“And now?”
She propped herself up on an elbow to look into his face, “Baby, I’ve never been with anybody who’s been as concerned about satisfying me and as open to trying things as you are. You’re pretty fearless. And you’re good, too, really good. Plus we can talk about sex and neither of us gets all weirded out, you know? I love that. You’re the best lover and best friend I’ve ever had.” She lay back down in his arms, her cheek resting on his chest.
“Good.” Tony looked very proud of himself. “All I want is for you to be completely, totally, one hundred percent happy. I just want to give you what you want and need.” He stopped for a second. “But you’re still gonna have to drive that truck.”
Sunday rolled around and Tony decided to go fishing for the afternoon, and made arrangements for Bart and Vic to meet him at Taylorsville Lake. Not Freddie. He never liked that kind of stuff; he didn’t like to get dirty. Nikki went to buy her work clothes – carpenter’s jeans, tees, an steel-toed boots – and Tony ordered her to use his credit and debit cards and get whatever she wanted.
When Tony came in from fishing, Nikki had been cooking for awhile. He walked into the kitchen to see what was going on because there was so much noise coming from in there.
He stopped in the doorway and tried to take it all in, to let it sink into his mind and his heart. Nikki stood at the sink, barefoot, washing some vegetables. She was wearing a brightly-colored apron she’d bought at one of the boutiques in Gatlinburg while they were there, a pair of tight denim shorts hugging her sweet ass and peeking out from underneath the apron. Tony had bought her a docking station with speakers for her smart phone, and she was playing music, a female singer belting out a cheerful sort of tune; Nikki was part singing, part humming, her hips swaying in time to the music. She dropped the brush and vegetable and danced over to the stove where several pots were steaming, taking lids off and stirring first one, then another. The smell was beyond incredible, and his mouth was already watering just wondering what she was cooking.
She danced back to the sink and started scrubbing the vegetables again and, in that moment, Tony realized he was seeing something most men took for granted. But not him. For Tony, this was something he never thought he’d see in his life – a woman, a beautiful, loving, sensuous woman, singing and dancing happily in his kitchen, their kitchen, cooking a wonderful meal for him, waiting for him to come home, thinking about him with love and passion and joy. He whispered under his breath, “Nikki Wilkes, oh my god, I love you. I love you so much.”
As if she’d heard him, she turned gave him a wide smile. “Hi, baby! I didn’t see you standing there! I’m so glad you’re home!” She bounded across the room and into his arms, and the smell of her, her softness, was almost too much for him. He looked down into her face and couldn’t say anything, he was so choked up. “What’s wrong?”
He smiled through his tears. “Not a thing – not one damn thing. I’m going to shower. I don’t want to make you wait to eat.”
“How was dinner?” Nikki asked as she cleared the table.
“You’re a dream, sweetie. It was delicious. I’ll help you clean up.” He started picking up the plates and taking them to the sink. They worked together, side by side, until the whole kitchen was spotless.
“So what did you buy today?” Tony asked her after they’d gotten settled in the den. She showed him the shirts, jeans, and boots.
“I think I got everything I need,” Nikki told him. “And I got something for you.”
“For me? You weren’t supposed to be shopping for me.”
Nikki smiled. “Well, you’ve given me some very nice gifts, but I realized I’ve never given you anything. I saw something I thought would look good on you, so I got it. It’s kind of silly, I know; you actually wind up in the end buying it for yourself. So I guess it was kind of stupid, huh?”
“No, not stupid. I’m really excited. I don’t get too many gifts. And it’s from my baby, so that’s exciting, too!” He actually looked excited, Nikki thought. “Besides, you’ll be getting a hefty paycheck in a couple of weeks, so you can pay for it yourself,” he told her as she crossed the room and pulled the box from her purse.
“Here. She handed him the box, breathless and fighting her pounding heart. “I hope you like it.”
Tony took it and opened it, and the bracelet gleamed in the lamp light. He blinked a couple of times, trying to believe what he was seeing. If he’d picked it out himself, he couldn’t have done a better job. Nikki sat and waited, nervous and wondering what he’d say.
“Oh, sweetheart, it’s perfect. Just perfect. I’ve never had anything like this! Thank you so much!” He hugged her, then gave her a big kiss before trying it on.
“You really like it?” The look on her face, the delight there at giving him a gift, made his heart melt.
He gave her cheek a gentle kiss. “I love it. I love it almost as much as I love you!”
“Your truck’s ready.” Tony put the phone down and looked at Nikki over his sunglasses. “I’m leaving to go to the hospital jobsite. I can take you over to central supply to pick it up.”
“Sure. Can we have lunch later?”
“You bet. I’ll meet you at Café Mimosa at,” he looked at his watch, “twelve thirty?”
“Deal!” She climbed into his truck and, as she did, she looked over at him and smiled – he was wearing his bracelet! It made her so proud.
Even though she was familiar with Tony’s work truck, she’d never driven it. When they pulled up and she saw the giant, bright blue truck, she felt funny all over, and not in a ha-ha way. It was really, really blue and really, really big, and the brush guard on the front gave it a positively evil look. One of the guys in the supply office grabbed the keys and came out with them to look it over before she signed off on it. Tony did most of the looking; Nikki mostly stared, wide-eyed.
“Okay, I’ve gotta go. It’s all yours. And by the way, it’s diesel, so don’t go pulling up to any unleaded pumps, okay?” he grinned. Nikki nodded; she’d never had a diesel vehicle before.
Tony pulled away, and Nikki climbed – literally climbed – into the cab. If anything slid to the other side of the seat, she wouldn’t be able to reach it because it was so huge. She looked it over – GPS navigation system, satellite radio, hands-free feature, towing package, everything. The dash was covered in buttons, and she had no ideas what the icons on all of the buttons represented. She wondered if there was a toilet hidden somewhere in the cab.
She couldn’t find a place to stick the key into the ignition, so she tried the button on the key, and the truck roared to life, scaring her half to death in the process. She expected some resistance, but the gearshift lever slid smoothly into drive and she pulled out of the parking space and headed for the gate. As she neared the office, Clayton came out the door, popped a startled look onto his face, and grinned and waved as she passed. She stopped at the street, then pulled out into traffic, and she was surprised as she pulled out of the drive at how smooth the ride was. She had deposits to take to the bank – her first official duty, Tony announced – and she rolled out toward Katie’s branch of Kentucky Miner’s Savings & Loan.
But she almost didn’t make it.
She started to switch lanes and heard loud honking. That was when she realized that the truck was so big, she couldn’t see small cars in the right-hand lane, even in her mirrors. She tried again, with the same result, just a different car. Nikki felt tears coming to her eyes, and she wondered if she’d ever get over into the right-hand lane when she heard a honk and a man waved her over. She moved right, then waved back to him. I have to get some bubble mirrors for this thing before I kill somebody, she thought, making a mental note to herself to take it to the shop when she got back.
The day went pretty smoothly, all things considered. Nikki felt like everyone was watching her, waiting for her to make some kind of terrible mistake, but they were all very nice to her. That afternoon, she went to her house and pul
led artwork off the walls, loaded it into the truck, and took it back to the office. It was doing no one any good at her house, since there was no one there to see it, and it would brighten up her and Clayton’s office.
Clayton walked in at quitting time to see Nikki’s artwork all over their shared office. “Wow!” He gazed around. “This looks great! Hey, what happened to my stuff?” he asked, looking for the boxes he’d piled everywhere.
“All in here.” Nikki pointed to a whole bank of filing cabinets. “Every box now has a drawer, and everything is in hanging folders so you can find it. I hope that was okay.” The smile she gave him was small and timid.
“Okay? It’s great! You’ve really worked hard. I hope Dad plans to reward you with a nice dinner or something.”
“I’m sure he’s got something wonderful in store for me.” Nikki shot him a dreamy smile. “He always does.”
“So, how do you like your truck?”
“I hate the damn thing. It’s too big. I feel like I’m in some kind of tactical vehicle.”
“Okay, why don’t you tell me how you really feel?”
“Why can’t I just have a normal truck, Tony? Something not so, oh, I don’t know, fucking huge?”
“Because there’ll be times when you’ll have to hook up to something and winch it free, or drag something heavy, or power something with the generator, and you’ll need that huge truck. This ain’t no job for sissies, little girl.”
“Well, I ain’t no sissy. But I am little. And I can’t see out of the damn thing. I almost crushed two tiny little cars today because I couldn’t see them.”
“Then they should stay the hell out of your blind spot. Or better yet, if they were that little, they should stay the hell away from a truck that size. In that thing, you’ve got the power, sistah.”
“Well, hell yeah, I guess I do, huh?” she grinned.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Nikki looked at her checklist for the day. Contracts signed, correspondence done, disaster averted at the university jobsite, and she’d had the damn truck in for its first thousand mile service. She was pretty sure she’d never get used to driving that thing, although it was so huge that the Volvo had started to feel small to her.
They were staring down the barrel of a loaded August, and things were going pretty good. There’d been a couple more incidents at jobsites, some GoGreen graffiti at one, and a couple of pieces of earth moving equipment disabled at another, but nothing major. She felt like she was actually earning some of her pay too, although she still didn’t really understand half of what was going on around her. She’d spent some time helping central supply streamline some inventory issues, and she ran lots of errands.
At least one day each week Nikki spent the day with Tony, doing whatever he needed to do, shadowing him to see how he handled things. She had to admit she was impressed and very, very proud when she was with him. Not only did he know exactly what to do in every situation, but he was tactful, diplomatic, and kind, while still being extremely strong and forceful. He got results. She smiled to herself – he had the same effect on her in bed, and she loved it. He was a one man force of nature, and she considered being part of his world a privilege.
She told Cheryl goodbye for the day and strolled to the truck. Tony was at a jobsite on the other side of town – something to do with one of the university buildings – and she didn’t know when he’d be home. When she got to the house, she woke Bill and Hillary and sent them outside, then changed into some workout gear and headed to the garage. Tony had ordered an HVAC unit and had it installed, and the workout room in the garage was about as comfortable as they could make it. They had several weight machines, a treadmill, spin bike, and plenty of free weights and benches, plus a rowing machine. It was no commercial gym, but it would do.
When she finished her workout, she showered off quickly, changed into sweats, and started working on dinner. Bill and Hillary were still outside, probably playing in the dirt, their favorite thing to do; baths tonight for sure. It had been odd that they’d been sleeping when she came in, but they’d been alone all day. They’d probably been pretty bored.
She texted Tony: Coming home anytime soon? He responded almost immediately: Leaving the school site now. Be there in fifteen. She smiled as she roasted the peppers over the open flame of the rangetop, then laid them aside to cool while she cut up the chicken for the stir-fry.
By the time she had everything cut up, Tony had come through the door, kissed her, and changed and headed to the garage. After putting the rice on to steam, she started making the stir-fry sauce, a special concoction she’d come up with years before, and Tony had decided he loved it. She was getting ready to go to the garage and ask when he’d be done when she heard it: Tony bellowed her name so loudly that it made her jump even in the house. Her heart almost stopped, and she dropped the towel she’d used to dry her hands and bolted out the door.
Tony had dropped to his knees in the yard. Bill was lying in front of him, convulsing wildly. Not ten feet from them, Hillary lay still, a puddle of vomit by her face. “What is it?” she screamed, running toward them. “What’s happening?”
“I don’t know! I found them like this when I started to the house! Quick, run and get some towels to wrap them in – I’ll get the truck!” Nikki bounded up the back steps and into the laundry room, grabbing an armload of towels from the dryer and running back outside. Bill had quit convulsing and was lying perfectly still like Hillary. She threw a towel over him and scooped him up, then did the same with Hillary. Both were limp as rags in her arms, and she feared the absolute worst.
Tony had the truck running and she threw both dogs into the front seat beside him, then scrambled in herself. “Everybody’s closed now,” she wailed. “What are we going to do?”
“There’s a twenty-four hour clinic off Westport Road.” Tony was trying to keep the panic at bay. “I’m heading there.” Nikki held on as he gunned the big truck and she heard the engine whine as the turbocharger kicked in. She touched first one dog, then the other, but they were completely still, and she couldn’t tell if they were breathing. Oh, god, please let them be okay, she whispered to herself, horrified by what she was thinking.
Tony skidded to a stop in front of the clinic, and he grabbed one dog while Nikki grabbed the other. They ran inside, and the lady at the front desk whisked them into the back, calling to one of the vets as they ran. Within minutes, a team worked on both dogs as Tony and Nikki stood close by, watching and trembling.
They sat in the driveway, neither of them able to get out of the truck. Nikki pressed her forehead to the glass of the window, and tears rolled down her cheeks in torrents.
Finally, Tony spoke. “Baby, we did all we could do.” He reached for her, and she choked out a sob and turned to him, collapsing into his arms. Her chest ached so badly that it hurt to breathe, and she remembered the days right after Randy and the kids were taken from her – this felt exactly the same. Those two little dogs had been the only family members she’d had left, their little bodies wrapped in towels and lying in the bed of the truck now. Tony couldn’t understand how she felt – no one could. It was like the last connection she’d had to her old life was destroyed, and now there’d be no one but her who remembered it, remembered any of them, knew they’d even existed. She was wracked with guilt. She’d been so busy lately that she hadn’t spent much time with them, but she’d tried to give them some attention, even if just a little, every night. How had she let this happen?
“It’s my fault.” She wept loudly and clung to him. “The vet said they probably drank the first batch this morning, but I didn’t notice, I should’ve been more careful. I thought they were just playing. I should’ve . . .”
Tony shook his head. “Hey, you couldn’t possibly know this would happen. Those bastards are cowardly little shits, to hurt a couple of innocent little things like them. Those two never hurt anybody. What kind of monster does that? No way could you have dreamed they’d do that – you’r
e not wired to think like a monster. It’s definitely not your fault, or mine, so we can’t beat ourselves or each other up over this, sweetie.”
“No, but I should’ve been more careful! I knew they were still outside. I should’ve called them in.” Nikki cried harder. “Now they’re gone. It’s all gone. My life is all gone.”
Tony ran his fingers through her hair tenderly and asked, his voice almost a whisper, “What about your life with me? Doesn’t that count for something?”
Nikki pulled back to look at him. “Of course it does. But you don’t understand. They were it – they were all I had left of my old life, of my old family. Now they’re gone too.”
“But you have a new family, Nik. We love you. I know it hurts to lose them, but you won’t ever forget your old family. They’ll always be in here.” He patted her chest just above her left breast. “They’ll always be alive in there. But we’re all here, and we love you. I hope that’s enough.”
Nikki looked into his face to see a huge tear roll from the corner of his eye, down beside his nose, and eventually drip off his chin. “You know, I loved those little guys,” he said softly, his voice breaking. “I’m going to miss them too. They were the first dogs I ever had. Well, you know what I mean.” He wiped his eyes and blinked hard.
Nikki smiled through her tears and took Tony’s hand. “Thanks, baby. That means the world to me.” She thought for a minute, then asked, “Can we take them to the crematorium tomorrow? I’d really like that.”
“Sure. Whatever you want. We’ll get some urns or something. But Nik,” he told her, looking out the window instead of at her, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for all of this. I’m sorry you’re being hurt by people who want to hurt me. I’m sorry I ever asked you out, and . . .”
Nikki let loose an anguished cry. “What? Oh, god, no, please don’t say that! You’re sorry we’re together?”