“Is it?” He flipped open a magazine, letting the centerfold unfold and fall to the floor. “Meet June. He did the same with the other magazine. “And May.”
She felt the blood drain from her face. “You mean . . . those are the girls you were talking about spending the night with? Just pictures, and not real women?”
“Believe me, when you’re on the road as long as I am, you’ll take whatever you can get.”
“I see.” Her eyes grazed down the nudes, and suddenly instead of feeling shy, she felt promiscuous. “Please put those away,” she told him.
“Why?” He turned the magazine and drank in the naked woman. “I like looking at them. Don’t you?” He turned the magazine back to show her the naked photo.
“Listen here, Calvin Reeves. I am not going to tell you again. Put those down,” she threatened him as the dog began to bark.
Cal’s eyes looked over her shoulder and an expression of horror came over his face. “Oh, crap!” He threw down the magazines, pushed her to the side and dove for the bed. Tuesday fell to the floor and was about to yell at him until she realized what he was doing.
“Maggie crawled!” She sat there open-mouthed as Cal caught the baby who had crawled to the edge of the bed and was about to fall to the floor. He scooped her up and landed on the floor on his back, all the while holding Maggie up high above his head so she wouldn’t get hurt.
“She did. My little girl crawled!” He laughed and lowered her to him to kiss her and then held her high above his head again, laughing. Maggie laughed, too, and reached down for Cal, drool dribbling down in a stream onto his face.
“Phhhht!” he said, blowing air from his mouth. He sat up and placed Maggie on the floor and she started to crawl toward Tuesday.
“Come here, Maggie. What a good girl,” said Tuesday, smiling and laughing and reaching out for the baby. Maggie proudly crawled over to her. The dog followed, licking the baby on the head.
“Thanks for warning us, Burrito.” Cal petted the dog and kissed it on the head much the same way he did with the baby. Tuesday realized that her squabbling with Cal had taken their attention away from the baby and she almost got hurt. She would never forgive herself if anything happened to Maggie.
“Cal, I’m sorry for all the fighting we’ve been doing.”
“So am I,” said Cal, sitting cross-legged on the floor as the baby turned and started to crawl back to him now. “We’ve only got a few days together, so I say we stop the arguing and just make the best of it.”
“A few days,” Tuesday repeated, feeling suddenly sad. After they got to Texas, she would have to leave Cal and Maggie, and would never see them again. That thought was like a knife sticking in her heart. It made her so sad that she almost wanted to cry.
“Hey, there’s a good movie going on. Why don’t we all curl up on the bed with some snacks and a few bottles of beer and watch it until we fall asleep?”
“What kind of movie? Hopefully, it isn’t one of those violent shoot-‘em-up ones. I don’t think Maggie should watch those. Or anything dirty. That, I won’t allow.”
“I agree.” He grabbed the TV controller and pushed a few buttons. Before she knew it, a Disney movie had started.
“Is that . . . Mary Poppins?” she asked, getting up and sitting on the bed.
“It’s either this or The Little Mermaid. Maybe we can watch them both. Do you approve?” he asked her, handing her the baby.
“Well, yes, I do. But I’m surprised you’re going to watch this with us.”
“I told you, Twiggy, I’m a father now. Fathers do these kinds of things with their children. Or at least, I think so. I’m not really sure, and I have a lot to learn.”
“Well, for the record, I think you’re doing a great job.” She smiled at him, honestly meaning it, and now feeling bad that a few minutes ago she didn’t think he’d make a good father.
“Thanks.”
“Cal, I didn’t buy any snacks and didn’t notice too much food in your cabinets. Where are we going to get . . . junk food?”
“I have to admit, while you were sleeping I got myself some burgers, fries, and a cola. I also got a bunch of snacks. I hid them up front, hoping you wouldn’t find them and throw them out.” He strolled over to the driver’s seat, reached behind it, and pulled out a grocery bag filled with junk food. “Hope you like popcorn, pretzels, and pork rinds.”
She laughed. “Well, I’m not sure on the pork rinds since I’ve never had them, but yes, I do like the other two.”
“I’m not crazy about the pork rinds, but I only get them since they are Burrito’s favorites.” Cal ripped open the bag with his teeth, tossing the dog a few rinds. When he turned back to Tuesday, he was standing and she was sitting. Her face was at the same level with his groin. That is, his protruding form.
“Cal? Can you maybe . . . put on a pair of sweats or shorts or something?” She felt so hot now that she had to fan herself with her hand.
Cal looked down at his briefs, the erection straining against the material. “Sorry about that,” he said, handing her the junk food, and opening up a drawer. He proceeded to don a pair of shorts. “I’m going to have to have a talk with May and June. It looks like they’re not doing their jobs,” he chuckled.
“Well, at least I’m doing my job,” she said, realizing when Cal looked down to his groin that her words didn’t come out the way she meant them. “I mean, that I’m doing what you hired me to do.”
“Are you?” He waggled his brows and one side of his mouth curled up in an amused manner as he popped a pork rind in his mouth and crunched. She felt so hot right now she was sure she was about to explode. Feeling embarrassed, horny, and very confused, she needed help to make it through this night.
“Bring me one of those beers after all, will you?” she asked him.
“I didn’t figure you to be someone to drink.” He opened the fridge, cracked open a beer and handed it to her.
“I never said I didn’t.” She raised it to her lips and took a swallow. Then her eyes roamed down to Cal’s waist again, and it was obvious he was still aroused. Did she do that to him, or was it May or, perhaps, June? She truly hoped he wasn’t going to relieve himself with her and the baby in the truck. But if he didn’t, he was going to be a very miserable man. Maybe her job duties weren’t so cut and dried after all. But how far was she willing to go? “Bring the rest of the six-pack over,” she told him. “I have a feeling we are going to need them all.”
Chapter 9
Tuesday woke the next morning to the smell of pancakes and freshly brewed coffee. Opening one sleepy eye, she saw Cal holding the baby in one arm. Maggie held on to a bottle. With his other hand he was using a spatula to scoop pancakes out of a pan atop the stove.
“Mmm, smells good,” she said, causing him to turn around. He held up one finger and she could hear someone on the speaker phone talking to him.
“Cal, this isn’t like you to be late with a shipment. You were supposed to be here yesterday. I have people waiting on you,” came a man’s angry voice.
“Like I said, I ran into a little bad luck. Hit a deer and it did some damage to my rig. I’ll be there in about three and a half hours.”
“You’d better leave now,” said the man in an angry voice. “If you’re not here in three, I’ll find someone else from now on to deliver my shipments. Do you understand?”
“Yes, of course. I’ll be there, I promise. Just hang tight.”
“You’d better be,” snapped the man, and then the phone went dead.
“Who was that?” asked Tuesday, sitting up in bed, feeling concerned.
“It’s nothing to worry about,” he said, reaching out and clicking off the phone that was on the counter. “Hungry?” He held out a plate of pancakes. “I didn’t slather them with butter and syrup yet since I figured you’d think that wasn’t healthy or something.”
“Oh, thank you, but I don’t usually eat breakfast. You can slather them up, and have them all.”
“You did?” she asked with a yawn. “I didn’t hear a thing.”
“I’m starting to figure out that you can sleep through anything. Well, Burrito, you’re going to get fat, but here is your second helping of pancakes.” He put the plate on the floor and the dog hurried over and wolfed them down.
“I didn’t think you ever even used the stove, or cooked anything at all.”
“I don’t always eat take out food, no matter what you think. It’s just a small stove, but big enough for my needs.” The baby finished her bottle and Cal took the bottle and dropped it into the small sink. “I even do dishes,” he added.
“Where does all this water go from the sink and the bathroom?” she asked, wanting to know how it all worked.
“I have holding tanks. Some for the dirty water, some with the clean. This rig is equipped with 80 gallons of fresh water.”
“That’s a lot then?”
“Enough so that I won’t have to stop and refill or pump out for an entire week.”
“That’s amazing.”
“I’m careful though, and don’t use more water than I need.”
“What do you mean?”
“Like the shower,” he told her, switching the baby to his other arm. “There is a button on there to pause the water while you’re soaping up. That way, I don’t waste hot water, since the hot water tank only hold five gallons before it has to heat it up again.”
“This really is like a home on wheels,” she said, taking in her impressive surroundings.
“That’s why I was so excited to buy it,” he explained. “It also has a generator so I can run the heat or air without having to start the motor.”
“So why would a trucker even need an actual house if they have something as grand as this?” she wondered.
“That’s what I’ve been asking myself,” he told her. “I’ve decided that I don’t need an actual house and that I’m going to live in my truck from now on.”
“With Maggie? How will that work with a baby?” she asked him. “She’ll need a yard to play in, and will have to go to school. She can’t be traveling all the time. That is fine for you, but not for a child. Have you even thought about that?”
“I’ll work out the details later,” he told her, not sounding at all concerned. “Oh, can you burp her, Twiggy?” he asked, handing Maggie to her and then hurriedly pouring coffee into two travel mugs. “Do you take cream?”
“No.”
“Good, since I don’t have any. How about sugar?”
“Just black,” she told him, putting a cloth over her shoulder and burping the baby. “I think Maggie is just about old enough now that we won’t have to burp her anymore. As long as she’s not drinking milk, her gas shouldn’t be bad at all.”
“Whatever you say. I’m just winging this whole being a dad thing.” He handed her the cup of coffee and took a sip from his. “Today, I’m going to leave the bed down. That way, Maggie can crawl around while I drive.”
“No, that will be too dangerous.”
“Not anymore.” He picked up some sort of contraption with a harness and what looked to her like a leash and held it out to her. “She’ll be wearing this. I rigged it up so once it’s connected, she can get to the end of the bed, but not close enough to fall over.”
“When did you do this?” she asked, surveying the harness.
“I’m always up early. I wanted to leave by 4:30 but you were sleeping so soundly that I didn’t want to wake you. That’s why I fed and changed the baby. Actually, she had a pretty nasty diaper so I hosed her down in the shower with me, too.”
“You did?” Tuesday smiled, trying to picture that!
“I’ve really got to get on the road, Twiggy. You heard the man on the phone and he isn’t happy.”
“I’m sorry. I know being late is all my fault. If we hadn’t stopped at the store, we might have made it in time.”
“Don’t be sorry. It was important, and Maggie comes first. I just wish I had been paying more attention and hadn’t hit that damned deer. I should have driven through the night after I changed the bulb.”
“No, you need to sleep, too. I wish I knew how to drive a truck and I’d take a turn behind the wheel.”
The look on his face almost made her laugh aloud. “No one drives my rig but me,” he growled, making her giggle.
“Now, I was only joking, just like you were yesterday.”
“Oh. I knew that.”
Cal strapped the baby into the harness and showed Twiggy how it worked. Then he made his way to the driver’s seat and set back out on the road. He felt as if he hadn’t slept in weeks, and it was all because of her.
After seeing those girlie magazines, he was already excited. But spending the night in a prone position next to Twiggy just about drove him mad. She looked like an angel lying there with her hair sprawled out around her, holding the baby to her chest. She smelled good. Like flowers. That was a scent that his truck had never had before.
God, he wanted to kiss her, but didn’t think it would have been appropriate. Not after his past record with her. Even if she did try to throw out his magazines and make him eat healthy food, he kind of liked it. He’d been a loner for so long now that having a female in his presence who actually cared about him felt kind of good.
“The drive from here on is through flat country and it’s going to be pretty boring. You might want to just stay back there and read a book or something.”
“We’ll see,” she answered.
About an hour later, Twiggy poked her head into the cab area. “The baby is sleeping, but she spit up all over me. Is it possible for me to take a quick shower while you’re driving?”
“Sure,” he said. “Knock yourself out.”
“I’ll be fast.”
She disappeared into the bathroom, and he saw the door open and her hand stick out, throwing down her clothes. He kept an eye on the baby in the rearview mirror just in case she awoke.
“Well, what do you think about having two women on board?” he asked Burrito.
The dog let out a sigh and looked at him with wide eyes.
“Hey, at least the baby’s no longer wailing night and day,” he told the dog.
He heard the bathroom door click open and saw Twiggy poke her head out. “I . . . uh . . . forgot a towel,” she told him.
“Well, you know where they are.”
“I can’t come out there naked to get it. Can’t you pull over and hand one to me?”
“Twiggy, I’m working here and traffic is heavy. As it is, there is construction up ahead that I’m dreading. Every minute counts or I’m going to lose this account if I don’t keep moving.”
“I understand. Sorry,” she said. “Well, don’t look.”
“My eyes are on the road, honey. Just get the towel and stop being so shy.”
She stepped out of the bathroom, and Cal couldn’t help himself from looking at her in the rearview mirror. She ran fast to get the towel, but it didn’t stop him from seeing her perky, bare breasts . . . or the dark thatch of hair down below.
So she wasn’t a blond after all. He knew it! The Twiggy he remembered had mousey brown hair and boring brown eyes. He would bet his bottom dollar she had blue contacts, too.
An air horn made him jump and his eyes shot out the front window. He noticed another semi passing him by, and realized it was his friend, Tom Baker. Tom laughed and waved at him, zipping past him and pulling in front of him next. Cal couldn’t stop thinking about seeing Twiggy naked. He lit a cigarette and took a puff, trying to calm down. Then he grabbed for the CB radio.
“Breaker, breaker. You are a donkey’s ass, Breadman. You almost made me jump out of my skin.”
“Hey, I can’t help it, Tex. Next time, keep your eyes on the road. What was it that held your interest that you didn’t even see me?”
“Who are you talking to?” Twiggy walked up with wet hair, and smelling like lilacs mixed wit
h his manly deodorant soap. “I hope you don’t mind that I borrowed your soap. I didn’t think to bring mine into the shower. It smells a little manly, but I covered it up with some of my lilac lotion.”
“Twiggy, sit down before you fall down,” he told her. “Burrito, get in back.”
“Twiggy?” came Tom’s voice, making Cal realize he was still holding the button on the CB. “I’d say you have another dog with you, but know that’s not true. Not unless this one knows how to talk and take a shower.” He started laughing, having heard every word they’d said.
“Look, I’ve got a passenger on board,” he told Tom.
“Well, who is the little lady? Pick her up on the road?”
“No, he didn’t,” she said, and then grabbed the mic from Cal, pushing the button and talking straight into it. “I’m the babysitter.”
“Really? Hoo, wee,” Tuesday heard the man say. “I think I need a babysitter, too. How about you, Moose?”
“Oh, hell, Moose is on a run, too?” asked Cal, pulling the mic away from her. He hadn’t had the CB turned on much, Tuesday realize, probably because of her and the baby. If he had been listening to it more, she was sure he would have known who was on the road.
“That’s a big ten-four,” came a deep voice that she supposed was Moose. “What’s the Beaver look like Tex?”
“Beaver?” asked Twiggy.
“Blond on the mountain but shadowed in the valley,” Cal answered.
At first, she didn’t know what he meant until his trucker friends started making sexual remarks.
Tuesday was horrified to realize they were talking about her. She reached out and slapped Cal’s hand, making him drop his cigarette. It fell to the floor and he stomped it out with his boot.
“Damn, that’s going to leave a burn mark. Why did you hit me, Twiggy?”
“Cal Reeves, you lied to me.”
“How did I lie?”
“You said you weren’t going to look when I ran out of the shower! You watched me in the rearview mirror, just admit it.”
“So what if I did?”
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