Trucker Daddy (Working Man Series Book 3)

  Trucker Daddy

  Working Man Series - Book 3

  Elizabeth Rose

  ROSESCRIBE MEDIA INC.

  Copyright © 2021 by Elizabeth Rose

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual organizations or persons, living or deceased, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used, reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without the author’s written permission.

  Edited by Scott Moreland

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Epilogue

  From the author

  About Elizabeth

  Also by Elizabeth Rose

  Chapter 1

  Cal Reeves pulled his eighteen-wheeler up to the front curb of the Three Billy Goats Diner, chuckling at the sight of the goats walking around the grass roof of the building. The last time he’d been in the little town of Sweetwater, Michigan was nearly five years ago at his sister’s graduation. Some things never changed in this town, but things in his life certainly had. The biggest change was the recent loss of his dear sister. Jenna’s death had altered his life in more ways than he could have possibly ever imagined.

  “Well, well, will you look at that,” Cal said with a low whistle, still staring at the goats with a grin on his face. “The goats are still here.” A slight whimper next to him had him reaching over to pet the head of his brown and black German Shepherd, Burrito. The dog went everywhere with him, riding shotgun in the truck. Burrito watched the goats intently, wanting to jump out the window and run after them, Cal was sure. Still, Cal wasn’t worried. The dog wouldn’t leave the truck. Not when it had a job to do.

  “I’m so hungry I could eat those dang goats right about now,” Cal mumbled. The tantalizing aroma of rib eye and roasted garlic drifted in through the open window, as if to tease him. His stomach growled. He hadn’t had a decent meal in weeks now. Being a trucker kept him on the road and constantly moving. He never had time to stop for long, or to even think of settling down. Then again, settling down wasn’t anything Cal wanted, so he figured it didn’t matter much to him.

  Life had been a bitch lately, throwing curve balls at him that he never expected. Cal still couldn’t accept the death of his only sibling, Jenna. The poor girl didn’t deserve to die. Plus, she’d been the only family Cal had left since his parents passed on as well. Now that Jenna was gone, Cal was alone. Well, not quite alone, he reminded himself, glancing over his shoulder to the sleeper compartment of his new truck. There was something Jenna left him with, to remember her by. The constant noise today had been more than a subtle reminder.

  He turned around and peered into the living area of the rig. Little Magnolia, his sister’s six-month-old baby, was nestled up and sleeping in the car carrier. She was almost too big for the blasted thing, but it was all he had. Cal’s heart ached. Jenna had just started her life as a mother and had been so excited about it. This isn’t the way things were supposed to end. Now, little Magnolia would grow up as nothing but an orphan. Her mother was dead, and the no-good loser who had knocked up Cal’s sister had been behind bars for the last year or so.

  An accidental death from the house fire was what claimed Jenna’s life. Cal couldn’t stop blaming himself for her demise. After all, if he had been with his kid sister instead of on the road, she might still be alive today.

  Cal was the baby’s guardian now and the thought scared him out of his ever-loving mind. He didn’t know a thing about raising babies! Not to mention, his job certainly didn’t allow for something like this. Overnight, he had turned into a surrogate father. Damn, life just kept getting harder.

  Cal’s thoughts turned to the only thing he knew that would help calm his nerves and still his mind.

  “I need a beer,” he told Burrito, rubbing a hand through the thick fur on the dog’s neck. A cold beer would certainly help to ease his troubles. Just a few minutes to escape his problems was exactly what he needed right now. He had no one to talk to about his inner pain. His eyes sought out the diner. Cal realized now that he couldn’t mention his troubles to anyone inside. They wouldn’t understand. Especially not the twelve Taylor brothers who more or less owned and ran the entire town. Something like this wasn’t what men talked about when they got together for a beer.

  Cal had turned into a daddy overnight, and he couldn’t say he liked it. This was uncharted territory. He didn’t know much about the baby at all, except her name. Cal knew even less about being a parent. He glanced back at the sleeping baby once more, wishing he had contacted his sister more often instead of living the life of an over-the-road loner.

  Rolling up the truck window, he left the air on, but made sure to leave the window cracked so he could hear the dog if he barked. Cal released a deep breath, feeling isolated, weary and confused. Burrito sighed and lay down on the seat next to him, nuzzling his nose between his paws.

  “I’m with you, big guy,” Cal told him. “The sound of silence is golden, isn’t it?” His ears still rang even though there was a void of crying. Even though the baby slept, he swore he could still hear the wailing in his head.

  Magnolia had done nothing but cry since he’d inherited her this morning. Finalizing the paperwork wasn’t easy while trying to bounce a baby on his knee. Cal wasn’t the fathering type. He was a self-proclaimed bachelor, and a loner who drove a truck for a living. Most of the time, he did runs back-to-back and lived in his rig. He stopped at the usual checkpoints and played pool with the guys at the truck stops, having an occasional beer or cigarette to relax.

  What in heaven’s name was he going to do with a baby? It was a girl baby, making things even worse. He never could figure out girls as hard as he’d tried! Cal had enough trouble with women in his life, trying to avoid the one who’d already singled him out as her prey back in Texas. Shelby Winslow waited for him at the ranch he’d been renting. He’d picked her up in a bar and brought her home one night, and she’d been there ever since. That was two years ago! Shelby watched and waited with her ever-present wiles of trying to trap him into marriage. But that was something he would never let happen. Cal was never going to let a woman tie him down!

  Having a long distance girlfriend like Shelby worked just fine for him since he had no intention of ever making their relationship permanent. Cal didn’t like commitments. He also didn’t know how to tell Shelby he wanted to break up with her. He had his state-of-the-art, fully loaded truck now, and it was his home.

  Cal shook his head, trying to get used to the fact that he was a daddy now. The thought baffled him, and he couldn’t accept that it was real. Raising a child was something that would never work with his lifestyle. Even if he quit trucking – which he wouldn’t – he didn’t know the first thing about raising a kid. To make it even worse, he was doing this all on his own.

  This was all wrong. Cal wasn’t right for this, and anyone with half a brain could see that. Any fool knew that living in a truck and being on the road was no way to raise a child.

  “You stay here and watch Magnolia, Burrito. Make sure to howl through the window when she awakes. I’ll run in and get us some food.” He reached behind the sea
t, picking up the bottle from the loaded-down diaper bag that the Department of Child Services gave him at the reading of Jenna’s will. “I’ll get some milk for the baby,” he added, opening the door. Making sure to lock the doors for the baby’s safety, he hurried into the diner, craving a few minutes of peace to clear his head.

  Glancing back at the truck one last time, Cal saw Burrito staring at him through the window. The dog’s tongue hung out, and concern filled his eyes. Much like Cal’s own worries at the moment, he thought. Life had been so much easier before today.

  The whole situation seemed impossible, but Cal had to figure out how to fix it. He’d make it work if it was the last thing he ever did. He owed it to Jenna.

  Magnolia, while being the silliest name this side of the Mississippi, was as cute as a button. She was also his niece and there was no way in hell he was going to desert her when she had no one and needed him in her life right now. Since it was Jenna’s wish that he raise the child if she died, Cal would make it happen. With Marcus Styles, the baby’s father behind bars for at least the next fifteen to thirty years, Cal would be the only father little Magnolia would ever know.

  Who the hell was he kidding? He let out a sigh as he headed for the diner. As much as he cared for the child, the baby’s crying was going to be the end of him yet. Thank goodness she’d stopped wailing long enough for him to run in and pick up some food.

  He slipped into the Three Billy Goats Diner, making his way to the counter where the owner, Margery Sacks, stood counting cash while she talked with an older, short and plump woman. Margery stuck the bills into the register and slammed the drawer closed.

  “Table for one?” she asked, grabbing a menu.

  “Hi, Margery,” he answered.

  She finally looked directly at him. “Well, well, look what the cat dragged in.” With a glint in her eyes, a smile lit up her face.

  The older woman next to her looked up at Cal, squinting one eye and cocking her head. “Calvin Reeves, is that you?” she asked.

  Cal finally recognized the older woman as the aunt of the twelve Taylor brothers that he’d grown up with, although he couldn’t remember her name.

  “I haven’t seen you in Sweetwater since the death of your parents,” the woman continued. She stopped talking and made a face, acting like she’d said the wrong thing.

  “It’s so nice to see you, Cal,” said Margery, nodding her head as if she were pleased. The woman was getting up in years, but always had looked younger than she really was. “I suppose you’re here because of what happened to Jenna. It was a terrible thing and I just want to say I am so sorry.”

  “Thanks. It’s still hard to believe my sister is gone.” Cal quickly glanced out the storefront window, watching for Burrito to give him a sign that Magnolia had woken. “I’m here in town because I was contacted by Jenna’s lawyer, Zeb Taylor, about her will.”

  “It’s a shame about your sister. And it’s also a shame you don’t even remember me, Cal Reeves,” said the other woman with a sniff. “You should remember me because I brought you home more than once when you overstayed your welcome at my brother’s place, getting drunk with my nephews.”

  “Of course I remember you. How could anyone ever forget?” He flashed the woman a smile, searching his brain, trying to remember her name. He seemed to remember it was an odd name, but what was it? It was no good. All that was in his mind were the echoes of a crying baby. He just couldn’t silence his thoughts.

  “What’s my name?” The woman’s brows dipped and her mouth pursed.

  Just when he was about to admit he didn’t remember, the name rolled off his tongue as if sent from a divine source.

  “How are you . . . Aunt Penelope?” He grinned, proud he was able to pull this from thin air after everything he’d been through lately, even if it didn’t sound odd or quite right.

  “What did you call me?” Her hands went to her hips and her eyes narrowed. She wasn’t pleased with his answer. Suddenly, he remembered that Penelope was her real name but the Taylor boys had always called her something else. What the hell was it? He wracked his brain, thinking it was something like Happy or Nappy or . . .

  “Aunt Cappy,” he spit out, using the silly name that the woman’s twelve nephews gave her when they were nothing but children. Why would an old woman even care?

  “That’s better.” Her lips turned up into a grin and her hands slid off her ample hips. “I guess even though you’ve been gone so long, you haven’t forgotten everything and everyone in Sweetwater after all.”

  “Hey, guys, look who’s here,” called out a man from the back of the diner.

  Cal looked up to see Thad Taylor, his old school buddy heading over with a few of his brothers at his side. “Cal Reeves, how the hell are you?” asked one of Thad’s older brothers, Simon. Thad was the youngest of the twelve but closest to Simon even if Simon was quite a few years older than him. Simon’s blue eyes seemed to sparkle like the sea that he was so fond of. He reached out and shook Cal’s hand, giving him a hearty slap on the back, and Thad shook his hand as well.

  The twelve Taylor brothers more or less ran the entire town of Sweetwater since the death of their preacher father. Simon was the sailor of the family and an ex-Navy officer as well. He was also a big guy, built like a brick wall. Thad had tattoos covering his arms, and wore his hair shaved on the sides with sort of a Mohawk down the middle. Thad had always been different from his brothers, expressing his creative ways in how he looked or what he wore.

  “Hi, Thad. Simon,” said Cal with a quick nod, his eyes darting once more out the window and toward his truck.

  “Thad, is this that friend of yours from school who always used to get you in trouble?” asked one of Thad’s other brothers, who was dressed in a sheriff’s uniform, and had a cup of coffee clutched in his hand. He walked up with another Taylor wearing a chef’s apron. Cal didn’t know the older Taylor brothers that well, but remembered these two were Judas and Levi. With twelve of them, there was a large age span in between Thomas – the eldest, and Thad – the youngest.

  “Cal, you remember my brothers, Levi and Judas, don’t you?” asked Simon. “Levi’s the town’s mayor and Judas is Sweetwater’s sheriff.”

  “Sure,” said Cal, reaching out to shake their hands. “It’s been a while. I’m sure a lot of things have changed in Sweetwater since I left.”

  “Well, welcome back to our humble little town,” said Levi jokingly. “What brings you here? Usually when people move away from this little hole-in-the-wall, they don’t come back.” Levi chuckled.

  “Unless they’ve just been released from prison and have nowhere else to go,” mumbled Judas under his breath, getting a nasty glare from Levi.

  “Cal, you did say you’d never return to Sweetwater if I remember correctly,” agreed Thad.

  “It must have been something pretty important to drag you back here kicking and screaming,” added Levi.

  “Levi, I think you forgot that Jenna was Cal’s sister,” said Thad in a low voice.

  “Who?” asked Levi.

  “The house fire in Kalamazoo,” said Judas through clenched teeth, looking like he was about to hit his fool brother.

  “Didn’t Andrew tell you about it?” Simon asked Levi, then looked over at Cal. “Our brother Andrew is the fire chief of Sweetwater.”

  “Boys, his sister died, and I’m sure he doesn’t have time for all your chatter,” remarked Margery, most likely trying to keep Levi from putting his foot in his mouth again.

  “Cal, I’m sorry about your kid sister,” said Thad. “Jenna didn’t deserve to die so young.”

  “Oh . . . Jenna Reeves,” said Levi with an understanding nod. “She’s the one whose drunk boyfriend killed someone and was put in jail.”

  “You should know,” mumbled Judas, subtly reminding everyone that Levi did time. The town’s mayor being an ex-con was not what anyone would expect. Then again, Sweetwater had its own set of rules.

  “How about a beer?” a
sked Simon, saying the exact words Cal needed to hear right now.

  “I’m half-owner of the place so the beer’s on the house,” added Levi, trying to make amends for being so insensitive earlier.

  “Boys, that’s not an appropriate thing to say at a time like this,” scolded Aunt Cappy, swinging her huge carpetbag at her nephews. Levi jumped out of the direct line of fire and managed not to be hit.

  “All right, I’ll charge him if it’ll make you stop swinging that bag of bricks at me,” scoffed Levi, holding up his hands in surrender.

  “It’s all right, Aunt Cappy,” said Cal. “A beer is exactly what I need right now. I’m still pretty shaken about everything that’s happened. It actually feels good to be able to talk about it with someone.”

  “Andrew told us it was a fire in her apartment where she lived in Kalamazoo,” said Thad. “He said some guy who lived in the building fell asleep smoking.”

  “That’s right,” agreed Judas. “Jenna was working the night shifts so she was asleep during the day. The fire department got there right away, but her apartment was right above the guy who caused the fire. They found Jenna . . . still in her bed. She never even woke.”

  “Oh, wow,” said Levi, shaking his head. Simon and Thad just looked the other way.

  “Andrew said the building wasn’t up to code,” Judas continued. “It seems it didn’t even have smoke alarms. It went up like a lit torch.”

  “That’s right,” said Margery. “I read in the paper that Jenna had a baby, too.”

  “Yes, my sister had a six month old,” Cal told them. “Her baby was at daycare right here in Sweetwater at the time, and wasn’t harmed.”