DELBERT BRIGGS 30

as jackson roared away from the suction barn his mind was raceing, his heart was gripped in feat. this had been his last avenue of raiseing the funds to make the payment to the las vegas loan sharks. in the back of his mind he could hear a gun shot and feel the bullit. at worse he knew a beating to within a inch of his life was possible. he was starting to think in terms of south america. he gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. he had his bottom lip between his teeth. delbert took the cattle check and drove to the next town over from where the sale barn was. there was a branch for another bank other than the one jackson managed back in the home town.after opening a account with them he kept out a thousand cash for expenses at the ranch. on his way back home normas face kept popping up in front of him. he would shake his head to clear it but in a few moments she was back. he knew if he did what bob suggested and turned her over to the law it could damage their relationship. but he also knew that the authorities wouldnt stop looking for her. did she fear jackson? he didnt know but he did know he didnt want her to not be there at the ranch.he decided that the only way to deal with this was to go at it head on. they would need to go ride tomorrow. it would be a good oppertunity to broach the subject. the next morning delbert and norma left the ranch buildings while they were only out lines in the dark. delbert took a trail that would takee them to the farthest reaches of the ranch. he knew a few cattle still existed back in the roughest parts of the ranch. he wanted a few more gathered but this day he had laid out in his mind as one to deal with the outside issues of the ranch. norma was in a good mood and smiling at the little cowboyisums he used when talking. she was comfortable with the work and being away from the corrals and the buildings. after three hourses of trotting and climbing up through the rocks and the ridges of the pasture they came in sight of the back fence. delbert rode to one side of the trail where a jumble of rocks were. he stepped down and hobbled his horse and pulled the bridle from his head. if norma was thinking she would have realized this was a sighn of staying put for a bit. delbert treated her horse the same. norma dug into a saddle pocket and came out with a couple of burros. they sat down on a boulder. delbert produced his binoculars from his chap pocket and began to peruse the country around them as he munched the burro. norma sat quiet through the whole process. after stuffing the last of the burro into his mouth delbert turned to her" well darlin,in some circles this is what folkss call a come to jesus moment. i gotta ask you, why do you avoid the law? why wont you tell them what you know about jackson?" -