Chapter 13

The drive west to Holbrook is a little less than one hundred miles and takes about an hour and a half. I left the Interstate, crossed the main road and pulled into the lone truck stop in Holbrook. I pulled up to one of the pumps and pumped diesel into the drivers' side tank until it was half full and did the same on the passenger side. I figured there was no sense in carrying more fuel than we needed; less weight to carry up the hills. I told Bill to stay in the truck while I went inside to get our breakfast to go. While I was in there I checked the TV for any other news about Bill. Luckily there was none. I was carrying out our breakfast, and had just reached the door, when in front of me stood two state troopers. My heart stopped; then one of the troopers opened the door for me. I thanked him, and walked out to the truck. I looked over my shoulder as I reached the truck, half expecting them to be right behind me; but no one was there.

I started the truck, pulled out of the stop, over the Interstate and through the town. Five minutes later we were in the Tonto National Forest on our way to Payson. Bill and I talked about the scenery and I watched for his reactions to the views. When we got to the mandatory safety stop, his eyes were as big as saucers and his hands held on his seat as if he expected to be ejected at any second.

"Bill, what's wrong."

"I - I'm afraid of heights."

'Shit, now he tells me, ' I thought to myself. 'No turning back now, he'll have to just close his eyes or look away from the drop offs on the way down.'

"Close your eyes; I have to get out and check the air brakes, I'll be right back."

After my inspection, I got back in to the cab.

"Bill, I'm sorry; I had no idea you were afraid of heights. You've got three choices; you can climb into the berth and stay there until it's over; you can stay here with me and close your eyes all the way down; or you can sit there and look out at the mountain side of the road. The decent is going to take about an hour."

"Ok, let's go."

I was so proud of him; I knew he was scared, but he was going to stick it out and battle his fears.

On the way down, I glanced over at him when I could, he was a little pale, but he was watching the road with me all the way.

When we got down to the desert; I grabbed his hand, kissed it and said,

"That's it; we're in the valley now. You did real good, I'm proud of you."

"When we get to your house, I think I'm going to have to change my shorts."

We both laughed, the tension broken.

The last hour of the trip was uneventful. About a mile out from the factory, I had Bill climb in the back.

"You stay there, don't make a sound, and don't look out. I'm going to drop the trailer and then go into the office to hand in my paperwork. I'll be out in about a half an hour. I love you."

As he climbed into the back, he kissed my cheek,

"I love you, too."

I was in great spirits when I climbed back into the cab. The operations manager was very pleased that I had completed my run early. They were running short on some of the materials that I had in my load. I had saved his butt, and he knew it. They were already beginning to unload the trailer. My next run was not scheduled until Monday morning; so I had the next five days off. That would give Bill and me some time to ourselves, and some time to figure out what to do about his problem.

"Bill, you still back there?"

"Yeah, but it's getting awfully hot, let's get out of here."

I started up and we headed out of the yard and toward my house. I pulled into my driveway and backed the truck into its normal spot and killed the engine. Bill and I gathered our things, cleaned up any trash and headed into the house.

"Make yourself at home, Bill. I think you're going to be staying here a while."

I gave him the nickel tour, while I went through my usual returning home routine. The temperature was lowered on the air conditioner, my plants were watered, and our dirty clothes were thrown into the washer.

"You want anything to drink?"

"A coke if you have it. Water will do."

I grabbed a coke and a beer from the fridge and we settled onto the couch. It was good to just sit and veg for a while after an exciting last day of our journey.

"Bill, I think we should call a friend of my Dad's, if he's not already retired he's still on the Phoenix police force. We can tell him that you're ok; and that he should call off the alert for you."

"I'm not going back to my sister's place."

"I'm not suggesting that you do; but we have to tell someone what you heard. I think we can trust him. He'll tell us what we can do. Worst case scenario is that you'll have to go back into hiding again."

"Can we wait until tomorrow?"

"Sure. You'll be safe here."

We watched a little of the local TV news, there was no other alerts for Bill. That was good. Suppertime, I took a couple of steaks out of the freezer, and with a couple of potatoes and a can of corn, we had the makings for a nice dinner. I preheated the grill, while Bill prepared the steaks and wrapped the potatoes. When the grill was hot I tossed the potatoes on first, then after ten minutes I put the steaks on. Bill set the table and opened the can of corn. Less than ten minutes later we were sitting in the dining room having dinner. Bill surprised me with how domestic he was. I guess he spent a lot of time doing stuff for his sister. After dinner, he helped me clear the table, rinse the dishes, and put them in the dishwasher. We spent some time relaxing in the living room and watched the local news again. I guess Bill was no longer a newsworthy story.