Jana Hastings had taken all of Tuesday morning to pack. She was in no rush and her sadness at leaving the ranch, and Jack, weighed heavy on her. Beau, her faithful friend followed her from room to room as she placed the items that she wanted to take in suit cases or cardboard boxes. She was able to get everything she wanted into the trunk of her Mercedes and still have a clean back seat for Beau. She placed his oversized bed on the seat and packed his food and bowl in a bucket that she used for his water. She took his leash and several of the training dummies that he loved to retrieve and packed them in a nylon bag that was embroidered with his name.
At two o’clock, Jana locked the house, got in the car and drove down the long driveway. With tears in her eyes, she looked in the rearview mirror and saw the image of their home, her’s and Jack’s, growing smaller until she made a turn and saw that it was lost in the distance.
She picked up her phone and placed the call to Sam Merriman as she had agreed to do.
“Merriman,” his characteristic telephone greeting.
“Okay,” she said through her tears, “I’m on my way.” Her effort to sound happy was strained.
Sam knew his sister well. “Are you just now leaving?” he asked.
“Yup. Just pulled out of the drive. Getting onto I-44 in just a minute,” she answered.
“How far do you intend to go today?” he asked.
“Hadn’t really decided. I’ll just drive until I’m tired.”
Sam didn’t respond immediately. After a short pause, he asked, “Jana. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, Sam,” she said. “I’m fine. It’s just kind of hard leaving your home under circumstances like these. You know?”
“I’m sure it is, Sister.” Sam was at a loss for words. Then, “I could still fly out there and drive with you, ya know.”
“I’ll be fine, Sam. I’ll call you when I stop tonight, okay?”
“Yes. Do.” He paused for another minute. “I love you, Jana. Be careful.”
“I love you too, Sam. Thanks for being my brother. I’m okay.”
Jana looked down to see Beau. He had made himself comfortable in the back seat and laid his head between the two front seats on the console. She could feel his breathing on her arm. She petted him with several strokes and whispered, “It’s just us now, Beau. We’ll be fine.”