VANCOUVER: The Gem of Canada Is Aglow with Four Romances

by Gail Sattler

  The situation could have been worse. Much worse.

  She tensed with another shift. Lionel cringed, anticipating that she would grind the gears. She had done much better with Uncle Chad because Uncle Chad hadn’t been worrying about his precious truck, at least not that she’d seen.

  “This is your first time driving through the mountains at night, isn’t it?”

  Gwen stiffened. It was her first time driving a truck through the mountains, period, day or night. “Yes.”

  “You’re doing good. I mean, for a beginner. You handled that last uphill curve really well.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Was it you or Chad driving ‘til Snoqualmie? I’m asking because I want to know how many hours you’ve got left.”

  “I can do ten hours.”

  Even though the only light inside the cab was from the dash lights, she could see him sag into the seat. “Great. I’ve just come back from a long trip, and I was right at the end of ten hours by the time I reached Snoqualmie. I’ve got to have a sleep. Are you okay with that?”

  “Sure.”

  “Wake me if you need anything. I won’t be far away.”

  She couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or trying to be funny. As nerve-wracking as it was to be driving alone, having him sleep instead of watching every mistake she made was infinitely better. She would rather die than wake him. “Sure.”

  “Stop whenever you need to have a stretch or a snack. I probably won’t wake up.”

  “Okay.”

  “If you want, I can make a pot of coffee for you before I bed down. Got any questions?”

  “No questions.”

  Silence hung in the air. Gwen downshifted as they slowed for another hill.

  “Are you always this talkative? Are you concentrating that much on your driving, or is it me?”

  Gwen released a rush of air. She hadn’t meant to let him know she was so tense. “I think it’s a little of both.”

  “I guess we should talk.”

  What she really wanted was some silence so she could think. A million thoughts had churned through her mind while she waited the three hours for him to arrive. Now that they were actually on the way to Indiana, everything she thought she’d worked out in her mind dissolved into mush. “I suppose.”

  “If we’re going to be living together, we should lay down some guidelines.”

  Gwen gripped the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles turned white. “We’re not living together!”

  He had the nerve to laugh. “I knew that would get you. Seriously, though, we should talk now. I don’t want you to sit and stew for hours while I toss and turn trying to get some sleep. Let’s get it over with so we can both relax.”

  She was glad for the distraction of driving. “That’s a good idea.”

  Once more silence hung in the air. He ran his palm over his face, then pushed his hair back over his forehead. “Honestly, Gwen, I had no idea this was going to happen. The thought never occurred to me that I wouldn’t be driving with Chad. I’m sorry.”

  His blunt honesty impressed her. “If you had known, would it have made a difference? Would you have refused the load?”

  “No. I couldn’t have refused, because that’s ground for dismissal unless it’s justifiable as a safety violation. I just wish I would have been better prepared.”

  “I know what you mean. I thought about it for three hours, and I’m still not prepared.”

  Lionel chuckled softly. “What I was thinking about more than anything else for the last three hours was Chad’s fridge full of food.” When she didn’t join in laughing at his little joke, he cleared his throat and the humor left his voice. “Anyway, since we’re stuck with each other, we should come to a few decisions and make a few agreements, although I don’t know where to begin.”

  Gwen winced at his word “stuck.” It stung, even though she’d been thinking the same thing not long ago.

  Before she allowed herself to wallow in self-pity, she recalled the routine she had developed with her uncle, and then, imagining Lionel’s reaction, she couldn’t stop a grin. “Who gets the bathroom first in the morning?”

  “Bathroom? But …” His voice trailed off. “Very funny.”

  Thankfully, the darkness hid the blush she knew flooded her cheeks. “Seriously, I’ve never had to think about stuff like that in quite this way, and I probably never will again. My first trip was different. We actually stopped to sleep. Uncle Chad stayed in the truck and I got a room. This isn’t going to be like that, is it?”

  “No. The truck won’t stop except for fuel and for us to eat and stuff.”

  Gwen knew it might be difficult to get used to at first, but Uncle Chad was family. She could have handled that. Living out of the truck with Lionel, she didn’t know. “We’ll have to take things as they come, a few hours at a time, I guess.”

  Lionel nodded. “Yes.”

  “I guess you should sleep then. Is this curtain the same as the one in Uncle Chad’s truck? I looked at it but never got to test it.”

  “They are the same, and they’re very soundproof. Looks like I get to test it first. Good night, Gwen.”

  “Good night, Lionel.”

  He turned and crawled into the bunk behind the seats. The rasp of the Velcro signified the closing of the heavy Naugahyde curtain, which was double thick and insulated, covering the back area from floor to ceiling, making it as effective as a solid wall between them. Then she heard nothing except for the sounds of the engine and the hum of the tires on the pavement.

  This was it. For the first time, she was truly driving alone. There was no one in the passenger seat to coach her, no one to help her when she didn’t know what to do. She had known from the time she made her decision to do this for the summer that this time would come, but now that it had, everything was different.

  She was on her own, in more ways than one. While technically she could ask Lionel anything, she couldn’t allow him to think she was stupid beyond her inexperience.

  Gwen forced herself to concentrate on her driving. In the daylight, on the flat lands, she would think about Lionel and this whole situation.

  Chapter 4

  Gwen’s stomach grumbled about the time the sun began to rise. Technically, it was breakfast time. But she had been driving all night. She was starving.

  All night long she hadn’t heard anything from Lionel. She’d managed to convince herself he’d be awake by the time she was ready to stop. She didn’t want to embarrass either one of them, in case he slept like her brother, Garrett, with his mouth open and snoring. Unfortunately, he was still sleeping, and she didn’t want to find out the hard way.

  The night’s darkness and quiet provided the perfect opportunity for some serious thinking. As she drove down the nearly deserted highway, she tried to imagine what it would be like to be with Lionel for however long it took to deliver this load and make their way back home.

  Thinking of her brother solved her problem. Gwen had always had a special relationship with Garrett, beyond that of normal siblings, because of their special bond as twins. They had been almost inseparable all their lives. She’d missed him terribly when he moved away from home to live on-site as a park ranger and then, later, when he married Robbie. She chose to handle spending time in close quarters with Lionel the same way she did with Garrett—only this time, instead of being a brother by birth, she could relate to Lionel as a brother in Christ.

  Uncle Chad spoke highly of Lionel. In fact, there were times he hadn’t let up and she told him she didn’t want to hear any more praises of Lionel. Gwen was tired of the attempts at matchmaking, not only from Uncle Chad, but from all her friends and family. The matchmaking intensified when she was the last one left unmarried and became even worse when she turned thirty.

  Even though she didn’t know Lionel well, he seemed nice enough. Still, she wasn’t interested in a relationship, especially with a truck driver. The circumstance she now found herself in, and the fact that she
didn’t like it, proved how much she thrived on her regular school hours. She needed a more predictable and stable environment than the uncertain agenda of driving a truck. Molly and Robbie had been right. She shouldn’t be doing this, but it was too late to turn back. She was obligated to Uncle Chad by her promise and bound to the company by a contract. When the summer was over, she would have learned a valuable lesson, namely, never to do anything on impulse again.

  A sign ahead indicated a place to stop, so she did. The process of slowing down and parking didn’t awaken Lionel, therefore she rationalized he must have been exhausted. She left him to sleep and went into the restaurant without him.

  “Table for one?”

  Gwen cringed. “Yes.” She’d never gone into a restaurant alone before.

  When the waitress left her with a coffee and a menu, it felt odd not to be chatting with someone. The awkwardness was worse after she gave the waitress her order. She would rather have prepared her own meal, in a rush or not, instead of sitting all alone in a room full of people, all of whom had someone to talk with, except for her. However, Lionel was sleeping beside the fridge, preventing her access, so she had no other choice if she wanted to eat. Next time she would make a sandwich before he went to sleep.

  Instead of letting the time drag until her meal arrived, Gwen pulled a book out of her purse and read until the waitress returned. She continued to read as she ate, trying to ignore the stares of people as they passed on the way to their own tables. As much as she enjoyed the book, she vowed never to eat alone in a restaurant again. She paid the bill without lingering and hurried back to the truck.

  She finally heard the rasp of the Velcro curtain opening as she started the engine. Lionel poked his head through the opening. He winced and blinked with the morning light, then stepped into the center of the cab wearing a well-used T-shirt and wrinkled jeans. This time the lock of hair that forever threatened to fall into his face really had.

  “Good morning,” she said. “Have a good sleep?”

  He grunted something she didn’t understand and left the truck carrying a small duffel bag. She couldn’t tell if he was annoyed with her for some reason she couldn’t fathom, or if he simply wasn’t a morning person. Gwen killed the engine, pulled her book out of her purse again, and settled into the passenger seat so she wouldn’t have to think about it.

  She re-read the same page three times before she slapped the book shut in frustration. With the curtain open, she couldn’t shake the overwhelming sensation that she didn’t belong here. Not only was she invading Lionel’s personal space, his belongings and blanket and pillow strewn atop the bunk behind her emphasized that this truck was his home, and she was trespassing.

  At the sound of the door opening, she opened the book as if she had been reading the entire time he was gone. Lionel hopped up into the cab freshly shaven, wearing new clothes, his hair combed and slightly damp, and unlike on his departure, he was smiling.

  He nodded at her as she remained sitting. “Sorry, but you’re in my chair. You have to keep driving. I haven’t booked off for eight hours yet.” He held up a small paper bag. “I gather you’ve already eaten, so I bought myself a muffin for breakfast. I fully intend to eat it now while it’s still warm. Want me to make coffee, and we can get moving?”

  “Sure.”

  All traces of his earlier mood were gone, making her think that, perhaps, she had imagined it. Since he wasn’t talking, she shuffled into the driver’s seat and tried, once more, to read until the coffee was made and it was okay to start driving. Despite the lack of conversation, he still distracted her, and she still didn’t finish the page.

  Gwen studied him out of the corner of her eye as she pretended to read. She couldn’t detect any signs of discomfort or nervousness. Unlike her, he seemed relaxed and perfectly content making coffee for the two of them before they carried on with their day. While the coffee dripped, he tidied up. He organized his personal effects, raised and secured the bunk, and stowed a few things in the overhead storage bins.

  The atmosphere felt entirely too domestic, and she didn’t like it.

  He squatted to open the small fridge. “You take your coffee with milk and one sugar, right?”

  “Uh, yes, I do,” she mumbled, refusing to be pleased that he remembered.

  He poured two cups of coffee into travel mugs and tucked them into slots in the dash. “Ready. Away we go.”

  Gwen tucked the book into her purse, pushed her purse behind her and under the bunk, buckled her seatbelt, and turned the key. He said nothing as she inched to the highway entrance, and he remained silent as she went through the process of shifting and accelerating until she was up to highway speed.

  Once they were traveling smoothly, he lifted his coffee out of the holder and sipped it slowly. “I wasn’t sure how well I’d sleep in a moving truck, but I was out like a light. I briefly remember a bit of a disturbance, which must have been when you pulled into the truck stop, but I must have gone right back to sleep.”

  Gwen checked her watch. “You didn’t get that much sleep. It’s only been six hours.”

  “That’s as much, if not more, than most truckers get in one stretch on the road. It’s more like a series of long naps than bedding down for the night.”

  Now she was convinced she wasn’t cut out for this life. She hadn’t discussed the nitty-gritty of sleeping schedules with Uncle Chad, but she needed a good night’s sleep, every night, on an ongoing basis.

  “Are you getting tired, Gwen? It’s probably been a long day for you. If you want to stop, we can.”

  “I’m okay. Besides, it’s only another couple of hours and we can trade spots.”

  She remained silent while Lionel bit into his muffin.

  The silence didn’t last long. “So, is driving a truck all you thought it would be?”

  She laughed a very humorless laugh. “It’s nothing like what I thought it would be.”

  Lionel nodded. “It’s kind of a skewed home-away-from-home kind of thing. I spend more time in my truck than I do in my apartment.”

  “You probably don’t have a single live plant, do you?”

  “Yes, I do. I have a cactus. It’s not doing too good, though.”

  Gwen didn’t comment.

  He took another bite of his muffin, closing his eyes while he savored it. “This is sure different than trying to grab a bite while I’m driving. I could get used to this.”

  “Don’t count on it,” Gwen mumbled.

  “Did you say something?”

  Gwen shook her head. “Nothing worth repeating.”

  Silence hung in the air while he held the mug close to his face, inhaled the heady scent of the coffee, and then drew a long sip. As he spoke, his deep voice made a strange echo inside the metal cup. “I’ve never done team driving before. I’ve often wondered what it would be like, day after day with the same person. I would think they would have to be very unique friends.”

  “I guess. Or relatives.”

  He tucked the mug back into the holder. “That doesn’t count. I know Chad is your uncle, but that was only a temporary arrangement. I’m thinking about Chad and Jeff. They’ve been a driving team for, must be, twenty years. They spend more time with each other than they do with their wives.”

  “That’s true.” She’d thought about that very thing over and over and still didn’t have an answer as to how or why it worked. The inside of the truck seemed a lot like her family’s camper. Every bit of space was well planned, every square inch used. But it wasn’t very big when two people spent days, or even weeks, at a time in it without a chance to get away from each other.

  He popped the last of the muffin into his mouth. “I’ve been asked to run doubles a few times, but I like things just the way they are. I’ll always run single.”

  From what she’d seen, Gwen didn’t doubt that. Lionel very much fit the image of a loner. She worried that, because of this fact, there would be an uncomfortable silence between them. However, that ha
d not been the case so far. To the other extreme, for a supposed loner, he talked an awful lot. “I’ve noticed that your truck is different inside than Uncle Chad’s.”

  Gwen listened while he explained the differences in design. Apparently Uncle Chad’s truck was one of the few makes that came from the factory with the standard option of bunk beds, which gave Uncle Chad and Jeff more space to call their own in a very limited environment. Needing only one bed, Lionel had chosen the option of a fold-down table.

  If a person didn’t get claustrophobic, Gwen could see how a person could live like this, because the cab wasn’t too much different from a motor home interior, except smaller and without cooking facilities. The only bad part: there was no bathroom.

  Lionel checked his watch. “That’s an eight-hour break for me. Minus the stop back there, that’s about seven hours of driving time for you, which is plenty for a beginner. Want to trade places, as soon as we find a place to pull off?”

  Just the thought of taking a break made Gwen sag. It hurt her pride for him to suggest she needed preferential treatment as a beginner, but truthfully she was tired of driving. “Yes, I’d like that.”

  She drove in silence while Lionel told her more about the different options and what life was like living out of a truck, until they reached the next rest area.

  Rather than switching places and continuing, they hopped outside for some fresh air. Lionel jerked one thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the picnic area. “Let’s have a short walk, and then away we go.”

  Gwen eyed the ladies’ room. “In a minute.”

  Lionel flipped on the cruise control once they reached highway speed. He hadn’t expected to sleep well, but to his surprise, he had. Unlike every other rush trip, where he had to grab a quick bite on the run, or eat while he drove, he’d enjoyed his breakfast at a leisurely pace. More than that, he’d enjoyed having someone to talk with in a private, quiet, and smoke-free setting.