had her morning gone from bliss to this? She turned to look at the eggs and groaned. No amount of bacon fat was going to make what just happened between her and Zeke better. Hopefully, time and perspective would mend the distance she’d just put between them. Until then, she’d do what she’d done for the last four years: heal and move on.
Chapter 5
Jeremiah fired up his motorcycle, put on his helmet, and pulled out of the alley behind the clinic. In the day’s light, he drove down the small street and took in the tiny town. A small hardware store was next to the clinic, across the way was Gen’s restaurant, and there was a blondish-brown sandstone church at one end of the town, a dark red brick church at the other. Gen’s place was flanked by a small gas station and a market across from another church. This one was red brick with a steeple and bell tower. He sped up as he left the town and headed south.
It took a couple hours of traveling before he wandered through the highways that traversed through the depths of the Black Hills. As he rounded a curve, a large, beautiful lake came into view. The sign he passed called it Pactola. The surface glimmered into fractures of a million points of light. He drove on for another hour or so before he pulled off on an access road and drove back on a bumpy gravel lane that led to a small clearing. Taking off his helmet, he soaked in the beautiful day and the sounds of nature. The chirping of birds in the high pine trees along with the scampering of red squirrels were lulled by the sounds of the wind gently blowing through the pine boughs. Closing his eyes, he pulled the fragrant air into his lungs. God, if he could only bottle the peace of this place. He kicked the stand for his bike down and stretched after dismounting. There were several granite boulders the size of his motorcycle but twice as tall to the right. He scrambled onto one of the boulders and hefted himself up to the top. The view was amazing. He glanced at his watch. He had time for a nap, and he fucking needed one. The sun-warmed rock under him soaked through his tired muscles. He closed his eyes and let himself drift.
Jeremiah?
He snapped his head up. Gen’s voice turned him around. She laughed and ran toward him. He stood up and walked toward her. Just as he reached her, she gasped, her body jerked, and her mouth opened in a silent, bloody scream. He looked down. A piece of jagged metal protruded through her chest.
Gen fell into his arms and Cyrus stood behind her in his prison uniform, smiling, covered in blood. “Everyone you love will be my projects.”
He gasped and bolted upright. Sweat dripped from his brow. He covered his mouth with his hands and stared at the nature around him. Nothing as vile as Macmillan should ever be in this area, not even in his dreams. He laid back down and stared up at the blue skies and billowing white clouds above him as he concentrated on breathing and getting his heart rate down. His watch’s alarm went off and he silenced it. The contrived noise violated the quiet that surrounded him, but he had an obligation and a promise to keep. Pulling his cell from his coat pocket, he balled the coat up again and propped it under his head. Lying on his back, he kicked one ankle over his propped-up knee and shook off the last of the dream.
If it has reception, I’ll call. If not… oh, well. He lifted his phone and grimaced. Was he hoping that he wouldn’t have reception? Hell yeah, but with three bars, he punched in the numbers he needed to call.
“Damn it, Remi, it’s been too long.” He smiled at Jamison’s voice.
“What? I talked to you two weeks ago.”
“And I’ve worried every day, thinking you wouldn’t leave California. How is South Dakota?”
“Believe it or not, I’m lying on top of a ten-foot-high boulder watching a hawk circle overhead while listening to the sounds of nature in the Black Hills. It’s almost like I’ve been transported to the 1800s. I don’t even hear any cars.”
Jamison hummed before he asked, “I thought you were going to stay with your sister?”
“I am. She’s out of town and will be back later this afternoon. I’m enjoying