Chapter Seven

They were in the middle of Tallahassee when

Shepherd realized he had a problem. “Uh, Brogan, how far until we

stop for the night?”

Brogan looked at his tablet that was clamped

to the dashboard before he said, “About twenty minutes or so.

Why?”

“Oh, um, it’s just that I need to, um…” He

felt like a little kid who drank too much soda on a road trip with

his parents and was paying for it now.

“Got to take a pee?” Brogan asked without

sounding judgmental.

“Um, I wouldn’t put it like that, but yes. I

do.

Without looking away from the traffic ahead

of him, Brogan reached between his seat and the door. A moment

later, he handed Shepherd a two-liter bottle that was covered with

black duct tape with skulls all over it.

Shepherd noted that it had a wider than

normal top, which was unusual. He took the bottle then looked from

it to Brogan. “Um, what do I do with this?”

Brogan chuckled, but Shepherd had bigger

problems than being the butt of the other man’s joke. “Take off the

top, stick your dick in it, and pee. Then put the top back on. When

we get to the truck stop for the night, it will be your

responsibility to take it into the men’s room, dump it, rinse it

out, and bring it back.”

“You do this often?” he asked as he looked

around, wondering if anyone would be able to see him if he did his

business here, or if he should move to the back of the cab.

“Almost every day. It keeps me from having

to pull off the road more than I absolutely have to.”

“Oh. That makes sense,” Shepherd said.

“Don’t worry. No one can see you pee in the

bottle, except me, and I’ve already seen your dick.”

Shepherd felt his entire body burn with

embarrassment as he followed Brogan’s fairly simple instructions on

how to use the bottle. By the time he was screwing the cap bag on,

he sighed with relief. Then he wondered where he should put it so

he would not forget it when they got to wherever they were going to

spend the night.

“Just set it down in the footwell,” Brogan

instructed. “Don’t worry, Hoss, we’ll make a trucker out of you

yet.”

That thought had Shepherd chuckling. “That

might just kill my father. Though he would say it was an honest job

where in his eyes my art and writing are frivolous, a waste of

time, and not worthy of his respect.”

“I hate to say this, Hoss, but I’m coming to

not like your father all that much.”

Shepherd huffed a sigh. “That’s okay, I’ve

hated him for most of my life. At least he doesn’t have access to

my money, so once I get somewhere safe, I’ll make a few calls to

rearrange some things with my agent and banker before I disappear.

I’m just not sure he’ll let me go that easily. Especially if he

already took money from Carlos Reymundos.”

“We’ll figure something out to keep you

safe, because I’m not sure I’ll be letting you go any time

soon.”

Shepherd’s heart squeezed at Brogan’s bold

claim. The man had known him less than a day and was already

planning to keep him. That was unheard of his in his world. But

Brogan was unlike any man he had ever met before. He was

hardworking and down to Earth, a solid man with a caring

spirit.

“Don’t you think you should wait until you

know me better to make that decision? A couple more days and you’ll

probably want to toss me out a window while roaring down the

highway.”

Brogan sent him an unreadable expression,

but then turned his attention back to the road. He exited onto the

access road and they were soon in line for the gas pumps.

Shepherd jumped when a loud alarm sounded

from Brogan’s phone.

“What’s that?”

“The timer. We got here just in time,” he

said, picking up his phone and silencing it. “I’m only allowed to

be on the road for fourteen hours a day. Then I have to take a

ten-hour break before starting my next day. Since the depot we’re

delivering to doesn’t open until seven, we have twelve hours before

we have to be on the road again.

“Oh. Okay. So, what do we do now?”

“First, we gas up and park. Then we’re going

for a walk to the gym that’s about a half mile down the road so you

can see how I maintain my muscles while sitting behind the wheel

all day,” Brogan said with a smirk. “By the time we get back, the

dinner rush should be over so we can take our time while we eat.

After that, we go back to the truck and get some sleep.”

Shepherd nodded his agreement. “And then we

do it all over again tomorrow?”

“Yep, we do. If we’re lucky we’ll get to

Memphis tomorrow and the next day, with luck, we’ll have a short

day and a couple days off.”

****

Brogan watched as Shepherd thought over the

schedule for the next few days. He loved being on the road, seeing

the country, knowing the goods he delivered were needed. Though he

never claimed it himself, Sam loved to tout that they were the

unsung heroes of the country.

But he had to admit, by this time in a

three-week run, he looked forward to a week off. He only hoped that

when he went back on the road, they had Shepherd’s scary situation

figured out and the man could go with him.

Or maybe he would send Sam out on the next

three-week run and take some extended time at home. It all depended

on the man sitting in the cab beside him.

He pulled up to the gas pump and got out.

After setting up the pump, he used the long-armed sponge and

squeegee to wash the windows. When he got around to the passenger’s

side, he realized Shepherd was not in his seat. So where was

he?

It took a good fifteen minutes to fill both

tanks. Just as he was finishing up, Shepherd appeared at his

side.

“Where were you?” he asked, hoping he didn’t

sound as fearful as he felt.

“I took the bop inside and cleaned it.” He

held up the big black bottle that Harry had made the trucks for

Halloween the year before. “Then I took a few minutes and looked

around the store.”

“The bop?”

“Uh-huh. Sounds a little classier than the

bottle of pee,” Shepherd said, as Brogan took the bottle from

him.

“Do you want to climb in and ride, or wait

at the door while I move the truck?”

Shepherd looked from the door to the truck.

“I’ll wait at the door. My butt is ready for a break from

sitting.”

“Okay, but don’t let anyone talk you into

anything,” Brogan said in warning as he opened the driver’s door

and tossed the bottle into the cab before climbing up to his

seat.

“Like what?” All at once Shepherd sounded

nervous.

“Like going for a ride with them.” Brogan

rolled the window down to continue the conversation as he settled

into his seat for the short ride to the long-term parking area.

“No way am I going for a ride with anyone

but you,” Shepherd called and then jogged back to the back entrance

of the truck stop building.

“Make sure you don’t,” Brogan said with a

growl as he put the truck in gear and pulled out.

It took him a few minutes to find a space

and park, but as soon as he did, he shut the truck down, and he

changed from his steel-toed boots into sneakers. He grabbed his gym

bag, then thought about it and grabbed a clean set of clothes for

Shepherd. The gym offered towels, and they could clean up before

walking back. He was tired from the long day of driving but was

looking forward to a workout … and then a long cuddle session and

maybe more with Shepherd.

Walking back to the building, he frowned

when he did not see Shepherd standing near the door. Breaking into

a jog, he slammed through the back doors, ready to tear the

building apart to find the man he planned to claim as his own.

Three steps from the door, he saw a pair of truckers had backed

Shepherd into a corner and seemed intent on scaring the shit out of

him.

Since he was bigger than either of the other

truckers, and in much better shape, he shouldered his way between

them so he stood between them and Shepherd. He looked down at the

smaller man and said gently, “Hoss? I thought you were going to

wait for me outside.”

Shepherd did not respond, but the fear in

his face made Brogan want to wipe the floor up with the two

truckers.

“Hey, what are you doing?” the trucker on

his left said. “We were here first.”

Brogan turned so to face the other two

truckers. They smelled like they had not bothered to shower in more

than a few days. He turned his head and took a breath of cleaner

air to keep himself from scowling and growling at their audacity at

cornering any man, but especially the one that belonged to him.

Shepherd’s hand stroked up his spine. His

touch sent a tingling warmth to his cock at the same time it helped

him crank down the hold on his temper.

“Listen, boys, I appreciate you keeping my

husband company, but he’s mine, so you might want to leave now so

we can get on with our evening.”

The two men frowned and looked at each

other. “Your husband? He didn’t say he was married, just that he

was waiting for someone. We didn’t mean no harm, just wanted some

company for the evening. Come on, Joe, let’s go get dinner.”

Once they were well on their way to the

restaurant within the building, Brogan turned and pulled Shepherd

in for a hug. “You okay, Hoss?”

“Those were not nice men,” Shepherd

whispered, his face buried in his chest. “And they smelled.”

“Like any business, there are a few assholes

like those two, but most truckers are like me. Family men and women

just trying to make a living.”

“Can we go to the gym now? And maybe not

come back until they’ve left?”

“Yes, we can go now, but if they’re staying

overnight, we might see them again. But from now on, you’re going

to stick by my side like Velcro, you sexy little trucker magnet.

Understand?”

That comment had the desired effect and

Shepherd giggled as he stepped back and out of Brogan’s embrace.

“You’re crazy.”

“Crazy about you,” Brogan said, wrapping his

hand around the back of Shepherd’s neck to guide him out of the

building and toward the shopping center where the gym was

located.