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along the road. In fact, if you could believe this, I lost it at the first place I stopped in California. I was only a couple of hours from home and my cell phone went missing.” I smiled as if that was no big deal.
     
    He shook his head. Behind us, Mack walked into the back room.
     
    “You drove all the way from California without any way to contact anyone?” He sounded just as upset as I imagined my loved ones would be as soon as they heard about what happened.
     
    “Yes,” I meant to sound confident like all was well, but my answer came out sounding more like a question and not a statement.
     
    Mack sighed in frustration. “I can't let you leave,” he said, yanking a drawer open. I swear, my life flashed before my eyes at that moment and it wasn't pretty.
     
    “What... What are you going to do to me?” I was on the verge of tears.
     
    He pulled an old cell phone out of the drawer. One of those phones we used to carry around and show off to our friends, when cell phones were still new and grossly overpriced.
     
    “Take this. I keep it for emergencies and this sure looks like an emergency to me.” He said, handing it to me.
     
    I sighed heavily, relieved that this wasn't the end for me. I needed to stop watching true crime shows or I'd never be able to function like a normal person in society. At this rate, I was already not quite normal – whatever that was – anyway.
     
    Jimbo snickered at the expression on my face. “What did you think he was going to do – rob you?”
     
    Well, yeah! Wouldn't you?
     
    I shook my head. “No, of course not. I guess with the weather and my friend's situation, I'm just a little on edge. I'm sorry. I would never assume that you were involved with organized crime.”
     
    Mack laughed a deep, throaty laugh. “Organized crime? Who said anything about that?” Mack held his stomach as he laughed at the notion.
     
    I kept my voice even, hoping that would hide my embarrassment. “I do a lot and say a lot of things that would make you scratch your head. If I wasn't in such a big hurry, I'd stick around and prove that to you, but maybe next time.” I winked to show that things were fine. I'd let go of my tendency to over think and look for the doom and gloom in every interaction. I guess, if you'd lived the last few months that I had, you'd fear strangers too and probably some people you thought you knew well, but I digress...
     
    Jimbo checked his watch. “I can't believe I'm going to say this to you, but if you plan on trying to find your friend, you might want to get on the road now. The last thing you want is to be driving in the dark in the snow. Those hills in Wyoming aren't big, but they're big enough to cause you plenty of trouble. Safe travels. I need to get ready for the dinner rush.”
     
    I hadn't felt nervous about making the trip until he said that. My whole focus had been on just getting halfway across the country before Nubbin got hurt. Not even the torrential rains gave me much pause beyond minor irritation.
     
    I followed Mack back into the dining room. As expected, Barney was fast asleep on the floor. He was the only dog I knew that could fall asleep absolutely anywhere.
     
    “I like your dog.” Mack said. “He reminds me of my mother-in-law.”
     
    I figured Mack for about seventy-years-old, so if his mother-in-law was still alive, she'd have to be in her nineties, easily.
     
    Mack seemed to know what I was thinking. “Yeah, evil doesn't die. Trust me, I know.”
     
    I had to laugh. I'd heard that said over the years and thought that of certain people more times than I cared to admit. I liked Mack and Jimbo. They were my kind of crowd. In another time, under different circumstances, I'd sit and chat for a spell longer, but I had pressing matters to attend to and those had to come first.
     
    “Thank you for your hospitality. After I find my friend and get him back where he belongs, I'll stop by again and return all your things.” I