Free The Sky Fisherman by Craig Lesley

an ambulance rescue unit out in the desert to save him, but the attendants were afraid to remove the nails without a doctor, and the cross wouldn't fit into the ambulance. So she returned to town, hired a flatbed truck and got him to the hospital that way. A few days later he was released, and they renewed their marriage vows. So the guy's plan worked, crazy or not.
    "Can't you go to bed? The TV's bothering me and I've got a headache." My mother stood in the doorway.
    "Sorry," I said. "Still unwinding from this goofy day." I turned off the set.
    "You said it. Disneyland. That about takes the grand prize." We both moved to the kitchen table and she began picking at the leftover cheese muffin. "What's next? Knott's Berry Farm? If I wrote this to 'Dear Abby' she wouldn't believe it. And she's heard just about everything."
    I watched her across the table. "I think he did it for you, Mom. Burning that place down was Riley's way of showing love."
    She stared at me as if I were an alien. "Do you know what you're saying? What kind of crazy talk is that?"
    I took a breath. "Riley wanted to show he loves you. Maybe you love him."
    She fixed her burning eyes on me and there was a long pause. Then slowly, as if thinking of the right words, she said, "I understand what it means to be pushed to your limit. To be shoved from pillar to post. That's all." She stood abruptly. "But I am not one to squander my opportunities. Now let's get some sleep."
    I watched my mother retreat down the hall, a small figure silhouetted in the doorway, holding herself straight.

5
    M OM WENT to Minneapolis just as she had planned, but first she warned me to notify the police if I heard anything at all from Riley. I promised I would, but kept my fingers crossed. I just couldn't betray him like that, and deep down, she wouldn't have wanted me to either. Maybe she was worried about kidnapping, even though she didn't say it, but I was too old for that. Anyway, his first call had sounded pretty distant, although it could have been a lousy connection.
    I started taking my meals at the Oasis Cafe with Jake, and I got a kick out of it because he knew everyone in town, and they swapped extravagant yarns or told off-color jokes in low voices, raising the punch lines just loud enough for the waitresses to catch. One named Doreen had her eye out for Jake and usually traded the others for our table. She wore several pieces of turquoise jewelry and kept the top two buttons of her uniform undone. She called us Big Sweetie and Little Sweetie, and always smelled like Doublemint.
    Nearly everybody in the Oasis had a nickname labeling their coffee cups, which hung on wooden racks behind the counter. I enjoyed trying to match the customers with their colorful monikers: Big Joe, Babe, Grasshopper, Heavy Duty, Short Stack, Skook. A few cups were turned upside down, honoring the patrons who had died. Although I didn't have a cup, Jake introduced me to the others as Shotgun, because I was always riding with him now. If we were talking to some of the local cowboys, he called me Number One Rowdy, the guy who hangs out behind the rodeo bucking chutes and cheers on the riders.

    The cops ate in the Oasis too, usually sitting at the counter for
sandwiches and coffee, then swiveling half a turn on the stools as if to survey the diners for suspects. Grady was in a few times and Jake nodded toward him, but you could tell things were cool. Mom had told Jake about Grady coming over, and the next morning when he stopped by the store for coffee, Jake told him off, concluding with the warning "Election's coming soon." After that, Grady stayed out of the store, although some of the other policemen came in to buy fishing gear and tennis shoes. To tell the truth, it made me a little jumpy to see them. They might have traced Riley's call, although I don't think I broke any laws by keeping quiet.
    Mom called a couple times, telling me the seminar was going well. Once she was particularly excited.