Page 36 of Coyote
By the time we reached the house, the whole ranch was awake.
Ransom stood near the front gate with a rifle laid across his forearms and gave us a nod.
Joe Dancing had the motorcycle stripped to its frame outside the far shed. He looked up when we passed. I glared back, and Joe returned his attention to the bike first. Good.
The kitchen smelled like bacon, green chile, and fresh tortillas. My stomach cramped. I hadn't eaten since the day before.
Sierra stood at the stove with a spatula in his hand. He looked over John first, checking the dressing, then turned to me. "Better?"
"Yes," John said.
Sierra waited.
"A little," I admitted.
"Good. Sit."
I reached for a chair.
"Not you." Sierra pointed the spatula down the hallway. "Rafe wants you."
"I'm eating first."
"Rafe said now."
"He can wait."
"He's been waiting, Percy." Sierra turned back to the griddle. "Don't make him wait longer or he'll be in a worse mood."
John looked at me. I hated the space that opened between us before either of us had moved.
"Go on, little one," he said. "I'm in good hands here."
"You better finish your plate, or I'll be angry," I warned him.
One corner of his mouth lifted.
Sierra put a plate in front of him. The first burrito was the size of my forearm. A second one sat on the plate behind it.
"I'll be right back," I said.
John caught two of my fingers before I could turn away. He squeezed them once and let go. "Tell me what he says."
"I will."
Sierra had my burrito wrapped in foil by the time I reached the door. He pushed it into my hands. "Eat before it gets cold."
Rafe sat at the turquoise table with a folder open in front of him. His reading glasses sat low on his nose. He hadn't touched the coffee at his elbow. He looked at the foil in my hand. "Sit. Eat."
I sat, but didn't eat. I was saving it to eat with John.
"Joe found one tracker," Rafe said. "Nothing else on the bike."
"You trust him?"
"I trust what he did in front of me. Ransom was standing right there."
"That wasn't what I asked."
