-1“What’s your dad’s work number?”

“Why?” She asked suspiciously.

“I was wondering if your old man would let you work for me until Dan’s suspension is up.” He laughed at the look on her face. “I didn’t ask you because I knew you’d agree.”

She laughed in response and gave him the number. Bo went into the back to get some screws for their latest adventure, and when she returned, Duke Cavanaugh was beaming ear to ear. His thin frame came to her side of the counter to shake her hand and welcome her aboard, then went back round to find the necessary paperwork she would need to fill out.

He talked while she wrote and rewrote her name, address, social security number and phone number. Collecting the completed the forms he asked her if all the wood was already loaded in her truck. She replied that it was.

“Well then, you go home and empty your truck, and by the time you get back we’ll have a company truck loaded and waiting for you.”

“Thanks.” She replied and began to leave.

“Hold on there Bo.” The older man reached over the cash register, grabbed her receipt and began to scribble and punch numbers into the calculator. He returned the paperwork moments later and the blonde looked it over.

“Mr. Cavanaugh?”

“Ten percent discount, all employees are entitled to it.” He answered.

She nodded, not many guys probably put the discount to use, and with the amount of building she and her dad did, it was heaven sent. “Thank you sir.” She told him exiting.

He just nodded. He knew her family could use the financial help.

Dan waved her off, and Bo hurried to unload the lumber at her house, remembering to grab her wallet, and returned.

The chestnut haired boy straightened when he saw the familiar Chevy pull into the employee section. Dan knew Bo was cocky because of her in with the boys, but staff parking was a new one, not like there weren’t other spots around. “Bo, you forget something?”

“Uh, no?” She replied. Maybe she had. She continued to the door of the office.

“Then what are you doing?”

Bo gave him a confused look. He didn’t know? His dad was so mad he probably hadn’t told him. And she had been so excited that she had left in a hurry in order to get back quicker. “You’re dad hired me because you’re a slacker and got busted.” She told him punching him playfully.

His look was unsure. “Doing what?” She had, in the past, stacked lumber for them when they were a man or two down, and was known to work in the mill on occasion.

“Driving truck in your stead.”

His eyes gave away his surprise. “You’re gonna drive truck?”

“Not the big one, just the four-by-four, I don’t have a commercial license like you.”

“Bo, I loaded up the flat-bed while you were gone.”

“So?” She asked, she wasn’t all that bad a driver, and Bobby Lee’s truck was nearly the same size, and more often then not had some sort of trailer attached, she considered herself mostly confident.

“The invoices are inside then, you can get them from my dad.” He told her not wanting to go inside himself, he was trying to avoid his father if at all possible, the man was getting skilled at breathing fire. He had to remind himself too that Bo wasn’t some rookie driver, she was more experienced than a lot of the other guys. “Hey try not speed all right?” He said giving her a punch as he walked back to the stack of lumber to help a customer.

“No, cuz then I’d be in the same boat as you.” She called after him. She didn’t speed in other people’s cars. Getting the invoices from Duke, Bo grabbed a tape and the gazetteer from her truck. She knew most roads in her district, but a couple of the roads were not familiar to her. The blonde hopped in her truck, spread out the sheets and plotted her route of travel. There were four loads in the flat bed, one was much larger and she wanted to get rid of it first, another, she was fuzzy on the address. Pulling out the gazette she looked over the map and decided on a plan. She was about to start the truck when Dan approached her.

“Lost already?”

“Just making a game plan.”

“Just because you get paid hourly doesn’t mean you’re allowed to stall.”

“You mean I don’t get paid by the mile?” Bo asked in feigning shock.

“You sound worried, but that’s to be expected if you planned on sitting here all day.”

She laughed and shifted the truck into gear, “I’ll see you later?”

“You bet.” He replied, and she left him in the dust.

Her third stop led her down the State Park Road, a trashy side of town that led the way to the state park. Turned out a new house was being built, a classy home, in fact. Bo checked the address as she went by, turned around and backed up the drive. She was negotiating the turnaround when she glimpsed four different colored Ford trucks of various sizes parked in the yard, and Bo gripped the steering wheel so hard her knuckles turned white. She parked and looked at the invoice, it wasn’t billed to Cooper and Sons.

Taking a deep breath she stepped out of the truck. The last time she had seen any of the Coopers she had been getting her ass handed to her by one of them. She pulled the Red Mill ball cap that she was given as part of her delivery uniform low over her eyes. The boys seemed to be taking their lunch break. Jake was sitting on the tailgate of his truck, lunch box in his lap, separated from the rest of the group. As the least threatening of the Coopers, Bo approached him.

“Hey, Jake? Where should I put the lumber?” She asked softly, shoving her hands into her back pockets as she approached to hide her nervousness, considering their last encounter.

His head snapped up like he had been shot. The brown haired boy attempted to peer below the brim of her cap. “Bo?” He asked, not sure what she was doing at a construction site, his construction site.

The blonde lifted off the cap and ruffled her hair. “Hey, I was wondering where you wanted the lumber.”

“Huh?” He asked mid mouthful.

She gestured to the truck.

“Since when do you work for Cavanaugh?” He asked swallowing his food hard.

“Since recently.” She replied curtly. “Where do you want it?”

“I’ll tell you where Sweetheart.”

Bo’s pleasant smile turned sour as she faced the speaker. Why would it be anyone other than Dan Cooper?

“You can stack it over with what’s left of the other stuff I guess.” Jake said putting down his sandwich and glaring at the scrappy and shorter older brother of his. All the Cooper boys were skinny, and had grown like weeds, except for Dean and it was too late for him now.

“What’s goin’ on?” Dean asked his brother putting a hand to his bare chest.

Did that boy ever have his shirt on?

“What’s she doing here?” He asked as Bo walked back towards the truck.

Bo hauled off as much as she could carry and more. This order had the largest amount of lumber, and she wanted to be there the least longest. 2x4x16’s she could handle in bulk, but carrying multiple 2x10x16s consecutively made her feel as though her back was going to break. She got maybe four of them out when a stray hand pulled some across the tailgate.

Restraining herself, Bo turned her head casually to the side, half expecting it to be Dean to whack her upside the head. It was a Cooper, but it was Jake, and not Dean, and Bo wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or still on her guard considering her last run in with him while shirtless.

“So how long you been working at the Mill?” Jake asked curiously as they worked together to stack the boards.

“Not long.” She replied as they dropped their load and headed back to the truck.

“What are your duties?”

“Delivery so far.” She replied.

“And how are you liking it?”

“It’s been good so far.” What she meant to say was ‘up till now‘, but Dean was probably within earshot, and she didn’t need to start a brawl, one, with the company truck, and two, where she was grossly outnumbered.

Jake started on the plywood. “Thanks for helping, but I can handle it from here, plus, you’re missing your lunch break.” She told him.

“It’s no problem,” He responded, looking around, “Plus Dean would put me to work doing something anyway, and the company’s more enjoyable here.”

Bo smirked. “Thanks.”

They unloaded the last of it.

“I’ll see you around.” Bo told him.

“You better, or the next time we do delivery we’re going to request you.”

“I don’t know if you can do that.” She told him kicking the mud off her boots and climbing into the cab of the truck.

“Well, we’ll think of something.” He told her, and as Bo fired up the truck and drove away, she saw Jake in her rearview, watching her leave, his thin silhouette standing tall despite the summer heat.

By Wednesday Bo decided she had a routine. It involved waking up, going the Red Mill, doing delivery, going to the Cooper construction site at least once a day (she’d gone twice on Tuesday), and hanging with the sketchy older men who worked the mill. After work she would feed the animals, cook dinner, and go for a run.

The lack of Dakota in her life was noticeable, but what disturbed her was that she wasn’t sure if that bothered her. On the one hand, he was out of her hair, finally, but it might mean he was wreaking havoc on others. On the other side, in her absence, his friends may have waken him out of his country boy coma. Wednesday evening, at closing time, Bo got her last task of the day, someone had just asked for a delivery of lumber. Dan looked over the order and looked at her.

Bo was no stranger to Dan’s expressions and snatched the carbon paper from him. The order was to the McAllister’s. “If it’s okay with you I’m just gonna take my own truck since it’s seriously right next to my house.”

Duke Cavanaugh had no issue with it, so Dan backed Bo’s truck up to the lumber pile and they loaded it up.

Bo pulled onto her road thinking about how long it was since she had last seen Dakota. Sunday night, when he was chatting up girls. Was three days long enough for his buddies to unwork the spell that farm life had cast on him? She hoped not, but was sort of glad that she would be the first to see it.

The blonde pulled into Hank’s driveway, hopped out of her truck, and bounded up the front steps. “Hank?” She called, pushing open the screen door. No answer. “Beth?” She asked, less enthusiastically. If Hank wasn’t around it was an intense probability that Beth wasn’t either. Turning to look at the dooryard, Bo saw Dakota’s truck in the drive and a Jeep. She had mistaken the full drive for a full house, she had forgotten about Dakota’s friends’ mode of transportation.

“Dakota?” She asked turning back to face the inside of the house.

The rumpled teen stood at the head of the stairs looking as though he had just woken up. A quick look at his clothing proved her right. He was wearing only boxers, and he had bedhead. “Bo?” He asked, his voice cracked with sleep. “What are you doing here?” He looked behind him and then back at her.

Bo half expected it was one of those awkward scenes you would find in a movie when the cheating man tries, unsuccessfully to hide the new girl he’s sleeping with. Since she and Dakota were not a couple she wouldn’t have been phased, though if the girl did show her face, Bo was prepared to verbally tear the both of them apart, it was just who she was. More realistically she suspected he was indicating to one of both of his friends to stay out of sight for their own safety. And if not, he should have been.

“I’ve got a load of lumber for Hank and was wondering where he wants me to put it.” She responded.

“Oh, well, he and Beth went shopping, I can call them for you if you want.” He told her weakly.

“That’d be grand.”

Bo waited while he called them, and then told her their designated spot. She was halfway out the door when Dakota offered up his services. “Do you need help?”

“If you want to.” She replied, stepping outside, glad to see he was still a pod person. Or at least polite. Bo backed the truck up to the garage and jumped out just as Dakota’s entrance onto the scene was announced by the slamming of the screen door. Would wonders never cease.