Page 28 of Truck

“Oh, I should get a membership because I’d be no good if my vehicle broke down. I know nothing about fixing a car.”

Rum wipes his bottom lip with the paper napkin and nods toward me. “I’ll make sure you get a membership, Rory. Are you still coming on Sunday?”

“I am coming Sunday. I’m having a trip to the garden center tomorrow afternoon to get a few ideas and prices before I look an idiot for not having any answers. You can bet I’m going to get questions thrown my way.”

Rum nods. “Yeah, I imagine you will. Bring your information, and I’ll make sure Bull sets you up with a membership.”

“Thanks, Rum, that would be great. I’ll write it down so you’ll have all the information you will need.” I pick up my dirty plate and cup and give Rum a smile. “Back to it, Rum. But come over again at my break time and we’ll have another chat.”

“I will, Rory, I will.” Rum continues eating as I walk into the kitchen. I like him, and I’d like to know more about him.

On Sunday morning I park my car near the front of the gas station lot in front of the store. Climbing out, I quickly open the trunk and pull out my gardening gloves. Looking around I don’t see anyone, but I’m not going to waste time looking to find anyone either. I walk over to the side of the station and look at the area where there once was a border of some kind.

Pressing the toe of my boot into the soil, I’m very happy to see it is sandy. That means it’s going to be easier to work with. Bending down, I pull a few weeds and yeah; they pull out easily.

“Hey, Rory. Hang on let me get the wheelbarrow, and I’ll come and work alongside you.”

Turning my head, I see it’s Truck shouting to me, and I give him a nod and wave right before turning back and pulling more weeds. This isn’t going to take as long as I thought, and there are evergreen bushes at the back of where I’m weeding. I know that’s what they are, as I saw them at the garden center yesterday.

Truck returns with a wheelbarrow just after the other three I met previously turn up, and I’ve instructed each of them on what I’d like them to do.

“Pull these out, but leave those,” I state as I pull a bundle of weeds. “These are the ones we need to get rid of. If you see anything that you think may be flowers let me know and I’ll look before you just rip them out. Those at the back are bushes and they need to stay in. I need one of you to go to the garden center and purchase ten bags of mulch. We’ll get rid of all these weeds then lay a thick layer of mulch. It keeps the weeds down and moisture in so the border won’t need watering as much.”

Mitchell speaks before anyone else has the opportunity. “I’ll get the mulch. Do you need anything else?”

“No, not for the moment. But we may later. It will depend on what you want to do with the borders,” I respond and look at Truck for any remarks he may make.

Truck shrugs. “No idea, Rory. I don’t reckon we need flowers. As long as it is tidy, do we need anything else?”

I shake my head in response, “No, I think the evergreen shrubs are fine, and with the mulch it will be neat. The grass cut will make a vast difference to the look of it all. Do you have a lawnmower?”

“Yeah, I saw one of those sit-down ones in the back where the recovery business is going to be,” Xero replied.

“Okay, that’s great. Come on then, get pulling weeds. Mitchell get a move on,” I smirk more to myself than the men, but they all jump to it, so I’m okay with taking charge.

Chapter 15

TRUCK

Arriving at the gas station, I’m more than a little shocked that Rory is already here. She has her long-sleeved t-shirt sleeves rolled up. A tie in her hair, which is now in a high ponytail. I didn’t realize her hair was so long, but the length of that pony shows it has to be midway down her back when loose. I’ve not seen her hair loose as she usually has it in a bun, or in a braid that hangs over her shoulder, or when working she braids and rolls it into a bun.

She is around 5’6” I would guess, brown hair that has reddish hints when the sun hits it. She’s not thin, but she’s not carrying too much weight either. She has chocolate-brown eyes that sparkle when she laughs. Fuckin’ hell, I’m getting poetic, who the fuck am I turning into?

Xero is digging in a flower border while Collins drags weeds from the area. Rory and Mitchell each have shears and are hacking, and I mean hacking, at the huge bushes. The pile of cuttings they are creating needs to be got rid of, and I suppose this is where I can help. I grab a pair of thick gloves, the wheelbarrow and a sense of determination before grabbing a load of the cuttings and throwing them in the wheelbarrow.

“Good morning, all,” I say to get everyone's attention, but my gaze is firmly fixed on Rory.

“Good morning, Truck,” Rory replies with a sweet smile on her face. I get grunts from the others, which I ignore.

“I’ll clear all of this, and then we can move on to another area. You and Mitchell keep clearing it, Rory,” I give her a wink as I grab another pile of cuttings and throw them into the wheelbarrow.

Half of the morning is spent filling the wheelbarrow and emptying it into the dumpster. I keep one eye on Mitchell and the other two while I do it. No way am I letting them get to Rory before I do. Each time I see one of them flirting with her I make sure I hit them with the wheelbarrow, bury them in cuttings, or anything else I can think of. Eventually, they got the message.

“That looks better, Rory. I can see there were bushes that created that border now. They were far too high, and now you’ve cut them down they look tidy. What have you sent Collins to get?” I ask as I look at where she’s pointing to Xero.

“Xero is laying a thick layer of mulch, and Collins is fetching a border that I’ve seen. You just push it into the ground as it has spikes on the bottom. So, you push it into the edge of the border and the lawn, and poof, you have a neat border edging. It’s cool, and easy to move if need be,” Rory grins, and I return it because my goodness her smile is infectious.

We work right through lunch, and all of us are surprised when Rum arrives with a huge lunch order from the diner. Sitting on the bench close to the side door of the gas station building, we each ate heartily from the mixture of lunch foods Rum supplied.