Chapter 34

Diana surveyed the picnic tables and the people eating there, then said to the crew, raising her voice slightly so everyone could hear, "We have plenty of steak for everyone. We expected you to eat at least two, so don't be bashful. There are more already on the grill."

A little later: "These people were hungry," Diana quietly said to Laura. "Shall we wait to put out the envelopes with the desert?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan, Di. They are going to crap on themselves when they look inside that envelope."

"We'll tell them to not look until they leave," Diana said, grinning.

"Yeah, right. I'm sure they will all do that. They're just starting on the second silo, aren't they? They might wait until they're out of our sight," she finished, smiling.

A little later as they cut the cakes, Diana nodded to the girls. As they set envelopes on the table beside everyone, Diana said, "We're putting a thank-you from all of us beside your plate. Please don't open them now."

After the meal, the crew boss told Diana that they appreciated the great meal, and thanked them for their "bonus." All the others filed by to thank their hosts, too.

The silo construction crew headed back to work. One of the workers, a twenty-year-old blond, couldn't stand it any longer and opened his envelope before he had even gotten past the rubble of the old barn. When he stopped so quickly that the worker behind him ran into him, "Damnit, Jeremy. You need to put brake lights on your ass if you're going to stop that quick..." But his admonishment died as he noticed the two bills that Jeremy held up in front of him trying to see in the dim light.

One of the others flicked a lighter for light. Suddenly, there were ripping sounds as everyone tore into his or her envelope. "Well damn. Looks like I'll make my car payment on time this month after all," one of them said.

"Yeah," someone else said.

"I told that lady that we were already making time and a half," the crew boss said. "But I appreciate the hell out of this."

Turning to the others, raising his voice, he continued, "All right. We're making good money tonight; we got a hell of a bonus; we had some great steaks; and we got to look at a bunch of very nice looking women — well for those of us who care about that sort of thing," he laughed. "So get your lazy asses back to work."

"That sure was some fine looking pussy," Jeremy said to the guy walking beside him a moment later.

"Whap," as Connie slapped him in the back of the head.

"Oh, shit. That hurt," he said, rubbing his head.

"Don't you fucking know how to talk in front of a lady?" she admonished, fighting not to laugh.

"Yeah. I know how to talk in front of a lady," he mumbled.

"Whap."

"Oh."

"Damnit, Connie. Quit fucking with the kid," Lee, the foreman, said. "Let's get back to work. And let's make double sure we do this right. These people have been extra good to us. Somebody fucks up, I'm going to be on their ass. Now let's hit it."

Denise walked close to Connie and whispered in her ear as they continued toward the silos. "I walked around the corner of a building last week while Jeremy was taking a piss. He's a whole lot more man than you're giving him credit for."

"Oh, really?" Connie said. She took a couple of quick steps forward and flipped Jeremy's cap off from behind.

"Crap, Connie. What did you do that for? Why don't you pick on somebody else for awhile?" he said, bending over to pick up his cap.

Connie ran her hand under him from behind and gently squeezed his groin for a second. Jeremy jumped like he had been shot. Cursing, he took several fast steps to put one of the other workers between Connie and himself.

"Well?" Denise asked, grinning when the laughter died down.

"Here I am working with that kid every day, messing with him every chance I get, and he's got that hanging between his legs all this time," Connie mused aloud.

"Now, Connie, don't get that kid killed. That big fucker you're living with will break the kid in half."

"Well, I'm not going to be living with that idiot very long," the good-looking redhead said, glancing at her coworker as they walked toward the partially-constructed silo. "I told him that he would be living by himself if he came in stumbling drunk one more time. Besides that, he's always too drunk to do his homework. Of course, with him, it's usually two humps and a bear-down, anyway. Then he tells his buddies how he 'fucked my brains out.' Yeah, right. Truth is; his dick is nowhere near in proportion to the rest of him. But the big son-of-a-bitch went to sleep on me — passed out — after he shot his load about a month ago. I almost suffocated before I could get out from under him."

Frowning, she continued, "Ten to one he'll be drunker than a bicycle when I get home, after sitting on his ass while I'm out earning a living. I'm paying the rent and utilities — everything else. About the only job looking he does, is from the local bar. Are you still living by yourself?"

"You know I am. I sent Irving packing six months ago. It's just been me and my vibrating friend since then."

"You want someone to halve the house payment with you? We get along okay. I think we could make it together."

"You looking to try the kid out?" Denise asked.

"Heck, yes. He can't talk to either of us without his tongue getting hard, let alone his dick," Connie laughed. "He would have to be better than that dickhead I'm living with. You got a problem with me giving the kid a little."

"No, not really. I just don't want to see him get hurt. Hell, he isn't the biggest guy in the world — at least, his body isn't. What, five-ten, I guess," she laughed, "but he's muscled up pretty good, and his face isn't bad, in fact, it's pretty nice. He, damn sure, isn't lacking in the dick department. Still, you're what? Twenty-eight? And you've been around a little. He'll fall in love with your tits, if nothing else, and he's a nice guy. I don't want the kid fucked up mentally, or physically," she said as they neared Connie's crane.

Two of the workers started both generators for the lights at almost the same time.

Connie turned her face away from the brilliant light, propped her foot on the step of the cab, and paused. "I didn't have a place to live after I divorced Wesley. Blaine treated me nice and had a job; he even kissed my pussy a couple of times. That sure didn't last. When he first pulled that little peewee of his out, I almost laughed. I could get along with the size, though, if he would just try. But he doesn't give a shit. The only one he wants to please is himself. I've just been sticking it out because I don't have a place to live. And I can't save up rent money for a place of my own with him boozing away the money faster than I can make it."

Lee stood looking at the two women as they talked. Both had fooled him when the company had hired them. Neither of them would weigh over a hundred and twenty pounds, and both were lookers, particularly the redhead. The brunette wouldn't stop any clocks, either. Surprisingly, they had pulled their weight. He knew they had gone home sore for the first week or two, but Connie was a damn good crane operator. She was careful and meticulous, looking out for the rest of the crew when she swung the silo sections, or anything else, and she helped the others when the crane wasn't needed, instead of just sitting in the cab twiddling her thumbs.

He had been afraid that they would be prima donnas, but they had both fooled him. The boss had called him in and told him that he had hired two women. When he had started to object, Mr. Jackson had said that they did not have enough women working for the company, and was going to put two new ones on his crew. When he had objected, telling Jackson that they couldn't do the heavy work, and would cause a lot of resentment with the crew, Jackson said to treat them just like everyone else. They had already been told it was heavy work, at least the one that wasn't the crane operator had been told.

"You mean, I've got a female crane operator?" he asked, incredulously.

"She's supposed to be good. We hired her away from another company that was only letting her be an operator part time. She's certified. If she can't cut it, then fire her. But give her every bit of a chance that you would anyone else. I'll back you if you treat her right, but I'll get in your shit if you try to run her off because she's a woman."

They looked at each other for a moment, Lee seething from the remark. "There's another thing," he said, "whether you like it or not. The guys on the crew ain't desk sitters, they work for a living," he shot out, not caring what Jackson thought of his comment; he was pissed. "Are these bitches going to sue me because the guys cuss in front of them? I'll tell you now, if I get in the guys' shit about the way they talk, I'll be doing the job by myself."

Jackson sighed, sitting back in his chair, realizing that ramrodding this down Lee's throat might not be the best way to go. "Look, I don't have any choice in this. We've got to have more women working for the company. Equal opportunity means just that. Now do you have any ideas, or are you just going to bitch?"

Lee could see the grin on Jackson's face, so he tried to cool his own temper. He sighed, and said, "I... Shit the only thing I can think of is to just put it to them straight. If they say that the guys' language is going to be a problem, then we'll ask them what ideas they have. We can always tell them what I said. If the men quit, we'll be doing it ourselves, which means that we won't have a job very long."

Jackson's eyes sparkled. "Sounds good to me," he said, standing. "They're waiting in the lobby. I'll send them in and let you talk to them. You can use my office," Jackson finished, getting up and heading out the door before Lee could come to terms with what had just happened.

Grinning at the two women standing by the crane, women who had turned out to be two of his best and most reliable workers, Lee yelled, "Do I hear a crane running? Am I interrupting your high-level conference over there? Could we maybe get the next section moved into place sometime tonight?" he said, but he had a grin on his face.

Connie and Denise laughed. Connie shot him the bird, then started climbing into the crane. Turning back to Denise, she said, "Think about it. I think we would do well together. Hell, we might even share the kid if he turns out to be any good." Smiling at the look on Denise's face, she climbed on into the crane and started it.

Laughing, Lee turned away from the two women and thought, If I wasn't married, I sure know where I would be. Crap, either one of those two would probably kill me, but it would take a week to get the grin off my face. Now where in the fuck did that welder get off to? He rounded the silo just as the welder struck an arc. Holding his hand in front of his eyes so he could see past the blue-white light, Lee yelled for Williams to come help the welder.

Jeff stood in the shadows listening to the banter of the crew, well, until the operator revved the crane engine. Damn, here I stand listening to this bunch, missing my team. That's idiotic, he admonished himself. I have seven wives who love me, and I sure as heck love them. And I'm missing my team. Well, I sure don't mind doing without that damn sniper that shot me. I might not come back from the next trip. But so far, the colonel has left me alone. Things must be going smoothly. You can bet they're still trying to understand that ship. They must have found someone who can get along with the ship's computer without having his brains scrambled. Maybe things will last.

Jeff saw Fred walking back toward the house in the dark after being relieved by Evie. He stumbled on some uneven ground and almost fell. As Jeff walked up to Fred, he hissed in a breath and said, "Shit, Jeff. I didn't see you until you were almost on me. How in the fuck do you see in the dark?"

"We went over that last night..."

"Well, head out toward the house. I think I can follow you. Those bright lights back there have messed up my night vision, but I'm hungry as a bear. I hope the women have some of those steaks left."

"Yeah they have plenty left. Di sent me to get you, but I got sidetracked by the silo construction."

They walked on back to the house, getting there just as Dave and several of Evie's crew were coming out of the house after washing up. The others went over to the grill to give their orders to the women as Dave and Jeff sat down at the table. Jeff looked over at Dave, who was pouring a glass of tea. "Sorry about starting yet another new project and running you all over everywhere getting this thing going."

"Boss, Evie and I wouldn't miss it for the world. You should have been there when I asked for volunteers to pour foundations for silos tonight. I had already told them that you paid off a widow's mortgage, and were rebuilding her silos that some yahoo had blown up..."

"Ah, shit, Dave. I wish you hadn't told them."

"Well, I think they need to know, besides, when I asked for volunteers, every darn one on both crews volunteered to work tonight. I've got others coming in the morning to relieve the ones who work tonight."

"How many did you wind up with tonight?"

"I just brought six. All we have to do is level the area, dig down a little, put in the forms, and pour the concrete. Any more people right now would just get in the way. The mixer will only put out so much concrete. It would have been faster if we could have gotten the concrete delivered, but this way will work, and unless I miss my guess, we'll get one base poured tonight. I'm using a quick formula similar to what they use on highways that will set up in less than twenty-four hours. The other two foundations will easily be done tomorrow."

"Okay, but be prepared. I'm going to have a serious talk with Carla. This is a big farm, and from the looks of those crops, and hearing her talk, there is one heck of a lot to store. I'm going to put up silos and barns until she has what she needs, plus room for expansion."

"Okay, we'll plan on three more, and wait for word about any more. Have they had a chance to think about the barn and what they need there?"

"I got Diana to run Carla and Jessica out of the kitchen to get started on barn plans a couple of hours ago. I liked to have never got her DSL started up, but she's on the net getting plans for a general guideline. She should have something for you by tomorrow. You can take that and go with it. I don't know anything about permits, if there are any, for barns out here. But I want this to be the best and most modern barn that money can build."

Setting his glass in front of Dave, who filled it with crushed ice and tea, Jeff continued, "And why in the heck is Evie running a loader? She's..."

"Because she wants too, Boss. And... I'll guarantee you that every one of our crew will bust his or her ass just because their pretty boss is busting hers. Chill out. We've been doing this for a while. Seeing one of us pitch in when we get in a bind helps show respect both ways. Both of us will do anything we ask our people to do, and they know it. I'm going to work with this group tonight for the same reason. They've already worked all day, either in the classrooms or in the basement on the indoor range. I'm not going to put them out there tonight unless I'm working, too."

Jeff opened his mouth to object, but remembered that he did the same thing with his team. Jennie came over and rubbed Jeff's shoulders, telling Dave, "Hi."

"Your steaks are almost ready."

"Thanks, Sweetie," Jeff said, putting his hand over hers and gently squeezing it.

Diana set his plate in front of him, kissed him and quietly said, "We need to run up to the house and get some blankets and pillows for us to sleep on. We'll fix another meal for the crews about one, but we're going to need some more food. Everybody needs to take a nap before then, and probably another after we serve them. I want to have a big breakfast for everyone before they leave."

"The silo crew isn't going to leave," Jeff said. "The foreman told me they were going to take off for two or three hours later tonight and sleep for a bit in their trucks, then start the third silo, probably a little after daylight. After that, Dave already has the company waiting to send out three more silos as soon as the foundations are ready," he said, nodding toward Dave.

"Hell, it was your money, Boss. Once they found out that I was serious and would pay for a little fast service, it was all over. Jackson said he would have to pay time-and-a-half to get everything set up so quickly, but that was the only flak I got."