Chapter 5

Over the next nine months Gail and Bill completed twenty-nine round trips. The Valley was in the middle of one of the hottest summers on record. They both felt that they needed a vacation and were beginning to form their plans when Carlos asked to speak to them after they returned from their latest trip.

"Gail, Bill, management couldn't be more pleased with your job performance. You've done everything we asked of you and more. Now we're asking you to take on a very important assignment. In the last several months, the company has launched a new line of furniture, targeting the elder care industry. The furniture is low cost, functional, and practically indestructible. We have received a lot of inquiries about it and have sent samples to several large furniture dealerships. We received our first major order last month. The first shipment will be ready in three days. The logistics, however, is nothing like we have ever done before. They require that the first trailer be delivered to the job site no later than Friday at 8:00 AM. The trailer will be met by a team of installers who will unload the trailer, assemble the furniture and install it as required. The next trailer must be delivered by Monday evening at 6:00 PM."

"Carlos, that means we'll have to run day and night with very little down time, drop our trailer; pickup a return load, run day and night again and finally make our second run in less than seven days. That leaves us no time for the unexpected."

"I understand. We had no control over the timetable for this job; going forward we will. You're going to be pushing the safety boundaries to the limit and normally I would never ask you to do anything like this, but I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. Management wants to make a good impression because this could be the first of many future orders. Your trailer will be ready Wednesday morning at 5:00. Drive safely and good luck."

Gail and Bill looked at each other, stood and left for home. They had a little over three days to take care of any personal business before they left. They started out their day the way they always did: house chores, a strenuous workout and a shower together. For the next two days they rested, planned out their trip and prepared the house for their extended leave.

Early Wednesday morning they arrived at the warehouse. While Bill connected to the trailer, Gail went into the office. Even though it was before 5:00 AM, Carlos was there to meet them. They reviewed the paperwork and the directions to the job site, which was not far from the NJ Turnpike, a few miles off Exit 9 in South River.

"Gail, you guys do this job well and there will be a bonus and an extended vacation for you both. Vaya Con Dios"

Bill had the trailer hooked up and was waiting patiently in the passenger seat when Gail left the building. As she settled in behind the wheel, she looked over at him and said, "Well Partner, you ready to do this?" Not waiting for a reply to her rhetorical question she put the truck into gear, and headed out of the yard.

They drove in alternating eight-hour shifts, stopping only for meals and fuel. In the first 24 hours, they had traveled over 1,600 miles and as they pulled off the Interstate just outside of Terre Haute, Indiana, the sun was just clearing the horizon. Gail pulled into the parking lot of the truck stop, turned off the engine and reached back into the berth. "Come on, rise and shine sleeping beauty, it's time for breakfast."

She laughed when she heard the low moan coming from the back and after making sure he was up, she climbed down from the cab and walked around to the other side. Gail opened the door just in time to see Bill on his back, with his legs up in the air struggling to pull on his jeans. "Isn't that a sight for sore eyes," she said with a hearty laugh; "put your boots on and lets go; we still have over eight hundred miles to go."

They walked arm in arm into the building, stopping to make a pit stop before continuing into the diner for a well-deserved rest and a good meal. Over her usual breakfast of steak and eggs, Gail planned out the remainder of the trip. "We made great time so far, better than I had anticipated. We won't be able to do as well for the remainder of the run because of lower speed limits and increased traffic. I figure it will take us about twelve hours of driving to get to South River, NJ. It's nearly seven o'clock now local time. We will lose an hour when we hit the Eastern Time zone so I figure we should make the job site by ten o'clock tonight allowing for longer breaks for meals"

"Too bad we can't just drop the trailer and leave," Bill added.

"We can't do that; we have to get a sign-off by the installer's foreman before we can leave the trailer. But look at it this way, once we get to the job site we have nothing to do until the following morning."

They lingered a while longer over breakfast and then headed back to the truck. Gail climbed into the sleeper and Bill took his shift behind the wheel. After about four hours of driving, as they approached Columbus, Ohio, Bill had to answer nature's call. Figuring that this was a good stopping point, he exited the Interstate and pulled around the back of a local diner. Since it was not her turn to drive, he didn't bother to wake Gail; he just left the engine running to keep the cab cool, locked the doors and ran inside. He placed an order to go and went to the men's room. A few minutes later he picked up his burger, fries and a coke and headed back to the truck.

As he came around the front of the truck he spotted two guys on the side of the truck. One was standing on the side tank peering into the window; the other was standing on the ground, with what appeared to be a pry bar in his hand.

"What the hell do you guys think you're doing?" he yelled as he dropped his food and charged the two men. He thought that his yelling and being caught in the act of trying to steal his truck would be enough to scare the two off. Instead, however the one guy jumped down from the cab, while the other circled around him. They were both about the same size as Bill, but there were two of them and one had a weapon.

"Give me the keys," one of the men shouted as the other shoved him against the truck.

"Go to hell!" Bill shouted in reply, hoping that someone would hear the commotion and intervene.

The guy with the pry bar raised it over his head and tried to hit Bill, who was able to deflect the blow, the bar hitting the side of the cab with a load clang. Bill was able to land a solid punch to the face of his attacker, knocking him to the ground, momentarily stunning him. Bill maneuvered himself away from the side of the truck, took up a defensive posture with his back towards the rear of the truck. His two assailants stood between him and the front of the cab. With the engine still running, they never heard the berth door open and close and the approaching footsteps. Bill was never so happy to see his muscular wife turn the corner around the front of the cab, and sneak up behind the two men. Before either could react to her presence, she grabbed the shoulder of the one with the pry bar, spun him around and landed a powerful punch, which knocked him back against the truck. Before he could come to the aide of his accomplice, Bill landed a solid punch of his own, this time the guy stayed down.

"What do we do now?"

They never got the chance to decide. Suddenly a police car with lights flashing entered the parking lot, followed shortly by a second car. Apparently someone from the diner had seen the fight and had called the police. Two cops, their guns drawn approached the truck.

"Hands against the truck, you two," one of the officers shouted.

"They tried to hijack our truck," Bill responded as he stood his hands against the truck next to Gail. Gail spoke calmly to the officers, "Our ID's are in our wallets and the registration is in the truck." The officers from the second car put cuffs on the two guys on the ground and hauled them to their feet. "OK, mister; with two fingers, slowly pull your wallet out of your pocket. Keep your other hand on the truck," obviously worried about the size of Gail's muscular back and arms. "Don't worry Tom, I've got him covered."

Gail pulled her wallet out of her pocket and handed it backwards to Officer Tom, who flipped it open and studied the AZ CMV license. "That's my husband, Bill; they tried to jump him to get the truck."

"It's OK Dave; I think they're telling the truth. Sorry ma'am, I've never encountered any woman as muscular as you. I guess they picked on the wrong truckers."

The two would be hijackers were placed in a squad car and taken away. Gail and Bill were taken one at a time into the back of Tom and Dave's car and asked to give a statement. Satisfied that they're stories were pretty much the same. Gail and Bill were freed to go.

Bill said to her, "Is it okay if you drive, I'm pretty shook up at the moment."

Gail climbed up into the rig, which she had been allowed to turn off before; waited for Bill to get settled into the passenger seat, and started the engine. From her vantage point above the squad car she could see Tom looking out his window at her. With a short blast of the horn, she looked his way, smiled and gave him a single arm flex; her bicep bulging to the size of a small grapefruit.

"What was that all about?" Bill asked.

"Just showing a little appreciation to one of Ohio's finest."

She pulled the big rig out of the parking lot and back on to the Interstate. A few minutes later, they were heading east once again. Now in a playful mood, knowing that the police often monitor channel 19; she grabbed the mic from its holder, "Officers Tom and Dave, if you have your ears on this is Daddy's Little Girl sending out a well deserved thank you for all your help."

After about a half an hour riding in silence, Bill said to Gail: "I can't tell you how happy I was to see you come around the front of the truck. I thought I was dead for sure." He sat up, gave her a kiss on the cheek, his hand resting on her bicep just a little longer than necessary.

"Well, that cost us a couple of hours. Now we won't get in until eleven."

They traveled the next four hours, listening to the chatter on the CB, and with Gail doing most of the talking. As they pulled off the Interstate in Bedford, Pa, Gail headed for the Denny's. She pulled into the Denny's lot and shut down the engine. Bill was already out of the truck and waiting for her to join him. Gail knew there was something bothering him and was pretty sure she knew what it was. Gail asked for a booth in the back so they could have a little privacy. After they had placed their order she asked, "Are you going to tell me what's wrong, or do I have to guess?"

After several moments he looked up at her, his eyes were wet, filling up with tears. "Gail, I was so scared back there. What if you hadn't been there? Worse still, what if you didn't wake up when you did? You would have been in real danger and I would have been to blame. You could have been hurt, raped or killed and I did nothing. You must think I'm such a wimp; why do you stay with me?"

She reached across the table and taking his wrists in her hands she practically dragged him across the table. "Don't you ever let me hear you talk like that again. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I am never going to let you go. Do you hear me? Never. What did you think you were going to do back there, anyway? It was two against one and one of them had a weapon. When I came around the corner it looked to me that you were holding your own against them, I just evened the odds a little. One on one you held up your end just fine. I want you to stop beating yourself up over this. Let's face it; I'm always going to be bigger and stronger than you. It's in my genes. You've come a long way from that skinny teenager I found in my rig all those years ago, and I'm very, very proud of you. But unless you start working out on that heavy bag I installed a couple of years ago and take some serious martial arts training, you're not going to be a kick-ass fighter. That's not who you are. Please, please don't try to be something you're not. I love you as the kind, caring, and loving man that you are; who complements my being rather than competes with me."

Their conversation was interrupted when their waitress arrived with their dinners. They ate their meals in silence; it was apparent to Gail that something was still bothering him. When the check came, she let him pay and as they exited the building she said, "I think it's your turn to drive."

Half way to South River, Bill asked, "When do you work out on the heavy bag? I don't remember ever seeing you do it before."

"I started a couple of years ago. I wanted to work on my stamina, and because I really dislike running on the treadmill, I developed a routine for myself which I do when we are home."

"When? I never see you do it."

"I do it early in the morning, either when you are still sleeping or when you had already left for work."

"I don't understand, why would you hide that from me?"

"I wasn't really trying to hide it from you as much as I was trying to protect you from precisely what you were feeling before. Bill, when I work out on the bag it's pretty intense; the raw animalistic feelings within me come out and it's very, very violent. That's not how I wanted you to think of me."

Gail could almost see the images that were flashing through his mind as they approached the Norristown exit just prior to heading into New Jersey. She could also see the lump that was forming down the inside of his thigh. 'Oh dear; I hope I haven't just opened Pandora's box.'

They reached their exit off the NJ Turnpike at about 10:30 PM. They traveled South on Route 18 for about five miles, stopped a local bar to get a celebratory beer and to use the bathrooms and then, before they could get into any trouble, they drove the remaining couple of miles to the job site. Gail pulled the truck into the back of the parking lot, figuring that when the installation crew arrived they would tell her where to drop the trailer. Looking at her watch and then at Bill she announced, "We made it with plenty of time to spare; only two more runs to go. We'd better get some rest while we can."

Bill looked into her eyes and saw the playfulness that was hiding within. Gail looked into his eyes and saw nothing but lust. They took off their boots and stripped off their clothes as fast as they could. Then, not wishing to waste any more time, they both scrambled back into the sleeping berth. Gail opened the air vents and pulled back the curtain, figuring that they would be getting up at first light.

There was little need for foreplay. Gail didn't know if it was their lack of intimacy for the last four days, their close encounter back in Ohio or Bill's sudden awareness of her secret stamina workout, but there was no satisfying his lust for her. She lay back as he crawled up between her outstretched legs and buried his cock deep within her already sopping-wet pussy. She lost count of the number of orgasms she experienced that night; all she knew was that she had been fucked, long and hard, until her lover could no longer respond. They passed out in each other's arms, completely sated.

Gail's eyes flew open. The sound of birds chirping filled the air and the light from the early morning sun bathed the interior of the sleeper in a warm glow. It was a little after seven and the crew was not due until eight.

"Bill, come on wake up; it's almost time to go to work." He opened his eyes and looked sheepishly down at her. "I'm sorry Gail, I don't know what came over me last night. All I could think about was you hitting that guy, and then I kept picturing you punching that bag; I've never been so turned on in all my life."

"Don't be sorry; that was the most incredible night of pure animalistic sex we've ever had." She smiled down at her lover. "I just hope I can walk."

They found their clothes, dressed and headed towards the building. Several pickup trucks had already pulled into the lot. Gail and Bill walked towards the main door of the building, just as two men came out. One was giving orders to the other.

"When our truck arrives with our equipment, I want you to lay a path of masonite from the curb to the elevator. We'll bring the furniture in as is and stage it on each floor where we'll put it together and do the installation room by room."

"OK, Larry; you got it."

Bill and Gail walked up to him and Gail asked, "Are you the foreman?"

"That's me, Honey. What can I do for you?" he asked, giving her a long slow inspection from her toes to the tip of her head and back down again.

"Where do you want my trailer?"

"Right here, curb side, pointing that way."

"You got it. I'll be right back."

She turned and walked back toward the truck; her broad shoulders were in stark contrast to the gentle roll of her fine ass packed tightly into her well-worn jeans. When she was out of earshot he turned to Bill and commented, "That, my friend, is one well put-together woman. And look at the muscles on that broad. Wow."

"I know; that's one of the reasons why I married her."

"Oh, sorry; I meant no disrespect. I just wish I could find a woman like that." From across the lot they heard the diesel start up and soon Gail had the trailer right where Larry had asked her to place it.

Gail brought up her clipboard with the paperwork to be signed while Bill scurried over the back of the tractor disconnecting the air lines and dropping down the front wheels, which would be used to jack the trailer off the tractor.

Larry and Gail walked to the back of the trailer. While Larry studied her body, noting the size of her shoulders and arms, Gail cut the seal from the factory and opened the rear door.

"As you can see, the factory seal was unbroken and the entire truck is filled just as it was when we left the factory. If you will just sign here, I can drop the trailer and we can get on our way. I was given instructions to let you use the trailer for the packing materials. We'll be back Monday evening with the next trailer load and we'll swap trailers."

As he signed the paperwork, Larry looked up and asked her, "You obviously work out a lot. What's your personal best on the bench?"

"Mine is 255. From the looks of you, I can tell that it's been a while since you've done any serious lifting; what's yours."

"You're right; my best was in college, 235. But that was when I was in much better shape and before I tore up my shoulder."

"Too bad, you look like you had real potential. Try to lay off the beer," she said with a chuckle, giving his belly a backhanded slap.

"Are there any more at home like you?" he asked.

"No, I'm afraid they broke the mold after they made me, sorry."