For as long as Boyd can remember, he's been pushing pins into a map. Carson City, Las Vegas, Albuquerque -- all places he wants to see, for a dozen different reasons that wouldn't mean a thing to anyone else. When he finally gets a chance to purchase the '70 Plymouth Duster of his dreams, at a price that even he can manage, Boyd jumps at the opportunity.<br><br>Oliver seems like just another kid with a broken dream when their paths cross in Vegas. Against Boyd's better judgment, he offers to let Oliver hitch along for the ride when Oliver confides the need to get out and get gone.<br><br>But isn’t long before Boyd realizes Oliver's reasons for running are more complicated -- and more dangerous -- than Oliver let on. Boyd doesn't like people who play hardball, and he definitely doesn't like people messing with a man who's managed to light a fuse that Boyd forgot he had.

Road Trip

He looked up at Oliver and shrugged. “Got a spare one of those hair ties anywhere?”


As much as Boyd had loved the desert landscape, it was nice to see some trees again. He missed them when they disappeared again an hour later. Yet as the landscape gave way to clay, and scrub gave way to rock formations that could easily rival the beauty of the most sought-after, he shook off the doldrums, turned up the speakers, and gave the engine a good work out. He’d switched from eight-track to radio when Oliver started reading one of the magazines Boyd had brought along, and when the magazine slid to the floor on a more complicated bend Boyd realized Oliver had, once again, dozed off. The kid had either been deprived sleep for far too long or was in serious need of some vitamins.


Chapter 15