Everywhere

Again I was heading west, not know where, but heading west. I worked at garages, farms, truck stops and even a catfish farm for the next year. The call of the wild was answered and I worked in Washington for two months for a logging company. Too wet and rainy up there for me; that's why I came back after only two months. The money was fantastic, but you have to be a drunk or a duck to enjoy the weather.

Every two weeks or so, I would call my folks and let them know I was alive and well. Each time I talked to Dad, I made him promise not to come looking for me. I wasn't ready to go back home. Not yet. I still would see Jess just in front of the lights of the truck as I drove the highways or across an open field at sunset or in the orchards at the end of a row of trees. In Washington, she was with me on the inspection trips I made of the trees to be cut. That was another reason for me to come back south.

A little aside here: When I said I saw Jess, I didn't mean I actually saw her. I wasn't hallucinating; it was just that in the quiet times I thought about her. I thought about her a lot. She was always in my heart. As I thought about her, I would see her in my mind's eye. I would relive and remember out time together. It was wearing on my soul.

I decided to leave Washington and drive south along the coast. I had gotten as far west as I could go; I was at the Pacific Ocean. I choose to travel the secondary roads most of the way as it was a great way to see more of the country. I was traveling along U.S. Route 101(Pacific Coast Highway) just north of Astoria and saw a vintage 69 Camaro on the shoulder of the road. The car's hood was up and a little smoke was coming out of the engine compartment.

I slowed down and noticed a woman and a small child standing in front of the car. Without thinking about it, I pulled off the road and stopped behind the smoking car. I got out of my truck and walked to the front of the Camaro to offer my help to the woman. The woman was very nice looking and I would guess at least two years younger than me. I later found that she was 22. She was about 5 feet 8 with a slender body. The child had to be her son, the family resemblance was easy to see.

She looked a little frightened as I stepped around her car. "Hi there, having car trouble I see." I said, trying to put her at ease. I didn't get any closer to her. "My name is Woody Connor, can I help you with your car?"

"I don't know what's wrong with it. It sort of shuddered and then stopped and smoke started coming out from under the hood." She looked like she was trying not to cry.

"Take it easy, Ma'am. I'm a decent mechanic so maybe I can get it going for you. Worse case, I can drive you and the boy to the next garage. They can get the car towed into their shop for you."

"Well, I don't know," she muttered in scared voice.

"If you don't want to ride with me, I can go to the garage and have them send a tow truck for you. I hate to see you and the boy waiting on the side of the road, is all. Maybe we won't need a tow, let me look at it."

She nodded and stepped further back from the car. I waved the smoke away and looked under the hood. The problem was very clear, the main radiator hose had a large hole in it. The engine had overheated and stopped; the leaking coolant caused the smoke.

"I can fix this good enough for you get to the next town, it's supposed to be about ten miles. I'll follow you to the garage to make sure the car doesn't stop again. The garage can put a new hose on in a few minutes and you'll be on your way."

I used some duct tape to wrap the hose and cover the hole. I started the engine and used the water from my cooler to refill the radiator. The Camaro lead the way and I followed them to a service station that did repairs. The shop said it would take a couple of hours to fix; they didn't have a hose for a 69 Camaro and would have to have the hose delivered.

"Can I drive it the way it is?" She wanted to know.

The mechanic said she couldn't drive it very far. The tape wouldn't hold the pressure and would split. "You would be stuck on the road again," the mechanic told her.

"How much is this going to cost," she asked.

The mechanic gave her an estimate. She just shook her head and said she would have to take her chances. Apparently she didn't have the money. Her son had been waiting and tugged at his mother's skirt and told her he was hungry. She told they would eat when they got to grandma's house.

"I never did get you name," I said. "Like I said before I'm Woody Connor."

She seemed a little flustered and answered, "I'm Kimberly Reynolds and this is my four year old John Jr."

"Look Mrs. Reynolds, I wouldn't feel right letting you try to drive that car. Let me pay for the repair. I can also get you and John something to eat."

"Thank you, but no Mr. Connor. I couldn't repay you for some time; I just can't allow you to spend the money."

I looked at her for a couple of minutes. Kimberly looked like she was at her breaking point. She didn't know what to do. Car needed repaired, son hungry and her too probably, and all alone on the road. I talked to the mechanic and got him to give her a better deal and paid him.

Kimberly saw me pay the bill and objected, "I can't let you do that Mr. Connor."

"Mrs. Reynolds, with all due respect, that's my money I gave him. I earned that money and no one will tell me how or where I can spend it." I gave her a big grin and picked up her son.

"What are you doing? Put him down," she ordered me.

"John and I are going across the street to the cafe and get something to eat. We are both hungry. You can join us, if you want." I started across to the cafe and got half way across the street before she caught up to us. In the cafe after ordering, she told me again she wouldn't be able to repay me for awhile. I told her not to worry about it right now, just eat something.

I handed her a card with my name and my parents address on it. "Mrs. Reynolds if you feel you have to pay me back. This is my address, when you get to grandma's you can send the money there."

She took the card and started to make promises about repaying me. I held up my hand to stop her; I tapped the card and told her when you can. No hurry.

"Why are you doing this, Mr. Connor? I mean we are strangers," she wanted to know.

"There are three things I want for helping you Mrs. Reynolds," I told her.

Now she was suspicious. "What three things?"

"First: You call me Woody, Mr. Connor is my dad. I call you Kim or Kimberly. Second: Tell me your story. What are you and John doing here with little or no money." I waited for her to answer.

"You said three things," she said suspiciously. She still didn't know what to think about me.

"The third thing: Don't repay me, pay it forward. There was a movie a few years ago that gave me the idea. Instead of repaying me, sometime in the future you pay it forward and help someone else who could use a hand."

"Okay, Woody and Kim it is," she said with a big smile. "I think pay it forward is a good idea also. My story huh?"

Kim told me her husband John Sr. had been killed about eight months ago. John and Kim were living in Kermit, Texas. He and his brother owned a small drilling company. There wasn't enough work for a small company so he had been working as a rough neck on an oil rig outside of Midland. There was a blow out on the rig and he and two others were killed. It was a wildcat operation so there was no insurance. She stopped to dry her eyes and gather herself. I had worked at a drill sight on an oil rig, so I understood what she told me.

She said things were rough financially at home, but she was making ends meet working as a waitress. Her husband's brother Randy got it into his head that Kim should remain in the family and marry him. Kim didn't think so, but Randy didn't want to take no for an answer. He wouldn't leave her alone and she had no family of her own to help her, so she ran. "What about the police? Can't they help you?" "The sheriff in our area is a hunting buddy of Randy and so is our Police Chief; neither would help me. In Texas, women don't have a lot of legal clout, at least not out in the boonies where we lived." "So what now Kim? Your car will be fixed soon; where will you go?"

Kim had been on the road for about three weeks when we met. She was just traveling trying to find somewhere safe. She had thought Astoria would be a good place, at least for a few days. Then she would go to her grandmother's. "I think I'm going to stay here for a little while if I can get a job. It looks like a nice town," she answered me with a little smile.

Kim and John were finishing their meal, I went to the cashier to pay. The lady, Julie Adams as I found out, smiled and we chatted as she accepted my payment. I asked her if she knew of any one in town that needed a waitress. She told me that one of her girls was leaving for college and she would need to replace her in the diner. I explained about Kim and the lady told me to have Kim come talk to her.

After we finished eating, Kim, John and I stepped outside.

"Kim I don't know what kind of job you're looking for. But if you are looking for a waitress job, you need to go back inside and talk to the lady. Her daughter is going back to school and she needs a waitress. I'll take John with me to check on the car."

She smiled at me and touched my arm in thanks. I watched Kim and Julie talk for a minute. Then I picked up John and went back to the garage. The car would be done in an hour or so. I asked the mechanic about a nice motel nearby and he directed me to a place about a block away.

Kim came back from the cafe all smiles. She skipped up to me and said she would start at the diner tomorrow. Julie told her to bring John to work with her until she found daycare for him. Kim was excited and sort of hugged my arm as she told me. I told her about the motel and that I would front the cost until she got her first paycheck.

"Don't even try to refuse, Kim. I'm not doing it for you; I'm doing it for John. I can't have my buddy sleeping in the back of a car. You can add the money to the pay it forward account."

I arranged for the garage to bring Kim's car down to the motel for her. I took Kim and John to the motel, got them a room. It was too late in the day for me to start driving again, so I got a room too. The three of us took a little tour of Astoria that afternoon and had dinner together. I said good bye to Kim and my buddy John that night as I would be leaving at daylight. Kim thanked me again. She gave me a hug and I went to my room.

The next morning at daylight, I stopped at the cafe for coffee. I thanked Julie for helping Kim and drove south from Astoria. About five miles out, I noticed a big pickup parked on the side of the road. The driver was out of the truck talking on his cell phone. He was standing in the road and I slowed down to see if he needed help but he shook his head at me and waved me on. As I drove past, I noticed a logo on the door of the truck. The logo was a drawing of an oil derrick and underneath the words: Reynolds Drilling. I was ten miles down the road when it hit me.

Damn, that had to be Randy. I couldn't believe that him being this far from Texas was a coincidence. He had to be after Kim. Damn it, I couldn't leave her to face him alone. I know I didn't owe her anything, but for some reason I didn't want Randy to force her into a life she didn't want. I drove for another mile or so and made a u turn to return to town.

I had kept to myself these last two years with a couple of exceptions as I didn't want to too close to people. Then why was I getting involved in Kim's life? Maybe because I admired her courage, packing up her son and leaving her home rather than give in to Randy. Maybe because I didn't like to see anyone forced to live a life they didn't want. Maybe because I was finally starting to heal a little. Whatever, I couldn't let Randy force Kim back to Texas.

As I returned to Astoria I saw that Randy's truck was no longer on the side of the road. I knew where he was headed and felt uneasy. There was a storm brewing and I was going to be right in the middle of it. In the middle by my choice I had to admit, but in the middle just the same.

I made a turn off the main road so I could come into town from a different direction. The motel was on the other end of town and I came in from that way. I stopped at the motel, but Kim's car wasn't there. Checking at the office they told me Kim had went to the cafe to start work. Damn, I had hoped to catch her before she left the motel. I wanted to warn her about Randy.

There was nothing left to do but drive to the diner and hope Randy hadn't found Kim yet. That hope was dashed quickly, Randy's truck was parked in front of the cafe. I sat for a few seconds trying to decide how far I wanted to go with this. My dad and brothers always said "go big or go home". It was time to go big.

Trouble had already began by the time I walked into the diner. Randy was holding Kim with a big hand on the back of her neck. The side of Kim's face was red and starting to swell. Julie was on the floor a few steps from Randy. She had blood at the corner of her mouth. The phone was torn off the wall. That must have just happened as Randy was yelling at Julie when I came in.

"Nobody is calling the cops. Just sit your ass down and be quiet. I'm not done with Kim yet," Randy almost yelled.

It was obvious that friendly persuasion wouldn't work here. Time to step up or step out. Step up it had to be. You have all heard the old adage, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog". That is a lot easier to belief if the guy your facing isn't six feet 5 and about 270 pounds. Randy was a giant.

I'm not a little guy at 6feet and I had a hard body from all the hard work I had been doing for the last two years. BUT GET REAL. Randy was 5 inches taller and 75 pounds heavier than me. A head on, one on one confrontation was not the smart thing to do at this time. The few fights I had on my two year tour of the country, taught me one important thing. The guy that got in the first good lick usually won the fight. I had to get in that first good lick or I stood no chance against Randy. Oh well, go big or go home.

Randy hadn't seen me yet. I picked up a chair, stepped close to him and hit him on the side of his leg right at the knee. He went down hard, releasing Kim as he fell. As he laid on the floor in pain, I gave Kim and Julie orders.

"Kim go to John, make sure he's okay. Julie here, use my cell to call the police or sheriff or whatever. Get them over here now. I'm going to have a talk with our friend here." Both women started to move, following my orders.

I went over to Randy. He was still in a lot of pain, enough pain that he was paying more attention to his knee than to me. I kicked him in the head to get his attention. I know not very sporting but I was pissed off that he had hit two women.

"Let me tell you how it is Randy. Kim and John belong to me now. They are mine. Don't ever think about following us or bothering her again. Can you hear me Randy." He nodded his head.

"Good boy." I continued, "I'm sure you're going to spend some time in jail, for hitting Julie if nothing else. When you get out, go back to Texas. Forget you ever knew Kim. Are you still listening, Randy?" He again nodded his head.

"You're lucky it's me that's here. My older brother would have just shot you in the back of the head. One more thing to think about. One of my brothers is the chief of police and the other is a sheriff's deputy. So remember that if you decide to follow us. Do you understand what I'm saying Randy?" I think he got the message.

The sheriff came charging through the door just then. It effectively stopped my discussion with Randy. That was okay, I was about to run out of bullshit anyway. Randy was arrested and after Kim, Julie, and I told the sheriff what happened he was carted off to a holding cell. The sheriff said Randy would probably get two years in jail for the attack.

I checked on Julie and Kim to see if they were seriously hurt. Kim was holding John and shaking a little but seemed to be okay. Julie was just pissed off. She swore the next time she saw Randy she was going to finish what I had started. What a gal.

"Kim, I'm sorry about that 'you belong to me' line, but I thought that would impress Randy more than anything else I could think of."

"That's okay Woody. I understand," she replied. I thought I heard her mumble under her breath, "just wish it were true."

I must be hearing things. "Don't know how you feel about this, but I think it would be best if you and John moved on. Randy might get out on bail or he might just get a fine instead of jail time. If it's up to the sheriff Randy will go to jail, but it's up to the courts. Anything could happen. What do you think, Kim?"

Kim looked thoughtful for a few seconds and said, "I guess you're right Woody. If Randy found me here, he would find me at my mom's. I just don't know where to go."

"I have an idea about that, my lady." I smiled at her to put her at ease with my suggestion. "We could get a car trailer for the Camaro, hook it up to my truck and you and John could ride with me."

"Ride with you? Where too?" She was lost.

"Come home with me, Kim," I asked her. "I mean not with me, but to my home town. It's a nice place and you would be closer if you needed help. My family would help you get settled with a job and a place to stay until you decided what to do. What do you think?"

Kim searched my face. "I thought you were, if not running away, at least staying away from home." We had talked a lot during our driving tour of Astoria, so she knew my situation.

I had thought about that before I made the suggestion to her. Better than two years had gone by since I lost Jess. It wasn't that I didn't still miss Jess, it was that I had come to grips with the fact that she was gone.

Okay now we get a little weird. The night before I left Astoria I had a dream about Jess. That wasn't unusual, but in this one Jess told me it was time to get back to my life. She said I had mourned her for long enough. In the dream she smiled at me and gently touched my face. That was when I woke up.

Surprising to me, I had begun to have feelings for someone besides myself. I felt there was something special about Kim and her son when I first met them. I guess that was one reason I let myself get so involved in her business. Helping them I found I cared about someone besides myself.

"I was, and running away is close to the truth. It's time to stop running and go home. I want to see my parents and the rest of the Connor clan. Been away long enough. So, want to see Arkansas, Kim?"

John spoke up and put his two cents in. "Want to see Arksaw mommy. Want to go with Woody."

Kim laughed out loud and told him, "Okay John we'll go with Woody and see Arksaw."

The next morning Kim, Julie and I went to the sheriff's office and signed complaints against Randy. Kim and I gave depositions and the sheriff told us we probably wouldn't have to come back for the trial. We loaded all of Kim and John's stuff into her Camaro and loaded the car onto a rented car trailer. Our little wagon train left Astoria for "Arksaw" around noon. We had a long trip, almost 2500 miles, and this time I stayed on the Interstates as much as possible. The company did make the time pass quickly. There is a lot of pretty and interesting country on that trip.

You can make that trip in 35 to 40 hours if you drive straight through, but not towing another car. We put in 10 to 12 hour days, but only about 8 of those were traveling. Kim didn't feel comfortable driving with a tow and I felt 8 hours was enough. The other four hours consisted of rest stops, potty breaks, food stops, and stops whenever John saw something interesting. I didn't care, I was going home and another couple of days wouldn't make any difference.