Rollover Read Free Page B

before last, and, of course, her trip back home. “I’m going to rest now. I’ll be right over there. Let me know if you need anything.” She straightened. “I love you.”
    ***
    She was so exhausted that even a shift-change at six a.m. hadn’t awakened her. But she was up by eight using the restroom behind the nurses’ station to splash her face with cold water and put on enough makeup to keep from looking dead. The cotton pullover was wrinkled but wearable for another day. She should borrow a shirt from Dan to sleep in but she hadn’t noticed any luggage in the room. Maybe it was being stored. There was probably only so much they’d allow in intensive care. She’d remember to ask.
    But when she’d checked with a nurse, there hadn’t been any luggage. Odd. But maybe not, if it hadn’t been stolen; it would be in the Cherokee. After she located Simon and released him from his imposed prison, she’d call the dealership in Vegas.
    She borrowed an Albuquerque phone book, pulled out her cell and began calling. Five kennels and no one had admitted a rottweiler. There was a little thought in the back of her head that she fought to keep from surfacing—one of those “what if’s.” What if Simon had been with Dan? What if he’d been in the accident, too? No. That was unlikely. If Dan had left the Cherokee, he’d probably left Simon to guard the car until he could get back. Yes, that made sense. She dialed information and got the Jeep dealership in Vegas. But, no. No dog, no luggage. She waited while the service manager yelled back to the tow truck driver to make sure. Again, negative. She hung up and sat back.
    Simon had been with him. She was certain of it. She pressed redial and got the exact location of where they had picked up the SUV. The Cherokee had been a mile from the accident site. If she were to go out there, she needed to go straight from Santa Fe to Las Vegas through Wagon Mound and take Highway 120 east out of town toward Roy. She closed the phone. Dan hadn’t come through Albuquerque, he’d come up the back way—now she knew that Simon had been with him. Dan hadn’t been near a kennel. She fought back a flicker of panic. Easy. She didn’t have answers…not yet. She’d simply have to go find him.
    Elaine spoke with the floor supervisor, briefly explaining the situation. She would be gone about three to four hours. She scribbled her cell number on a scrap of paper and asked that she be notified of any changes in Dan’s condition. Plus, she had wanted to meet with Dan’s doctors this morning, but would the nurse convey her wish for consultation time that afternoon? Perhaps, four? The whereabouts of Simon took precedence. She wasn’t sure the nurse agreed with her, but she didn’t say anything. Some people were animal-people, some weren’t.
    Elaine hurried back to Dan and told him where she was going and why. There was no response. She held his free hand to her cheek and thought he seemed warmer, but was she trying overly hard to find something positive? Probably. She promised to be back that afternoon…with Simon. She didn’t bat an eye at telling him something that might be a lie. She simply would not think the worst. She would find Simon.
    She backed the white Ford Flex out of the parking lot. The morning was beautiful—a true Indian summer. Down St. Francis, onto I-25 and north. Some of the prettiest scenery in all of New Mexico—Pecos, Rowe, Glorietta, on to Las Vegas. Woodlands filled with piñon, spruce, and pine. Any other time she’d have stopped to explore. At least have lunch in the old hotel dining room in Las Vegas. So much history. So much surrounding beauty. But she was about forty or fifty miles from answers; there was no stopping now.
    She drove through Wagon Mound and turned east onto Highway120, out past the high school at the edge of town. She