by K. Aten
Rules of the Road
Copyright © 2018 by Kelly Aten
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
About the Author
Visit Us On Line
Rules of the Road
by
Kelly Aten
Yellow Rose
by Regal Crest
Copyright © 2018 by Kelly Aten
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The characters, incidents and dialogue herein are fictional and any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Print ISBN 978-1-61929-366-3
eBook ISBN 978-1-61929-367-0
First Printing 2018
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Cover design by Acorn Graphics
Published by:
Regal Crest Enterprises
Maryville, TN 37804
Find us on the World Wide Web at http://www.regalcrest.biz
Published in the United States of America
Acknowledgments
As always, I would like to thank Regal Crest Enterprises for giving me this chance to live out my dream as a published author. Cathy and Patty are saints with their patience and knowledge when it comes to all things publishing and a successful manuscript. I would also like to thank my editor, Mary, because of her humor and insight when it comes to churning out a good novel. I would like to thank my good friend and beta reader, Ted. You push me, you correct me, and you prop me up when I need it. This was our first project together and we quickly discovered that we work very well as a team. Thanks for the hours you’ve put in on this labor of love of mine. Lastly, I want to thank someone who has given me information and true stories about the dental industry. Kelsey Slammer, you are one in a million!
Note: Most of the people, places, and events are based on reality. But, as a writer often does, I’ve twisted or changed nearly all to suit my needs. I like to think of it as the cafeteria plan of writing. If you see yourself in this book, or see me, I apologize. Most of all, a lifetime of thanks to my closest friends who stayed with me through the journey. You know who you are.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to the pets in our lives, even the naughty ones. Because without them the world would be just that much colder, and more than a little lonely.
Chapter One
KELSEY WAS IN the left lane when she drove by the poor deer that had sacrificed his life to some sleep-deprived trucker. Sure as anything, nothing exploded living flesh quite like the impact of a semi. It was 6:25 a.m. as she approached what everyone referred to as the “nexus of the universe.” Brake lights lit up across all three lanes ahead of her and she glanced desperately behind, looking for a way back into the center lane. Her exit was approaching and she got caught off guard by the roadkill.
“Verkehr verlangsamen voraus.”
The voice was in German and she had no idea what the actual words meant, but the way she slowed to a stop in her lane explained it pretty well. She glanced at the phone hanging from the holder suction-cupped to her front window. Her side of the highway was colored red and the traffic jam indicator had popped up. “Sonofa—” She never finished the statement because a police car went flying by her left side in the margin between her lane and the concrete divider. Her car rocked back and forth with its passing and she jumped in her seat. “Shit!” All she could do was put her blinker on and pray someone would let her into the next lane so she could make her exit. She crossed her fingers, hoping she wouldn’t be late for work. Then she practically crossed her legs and regretted finishing the entire bottle of water during her drive. It was going to be a long day and she really had to remember to change the voice back to English. Or learn German. She shrugged at her own thoughts and cranked up the music to block the sound of a blaring horn. The car she was driving next to didn’t appreciate being cut off in traffic.
THE ICONIC LYRICS to David Bowie’s “Major Tom” filled the car with nostalgic sound. Its current rendition was a cover version by Shiny Toy Guns and poor Carah Faye Charnow’s voice was drown out by a harshly done amateur. Jamie’s single woman car karaoke abruptly cut off with the chime of her driving app. She flicked her glance right to where her cell phone was clipped to the dashboard within easy sight. Jamie hoped it wasn’t a delay of some sort because it was 6:40 a.m. and she was making good time for once.
“Obstacle on road ahead.”
The male British voice that came across her sound system via Bluetooth seemed mild enough but Jamie thought he sounded a bit pretentious and snarky. She nicknamed him Nigel months before when she first started using the app. Following her own rules, she was in the middle lane of the three available and the highway was busy with morning commuters heading off to their dream jobs. Or not. She knew the “obstacle” was fast approaching but the app didn’t give details like lane location. It was one of the few limiting factors in an admitted lifesaver to her morning drive. She turned down the radio to concentrate better when sudden brake lights flashed ahead, of course in her own lane. She slowed quickly but was unable to switch lanes. When she came upon the animal remains her face scrunched up in disgust. “Oh. OOOHHHH! Is that a deer? Oh my God, that is so disgusting.” She maneuvered through the minefield of exploded ungulate and tried to keep her coffee down. Once she was safely through the mess, Jamie turned up the music again and resumed her solo serenade with a new tune. Tegan and Sarah sang the hard hitting song, “Like O, Like H” and Jamie rocked out with them.
DESPITE HER WORRIES, Kelsey was neither late to work, nor did she wet herself. Dr. Davies looked up as she hustled in the back door of the dentist’s office. “Spaghetti highway traffic hell?”
She nodded at his nonsensical word soup. “That and a Bambi bomb.”
Her boss nodded his head knowingly and wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Eww. And speaking of eww, Mr. Sorenson is our first appointment.”
Kelsey’s eyes widened at the news. Frank Sorenson was a big mountain of a man from somewhere very rural. His one and only previous visit was three weeks prior and he had come in needing a crown. While Kelsey herself wasn’t the dental assistant for Dr. Davies that day, the stories were still circulating about the guy who wasn’t real big on oral hygiene, or any hygiene really. He also smelled strongly of cigarette smoke and kitty litter. No one was sure why because he didn’t exactly look like a cat owner. “Doesn’t June—”
Her boss shook his head and grimaced. “Sorry, June called and said she had car trouble this morning.”
Kelsey narrowed her eyes. “She looked at the appointment book before she left last night, didn’t she?”
David Davies continued leafing through his cooking magazine and scratched at the graying brown hair near his temple. The diminutive man didn’t meet her eyes as he answered. “I believe so, yes. Sorry.”
She wanted to be angry but didn’t really blame June. Had she herself remembered to look at the appointment book, she may have called in with car trouble as well. Kelsey shrugged and put her lunch in the fridge of the break room. “Oh well, I’m sure he wasn’t
that bad. June and the others exaggerate everything.” As she walked out of the room she missed seeing her boss shudder and cross his chest in a prayer.
Kelsey had the forethought to spray some disinfectant into her mask before prepping Mr. Sorenson for the doctor. Dr. Davies had to do two fillings on the man’s top teeth before fitting the crown on the bottom molar and she didn’t want to gag during such a lengthy appointment. Something caught her eye as she was holding the small pad with composite on it. Seemingly out of nowhere, there was an ant crawling across the surface. The patient’s eyes were closed and she discretely looked up and around them to see where the bug had come from but found nothing. Not wanting to cause a scene, she removed the top sheet to give him some fresh composite and stayed quiet. Other than that, the fillings were routine, as was fitting the crown. After he left, they had a half hour before the next appointment. She turned to her boss. “Did you see that ant? I was wondering where it came from.”
David Davies paled at the recent memory and nodded. “I saw it, and all the rest of them.”
Kelsey was cleaning the station and looked up at him in surprise. “What? Where?”
“You probably couldn’t see them from where you were sitting but his beard was crawling with ants.”
She blinked and looked back at him in shock. “Oh my God.”
He nodded. “Oh my God, indeed.”
The thought came to them both at the same time and they frantically began brushing at their clothes to make sure none had gotten on them. It was in that moment that the other dental assistant, June, walked in.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
If looks could kill, Kelsey would have been up on murder charges as soon as her gaze swung to the older woman. “From this day forward, every spider I find in this office is going into your purse.” She pushed through the doorway in search of her morning cocoa fix.
June looked at their boss, clearly shaken. “She’s kidding, right?”
Satisfied that he did not have any little hitchhikers on his lab coat, David straightened. “Probably not.” And with those ominous words, he left to get some strong coffee for himself.
JAMIE ARRIVED AT work with a little time to spare before her shift. She decided to run out to the factory floor and check on the new production line she had been setting up over the previous week. As the Production Engineer for the department, it was her job to design and implement new assembly lines and handle all the equipment orders and placement. Maintenance was supposed to install a new tester on third shift and she wanted to check on it before the day crew came in and things got busy. Before moving into the engineering role and switching to day shift, she had previously been the manager over the third shift crew. They were mostly a rowdy younger bunch and had a distinctly warped sense of humor. “Hey Jamie, are you coming back to us?” One of the end-of-line inspectors called out to her as she put her safety glasses on and left the official foot traffic aisle.
The tall and lanky blonde shook her head and smiled good-naturedly. “I’ve finally worked my way into an engineer position. Why would I want to go back to that thankless manager job over you lot? Besides, you’ve got Joe now!” Another person working on the line rolled his eyes at her words. She looked over at the new third shift manager. “So how’s it going, Joe? They really are thankless, you know.”
The fairly young supervisor made a face. “I figured that out pretty fast. But luckily I can handle all jobs small or large!”
“That’s what she said!”
The entire crew of the line that Joe stood near cracked up laughing, and Jamie hid a smile behind a fake cough. “Some things never change I see.” Joe either didn’t hear the words or was completely clueless about the long running joke. She watched as he randomly picked up a duster and stood behind a large exhaust fan to dust it off. The wind blew an inconvenient amount of fuzzies and debris away from the line and into his face. “Uh, hey Joe, wouldn’t it be easier to stand off to the side and clean that?”
He looked up at her and replied with an affable grin. “Nope.
I like it when it gets on my face, that’s how I know I’m doing a good job!” Jamie blinked at him in response. He stared back, clueless. The line clearly didn’t hear him and she thought it best to simply let the comment go.
“Hey Jamie, can you come check scrap for me while Joe is busy blowing, um, off the fan. We’re about to close a box.”
The box packer’s pause told Jamie that she had indeed heard Joe’s questionable statement, but maybe she just didn’t want to pick on her new boss too soon. After all, it had only been a month since he took over their shift. “Sure, I’ll be right down.” Jamie turned to grin at Joe. “I’m going to go do your job now, man. Just so you know.”
He raised an eyebrow at her and moved on to another fan. She tried not to snicker at the large gray fuzzy that was stuck to that raised brow. “Maybe Maria can see that I’m too important to be bothered so she’s just calling down the cast-off.”
The engineer laughed. “Or maybe she’s calling on the professional because she wants the job done right. Later, newb!” Jamie made her way down the assembly line to sort through the bin of suspect scrap for the box packer. If there were any that were legitimately good, she would sign her initials to the back for the line operator to pack, and the rest would be sent for tear-down and disassembly. Noting that two were marked for bad circuit boards, she walked them halfway down the line to the appropriate station. You could only remove circuit boards if you were wearing a grounding strap. It was something that looked like a metal watchband connected via wire to the station. There was no one standing there and she was on the backside of the line so Jamie called out to anyone in the vicinity. “Hey, who has a strap on?” The words left her mouth before she could call them back and she immediately fumbled in an attempt to clarify her statement. “Uh, a grounding strap. Who is wearing a grounding strap, um, thingy?” She reached around to set the parts on the empty station as one of the more naïve younger guys walked up.
“That would be me. Sorry, Jamie. I ran to get a drink. Give me a second and I’ll have those switched for you and sent back down for testing.”
Ears red, she walked to the back of the box packing station. She muttered obscenities under her breath and hoped no one else heard her ill-fated words. When she looked up to meet Maria’s gaze her heart sank. She pointed her finger at the smirking woman. “You didn’t hear that. Those words never left my mouth!” It probably wouldn’t have been half as funny if she were not publicly out at work. But everyone knew she was gay.
Maria pointed back at her. “Dios mío!That is the funniest shit you’ve ever said!”
Jamie grimaced, still blushing bright red as she finished signing the last few suspect parts. “Funnier than Joe’s comment about the fan?”
The packer snorted. “No, that was good too.”
The new engineer sighed. “Nice. Now that I’ve humiliated myself in front of my old crew, I’m going to go check on my new line. Ciao, chica.” Maria just grinned.
With so much to do in her new role, the day moved pretty fast. Before Jamie knew it the end of her shift had arrived. Per her normal routine, she clamped her phone into the holder while the Bluetooth connected to her car. She started the Driv app and hit the button on her dash screen that would also bring up her music app. So while she had the streaming music station on the six inch touch screen of her car, her phone continuously displayed the navigation and traffic map.
Jamie loved her car, a pretty blue turbo that perfectly suited her lead foot. But her love of speed didn’t mean she was a crazy driver. She actually drove very defensively and cursed out half the people she shared the highway with. And she had rules. Her friends had called her anal- retentive many times with the way she navigated her personal life by a very specific set of rules and personal standards. But it wasn’t just her personal life, it carried over to her driving as well. Driving from the same place, to the same place for years had given her a pretty good handl
e on the route and all its quirks and troubles. The Driv app just made it a lot easier.
As soon as she merged onto the highway and made her way into the center lane, she relaxed and checked the traffic app. The lines of the highway on both sides were rapidly changing from orange to red as the traffic slowed up for rush hour. Her gaze flicked to the left, taking note of the faster moving traffic and the too-good-to-be-true amount of space that she could merge into. She did not move though. She plodded along behind a pickup truck that belched smoke every time the driver gave it a spurt of gas. There were rules after all. Rule number one was to stay in the center lane whenever you approached a busy exit, unless you were actually exiting. More often than not the faster left hand lane would come to a complete stop for more than a few minutes right where the on-ramp began. She had no idea why, but she accepted it as law and stayed in the center lane until she passed the more urban section of highway.
Rule number two was to immediately get into the left lane as soon as she got past the slow down and merge section, then stay in the left lane until approaching another exit. She turned up the music as she watched the left lane come to a stop. She didn’t make up the rules, she just followed them. Well, she did make up the rules actually, but that didn’t make them less true. A chime sounded as all lanes slowed to a crawl and the traffic jam indicator popped up on her phone.
“Traffic slow-down ahead” Nigel was no captain, he was the king of obvious.
Jamie sighed and started counting colors aloud. “Black, gray, gray, tan, orange, white, tan, silver, navy, silver, and boom! Eighty percent!” She slapped her steering wheel to emphasize her statement. Another rule, or maybe just an observation, was that eighty percent of the vehicles she saw on the highway every day were black, white, gray, silver, or tan. She was convinced it was a sign of some sort of bland vehicular apocalypse. The guy next to her slowly swerved into her lane and she moved right to hug the opposite line. His eyes were staring intently at his crotch. Assuming he wasn’t getting his very first erection, she laid on the horn to bring his gaze up off his cell phone. “Stupid ass!” Road rage was a very real and understandable thing.