, whole families clustered and wandered about. They mostly had the leathery, sun-soaked look of people who spent lots of time outdoors as a matter of course. Cowboy boots and hats abounded, as did belt-buckles large enough to eat off of and facial hair that proudly spurned any restraint.
    T hese were Williams folks all right.
    S cott didn’t know a lot about Williams, but he knew it was an old railroad town that, in recent years, relied on Grand Canyon-bound tourism to keep itself from drying up and blowing away. He doubted the scorched town’s refugees had much in the way of resources to fall back on with their homes and possessions burned.
    H e started as Lani’s hand closed over his.
    “ What do you want to eat, hon?”
    “ Oh. Navajo taco, please. And a wheat beer.” The beer was brewed just down the street in one of the town’s three brewpubs.
    L ani ordered a chicken sandwich and an iced tea for herself.
    R on reappeared with the drinks in his hand. He set them down on the glass tabletop to which streams of condensation instantly flowed to form tiny moats.
    “ Hey, I meant to tell you earlier.”
    “ Yeah?”
    “ Your hobo friend—”
    “ Rollo?”
    T hat’s him. Rollo. Anyway, he was in earlier, and things got a little ugly in the bar.”
    “ Rollo was born ugly.”
    R on emitted a short giggle, his eyes on Lani the entire time. She shot him a brief smile, then sipped at her tea. She flashed a quick wink at Scott.
    “ Ron, I’m over here. So there was a problem in the bar.”
    “ Uh huh. Some of the Williams people recognized him—I guess he spends some time in town there. Anyway, the word is out that he might have started the fire, and a guy who’d had a few decided he wanted a piece of Rollo.”
    “ Was anybody hurt?”
    “ The drunk, but not badly. Rollo’s pretty tough. We hustled them both out of the bar.”
    S cott sighed.
    “ Thanks. I’ll keep an eye on him.”
    “ It’s probably not a great time for him to be wandering around Flag.”
    “ I’ll let him know.”
    F or moments after the manager walked away, the table remained silent. Scott sipped at his beer, and Lani watched.
    “ You really watch out for him, don’t you?”
    “ Rollo?”
    “ Yes.”
    “ Somebody has to.