An Offer He Can't Refuse: Carlyle

"Okay, let's go."

"I'm by Chilliwack on the freeway. Do you have time to get ready?"

"I'll meet you out by Bridal Falls."

"Uh, I'll be there in about half an hour. Can you make it?"

"Yep, but wait for me if I'm late. See you."

Mike hears the dial tone. He clicks 'end' and puts the cell phone in the charger. He thinks back on her physical attributes: brunette with green eyes and very white complexion, born of Kurdish parents from Armenia, not too experienced with men and easily blushes all over. He's happy he caught her home.

The flat fields of the valley give way to rolling highway after Mike passes Chilliwack and he is soon busy shifting gears up and down in hilly conditions. He seldom checks the tachometer as he shifts relying more on his ears and the vibrations of his steed. Things level out a bit just passed Mount Cheam and it isn't long before he sees the Kiddyland at Bedrock Village and just beyond Bridal Veil Falls. He signals for the Agassis exit and uses it to get on the access road to the falls.

He doesn't see her and doesn't know her car so he parks on the shoulder. Climbing down he uses this opportunity to check the trailer brakes and tires. He sees the older mint green Volvo station wagon pull in and park in the falls parking lot near him at the front. She waves frantically at him until he responds with a wave of his own.

She hauls an overnight bag out of the rear hatch of the wagon and comes over the curb running to him. She drops it and throws her arms around his neck. "Oh Mike, I'm so happy to see you!" She kisses him and he slides his arms around her holding her in the kiss longer. He lets her go and she is blushing scarlet as she gasps, "I thought you'd forgotten me! It's been three long months. I have so much to tell you."

Mike chuckles, "Okay, let's get you up top first." He gets her bag and takes it up to her door where he tosses it up on the console. He looks down and she is climbing behind him. He steps up and turns to give her a hand. When he pulls her inside she throws her arms around his neck again and brings her lips to his in a long passionate kiss.

He can feel the heat from her face on his and radiating through her clothes on his hands as her hot flush runs rampant. She pulls herself free and casts her eyes down.

Mike clears his throat as he pulls her door shut. He climbs over the console by going behind her seat and she follows to prop herself up on the console by him. He looks over at her car; "Are you sure you want to leave that there. It's out front and easy for anyone to see."

"It's okay. Let's go."

He looks steady at her and she lowers her gaze turning red again. Then she peeks up at him with her broad grin and the two deep dimples in her cheeks show up spotted with freckles. "Well, let's go!" she urges.

Mike selects a gear and they are soon rolling into traffic again. It is cool and shady here in the shadow of the mountain and the falls. It will be for quite a few miles. As they settle for the long haul Veronica can't contain herself.

"Where have you been? I hoped you would call sooner."

"I only haul on a part time basis and my wife does go with me some times. I haven't had all that many longer hauls. You've been on my mind a lot though."

"I wanted to tell you I'm going to have a baby. Isn't that something?"

"You are? When did you find out?"

"I don't think it's yours, I think it's Marv's. The doctor thinks I'm two months but it could be three. In that case it might be ours." Mike glances at her red face and then down her form. "No, it doesn't show yet. I want it to be yours but I don't think it is."

Mike says nothing but minds his driving.

"Oh and I'm getting married. We haven't set a date yet. We aren't sure if we want to wait until after the baby is born or do it now. But he proposed and I said yes."

Dryly Mike comments, "You're full of news." He glances and she is mildly blushing again.

She stretches, "I wanted to tell you right away but you didn't call."

"Veronica, we are only friends. Isn't that what you agreed to?"

"You said you would always remember me." Her voice is lower.

Mike places a hand on hers on the console, "I do remember you. I think of you often but I have a busy life." He brings his hand back to the gearshift knob.

"I know you have a wife and a mistress. That's a lot to think about."

"And I have a security business to attend."

"Yep and a new office in Langley."

He looks quick at her, "How'd you know that?"

"It's in the new phone book."

"Oh." He gears down as they start the grade up into the Coquihalla Pass. Traffic is still light and the four lane highway is in excellent condition so they make good time.

"Can I put my stuff with yours?" Mike nods with a smile.

She pulls her bag through the curtain behind the console and disappears with it. He studies the summer foliage as they climb higher in the pass. Near the summit the trees are full of blossoms. It is springtime up here for a very brief season. It's getting quite warm in the cab and Mike undoes his shirt. He moves around in the seat wiggling to pull it out at the waist.

"Let me see if I can get it." He feels her hand on his back and his shirt is pulled out of his pants at the back. He glances back with a smile. She smiles back and leaves her hand on his shoulder.

He notices she is in a light cotton top and shorts now. "You changed? Is it getting warm back there?"

"Warm enough it was making me sleepy. That's why I came back up here."

"I'll turn on the air conditioning." He fiddles with a knob and then an adjuster. He holds his hand over a vent and smiles. "It won't get much hotter now."

It actually starts to cool down as they climb and the air gets cooler outside. Soon they make the summit and Mike stops to check his brakes for the downhill run into Merritt. He circles the load checking tires and brake adjustments with her right behind him. She says, "Last time we were here it was snowing. Remember?"

"Last time we ran into a lot of snow."

He boosts her back up the ladder to his door and she grins down at him as he follows. "Were you peeking up my shorts?"

"Uh huh," he winks at her and she blushes.

Belligerently she says, "I don't care. You can if you want." She climbs on the console and Mike takes his seat. Soon they are descending and Mike is busy cautiously braking and using the backpressure of the Jake brake to slow them. On the level spots they get a break from the barking of the brake to chat. Mike checks his watch.

"We'll be in Merritt by eleven. Do you want to stop for an early lunch?"

"Is Bambi still working there?"

Mike nods.

"Let's skip it." They look at each other and nod together laughing.

Mike says, "Kamloops for lunch then. It will be a little after twelve."

She pipes up, "I'm buying."

"No way."

"I insist! You can buy supper."

"Okay. You must be working more now."

"I had a month steady with the RCMP. The receptionist had a baby. They offered me her job but I said no. I like it as a temp employee better."

"I'm surprised you get that much work in a small town like Agassis."

"I get called a lot to the prisons. We have both the minimum and the max you know."

"I know. How do you like working there? I suppose with Marv at the max you enjoy working there?"

"It's just a job."

Mike is concentrating on the steeper grade now as they near the tollbooth and gears down using trailer brakes to come over a slight rise and roll towards the booth. He pulls in and shows the gal his company card. She registers the toll and he pulls away again.

As they start the downgrade again he checks the setting on the air conditioner. Veronica is back in the sleeper so he tries not to use the Jake brake as much. He knows it's barking is loud in the cab. While wheeling along a ridge he spots the far buildings of Merritt in the distance. He feels her presence again and glances her way.

"Do you want some gum?"

Mike grins, "I don't chew, I don't smoke and I don't drink much either. No bad habits! Well, hardly any." He laughs.

"I know, none except me. How many ladies of the road do you have, Mike?" She sounds shy but resolute.

"A few."

"That's not a number. I know about Bambi. Who else?"

"Oh, three or four, I guess."

"Smile if you're lying."

Mike can't help but grin and she laughs. She persists, "Do you have anyone else in Merritt?" He shakes his head. "How about Kamloops?" He scratches his head. "Aha! You do have one there. What's her name?"

He shrugs, "That's Helen. She works on computers on her own but she's pregnant now and running only with the guy she thinks is the daddy."

"Could you be the daddy?"

"Naw, it was when I hadn't been with her in quite a while."

"Isn't she on the pill?"

"She was when I was with her. I don't know why she went off them." He hadn't thought of that.

"Anyone else in Kamloops?" He shakes his head. "How about Salmon Arm?" Again he shakes his head. "Vernon?"

"Nope."

"Sicamous then?" Mike says nothing. "Aha! Caught you! Who is she?"

"Haven't you got anything better to talk about?"

She rubs his arm: "Tell me! What's her name?"

"Whose name?"

She slaps his arm, "Your lady in Sicamous."

"Wanda."

"Wanda, eh? Where do you see her?

"She works at the Husky Truck Stop. She's head waitress on the night shift."

"Hmm, she'll be on when we get there. You tell her I'm your wife."

"Can't. She's met my wife."

"Will she tell her about me?"

"Nope, but she's not going to be happy if she sees you." He chuckles.

"Do you want me to stay in the truck?"

"Do you want to stay in the truck?"

She thinks about that. They fly by Merritt and start the upgrade along side a huge ranch. It goes on for miles as they drive the ridge overlooking it.

"I'm going in with you. You're with me and she'll have to respect that. Any more in Sicamous?"

"One other. She's a real estate sales lady that meets me occasionally at the Husky. Yeah, and Wanda hates her guts!" He laughs. "So does my wife."

"You live dangerous, don't you? Your wife knows you had sex with her?"

"Not for sure but one night when we were in there she came in and was drunk. She did some heavy flirting with me and wouldn't believe me that Marlene was my wife. My wife gave me a rough time in the truck after that and still mentions it when we are in Sicamous."

"She knows then. Women can tell these things. What's the lady's name?"

"Mavis."

"Okay, any more? I mean in Sicamous?" Mike shakes his head. "Well, that's four counting me. How about Revelstoke? Oh yeah, and the Okanogan?"

"Which?"

She grins, "Okanogan."

Mike shrugs, "Beatrice in Penticton. That's it."

"You're sweet on her. I can tell. How about Revelstoke then?" He shakes his head. "Hmm, Golden?"

"My brother lives there."

"No lady friends?" Mike says nothing. "Who is she?"

"Corrine."

"That's six! That's a few? That's half a dozen!" She shakes her head. "Hold on, you gave me her name too fast. Who else in golden?"

"You should get a job with the cops as an interrogator."

"Don't change the subject. Who is she?"

"She isn't available any more."

"How come?"

"She's living with my brother. She's his common law wife now."

"Really? You're still sweet on her though."

Mike smiles, "Yeah, she has three kids by me."

"Really? You got her pregnant three times? How come?"

"It was twice, she had twins the first time. It was actually two sets of twins but one miscarried. It's twin died of SIDS after it was born and home a few months. She was pregnant with quadruplets. I foolishly got her pregnant again while she was nursing the twins."

"God, it's a good thing your brother rescued her from you."

Mike shakes with silent laughter at her opinion. "At that time she was married to a friend of mine."

"I guess that's what friends are for, eh?"

"Don't be too harsh in your judgement until you hear the full story. I caught my wife with him first. Her and I were just teaching them a lesson."

"What a lesson! Is this where you're dropping the trailer?"

Mike backs up to the dock in Kamloops. "Yep, I just drop it here and we go for lunch. You must be hungry by now."

"Starved." She makes a funny face as if dying.

"Be right back." He goes to unhook the trailer and take in the bills. When he comes back she's not in sight.

"Hey Veronica, are you back there?"

She pops her head out through the curtain, "Yep, have you dropped it?" Mike nods. "I stayed out of sight." She points offhand to the corner of the windshield where the NO RIDERS sign is posted.

"Thanks. It's the insurance company that insists on that. The company leaves it up to us but tells us not to get caught." He pulls out of the yard and across town to the highway again. Heading east he watches for the Ponderosa and pulls off on the access road just before getting to it. He declares as they park, "Let's eat!" He reaches for her hand and helps her down off the console.

When she comes outside she says, "Whew, it sure is hot here!" She clamours down ahead of him and waits for him. By the time they reach the restaurant she wipes sweat from her brow but as they step inside the air conditioning cools them again. "I never realized how hot it was out there. Your air conditioner works good in the truck."

They both choose the salad bar for a light cool lunch. As they enjoy it she asks, "Does your wife run around on you a lot?"

Mike shakes his head, "She only did that because she was lonely. I'm away on the road a lot."

"You forgave her, eh?"

Mike mulls that over. "I'm not sure it was necessary. She never asked me to forgive her and I never thought of it. I love her and she loves me. I do recall us saying we were sorry and such but I never felt she had betrayed our love. She was just lonely. We're all human."

"What a quaint way to think of it. What about the kids though? Do you ever see them?"

"Whenever I'm in Golden I try to stop."

"Do they call you daddy?"

"Nope, my brother is their daddy. They call me father and I love them. I think they love me. I know they respect me."

"How old are they?"

"The twins are two and my son is..." he peters out. "Let's get out of here."

She pays the bill and they go back out into the heat. She comments looking at the tractor, "It looks funny without a trailer on behind it."

Mike checks that everything is secure on the fifth wheel and decking then climbs up to find her sitting on the console. He looks at his watch as he takes the seat behind the wheel. "We should be in Sicamous by four and back here by six or seven. I plan to stop back in Merritt for the night. It will be after dark by then."

"That Bambi better keep her distance." Mike looks and she is blushing again but looking determined. He pulls out onto the access road and at the corner on out onto the highway. He goes though the gears quickly getting them up to highway speed. She relaxes across the console resting her head on her hand.

"How do you know your wife isn't out with someone today?"

"For one thing she has the children. We have a seven-month-old daughter as well as three in school. For another I trust her to not discard our love. That means even if she is with someone else she keeps me in her heart like I do her."

"I have to think about that." She says it seriously and Mike notices she appears to be actually thinking about it. After a while she asks, "What about your mistress?"

"What about her?"

"You love her, right?" Mike nods. "Isn't that a betrayal of your love for your wife?"

Mike shakes his head. "When I make love to you then you are my world. Does that take something from my wife? I don't think so."

"But it's cheating on her."

"What am I cheating her out of?"

"Her trust."

"How?"

"She trusts that you will reserve yourself for her only."

"To the exclusion of whom?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, can I also love my mother or my siblings?"

"Sure. You know that!"

"How about her folks and siblings."

"Don't be silly! You're evading the question. You don't have sex with them!"

"Oh, so this is a question about sex, not trust?"

"Yes."

"Okay, how does my having sex with you deprive my wife of sex? She's not here to have sex with." He grins, "Let me ask you a question. Did you enjoy that lunch we had?"

She regards him suspiciously, "Yeah, I enjoy fresh summery salads. I enjoyed it very much."

"So did I!"

She grins and her dimples deepen, "All right, I know you didn't deprive her of having lunch because we enjoyed it together. Is that what you're saying?" Mike just grins. She insists, "But that's not sexual intercourse."

Innocently Mike asks, "Don't you think I could enjoy a banquet of you?" She turns deep red and looks out the windscreen at the road ahead.

Finally she pleads, "Mike, I want to understand how you think. I want to ride with you after I get married. Hell, I'm going to but I want to know how to make it right!"

"If you feel guilty about it, don't do it. It will only cause you heart ache."

"How do you love both of them?"

"I have room in my heart to care for them and many others. Marlene is number one and Trudy a close second. My son is next, I suppose but all my kids have their place in my heart."

"What about the one in Golden?"

"Nina too, most certainly and our children." He expands on this. "When my son Michael died of SIDS it tore a piece out of my heart that can never be replaced. Only the sure knowledge that he is now with my mother on the other side keeps me going and the need others have for me helps."

"So you love more than one woman?"

"Profoundly."

"Good!" She mulls that over. "You know I love you and Marv. I do, I love you both and I don't know how to explain it otherwise. It was bothering me. I want to marry him but I want you for my 'mister'. Do you love me?"

Mike squirms, "I don't know you that well yet. I care for you very much."

"How do you care for me?" She is peering intently at him.

"I worry about your well being and I miss you when I don't see you."

She murmurs so he hardly hears her. "That's good for a start."

It's after three when they roll through Salmon Arm. They are making good time without any trailer. Veronica has let her head slip down on her arm and fallen asleep. Mike drives with care to not disturb her. When they had come to Chase he had reached to adjust the air conditioner and when they get out passed Salmon Arm he shuts it down all together. Another twenty-five minutes and he is swinging into the Husky Service Center in Sicamous.

He has to cross the bumpy yard behind the service center to look over the trailers in the back lot. Veronica stretches her arms and smiles at him. He finds it hard to take his eyes off her smile. Among the short trailers called pups he finds the one he is looking for by the large numbers on the top front of them. He goes on looking for the other one but it's not there.

Mike parks at the end of the row and keys his cell phone memory. He selects CPX TO and dials.

"Canadian Pacific Express and Transport, Otobico Office. Si vous desirey le service en Francais pressey doux maintenant. Can I help you?"

"Twenty-one, please." He waits.

He hears, "Central Dispatch."

"Mike Claymore in Sicamous, British Columbia. I have 2342 here but no 2817 yet. Any idea where it is?"

"Hang on, Mike." Mike waits and makes funny faces at the phone to amuse Veronica. She giggles as she watches him.

"Mike? The transfer broke down just out of Golden. Calgary has another tractor out to bring it to you. Sit tight, it will be about three hours." He hesitates, "It's mountainous there, isn't it? Better make that four hours." Mike rolls his eyes.