The Good Guys Box Set: TRUCKER, DANCER, DROPOUT, and A Trucker Wedding

by Jamie Schlosser

  Champ’s story was really fucking sad. Now I felt bad for finding his midnight rantings amusing. He wasn’t crazy—he was heartbroken. Although, I guess sometimes the two went hand in hand.

  I lifted my beer to take a drink.

  He glanced over at me with bloodshot eyes. “If you want my advice? Don’t ever give up on something just because it’s hard.”

  My head turned to look at him so quickly I thought I heard something crack in my neck. He’d just said the exact same words my mom always said in my dream. That couldn’t be a coincidence.

  “Thanks, Champ,” I said, hopping down off the stool and abandoning my drink.

  I needed to get to Ellie. Make her listen to me. Make her realize I wasn’t giving up.

  But first, I had to make a stop and talk to the guy with all the wisdom.

  “I need some advice,” I told my dad as I sat down on his couch, not bothering with small talk. “Relationship advice.”

  “The squeaky wheel gets the grease,” he spouted off one of his wise sayings, leaning back in the recliner.

  My lips tipped up because he was ridiculous. “That doesn’t exactly apply to the situation, Dad.”

  “Measure twice, cut once?”

  Still smiling, I shook my head. “Still not working. I don’t understand a lot about women, but I know Ellie’s scared. She’s afraid I won’t stick around, just like her asshole ex.”

  His face lit up as he thought of the next line. “You’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t.”

  I chuckled. “Okay, you might be getting warmer with that one. But seriously. I don’t know what else I can do to show Ellie that I’m in this, that she can trust me.”

  Pausing, something a lot like regret filled his eyes. “I think I need to apologize to you, son. I’m sorry I didn’t help you stay in touch with Brielle.”

  “It’s not your fault, Dad. I’m the one who decided to stop writing to her.”

  “I’m the parent. You were just a kid. It was my responsibility to help you keep the friendship going. I could’ve driven you there. I could’ve encouraged you to call her.” He sighed and looked away. “I have a confession to make.”

  “What confession?” I asked, confused.

  “Brielle’s parents called a couple times after we moved… She wanted to talk to you but I told them you weren’t home. I didn’t lie about that—you really were out and about, probably raising hell with Travis, but I didn’t tell you to call her back on purpose.” I stared at him, speechless. But he wasn’t finished. “That’s not all. The spring after we moved… They called me again. Brielle wanted to see you and they offered to drive her here for a day.” He took a breath, as if what he was about to say was difficult. “I asked them not to. I told them not to come.”

  “What?” My voice came out in a harsh whisper. “Why?”

  “After we moved, I was happier. I felt better here. New town. New house. New friends. And you seemed happy, too. To tell you the truth, I wanted to cut all ties to the life we had before,” he said, staring down at his clasped hands. “Your mother would’ve been so disappointed in me.”

  “Dad,” I said, feeling shocked and betrayed.

  “I made a bad judgment call, based on my own selfish reasons. I’ve felt guilty about it for a long time. I’m so sorry, son.”

  Both of us were quiet for a minute as my dad hung his head in shame. As I looked at him—my hero, the man who had provided for me, the man who beat the odds by building a successful business in this town—the feelings of betrayal were quickly replaced with empathy.

  He’d lost his wife—his high school sweetheart, the woman he’d made a life with, the mother of his child. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like go through that.

  Looking over at the wall that displayed all our pictures, I took in the sight of the life he’d given me. Camping trips. Fishing at Elmer Lake. Blowing out ten candles on a birthday cake. Travis and me standing in front of the shop when we were teenagers, proudly wearing our new uniforms.

  “You did the best you could. I really believe that,” I told my dad, wanting him to know how grateful I was, regardless of his mistakes. “I’m not unhappy with the way things turned out. I just need to figure out how to get things back on track with Ellie.”

  Nodding, he scratched at his temple while he seemed lost in thought. “Well, I guess I’m pretty out of practice when it comes to love.” He shrugged. “If your mom were still here, she’d know what to do.”

  “You’re the most determined person I know,” I told him. “You never give up and I admire that about you. I think I’m a lot like you. What is it you always say? The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree?”

  “You think I was always this way?” He huffed out a laugh and shook his head. “Absolutely not. Your mother gave me one hell of a talking to before she passed away. She could tell I was going to have trouble picking up the pieces after she was gone. Said I couldn’t let you down like that. She taught me how to be driven to succeed. But you? You were born that way. You got that from her, not me. If you’re the apple, then she was the tree.”

  “I didn’t know that,” I said quietly, feeling like I was seeing my dad through new eyes. When my mom died, I’d been too young to remember much about her other than how she made me feel—safe and loved. “I remember the smell of her cooking and that she used to cry when she read me that book The Giving Tree. Sunflowers were her favorite and she hated the smell of roses. She was the best mom. I guess she would’ve had to be to raise someone as stubborn as me.”

  Smirking at my dad, I noticed his eyes looked misty.

  “Remember that time I said a swear word and she washed my mouth out with soap?” I asked, wanting to bring up a funny memory we could both laugh at. “That was some nasty shit, but I convinced her I liked the taste. Like it was some sort of treat or something. She never washed my mouth out again.”

  Dad guffawed. “That was quite the act you put on. I tried to tell her you were pulling her leg, but she was convinced you loved the taste of soap. You even went as far as asking for it after dinner for dessert.”

  We both laughed again, and it felt good to be able to talk about Mom this way.

  “If I could convince Mom that I wanted to eat soap, there’s gotta be a way to get Ellie to believe I won’t leave her,” I half-joked.

  “You’re going to need some kind of grand gesture, I suppose,” he suggested. “Something to show her you want to be with her forever.”

  “Forever…” I trailed off as the best idea ever came to me. Standing abruptly, I grabbed my truck keys from my pocket and rushed toward the door. “You’re a genius, Dad.”

  “I do what I can.” He was chuckling as I closed the door behind me.

  Ellie’s ex hadn’t been hard to track down. It was amazing what you could find out on the internet.

  Joshua Harrington—originally from Hemswell, Illinois—was now a resident of Frankford, Indiana. In high school, he was the second-string quarterback, runner-up for homecoming king, and almost valedictorian of his graduating class.

  That was the thing about Joshy-boy—everything about him was almost.

  Just like he’d almost ended up with the hottest woman ever. Just like he’d almost been a father to the coolest little girl in the world.

  He was the epitome of potential gone to waste.

  Snickering from behind some bushes, I watched as that sack of shit tried to put out the flaming sack of shit that was currently beneath the soles of his fancy-ass Sperrys. He rapidly stomped his feet to put out the fire while choking on the foul-smelling smoke. It was safe to say his shoes were ruined.

  That was confirmed when the whiny asshole practically shrieked, “Whoever did this, I’m going to find you! I just bought these shoes!” He angrily waved his fist in the air before going back to trying to scrape the burnt crap onto his front stoop. “Dammit,” he muttered before giving up, kicking off the shoes, and going back inside his upscale townhouse.

&nb
sp; Honestly, the trip to Frankford wasn’t necessary, but I was pissed and needed to take it out on someone. Things with Ellie had been great until she ran into her ex. He’d made her sad, made her question her self-worth, made her have doubts about our relationship.

  The fiery bag-o-poo prank was classic.

  Was it original?

  No.

  Was it juvenile? Immature? Petty?

  Yeah.

  Was it worth the two-hour drive?

  Hell yeah.

  The prank hadn’t been my original plan, though. At first, I’d wanted to confront him face to face. Have a nice little chat. Okay, maybe that wasn’t quite true. Maybe I wanted to punch him in the face a few times.

  But just as I had pulled up to the curb down the block, I saw him leave his house to go on a run with his Rottweiler. Not more than 20 feet away from my truck, the dog took a giant crap in the grass, and guess who didn’t bother to pick it up?

  That’s right—Joshy-boy.

  I just happened to have a paper bag and some matches in my truck.

  Coincidence? Fate was more like it. The asshole was destined to meet a burning pile of shit on his doorstep.

  All I had to do was wait for him to get back, then I made my move.

  Since it was still daylight, I risked someone catching me in the act. No one stopped me, though. Either I wasn’t spotted, or his neighbors thought he deserved it just as much as I did.

  I stared at Josh’s door for a few minutes, knowing how easy it would be to go up there and pound his face in. The motherfucker deserved it. My hands itched with the urge and I had to clench my fists to fight it off.

  The only thing stopping me was Ellie. I knew it wasn’t what she would want.

  Plus, I wouldn’t put it past the asshole to press charges and the last thing I needed was to get arrested.

  I needed to keep my eyes on the prize.

  Ellie and Ava.

  After hopping back into my truck, I drove out of Frankford with a smile on my face.

  Two hours later, I parked my truck in front of a house I never thought I’d see again. I knew things about this house that the current residents probably didn’t. Like the fact that there was a dead cat named Tootles buried in the backyard. And in the attic there was a loose floorboard where hidden treasures used to be kept.

  I took a deep breath as I made my way up to the white two-story house.

  As I walked up the driveway, I searched the concrete pavement for what I knew I’d see. Kneeling down, I placed my hand over the much smaller handprint, noticing the massive size difference. Right next to my handprint was another—only that one belonged to Ellie.

  Memories assaulted me as I stepped onto the familiar porch and knocked on the yellow front door. I could’ve sworn it used to be blue.

  When it opened, a tall elderly man looked back at me.

  “One of those handprints in your driveway is mine,” I blurted out, awkwardly pointing over my shoulder.

  He smiled a little, his laugh lines deepening. “Can we help you?”

  The door opened a little wider and a small old woman appeared at his side.

  Another ‘we’ couple. It gave me hope that they might understand my predicament and take pity on me.

  “Yes. Yes, you can. You don’t know me, but I have a really huge favor to ask.”

  The morning after Ava’s birthday I had a moment of clarity. All night long I had tossed and turned as memories of Colton flashed through my mind.

  Happy memories. All the good times we’d had as kids. The way he’d barged into my life and refused to leave. His eagerness to include Ava and the bond they effortlessly formed. I thought about the hot nights we had together, the way he lit my body up like no one else could.

  Also, Chloe had given me one hell of a talking to at Ava’s party. When she pointed out that my concerns just sounded like a bunch of crappy excuses, I told her that Colton had said the same thing. I tried to find him to talk, but he’d already left.

  As I rubbed my eyes, I picked up my phone to check the time and saw that I had a new text. When I opened it, I smiled.

  Sometime in the middle of the night, Colton had sent me a picture. We were in my car and it was obvious Ava had taken it from the backseat. Colton and I were looking at each other, but it wasn’t my face I was drawn to—it was his. The expression on his face while he looked at me took my breath away. So much love. Unmitigated happiness.

  This. This was an honest representation of us.

  When it came down to it, I wasn’t scared of Colton. I was just afraid of history repeating itself. There was still a chance he could hurt me, but I decided to stop being a coward. I loved him enough to risk it.

  The crippling fear and anxiety was gone. Now I felt peace.

  And guilt. So much guilt for what I had put Colton through over the last week. I thought about calling him or sending a text, but it didn’t seem good enough.

  A simple apology over the phone wasn’t going to cut it. Adequate groveling was in order. So, after making sure my parents could watch Ava this evening, I went to the store to get my groveling supplies.

  On my way to Colton’s apartment, I mentally rehearsed what I would say to him. There were only so many ways to apologize, and ‘I’m sorry for basically ripping your heart out’ didn’t quite have the ring to it I was hoping for.

  Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted by a loud pop and my car started bouncing unevenly. Pulling over to the side of the road, I got out of the car to confirm my suspicions.

  I looked down at the flat tire. It wasn’t just flat—the rubber was completely shredded, as if the whole thing blew up.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered.

  I’d never had a flat before. This was horrible timing. Of course, there was never a good time to get a blowout.

  I was only 10 minutes outside of Tolson. I could call Colton and ask him to come help me, but that would ruin the surprise. Besides, I knew how to change a tire now, thanks to him.

  Smiling, I imagined his smug face when I would have to admit that he was right—tire changing was a skill that came in handy.

  After popping the trunk, I took out the spare tire and gathered the tools I would need, then set them down by my car.

  As I dropped down to the ground, I cringed at how muddy it was on the side of the road. There was no getting around it—I was going to be a mess by the time I got done.

  I went through all the steps, just like Colton taught me. Much to my surprise, three people stopped to offer their assistance during the process.

  “Do you need us to call someone for you?”

  “Want some help?”

  “Do you need a ride?”

  I politely declined all their offers, but now I could see why people loved Tolson so much. Everyone was so friendly.

  I grew up in a small town, but in all those years I’d never had people offer to help me unless it was for their own personal gain. In Hemswell, no one offered to make balloon animals for a kid’s birthday party, just because they loved doing it. People didn’t stop to ask a stranger if they needed help on the side of the road.

  In the past several weeks, I’d been shown what it was like to be accepted. To be loved. And I wanted it all—the man, the town, the friends. If I was being completely honest I wanted the balloon animals, too. I just needed to be brave enough to believe I could have it.

  After twenty minutes and some unattractive grunting, I had successfully attached the spare to my car and I was back on the road.

  Now I stood on Colton’s doorstep with sweaty palms, a speeding heart rate, and muddy jeans. I adjusted the paper sack on my hip and when the door swung open, Angel’s surprised face stared back at me. But then her surprise gave way to a big, genuine smile.

  “Come in,” she said, sounding excited to see me. “I didn’t realize you were coming over.”

  “Well, I didn’t really let Colton know.” I shrugged. “I thought I would surprise him.”

 
“Oh.” Angel’s face fell and, for a second, I was afraid she was going to tell me he didn’t want to see me. “Colton isn’t home right now. But you can hang out and wait if you want.”

  I glanced at the clock on the stove and noted that it was after 5pm.

  “I thought he would’ve been home by now,” I said awkwardly as I started to doubt my plan.

  Travis’s voice came from the hallway as he appeared. “He usually is but he got off early today. Said he had something he needed to do but he should be home by this evening.”

  “Oh, okay.” I tried to hide the disappointment in my voice. “Well, I can just come back later—”

  “Don’t be silly,” Angel cut me off. “You can stick around until he gets back. Travis and I were supposed to go out tonight, but we can stay.”

  I shook my head, surprised that she would consider cancelling her plans to accommodate me. “I don’t want to impose on your date. Really,” I insisted.

  Angel’s face scrunched up as she thought for a second. “Well, I think you should wait for him. I know he’ll be happy to see you.”

  “You think?” I asked, hopeful.

  She nodded her head enthusiastically. “Definitely. Just make yourself at home.”

  Travis stepped up behind Angel.

  “I’m pretty sure if I let you leave, Colton would kill me.” He chuckled. “Since I enjoy living, I’m gonna have to insist.”

  Grinning, I set my bags down on the kitchen counter. “Okay.”

  After Travis and Angel said goodbye, I prepared dinner and lit a candle to set the mood. Then all I could do was wait.

  When I got home I toed off my boots, and the only source of light in the apartment was the dim glow from a candle on the table.

  I flipped on the kitchen light. Two paper plates with sandwiches and Cheetos sat untouched, and I wondered if I’d interrupted one of Travis and Angel’s romantic dinners.