Page 5 of Leading the Blind
He grabbed all the bags so he could head back to the truck.
Mini was waiting, and some old cowboy was at the window, jabbering away. Mini was still, stiff around the fake smile.
“Hey, there. Anything I can do for you?” Bax asked, trying not to look like he was running.
“I was just talking to Mr. Scott here. I couldn’t believe it was him, but it was.”
“Yep. In the flesh. Andy Baxter, sir. Pleased to meet you.” He pushed the bags into the truck cab and Mini took them. “Take the drinks too, huh?”
“Sure. Sure, man.” There was a metric fuck-ton of stress in Jason’s voice.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Baxter. I saw you ride Buzzsaw in Oklahoma City.”
Bax let out a real laugh. “That was a heck of a ride.”
“Yessir. I thought you had your chickens scrambled for sure.”
“Well, we sure appreciate you watching the shows, sir.” Bax hoped the feller got the message.
“Are y’all heading to the bull riding in Tulsa?”
“We are. Just a small event, but you know Jason was hurt pretty bad.” He hated saying it, but a reminder to fans would give them time.
“I know. I was there. Worried us all bad. We’re glad to see you coming back.”
“Thank you, sir.” Jason clutched the bags of food like a drowning man.
“Well, I’ll let you boys eat.” The old guy slapped the side of the truck.
“Have a good one,” Bax said before climbing into the cab. “You need to roll up the window, Mi-Jase.”
“My hands are full. Can you just drive, please?”
“Sure.” He got the wheels moving. “You did great.”
“Yeah?”
Mini relaxed at his words.
“He had no clue.” Bax chuckled. “Good thing I got there before he asked you to sign anything.”
“No shit on that. I thought it was you knocking.” Jason swallowed hard, shook his head. “I just… Damn.”
“It’s bound to happen.” A lot…and Bax knew it. “Better one feller than twenty.”
“Yeah. I got this.”
Which was a lie and they both knew it, but what was he going to say? He just grunted. Then he found a place to pull off so they could eat. It would be cold before they got to the campground.
He took the bags from Jason and started getting stuff out. “You want ranch for the onion rings?”
“Nah. Plain is fine.”
“Okay. But I got some, and I’ll have it open if you want any.” He had one of those glove box trays that had a drink holder and all, that Jase could fold down. AJ’s buddy from high school, Carter Mason, did car detailing, so it had been easy-peasy.
Jason found the food with his fingers and ate a couple of onion rings without a fucking word.
He tried not to sigh. Jason had been so excited about Popeyes. Now he was wigged out.
