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happens.”
     
    Mack spoke. “You drove all the way from California to help find this man? Is he family to you?”
     
    I didn't hesitate to answer. “Yes, yes, he is family. I need to find him. Did they say that these bank robbers kidnapped him? How do they know? Were there witnesses?” My hands began to shake frantically. I couldn't eat anymore. I couldn't concentrate.
     
    Barney started barking for the first time since he'd been escorted into the diner. He must have sensed my fear. He may be lazy, but at least his senses were alert.
     
    “Looks like Barney misses your friend too.” Mack said, reaching down to pet Barney again.
     
    “Yeah, he knows Nubbin better than I do. He lived with him for a while before he came to live with me.” I explained.
     
    “It is pretty sad to hear that your friend felt the need to run away from the home. Do you know why he would have done that?” Jimbo asked.
     
    I didn't have a clue. The last I knew, Nubbin was mad at me for no reason whatsoever, but as I learned the hard way, he didn't necessarily need a reason to be upset. It was just part of his personality. He liked being mad. Not that he was ever really mad. He just liked to pretend that he was upset. He got a real kick out of it and, truth be told, I got a kick out of it too.
     
    Living in a nursing home wasn't exactly the ideal destination for anyone, including him. I honestly didn't know much about Nubbin beyond the few days I'd spent with him... Well, I spent three months getting to know him, but I don't recall one single time when any family had bothered to pay him a visit or call to check on him, as far I could remember.
     
    Mack watched me with concern in his eyes. He said, “You're not going to finish that, are you? If you're planning to get back on the road, you're going to need an emergency kit. I don't suppose you bothered to pack one of those before you left California, did you?”
     
    He was absolutely right. I hadn't. I shook my head in response.
     
    “Figures. That's why I always told my girls to think ahead. I made sure they knew how to change a tire and how to change the oil. Now, they are doing everything for themselves, but that has more to do with the fact that they didn't listen when I told them not to marry that trio of no good sorry excuses for men, but that's a whole other story.” He shrugged.
     
    I couldn't help him there. My parents loved my ex-husband, almost more than I did.
     
    Jimbo got up and asked me to follow him to the back. If I wasn't so worried about Nubbin, I would have refused to follow him to the other room. After all, I didn't know him. He could have been some kind of set up guy in a kidnapping ring. For all I knew, I would have ended up chained up in a basement, waiting for someone to pay my ransom. Yeah, good luck with that, Mercy , I thought to myself.
     
    “I'll grab some supplies for you. The roads are treacherous. You might need some flare lights, a blanket, among a whole lot of other stuff, if you intend to make it through alive.”
     
    I cringed when he said that, but he didn't seem to notice. If he did, he didn't say anything about it. His word choice couldn't be helped.
     
    “I really appreciate this.” I said as he gathered the supplies he thought Barney and I would need, but all the while, I kept my eye on the clock. The more time I spent here, the more time Nubbin was in danger. I had to get to Nebraska soon.
     
    “You might want to charge your cell phone too. You can plug it in over there, if you want to. I'm sure Mack would be good with that.” Jimbo said.
     
    Oh, I forgot about my cell phone problem . I also forgot that I'd promised everyone that I'd keep in touch with them as often as I could. I could just imagine how mad they were that I hadn't called any of them. Knowing my daughter, she would have called in the cavalry to search for me or at the very least trace my phone to see if I'd made any calls.
     
    “I lost my cell phone somewhere