Crimson Highway by David Wickenhauser (i can read with my eyes shut txt) 📕

and get a bite of real food. You’re probably tired of my cooking by now.”

“Thanks, Hugh, that sounds good.”

He took the exit, turned left onto the overpass, and pulled into the travel plaza on the right-hand side of the road.

They walked into the restaurant together, and split up to go to their restrooms, meeting shortly after at the cashier’s stand to get a table.

Hugh ordered a chicken-fried steak and an iced tea. Jenny ordered a Cobb salad and a soft drink.

“You don’t strike me as the salad type,” Hugh remarked.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” she said.

That’s definitely true, Hugh thought, hoping to partially rectify that before the day was over.

When their meal came, they ate without talking.

They finished. Hugh paid, and left the tip.

As they climbed back into his truck he told her that was their big meal for the day. Tonight it would be something quick and easy out of his "panry."

A couple hours later, Hugh pulled into his company’s terminal in Salt Lake City. No travel plaza for them tonight.

His load would not be here until early the next morning. It was a relay from back east somewhere being hauled by a night driver who would run out of hours by the time he got here. Hugh would pick up the load, and then it was on to Reno—a straight shot across on the 80.

So, he dropped off his empty trailer and motored over to the bobtail parking at the yard. That’s where drivers parked their tractors when they didn’t have a load yet, or were awaiting repairs, or were taking their thirty-four-hour reset. Then he performed his post-trip, and punched “off-duty” into the Qualcomm.

Hugh had to consider the propriety of bringing a female rider into the terminal. Technically, because he was an owner-operator, he was allowed to have riders without going through the same hoops that company drivers had to. But, he also figured that the less attention he brought to himself and Jenny, the better.

Thus, they would not be spending time in the driver’s lounge, which was fine with Hugh, because they had to talk.

But first: “Jenny, I’ve got to go into Operations and explain why I was late with my load to Burley.”

Jenny shrank back at this, immediately fearful.

“Don’t worry, I don’t have to explain you at all.” Hugh said, thinking he couldn’t right now anyway even if he tried. “It’s just that everything has to have a reason, and I need to wrap up the Burley assignment, and get it off the books.”

Jenny nodded.

“OK. I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”

Jenny said nothing—just stared back at him. He guessed she wasn’t in the mood for lame jokes.

Hugh wasn’t gone long. When he returned, it was still too early for dinner, so he sat in his driver’s seat, and flipped the lever to swivel the seat sideways, facing Jenny, who was still sitting in the passenger seat.

She looked like a lost little girl, sitting there, her arms to her side, sitting on her hands. Her head was bowed.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Hugh asked.

Jenny nodded.

“Now?”

She nodded again, saying, “OK. First thing I want to do is apologize.” She started to tear up.

Hugh knew this was going to be difficult for her.

“I didn’t want it to go this far. Back there at the truck stop, during my shower, I decided that I wasn’t going to go along with the hijacking …”

Hugh interrupted, shouting at her, “So that’s it! I knew it! You set me up! All this was planned from the very beginning!”

“Look, Hugh,” she pleaded. “This is going to be hard enough. Please don’t make it any harder on me.”

“OK. I’m sorry. Go on,” Hugh said, immediately sorry he had gotten angry at her. He wanted the whole story, and the last thing he wanted was for her to clam up on him.

“You remember when you were waiting for me outside the travel plaza after dinner, and I was crying?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“They were there waiting for me outside the women’s restroom.”

“Who were?”

“I’m getting to that. So, they were waiting for me. I didn’t even know they were going to be there. I had called him earlier, after I got done with my shower, and before I came back to the truck,” she said.

“Go on.”

 “I told him I was through … didn’t want any part of it. I thought it was settled, and that’s why I was so happy when I came back to the truck. But, when he found me outside the restroom he got extremely angry,” she said, reflexively touching her cheek where Hugh had noticed the red spot.

“He hit you, didn’t he?” Hugh demanded.

Jenny nodded.

“Yes, but even worse, he threatened me,” she said.

“With what? Who is he, and what does he have on you?” Hugh asked.

“Hugh, he’s my uncle. He’s crazy in the head. And, he’s got my little brother, and …” she couldn’t finish, sobs welled up in her throat, choking off any further words.

Hugh gave her a few minutes to bring herself under control. It took everything he had to keep himself from reaching over to her and taking her in his arms. He knew to do that would be crossing a threshold in their relationship that he might decide later he wished he hadn’t done.

Finally composing herself, she said, “In the beginning, I went along with my uncle’s plans because of my father. But, when I tried to back out, after seeing how crazy my uncle and his friends were, and after realizing what a decent person you are, he went nuts and threatened to hurt my little brother.”

“Where does your father figure into all this? And why is he letting your uncle do this to