miss fortune mystery (ff) - targed by the tempest Read Free Page A

you get yourself into, just absolutely amazing.”
    “They really shot my ass?” Gertie asked snickering. “I wonder if I’ll ever see a copy of it.”
    “We’ll have to check tomorrow, you might make the local paper,” Walter just shook his head and sat between the laughing women. “I can’t take you two anywhere…” He pulled a flask out of his shirt pocket and tipped it.
    “Walter!” Ida Belle abruptly stopped laughing and exclaimed. “Remember what happened last time? I thought we agreed, no cough syrup.”
    “We did,” he chuckled, tipping the flask again. “It’s not cough syrup, it’s bourbon. I bought it as soon as we crossed the border into Texas. I knew I’d need it before this day was over. You two could drive anyone to drink.”
    “Oh, well in that case, pass it over,” Ida Belle reached for his flask. “Speaking of driving,” she cocked her head at Gertie, “Gertie, you’re driving.”
    “Of course I’m driving; it’s my car!” Gertie exclaimed.
    “I mean, don’t drink,” Ida Belle chuckled, “I’m drinking… You’re driving.”
    “You could’ve just said that… Wait… You’re drinking? You mean drinking drinking, as in getting drunk, drinking?” she raised both of her eyebrows. “On a Sunday?”
    “I do. This isn’t like a real Sunday anyway, it’s more like an extra Saturday. Why should you always get to have all the fun?”
    “Ida Belle, are you sure about this?” Walter looked concerned, “I mean, you never drink more than two small drinks at any time. Ever. I’ve never even seen you get tipsy.”
    “It’s about time I let loose then, don’t you think?” Ida Belle tipped the flask again as Walter pulled another flask from his hip pocket and clinked it against hers.
    “How many of those did you bring?” Gertie snorted and Ida Belle chuckled.
    “My daddy said to always be prepared,” Walter winked at Ida Belle as he unscrewed the cap.
     
    “Gertie, I think I need a lil help here,” Walter called from the bathroom where he was diligently holding Ida Belle’s head above the porcelain throne. “My fingers are stuck, they seem to be stuck in her hair.”
    “That would be her White Rain,” Gertie snorted as she came in and wet down a washcloth. Walter had gotten Ida Belle into the bathroom before her stomach decided to empty itself, but it had been a close call.
    She’d been gagging in the car all the way from the stadium. And giggling. Gagging and then giggling, not a good combination. Not a combination either Walter or Gertie was accustomed to hearing from Ida Belle.
     
    “Well, she did say she wanted to let loose,” Walter claimed earlier, as he’d carried the completely limp Ida Belle out of the stadium to the car. “She’s definitely loose.”
    When ZZ Top took the stage in sparkling, flesh-colored nudie suits, the trio had decided they’d seen enough and it would be a good idea to get out of there before the mass exodus began.
    Eighty thousand inebriated young people all trying to get out of one parking lot was something they all agreed they’d rather avoid. Ida Belle seemed to be fine, until she stood up. Or, tried to stand up.
    Walter barely caught her before she tumbled all the way down the stairs. He easily scooped her into her arms and carried her out. She’d passed out completely as they approached the car.
     
    “She just better not let loose all over my car,” Gertie replied, “you know she never does anything in a small way. Go big or go home, she always says.”
    Gertie made Walter pull the raft out of the trunk and cover the backseat completely with it before she allowed him to put Ida Belle in her car. He’d propped her up against the rear wheel while he worked and Gertie had been sure she’d puke before he was finished. Ida Belle rode with her head snuggled into Walter’s chest in the backseat while Gertie chauffeured.
    “We can hose the raft off easier than the interior of my car,” Gertie claimed. “It’s better