Johnny Winchester: River Hunter by Elizabeth Carr Page A

of
anxiety had subsided to a manageable nervousness.  Though both had thought
the sleeping arrangement of the last flight would only add to the tension, it
actually did the opposite: they could banter and touch and actually live to
tell about it.  With the relationship more relaxed, the flight and the
subsequent drive to Pleasant Valley (a small town in Idaho where Suzi lived)
seemed to go by quickly.  Pulling up to her small farmhouse just outside
of town, Suzi thought it was the best sight she’d ever seen.
    As Johnny parked the SUV in the driveway, the front door
opened and a little knot of people spilled out.  Two young women, a young
man, and a little girl that appeared to be two or three years old.  Johnny
opened Suzi’s door, helping her out.
    “Gramma, Gramma!” the girl cried as she ran towards
Suzi, arms wide.  “Are you okay, Gramma?” she asked, wrapping her arms
around Suzi’s legs.
    “I’m okay, honey.  I just hurt my arm and got some
scratches.”
     There were hugs all around, Johnny knew that it
was painful for her, but Suzi made no complaint.  He retrieved the luggage
from the back of the SUV and followed the little knot, now containing Suzi, as
it shuffled into the house.  Once in the living room, Suzi was seated in
her favorite recliner and the footrest raised.  Then she made the
introductions.
    “This is Johnny,” she motioned towards him.  “This
is my son, Ashe, his wife Aimmy, and their daughter, Willow.  And my
niece, Antoinette.”
    Ashe offered his hand, with a sidelong glance, which
Johnny shook.
    “Nice to meet you,” Johnny said.
    Ashe nodded and shook his hand firmly.  Johnny
greeted and shook hands with the two young women.  They all settled in the
living room and wanted to hear Suzi’s story, so she gave all the highlights,
leaving out a number of details, ones that Johnny wished he didn’t know
either.  When she got to the beach on the river, she turned it over to
Johnny, figuring he’d remember it all better, but mostly because she was so
very tired.
    Johnny finished the story, also leaving out a number of
details that he figured the family really didn’t need to be privy to; the pain
Suzi had endured, the NTSB interview. 
    “I still don’t know why you didn’t call me,” Ashe said,
a bit sternly.
    “I didn’t have my phone, I left it on the plane and
couldn’t remember your number.”
    “She remembered your speed-dial number,” Johnny offered.
    Ashe didn’t seem amused.  Johnny wondered if the
man even had a sense of humor. 
    “I didn’t really like hearing about it on the news,”
Ashe continued.
    “I didn’t really like being the news,” Suzi
responded.  “Honey, you know I didn’t purposely try to leave you
out.  It just all happened that way.  Then when you called, Johnny
just happened to be in the hotel lobby.  Besides, there was nothing you
could have done and that would have driven you crazy.”
    “And you already had help,” he said, glancing at Johnny,
who was about to answer when Suzi stepped in.
    “I love that you worry about me, Ashie ,
but you know perfectly well that if I didn’t think Johnny was trustworthy, I
would have told him to take a hike.  Well, so to speak.  He’s Johnny
Winchester, the River Hunter…he doesn’t have much interest in anything else.”
    The disarming smile spread across her face and Ashe
relaxed. 
    “You might want to apologize for threatening to hunt him
down.”
    An almost exact replica of Suzi’s smile broke his stern
expression.  Turning to Johnny, he admitted, “I guess I might have been a
little harsh.”
    “I understand perfectly,” Johnny assured.  “You
didn’t know what had happened to your Mum and you had no idea who I was. 
I would have reacted the same way.”  Well, maybe not quite.
    Antoinette and Aimmy had prepared dinner, so they set
the table and gathered everyone around.  Willow asked her dad if she could
say grace, to which he agreed, and in