The night is always filled with demons on the road. Something he always knew. It was 11:30 and the rain was driving hard against his windshield making the yellow lines his only companion. He knew this was a bad idea from the start in his old 78-ford truck, but he wanted to get to warmer weather and once he got to Florida he could get something else. At the time, it sounded like a plan, but the clicking coming from inside the block unnerved him.
His thoughts went back to the rest stop thirty miles back where the waitress told him to stick to the main roads because the back way were desolate this time of night. He turned up the radio to an old George Straight tune. Some calming music to drown out the knocking from the engine he thought. Outside the storm raged in intensity.
Thunder and lightning cracked around him lighting the road for a second and shaking the old truck. He was edging along at 35 when a bolt of lightning struck a hundred yards from the road. The thunder roared, but his attention was focused on the large clunk and dent from under the hood.
The engine stopped and he hit the wheel swearing as he coasted to the edge of the road. Without the sound of the engine, he could hear the gravel crunching under the tires as he came to a stop. He rested his head on the steering wheel wondering what he was thinking when he started this trip. As the song on the radio ended, he clicked it off and looked up at the hood that he could barely see through the rain. He did not need to go look to know what was wrong he threw a rod. He looked forward and backwards and saw no lights.
“I guess I’ll go take a look old girl, but I think this is where you’re going to stay.” He said with a sigh.
He searched around the cab looking for his rain gear then remembered he had put in the back with his tools under everything else he owned. He closed his eyes and tilted his head down.
“Why oh why.” He said shaking his head. He leaned back into the seat then reluctantly opened the door and was hit with a rush of cold rain and warm air. He was soaked before he even got out.
The journey around to the hood was against the wind and he had to lean into it to stay balanced. He popped the hood and it flung up smacking against the windshield putting a foot long crack across the driver side. His luck was not improving. Once he wiped his glasses, he could see the rod sticking tauntingly up from the block. Out of shear stubbornness or stupidity, he tried to push it back down. He knew even if he could it wouldn’t help the situation, but it would make him feel better. It wouldn’t budge. A quick inspection of the rest of the engine revealed nothing more than the normal problems that were always there. He moved around and grabbed the hood pulling it back down and latching it.
“So now what the hell we going to do old girl? It’s thirty miles back to where we came and I have no clue how far ahead of us anything is.” He paused waiting for an answer that he knew he wouldn’t get.
“Well I’m wet anyway I might as well start walking. I’ll bring back a tow truck for ya” He said slapping the hood and pulling down the rim of his hat to shield his eyes from the pellets of rain.
Grumbling to himself, he started to trek down the road. As he reached the first turn in the road, he heard a car coming towards him. He looked up and could see a pair of headlights coming towards him.
“Thank God.” He thought to himself.
As they approached, he could see it was a truck. He moved into the lane and started waving his hat in the air hoping to get the drivers attention.
“Please stop please stop.” The voice in his head kept repeating. As it approached the truck slowed to a stop next to him. Slowly the window cranked down.
“Bad day to pick for a walk in the country.” The driver yelled over the hammering of the rain.
“I didn’t choose to be out here.” He said with a smile that no one could see.
“My truck threw a rod about a half mile back. I was going to see if I could find some help and a dry spot to stand in for a bit.”
“Well it’s your lucky day. If you kept walking you wouldn’t find anything down that way till tomorrow afternoon on foot. Get in and I’ll take you to a phone and you can see about getting some help.”
He quickly obliged and got around to the passenger side of the truck and got in. As he closed the door, a ragged towel hit him in the face.
“Dry yourself off a bit” The driver said in a light feminine voice. He perked up and looked over at the woman sitting in the driver seat. Though his rain covered glasses, he could make out a blonde and not much else. Quickly he dried his glasses and looked again.
“And could ya put that under yourself when you’re done.” She said as she began to pull away.
“Truck threw a rod huh?” she queried him as he roughed out his hair. “What type of truck?”
“An old 78-ford. Had here for quite awhile. I knew something was going to happen from the sounds it was making.”
“Truck that old you have to baby. They take a lot of care to keep on the road.” She said shaking her head slightly.
She slowed as they came up on his truck. With great caution, she pulled in front of it illuminating it with the headlights. She could see the upraised dent in the hood and the large spider crack in the windshield.
“Ok I know what happened to the hood but what’s with the windshield? You get upset at the thing and smash it?”
“No. When I went to lift the hood it got away from me and must have cracked it harder than I thought.” A frown crept across his face.
“There a good garage around here that might be able to help me out?”
“Yep up the road a bit is Stan’s. You passed the road on your way to here, but probably couldn’t see it. Its pretty far back off the road.” She peered hard over the steering wheel looking hard at the humbled wreck in front of them.
“Not sure if it would even be worth it to have him take a look. It’ll probably be cheaper just to get something else.” She backed the truck up and pulled around to the side.
“There anything in there that you need?” she asked looking at the piles of soaked bags in the bed of the truck.
“Some dry cloths, but I know everything in there is soaked so I guess not.”
“Suit yourself.” She said as she was pulling away.
“ And don’t worry everything should be ok. There aren’t many people that come down this way, so it should all be here when you come back.”
“ I’ll take you to my place down the road. I’ll get a hold of Stan. He can get it off the side of the road for ya.”
“ Thank you. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.” He said smiling.
Slowly he pulled the towel under himself and looked over at the driver for the first time with clear glasses. She was Blonde and had a very sharp profile. He scanned up and down her and affixed his gaze on her breasts. Quickly he realized he was staring and spun forward to look at the road. He was suddenly uncomfortable. He replayed her image in his head.
She was quite a looker. The kind of girl he would have hit on anywhere he went. He was guessing she was in her late 20’s or early 30’s. Of course with his luck lately he figured he was way off. One way or the other she was definitely a warm sight for how he was feeling at the moment.
“So what’s your name? Where ya from?” she asked looking off the road for a second.
“Phil. And Michigan, but I was heading to Florida.” He returned his eyes to her but made sure not to look to far down.
“I am moving to warmer weather. Or should I say was until I threw that rod.” He looked forward as she turned off the main road and onto a side stretch that was sheltered by trees. Suddenly the rain slowed under their cover. “Nice to meet you Phil everyone calls me Blu. My place is just up the way here. You can warm up a bit and I’ll get a hold of Stan and see what he can do.”
He caught her smiling at him from the corner of his eye and returned the same.
“I am much obliged Blu. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.” He mind suddenly wondered into ways he would like to. A sudden perk made him switch his thoughts to other things.
“Not a problem I’ve been there before and I know what it’s like.”
They reached the house about 3 miles off the main road. It was a small but quaint place nestled in a grove of pines to protect it from the elements. Off the front was an oversized porch that was obviously use for entertaining from the number of chairs on it. Off to the right side was a hanging swing that could fit three comfortably. The house was covered in pine shingling and boasted a steel roof. It looked rather new probably built within the past couple of years. The walked up to it, or rather ran, along a patchwork of detailed stepping stones that lead from the driveway to the porch steps. On the porch, they shook themselves as she fumbled through her keys looking for the one to open the oak and stained glass door.
“Looks like you like to have people over?” Phil said looking around the porch.
“I would if anyone ever came. I don’t get much company out here. I’m the only one on this old logging road, so that also puts out my neighbors coming over.” She said as she found the key and opened the door.
“That’s a shame this is such a beautiful place you have.”
They walked in and Phil couldn’t help but marvel that the inside was even more impressive that the outside. Walking in they entered a foyer that opened into an immense living room complete with hardwood floors, river stone fireplace, western décor, and a saddle and tack on a sawhorse in the corner. Phil stared around taking everything in. Off the coat rack, a collection of cowboy hats and chaps caught his attention.