Chapter 2

Bill led her to a late model Ford F-350 diesel that was set up to pull a 5^th wheeler. The tires were almost as tall as she was.

"How am I supposed to get up in this thing?" Susan asked Bill.

Bill looked between her and the door that he had opened for her and had to smile again. "My brother's kid climbs on the running boards then climb up from there. That probably wouldn't be proper for a lady though so let me help you."

Without further thought Bill wrapped his big hands around her waist and lifted her to the seat. He noticed that his hands reached all the way around her waist and she felt soft. Bill blushed for noticing how nice and soft she felt.

Susan was startled when she was whisked into the air and deposited on a wide, soft leather seat. The big hands that had circled her waist and lifted her had felt strong and hard, but at the same time had a gentle feel to them. He didn't squeeze too hard to show how manly he was like some men do. He hadn't even lifted her to the seat in a macho gesture like a lot of men would. He was simply helping in the most efficient way he knew and didn't seem to think anything else about it.

"Hold on old boy," Bill muttered to himself as he walked around the front of the truck to get in the driver's seat. "Nothing's happening here. You are just giving her a ride home."

Susan gave him directions and Bill was gratified that is was going the same direction as the trailer-park that he was in. At least he wouldn't lose too much time getting started on that paperwork. She directed him to drive in the right hand lane after they reached the main road going through town.

Show Low's speed limits were set up to slow people down so they would be more apt to stop. Most towns that depend on tourism were set up the same way. In this case, Bill and Susan had a leisurely drive through town and Bill was able to get a lot of information from Susan. It was a talent that he had. People always thought of him as a big, dumb guy but he had learned to ask questions while assigned as an MP in the Marines. He could get a person's whole life story in 30 minutes of quality time. The drive through town with the soothing rumble of the big diesel could certainly be counted as quality time. Bill found out about Susan being fired, the eviction, and that Susan had seven days to find a place to live. He found out that she had lived in Show Low all her life, was divorced from a jerk that lived in LA who didn't seem to have a regular enough job to always send child support, and she had a couple of kids. He didn't need to go into a lot more detail to have a pretty clear picture of her life. He felt bad for her and just like most men when faced with a problem, Bill looked for a way to fix it.

"So, you're a bookkeeper," Bill asked?

"Yep, until a couple of months ago," Susan answered as she relaxed into the soft leather of the big seat. She liked the way this felt. She liked the smell of the truck and remembered the pure man smell of Bill when her face was pressed against his chest. She blushed at the memory and looked out the window as she continued. "I'm not a CPA or anything like that but I did get pretty good grades in the book keeping classes that the community college offered."

"Do you think you could handle paperwork besides ledgers and accounting?" Bill asked.

"Sure," Susan said without hesitation. "I was called the bookkeeper at Fritz's Furniture but I took care of all the paperwork. I took care of shipping, receiving, HR, payroll, and anything else Mr. Fritz found on a piece of paper. I heard that he had to hire two college kids to take my place and they still can't keep up," Susan concluded proudly.

Bill thought for a moment about all that he had to do to get this project up and running. A construction project for a 30,000 square foot two story building isn't a small thing. He needed the licenses and permits first but he would need materials, equipment, men with a dozen different skill sets, and someone to take care of all the paper those items required and the book keeping. The job had to be finished on time and on budget. He couldn't do that without a good book keeper. Bill was a good project manager but there was only so much one person could get their head around. This project had a budget line item for a bookkeeper and a secretary.

Bill glanced at Susan and considered what she would be like as an employee. If he could fill both positions with one person and an occasional part time helper for filing it would go a long way toward keeping within the tight budget this project called for. He was a little uncertain about Susan though. She was a scary lady. She was like a little ball of energy just waiting to explode in all directions. Then there was her claim of being the ultimate klutz. That could be dangerous on a job site.

"Susan, would you be willing to take a temporary job?" Bill blurted. He wasn't ready to make a job offer yet, if ever, to this woman. It was his mouth. His mouth was another of those body parts that always seemed to get him in trouble. It got him into as much trouble as his feet sometime did when they took him places he didn't want to go.

Susan looked across the broad expanse of leather and cocked her head at Bill. Her eyes seemed to spear him like green lasers as she looked at Bill speculatively for a moment. "What kind of job and how temporary?" she asked. Susan realized her tone was very neutral. She didn't know this guy from Adam. His temporary job could be for one night at his place and consist of $100 on the night stand in the morning for pay. He could be some kind of freak and she was suddenly concerned about him knowing where she lived.

Bill noticed the change in tone and figured that he had screwed up in some way, again. "Paperwork and bookkeeping," he said hurriedly as he suddenly understood what she must be thinking. "We won a bid to build a two story building out on Penrod Road by the airport. We are supposed to have it done in four months so it is only a temporary position."

"And where would I work?" Susan asked in the same neutral tone. "When would I start and how much does it pay?"

Working for a construction company certainly sounded safe enough but it left her with a pang of disappointment too. She still didn't know if she trusted him and she wasn't sure why she was concerned about a one night stand. It wasn't like she was a virgin or something. All the magazines said that one-nighters weren't the best thing but better than nothing. He had helped her and he did smell good. The fact still remained that Susan wasn't a 'loose woman'. Her morals seemed to be a left over from the 50's which was probably the result of having older parents. Besides all the arguments for and against quick relationships, Susan did try to set a good example for her daughters. She didn't forbid them from having sex. She remembered enough from her teen years to know that the moment something was forbidden, the teen would do it. She had a few boyfriends since her divorce several years before but they usually didn't last long for various reasons. It had been a few months since her last relationship that had ended quite abruptly. That guy had got mad because Susan had tripped and knocked over a ladder. It wasn't Susan's fault that he was on the ladder at the time, had broken his leg, and was out of work for six weeks. Susan thought he may have dumped her because the open five gallon can of lime green paint that he almost had to the top of the ladder had landed in the front seat of his new Mustang convertible. Susan said she was due for some good luck but really didn't believe it was coming.

Susan's mind briefly inventoried the boyfriend's she had had since Danny left and the incidents that had ended each relationship. The last one had been pretty tame compared to some of the others she admitted to herself. Susan reached today in her inventory and was skeptical. She knocked the guy down in front of the court house and now he had to redo all those papers she saw flying away. Then she called him names. Granted, not real bad names but the intent was there. And now he was offering her a job? He had to be a serial killer or one of those weirdo sado masochist guys or whatever they called them. Susan had told him how much of a screw up she was and she still didn't understand why she did that. And he was still offering her a job? There had to be a catch. She didn't know what it was but there had to be one and she would find it.

Bill thought about her questions for a moment before framing an answer. Susan obviously thought this was a trick so the best way to reassure her was to be precise and matter of fact with his answers.

"Where would you work?" Bill repeated. "Probably in the construction office at the job site after I get it set up. Until then I have an office set up in my 5^th wheel that you can use," he hesitated while glancing at her, "or you could even work from home," he concluded quickly after seeing her eyes narrow again.

Bill glanced over to see how she was taking this so far before looking back at the road. He still wasn't sure why he was trying to convince her. "When do you start?" he repeated. "Well, I have a 25 page packet that I need to redo so I can get them to the court house tomorrow. I guess that means that you can start this afternoon unless you have someplace else you need to be. After I get all the papers filed and approved at the court house then I need to start ordering supplies, finding qualified men to work, renting equipment or getting it shipped from our yard in Phoenix, whichever is cheaper, and about two dozen other things that need to be finished by yesterday. The court house itself could take several days. It usually does when dealing with town clerks," he grumbled.