Read Nothing Short of Dying for Free Online

more in twenty-six years than most women have in a lifetime.”
    She looked back out the window, watching the orchards fly by.
    I kept driving, waiting for her to say something else.
    â€œMy dad died when I was ten,” she said in a quiet voice. “Had a heart attack while he was burning ditches. Left me and my mom on our farm. My mom loved me, but she was sick. Smoked two packs a day and didn’t have the energy it took to run a place like that. So I did every chore, ran every tractor, fixed every fence. No one gets to call me a girl.”
    I nodded, gripping the steering wheel tightly as I fought the truck around the corners. Minutes passed. I sensed there was more.
    â€œYou want to tell me the rest of it?”
    Allie ran a hand through her hair and closed her eyes. “I met an older guy, started dating, and well . . . it turned out really bad. Then my mom had a stroke. I’m her only kid, and who else was going to take care of her, right? Only thing is, it’s really expensive and it takes all of your time. So I let some Mennonites farm our place, and I spent every second either caring for my mom or working at crap bars until it almost killed me.
    â€œThen I started working at the Cellar. Brent said I brought in customers. He told me I doubled his business. He paid me enough to put Mom up in an assisted-living place. Looks like that’s going to unravel pretty quickly.”
    So there it was again. The pattern of my life was continuing. I’d begun by trying to help Jen, but had already caused a big problem for Allie. Damn.
    WE WERE OUT OF THE Grand Valley then, rolling through a narrow canyon that the river had carved through brown-and-redsandstone. We drove into a tunnel and I honked the horn, just to hear the echo. The sound startled Allie and she started talking again. “What are we going to do?” Her eyes were red, but her jaw was set.
    â€œI’m going to drop you off, next town,” I said, trying to keep the truck between the lines. The wheels weren’t cooperating.
    Allie kept staring out the window. “I’m staying.”
    â€œI’ll give you money. You can get a bus, start over somewhere else.”
    â€œThat’s not good enough.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œIf I help you, maybe you help me ?”
    â€œHow?” I wasn’t sure where she was going with this.
    â€œI’ve got a feeling you’re a guy who gets what he wants. And not just a piece, either—you take the whole thing.”
    â€œAnd why do I need you ?”
    She smiled. “To pull back on the leash? The best solution isn’t always going to be to put five people in the hospital or toss three guys in a river.”
    I pretended I wasn’t amused, but I was. “I could just stop the truck right now, throw you out, drive off.”
    â€œDoubt it,” she said confidently, tossing her ponytail as she turned to look out the window. “You aren’t that kind of guy. Not to women. But if you tried . . .”
    â€œWhat?” I asked.
    â€œI’d punch you in the dick.”
    The truck wandered from the white line, across the yellow, and almost onto the opposite shoulder before I got it back under control. Allie looked across, repeated her question. “So what are we going to do?”
    Score one for her.
    I shook my head, thinking. “Maybe . . . maybe we look for the middle man who sells to Brent. He might have a lead on Lance.”
    â€œYou mean the Little Dick? That’s what Brent calls him. I have no idea where he is. Or what he looks like.”
    â€œSpike must have mentioned something about him. Anything you can remember will help.”
    She bit her lip slightly, seemed to be sorting through her mental archives. “All Brent ever said was that ‘the Little Dick is in Rifle.’ The guys Brent would send to him were supposed to meet him by King’s Crown. I guess they