A/N You guys make me happy to be writing this story. Thank you so much for your comments / reviews and the PMs, follows, favorites, and to the silent readers who keep coming back for more. You make this special for me.
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"Gosh all of this agricultural land out here with these beautiful lush looking fields, I hadn't expected it to look like this Daryl."
"Yeah it's nice through here but it ain't gonna look like this long, then we're gonna be gettin' into the desert. Well hell this here is the desert too but this is irrigated desert. I guess this whole area used ta be mostly date palms, then so called progress come along n got rid of a lotta the palms when more buildin' started. But they still grow plenty of 'em an harvest them dates, they even got a Date Festival every year. If we had the time we'd stop and get us a date shake. It sounds weird but they're pretty damn good." He glanced over at her with a small grin, "Next time Baby when we ain't in such a hurry."
"Up here ahead real soon everythin' is gonna change, gonna be empty desert. There'll be a tiny little town here an there but they're few and far between. The next bigger town we're comin' to is Blythe, California. It's still small as cities go, around twenty thousand, it's right on the Arizona border an the Colorado River. They grow a lotta melons out that way, an oh man them watermelons are some a the best. Then on the Arizona side is Ehrenburg. I stayed in an RV park there once waitin' ta unload. It was right on the river an real pretty country but damn ya can smell the farm animals, dairy cows."
She was looking out the window taking it all in, "I just can't believe how much everything in my life has changed in such a short time, so many things are different. Earlier this morning I was thinking how just a few days ago I was a girl who'd never traveled anywhere, and now I feel like I've been all over the West."
"Well by the time we're done you'll have seen alotta the desert southwest. Up further north a here the west is much different country. Someday we'll go."
"It's exciting for me to see all these places and I never would have seen any of it without you." Her tone changed as she stretched to reach across the console and put her hand on his. Her voice was soft and full of feeling, "You've shown me so much about so many things."
He glanced over quickly, making eye contact. The brief look between them told her that her words had affected him. He turned his hand palm up to quickly give her hand a gentle squeeze.
They were silent for a few moments and then she noticed him chewing on that lip. She knew something was on his mind, "What Daryl? Is something wrong?"
"Nah not bad wrong, really it's just that I'm feelin' kinda guilty. When I agreed ta take this load I didn't have you n Claire with me. I knew it was gonna be an ass buster but I only had me ta think about. So I'ma tell ya now, if it gets ta be too much ya speak up. An I don't want you n Claire tryin' ta hold out just cuz ya know I'm in a hurry. Ya know, if ya gotta use the bathroom or whatever like that. Believe me Baby, if for some reason sumthin' goes wrong n I don't get the load there in time for the bonus it'll be okay. It ain't like I ain't gonna still get paid the loads' goin' rate."
"Daryl we're fine and this is a pretty darn comfortable way to travel. Shoot, we have a bed if we want to rest, plenty of food and drinks, toys, books all of it. You said I was strong well Claire is too, we'll be fine. And besides, it's only for a short time and I know that."
"Yeah like I said I'ma have the hammer down all the way. We already been about 245 miles today, we got another 240 before we hit Phoenix, then we're gonna shoot north on I-17 and we'll pick up I-40 at Flagstaff. That's roughly another 145 miles. From Flagstaff we're goin' another 187 miles ta Gallup, New Mexico. By then I'ma have 12 ta 15 hours a drivin' time, dependin' on how things go, not ta mention the other shit we done today. So I'ma need ta catch some rest."
"That just seems like way too much and I just I wish there was something I could do to help you."
"I told ya before you n Claire help me by bein' here with me." Another quick glance over and a small grin, "It just so happens I like your company, I like it a lot."
How did he do that? How did he always manage to say or do some little thing that made her unreasonably happy? She thought back to when she'd begun this journey with him. It hadn't been long ago and yet everything then had been so different. Everything was so completely wrong. She and Claire had nothing except the clothes on their backs. She was beaten physically, emotionally and spiritually. She was scared to death, she remembered clearly just how scared she was to go with him, and she was just as scared not to.
He'd appeared to be so rough and although he'd been kind, it also seemed like he could have a very low boiling point.
Everything about him and his appearance had intimidated her. There was no denying he was handsome but he just seemed so big and so broad that it was somehow frightening. His hair was too long and unkempt and his face was covered in scruff. His voice had a distinct and menacing timbre to it, like gravel being crushed. And he had those piercing steel blue eyes she swore could bore a hole right through a person.
When she looked at Daryl now she couldn't think of a thing she'd change about him.
"So where is it we go from Gallup?"
"From there I'ma try ta make it ta Ft. Smith, Arkansas. It's a long damn way, just under 900 miles. After doin' nearly that much today I'ma definitely need ta stop for a couple quick naps here n there along the way. I'll catch a real good rest when we stop at Ft. Smith, at least six hours. From there we'll be on the home stretch, 670 miles ta Atlanta."
"Then we're goin' up in the mountains, we're goin' home Baby for at least 30 days. If I can figure how ta make it work out I'ma make this my last trip. I's gonna wait another year but if you n Claire decide ya really do wanna stay with me, I think I oughta try n make a change sooner."
That hit her right square in the heart, her voice was barely above a whisper, "Daryl I can't imagine being anywhere except with you. But you can't be adjusting your whole life and all of your plans because you think you have to take care of us." She felted flooded with emotion and she could feel the tears beginning to pool in her eyes.
"Yeah I know I don't have ta Beth, I ain't gonna try an do it cuz I think I have ta, it's cuz I know that I want to. What I don't want is ta be keepin' you n Claire in a truck out on the highway all the time. Some guys do it, practically raise their family in a truck. That sure as hell ain't what I want, we'll all of us be better off at home."
And again he'd proved to her the man he was.
He pulled in the Flying J Truck Stop in Blythe, filled up the tank and they all went in to use the restrooms. Beth was always grateful the big rig regularly needed fuel because she knew there would be routine bathroom stops. Oh she also knew he'd pull over any time she or Claire needed him to, but she hated to have to ask him.
They didn't delay at the station, they did their business and were back in the rig and back on I-10. "We're only about a hundred n fifty miles from Phoenix. That place gets real busy, lotsa traffic. I'll be glad ta turn off I-10 onto I-17, and then when we get ta I-40 it ain't quite as busy."
Traveling through the desert southwest baffled her. It seemed like there was so much sameness and vast expanses of nothingness, and then suddenly a town would seem to have sprung up out of nowhere.
Phoenix was one of those western cities that has spread out and engulfed every smaller town around it. It was hard to judge where one town ended and a new one began. And the traffic congestion surprised her. He'd told her it would be busy but it was hard to imagine until she saw it. She resigned herself to the idea that she knew nothing about what was coming, and she was so thankful that Daryl did.
She couldn't believe the way he maneuvered that big rig through the city traffic, like it was just such everyday stuff, so effortless. His legs seemed to be moving constantly while he worked the clutch, the accelerator and the brake. At the same time his right hand, arm and shoulder were all fully engaged and busily working the gears. His eyes quickly shifted from straight ahead to the rear view mirror, the side mirrors and back. Not only did she find it fascinating to watch, and she admired him his skill, but there was also no denying there was something very sexy about watching this man do his job.
When they turned onto the 17 she didn't notice any decrease in traffic right away, but after a few miles it became less and less. She felt relieved by that, something about all those cars and people made her feel a little anxious. His movements slowed too, they weren't as constant on these roads because of the lessened traffic and more consistent speeds.
They'd traveled in a comfortable silence for close to 40 miles up I-17. Claire and Beth were sitting up front with him coloring in one of Claire's new books, the radio was playing that classic country music and Daryl was feeling relaxed. "Up here just about another eight miles or so is the Agua Fria National Monument. It's huge Beth, 71,000 acres. I'd really like ta take the time ta do a little explorin' there someday. It has a buncha ancient ruins and theirs a deep canyon. I read there's more'n 450 prehistoric sites covered with petroglyphs, an there's rock art where those ancient people craved right into the surface a big ol' boulders an on cliff faces. Maybe we'll get ta check it out sometime."
"You've given yourself quite the education Daryl. I love hearing all that stuff and trying to imagine it in my mind. Someday I'd love to travel around just enjoying it all with you." He glanced over quick enough to give her a small grin. And again they rode in silence.
The closer they got to Flagstaff the more she noticed how the speed of the truck had changed, how the sounds the big rig made seemed different, and how he was keeping far to the right hand side of the road.
"Something changed Daryl, why has the sound of the truck changed and why are you driving over so close to the edge?" Her tone wasn't admonishing it was curious with just a hint of nervousness.
"We been makin' some big changes in elevation. This mornin' at the beach we was at sea level, in Phoenix we was just over a thousand feet, when we get ta Flagstaff it'll be a hair under 7000 feet. We're steadily climbin' now and this big Pete's engine has a full load ta pull. It's doin' it just fine. What ya notice is we're usin' different gears n we're movin' slower. We're stayin' over ta the side ta let all them other faster rigs pass us by. And just ta let ya know, you're also gonna feel a big temperature difference in an around Flagstaff. It's cooler mountain air, but we'll be gettin' back on I-40 an back in the heat soon enough, it'll be more like I-10."
"Well is the truck having trouble, is everything okay?"
"Everythin's just like it's s'posed ta be an you ain't s'posed ta be worryin' about that stuff, so don't. I promise I'll let ya know if there's any kinda trouble."
"We're gettin' real close ta Flagstaff now. They call it the gateway ta the Grand Canyon. That's the place I really wanna see, the Grand Canyon. I been wantin' ta see it since I's a little kid n heard about it in school. One a these days I'll get there."
"We're gonna pull in at a truck stop just on the east edge a Flagstaff. We'll get fuel an you'll probably wanna fix sumthin' ta eat. We been a ways since we had breakfast in Indio. We'll take us a twenty minute break or so ta eat." A thought struck him and he quickly turned his glance to the child, "If Claire eats her lunch maybe we'll even get us some ice cream. Whaddya think Little Girl?"
He'd noticed how much that small barely there smile had changed as their trip went on, and now she smiled big and bright at him, "Chockyet."
"Well yeah a course it's gonna be chocolate, it's the best kind."
And her Mama smiled big and bright too, "It is."
He was glad the idea had come to him. They were so sweet and it took so little to make them happy. He still couldn't imagine that anyone would want to hurt them, and he knew the thought of that would always make him angry.
Flagstaff was bustling but they didn't have to slow down much and not long after he transitioned onto I-40 he pulled into the Little America Truck Stop. He drove right up to the diesel pump setup designed especially to accommodate big rigs.
As he jumped down from the truck she was happy to see how much more easily he seemed to be getting around. His wounds were healing up and when they got back to Georgia she knew it would be time to remove those stitches.
He filled the fuel tank and pulled the truck over. "Alright ya ready ta use the bathroom? I know I sure as hell am." He helped her down first and then reached for Claire. It seemed the little girl was missing some attention and she wanted him to carry her again like he had been. She wrapped those tiny arms around his neck and it gave him a good feeling to know this little girl cared for him, and even more important, she trusted him.
He didn't need to remind Beth to wait for him, they just smiled at each other as she and Claire walked in the ladies room. When they came out he was waiting right there for them with a smile and a nod of his head. "Alright since you gals seem ta have a real clear idea a what ya like, you pick the ice creams." He was not at all surprised to see the chocolate ice cream bars they chose. "Those outta be real good n I can hardly wait ta see what Claire's face look like after she eats one."
Beth made them all sandwiches with sliced fruit and a pre made potato salad. "Gee it's just not good like homemade is it Daryl?"
"Ya know how ta make a good tater salad do ya?"
"Well I guess I think it's good. I used to make it all the time with my Mama. Daddy loved it." And he saw the sadness quickly cross her face from thinking about these people she obviously cared for and had lost.
He reached a hand to lightly touch her arm. "I'm sure yours is delicious an I'm hopin' sometime real soon you're gonna make me some a that. In the meantime, I like this here just fine cuz I guess I don't know no better."
And that brought the smile back to her face.
"Ya gonna get all that lunch in your tummy Claire or do I gotta eat all the ice cream by myself?" She gave him that little look where she tried to appear so angry and fierce, damn she was a cute little thing. And he went along like he was scared of her, "Please don't ya be mad at me now I's just kiddin'."
And he was right about that chocolate ice cream bar, she had it all over her face by the time it was half eaten. "Dang girl I think ya got more on ya than in ya. C'mon we'll go back in an get cleaned up 'fore we leave."
He could see they were both tired and when he put that big rig in gear and he turned to Beth, "Ya oughta take Claire in the bunk she's pooped out. Y'all can have a little rest. We still got about 187 miles ta Gallup."
She agreed with him knowing her daughter had had a very long day already. She felt bad Daryl wouldn't rest for at least a little while. But she knew it wouldn't do any good to try and push it. When he had his mind set on his work, on what he felt he needed to do, it was set.
It wasn't five minutes until the little girl was sleeping hard, but rather than nap with her Beth made her way back to the cab and him. She just didn't want to leave him on his own up there. "Whaddya doin' Baby? You're s'pose ta be nappin'."
She fibbed just a little, "Oh I just couldn't relax enough to rest."
"Well maybe it's cuz ya didn't give it much time. I told ya before Beth, just cuz I'm awake don't mean you gotta be awake. Ya need your rest."
She got just a little bit feisty with him then, "Oh yeah, well what about you? Don't you need your rest? You're the one doin' all the work."
"I can't lie Baby, I kinda dig it when ya get a little ornery with me 'bout sumthin'. But please don't ya worry, I done this shit a lotta times n I'ma be fine."
Once they'd traveled out of the forested areas just east of Winona, AZ she saw the dramatic change in the landscape. Gone were the towering trees and rugged mountains, there was a more pronounced flatness and ruggedness to the terrain. Off miles in the distance were reddish colored mountains and huge rock formations, they almost looked striped from the color variations. Close to the highway they were mostly surrounded by some sort of sage brush, rocks and reddish colored earth.
He asked a question that seemed to come from out of the blue, "Ya know how ta drive Beth?"
"Kind of I guess, well maybe not really. I hadn't driven much at home except for a real old and real small John Deere and a four-wheeler. I had my learner's permit and I was just learning to drive the pickup, I remember I was so jittery that Maggie teased me something awful." She laughed softly at the memory, "I think it was her fault I was jittery, she made me a nervous wreck between bossing me around and laughing at me for stalling the engine. Obviously I haven't driven anything since I left the farm."
"Would ya wanna try n learn?"
"You don't mean learn how to drive this do you?" She had a moment of panic.
"Nah I wouldn't make ya try this Baby, but ya know a pickup or a small car a some kind. Would ya wanna learn then? You'd be able ta get around on your own an such."
"Would you be the one to teach me?" He heard the nervous tone in her voice.
"Yeah I would, wouldn't want no one else ta show ya. I promise I'll try not ta be too bossy an I won't laugh at ya." He hoped he could keep that promise to her, he didn't think he was long on patience.
"But would I have to go places without you?" There it was. He figured it was coming and he didn't want to turn her away from the idea, he hoped she'd grow into it.
"Baby I told ya I ain't makin' ya do nuthin' ya don't wanna do. Might be fun though we could go ta town n you can drive me."
That made that bright smile come back, "That would be nice if I could do things for you."
He supposed that was as close as this were getting today, and it was a start. There were going to be a lot of little steps before she got some more confidence.
They were just passed Winslow but not yet to Joseph City when Claire woke. She was cranky and a little out of sorts, he hadn't seen that side of her. "Whatsa matter little girl, ya have a bad dream or sumthin'?" Mostly he figured her mood had to do with her being a small child who'd been confined in a truck for endless hours.
Her Mama managed to calm her with some juice and a story from the new book. He stole as many glances as he felt was safe out there on the highway, because the way the two of them were together made him feel a warmness right in the center of him. They were so sweet and pure-hearted, and somehow in spite of all of their terrible experiences, they had so much innocence.
They traveled on through Holbrook and just past there Sun Valley, and on through the Petrified Forest National Park, and then a short way out of Houck, Arizona they crossed the state line into New Mexico. They were practically within sight of Gallup.
He pulled into Love's Truck Stop and even though he still had a lot of fuel he went ahead and topped off the tank. As he pulled the rig over into the open truck parking he was way beyond tired, but first things first. "Do ya need ta use the rest room now, or should we give Claire a little snack before?"
"We can snack first." She knew he was exhausted and she hurriedly prepared a snack of cheese, crackers and thinly sliced deli meats for them. None of them were overly hungry and it didn't take long to satisfy them.
They got their kits and he carried Claire as they made their way to the restrooms to do what they had to do. He asked the guy behind the counter, "Ya got a WiFi code?" The guy didn't seem the least bit interested as he slid a small piece of paper across the counter with the code.
"Thanks man."
When they were back in the truck she put on Claire's pajamas but she just stayed in her clothes, knowing they might not be there long. Up front in the cab he slipped his shirt and jeans off and pulled on the board shorts.
He got Peppa on the laptop for Claire, and he and Beth went up front where she tended to his wounds. "They look so much better Daryl, I'm so relieved to see that."
"Yeah they ain't hardly botherin' me at all now. Ya know they're just a little tender n a little itchy but nuthin' terrible. I s'pose these scars'll blend in with all my other scars." She leaned down and kissed the back of his head and then his neck right there by his ear, and she whispered to him, "I don't see your scars Daryl I just see you, someone I care for."
He turned and twined his hand through her hair, gently pulling her toward him. He kissed her deeply, warmly, and as tired as he was his desire for her couldn't be denied.
But he did his best to quash that desire and he told her, "I'ma go ahead n climb up top Beth, Claire can watch her cartoon an you two do whatever else you might want. Ya ain't gonna bother me, I'm almost too tired ta move."
But he wasn't too tired to give Claire a kiss on top of her head and say, "G'night little girl." And he loved the reward of this new big smile of hers.
He also wasn't too tired to embrace Beth and hold her closely to him just for that few moments, "G'night Baby I'll see ya in five hours or so."
"Goodnight Daryl, I hope you sleep soundly."
Beth and Claire stayed awake for about another hour after he'd gone to sleep, but Beth had been up for hours herself and she was having trouble keeping her eyes open. "We have to go to sleep now Claire, it's late and we'll be up early again." The little girl didn't argue at all, she was every bit as tired as the adults.
There's nothing quite like a storm in the desert, especially a dry lightning storm that brings with it no rain, no relief from the heat. Just the booming of the thunder and the cracking of the lightning. And those vast empty open skies lend themselves to putting on quite a show. There are no city noises to dull the powerful sound of the thunder, and no city lights to dim the brilliance of the lightning. The colors are intense, lightning in purples and pinks and shades of yellow and orange, it's a true to testament to the power and the beauty that is nature.
For Claire it was nothing but scary. She woke on the sound of that roaring thunder and grabbed hold of her Mama, terrified. Beth held her close but the little girl shook with fear. Then a particularly loud roll of thunder boomed, followed by a crack of lightning that brightly illuminated the whole interior of the big rig. The little girl let out a scream the like of which her Mama had never heard.
He woke immediately to the sound of the child's frightened screech. Before he even realized what he was doing he'd jumped from the bunk. He was too tired and scared himself to be mindful of his language, "Whatsa matter is she okay? What the fuck happened?"
Her Mama was now sitting at the edge of the bunk with the child cradled in her arms and inconsolable. "It's the storm Daryl, it's scaring her and I'm not a comfort, I'm nearly as frightened as her."
He sat himself next to Beth and he took the child from her, holding the little girl close to him with one arm, while he kept the other arm around her Mama. Before he could speak a word of comfort to either of them the sky let loose with another ear piercing roar of thunder and a nearly blinding flash of purple lightning.
Claire threw her tiny arms around his neck and she nearly choked him with the tightness of her hold. Her face burrowed into his neck and she loudly begged, "Daddy make stop pwease Daddy."
In that split second every feeling that could come to a person came to him.
His overwhelming fear was for her fear, because he did not want this child to ever be afraid. He was driven by his love for the little girl, his heart swelled with that love and his instincts kicked in. He pulled her closer and held on tight and he told her, "I'm right here little girl, I'm right here an I ain't never gonna let nuthin' hurt ya Claire, never, I promise."
A/N So that happened. Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you'll leave a comment / review x gneebee
To see the chapter photo, and yes there's some purple lightning :) please visit my tumblr at bethylmethbrick Again I thank you and I hope to see you back here next Saturday as our journey home continues. Love ya large, xo gneebee