Rock with Wings Read Online Free PDF Page B

all day.”
    “He told me how much he liked you. I mentioned that your sister was single and cute. I told him she was a strong girl, too. A good worker.”
    “You didn’t!”
    Chee laughed. “I didn’t. You think I should be a matchmaker?”
    “Don’t you dare.” She moved closer to him, slipped off her shoes, and put her stockinged feet up on the seat beneath her. Chee wrapped his arm around her.
    His phone rang from the center console, where he’d placed it along with his sunglasses. Bernie looked at the screen. “It’s Paul.” She answered and put it on speaker.
    “So where are you guys? Guess I should have told you to get back before sunset.”
    “Oh, man, I should have called you,” Chee said. “Bernie’s mother had an emergency and we had to drive back to Toadlena. I forgot to let you know.”
    “It’s OK, bro. I would have canceled your tour anyway. The People Mover won’t start.”
    “What’s wrong with it?”
    “I don’t know. Maybe you can take a look.”
    Chee asked more questions and they listened as Paul tried to define the problem.
    “That sounds easy to fix.”
    “I hope so,” Paul said. “Easy for you, anyway. I’m not great with this stuff.”
    “You can do it. Take the phone outside, and I’ll walk you through it. First, open the hood and find the battery.”
    They waited, and then Paul’s voice was back over the speaker. “Is there a latch or something? It doesn’t want to go up, man. Oh, wait, I got it now.”
    Chee started to explain, but it soon became obvious that Paul needed more than a verbal map to discover the mysterious world beneath the hood of an aged vehicle. “Do you know somebody who’s good with cars?” There had to be a shade-tree mechanic in the Monument Valley community who could help him; living in out-of-the-way places bred self-sufficiency and cooperation.
    “Yeah, sure, bro, but you are my go-to guy tonight. I’ll try doing what you say.”
    “Good.”
    “Speaking of good, here’s some good news. Outback Expeditions—that’s Ron Goodspring’s company—he called me after you and Bernie left for the movie. Ronnie’s got four people from Norway wanting a sunrise photo tour, and he can’t handle them. I just landed my first referral.” Paul talked in enticing detail about where he would take them—Skull Arch, Honeymoon Arch,House of Many Hands ruin. “We’ll probably stop so they can take pictures of horses on the sand dunes, too. When will you and Bernie get back?”
    “I don’t know. Everything’s up in the air at this point. We’re not sure what’s happening with Bernie’s mom.”
    “It depends on Mama and—and some other stuff,” Bernie chimed in. “Nice to have met you if I don’t make it back this time.”
    “I hope everything works out OK. You all stay in touch.”
    “Thank you,” Bernie said. “Come see us in Shiprock.”
    Paul hung up, and Bernie snuggled closer. “I appreciate you not mentioning Sister.”
    “I didn’t want to spoil our double date.”
    Chee focused on passing the occasional RV or delivery truck and watching for animals on the road as he considered the problem with Paul’s vehicle. How could he explain in the simplest terms how to fix it in time for the morning tour? Maybe, just maybe, things would work out with Darleen and Mama, and he and Bernie could salvage some of their vacation before he had to go back to work.
    Bernie hadn’t talked to any of her law enforcement contacts, he noticed. “Are you OK?” he asked.
    “I guess,” she said. “I’m trying not to worry. I just want to sit here and think about this, figure out what comes next. Sister probably did something dumb, but I hope she’s OK. She said she’d give Mama more help while we were gone, and I trusted her. I shouldn’t have.”
    Chee started to add that they didn’t know Darleen’s side of the story, but thought better of it.
    They reached the turnoff for Many Farms and Mexican Water, Arizona. Just beyond that was the