The sheriff left, and the young couple stood together for a few minutes just watching all the activity. Paramedics had strapped Ranny to a stretcher and were loading him into the ambulance. A deputy stood nearby, ready to accompany the prisoner to the hospital. Another deputy had donned plastic gloves and was securing the M-16 and .38. Still another was busy photographing the scene, shooting the truck exterior and interior from different angles. Two black and white California Highway Patrol cars had rolled up, and those officers were directing a tow truck driver to tow Monty's truck into town, once the photographer was satisfied. The sheriff was checking on everything, seeing that proper procedures were followed and trying to get everything done as quickly as possible so the roadway could be cleared.
Monty turned to Laura. "Well, Laura, the sheriff said it - you really got a lot more out of this trip than you'd bargained for."
Laura sighed, "Yes, I could never have imagined that my business trip to San Francisco would have turned out this way. But since you made it have a happy ending, although a very stressful and exciting ending, I'm actually finding that I rather enjoyed it, now that it's over. And don't feel that you dragged me into it - I just loved the rodeo, and getting to learn so much about a lifestyle I was totally unfamiliar with. You were a great guide, Monty - I couldn't have asked for better."
Monty was feeling nervous again, but he was pumped up from the experience of facing such a dangerous situation and pulling off the rescue so successfully. He said hesitantly, "I really, really enjoyed getting to know you too, Laura. You are a wonderful woman, and life is going to seem awfully dull and lonely here when you're gone. It may be years until you have to come back for the trial, the way the legal system moves here."
Laura, too, in her turn was nervous with what she was about to say, but the same dangerous experience she'd just gone through also gave her courage. "I don't know if you feel the same way about this as I do, Monty, but even though we only met about thirty hours ago, with all we've been through and all the talking we did, I feel as if I've known you for years. I don't want to wait for such a long time to see you again. I have a couple of weeks vacation coming this year. It will take me a week or two to clear things up at work. Then, if it's all right with you, I'd like to come back out here and spend more time and see if we still feel the same about each other."