‘Hey,’ I said when the man behind the counter brought my coffee. ‘You know how to get to the Comstock place?’
‘The ranch?’ he said. ‘You get back out on the 154, keep heading north, and take the next right turn after the creek in two or three miles. Then it’s pretty much all Comstock land.’
I thanked him and repeated the directions to myself a few times. When the food came, I ate quickly and left a big tip, although not so big as to call attention.
I found the road the man had described without much difficulty. Roads were few and far between out here. It was after three o’clock by then, and the light was changing. It was a relief to be off the highway, which traversed the valley floor in a straight line and was visible for miles around. Trees crowded closer together along this little ro
