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After we veer up the on-ramp, we cruise north beneath the stars, away frorass The farther north we get, the more sparse cars beco us out to the middle of nowhere All I can think is that I’ve been busted, that he’s driving me up to the foothills to shoot me between the eyes and bury me in the dirt

I atte to remove my cell fro who the hell knohat, and finally give up after the tenth try

Doc doesn’t utter a word to n We’re out in the middle of nowhere with only fields and trees around us He leaves the headlights on and the light beams across the road in front of us Then he shuts off the music and stares out theat the desolate street to the side of us

"Have you heard the story of how I got into this business yet?" he asks, glancing out of the corner of his eye at me

I shake my head

"I’m surprised As ossip" He ain "I enty when I first met Donny Elder our first child I orking as a salesman at a local furniture store Back then, I wasn’t known as Doc I wasn’t known for anything, really" He pauses, gazing up at the stars "I wanted to be known, though I’d always had this feeling that there was supposed to be ht, eating dinner, then going to bed Most days, I felt like I was on autopilot"

He reaches for his pocket and grabs a cigar, lights up, and then reclines back in the seat "Then I , and I found out I was good at what I do Don’t misunderstand me My family always comes first and foreood father and husband, I have to be happy Very rarely have I regretted the choice I made to come into this unorthodox world In fact, there have only been three times in my life when I’ve really questioned inning, and one was tonight" He puffs on the cigar, the cherry glowing through the darkness

He rear He eventually turns on the radio again and browses through songs I start to question where he’s going with the story or if that was the end of it when he sits up straight and rolls down the

"But I’ve changed over the last couple of decades I kno to handle regret better" He tosses the cigar out thethen shoves the car into first gear "I’ve learned how to eliht"

He cranks up the radio again, slaravel as we peel out onto the stretch of road to the side of us At first, I wonder if this is a suicideto drive across the road and raht at the last second to turn onto the road

At that exactat least a hundred ht behind the speeding vehicle, and Doc works the clutch and shifter siain ine roars to life as the radio screarip the side of the seat as the car in front of us ht on the bu wheel and reaches for the gun in his holster