Rowland Higgins or ‘Rollie’ as his friends called him was on his way home. Home being the small house tucked back among the hills with nothing but a couple thousands head as company. He had been to town and picked supplies, frozen pizza, frozen TV dinners, frozen this, frozen that. Along with some wooden posts and a couple rolls of wire. Actually his job was to mend barbed wire fences, see that all the water wind pumps were working, and chase an occasional coyote away. As he came over the rise he spotted the car beside the road. Pulling over he got out, taking off his dusty, sweat stained felt cowboy hat. He pulled a wrinkled red bandana out of his back pocket and wiped the sweat off his forehead as he walked around to the front of the pickup.

“Got yourself a flat tire there huh Missy,” he said flashing his white teeth at her. “Want me to change it for ya?” He stepped over and kicked the flat with the point of his worn Tony Lama boot. He squatted down to look at the tire, his knees poking through the holes of his worn and faded Levi’s.

“I don’t have a spare,” the woman said.

“Geez, Wimmin,” Rollie mumbled under his breath. “Well I see it this way. The closest town is ten mile back that way,” he said pointing with his hat. “I jus come from there. They got a tractor supply, a gas station, and a café. None of them is open now. Sixty miles past that is Willow Springs. They got a motel but only fifteens rooms and them be filled up with railroads workers. Now in the other direction is Riverton,” he said looking over his shoulder. “They got a nice big hotel, maybe fifty rooms. Only problem is, that’s eighty miles down the road.” He got a big smile on his face. “My place is jus five miles out that way,” he said pointing with his hat again, across the open prairie. “And I got frozen pizza that’s about to thaw.”

He dropped his hat hand to his side, hooked his thumb behind his big belt buckle, and looked at her for a moment, before adding.

“I got a phone if ya want to use it. I also got a couch if ya want to spend the night, otherwise ya can start walking, or spend the night here with the coyotes.”

He looked down at the ground, kicking at a small rock there, the smile broadening on his face. He already knew her answer. He slipped his hat back on his head and looked at her.

“My names Rollie Missy, what’s yours? I make a mean pizza by the way."