CHAPTER 5
When Barrett came out of the doctor's office, Uncle Del was seated in the waiting room. He stood and followed Barrett out of the office. His expression was concerned.
"What did the doctor say?"
Barrett shrugged. "He said I had a mild concussion and I should take it easy for a while. Nothing I didn't already suspect."
Uncle Del stopped by his car, digging the keys from his pocket while he eyed Barrett. "It could have been much worse."
Barrett nodded. "I need to go back up there to the car. I left my gun under the seat."
Uncle Dell studied his face for a moment. "You must have been pretty confused to do something like that." He opened the door. "I'll call a tow truck and have it pulled out of there. You don't need to be climbing around these hills." He paused, searching Barrett's face again. "Are you up to the trip?"
Barrett grinned as he opened the door on the passenger side. "Are you kidding? After riding that mule for a couple hours; riding in this car is going to be luxurious."
Inside the car, Uncle Dell called a towing company and arranged to meet them at a junction of the highway and a dirt road so he could lead them to the car - or at least Barrett could.
Once they were on the highway, he turned to Barrett. "Now, tell me what you discovered."
Barrett lifted a brow. "Are you talking about the trees?"
Uncle Del canted his head and grimaced. "I guess you'll want to tell Logan about the rest."
Barrett leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "To tell you the truth, I learned more about both from the girl."
"What girl? Oh, the one who brought you to the clinic? Why didn't she stay and make sure you were all right?"
Barrett opened one eye and looked at Uncle Del without lifting his head. "I suppose she figured she'd wasted enough time on a timber man."
Uncle Del frowned. "What?"
Barrett closed his eye and explained about Mary Jo's mission to protect the trees. His head was throbbing again but he didn't want to say anything about it.
"I'm sorry about the Car. I'll pay for the damages - and the tow truck."
Uncle Del snorted. "No you won't. I have insurance that will take care of both."
"Won't it make your insurance rate go up? There has to be a deductible."