I would make further plans and look for new transportation in Abilene. It looked like about three hundred miles according to the scale. I drove as fas... as I dared take the jeep to the outskirts of Abilene. It was late when I got there but I found a motel and pulled in around back where I wouldn't be noticed from the interstate or the access road. I ate the junk food I had brought not wanting to cook or even find a place. I decided to study the map and the phone book for places to check for. She marveled at how casually she'd replied to her son's question and went on. "I certainly hope your father has the good sense not to carry this beyond a casual flirtation. Alice is my niece and she's his niece, too. It would be extremely disturbing for him to be carrying on with a girl barely out of high school." She took another slug of brandy. "Yes, I think I'd have to brain your dear father if he so much as tries to kiss that pretty, dumb little blonde."Lee gave her an understanding look. They walked the sandy ditches alongside the highway like some nomadic visitors from a domain of Hell. Sometimes they laughed and even broke out into a chant or song of joy at the sheer freedom from the shackles of authority. When they paused under the shade of an impressive Joshua tree, Charlie selected one of the new girls with a still overly tight brown eye and showed the other girls how much she had learned from his anal training. Her screams and curses rang out over the silent rolling dunes. Their ears were still ringing.Dan climbed up the stairs with a light step. He was wearing blue jeans and a western style shirt with boots. It didn’t take long for Dan to settle into his usual chair and accept the iced tea Leroy handed him. Dan looked at the horizon and said, “I love sunsets.”“Yeah. Looks like it will be a nice one tonight,” said Ed.Taking a sip of his iced tea, Dan relaxed and watched the horizon. Although it had been a horribly hot day, a simple mister cooled the air and made.