Patreon LogoYour support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)

Hitchhiker (Princess_Ally & HotTexasCowboy)

P

Princess_Ally

Super-Earth
Joined
Jun 25, 2013
"No.. No, no, no…" Jacey groaned desperately, punching the steering wheel of her 1992 Toyota Corolla as it slowly came to a stop along the side of the road. The car certainly wasn't in anywhere near good condition, and had more miles on it than she would've thought possible. Even then, she hadn't thought this would happen, but then again, her little runaway plan hadn't been thought out all that well. As the car came to a complete stop, the realization of how stupid she had been to leave home began to kick in. Here she was, over 100 miles away from home, broken down on the side of the road with little money and no one to call.

With a sigh, she popped the hood and stepped out of the car, immediately regretting her choice of clothing as the cold air chilled her. Shivering lightly, she walked over to the front of the car, silently praying as she lifted the hood. Smoke immediately filled the air, causing her to cough as she took a couple steps back.

"Oh my god.." she whispered, running her fingers through her long, dark auburn hair, a nervous habit of hers. Although she honestly had no idea what the problem was, she could at least tell that it wasn't going to be an easy fix. At least not for her. Again, she couldn't help but think of how stupid she was for leaving in the first place. At 18 years old, she'd lived a sheltered life, and though she didn't want to admit it, she really wouldn't be able to make it on her own. However, home just didn't seem to be an option anymore. Not after everything she had been through.

Tears filled her light brown eyes as she stared blankly at the car, goosebumps covering her flesh as she wrapped her arms tightly around her torso. Her dress blew lightly in the wind, the thin fabric doing little to keep her warm. After what felt like forever, she finally stepped back towards the car, digging through the backseat to gather all of her things. There really wasn't much. Her suitcase, which was filled with as much of her clothing as she could fit and a few toiletries, her purse, and a jacket. Slipping the jacket around her petite frame, she took her bags and walked to the other side of the street, away from the car. For all she knew, the damn thing would blow up.

With a sigh of frustration, she dropped her things, sitting down on top of her suitcase. She sat silently, debating in her mind what to do. She had a phone, but she hadn't paid the bill, so that wouldn't do her much good, and as far as she knew, there wasn't any place within walking distance. Tears filled her eyes once more as she stared blankly at the vast emptiness that surrounded her. It seemed to being growing darker and colder with each minute that passed, but all she could do was sit and wait.
 
Tucker bobbed his head to the vintage rock playing from his satellite radio, keeping himself alert as he roared down the dark and lonely highway. Most of the traffic would be on the Interstate; only locals mostly used this older two-lane highway, and few of them this late into the night. Tucker was returning from a county fair in Reeseville, where his carvings had sold well, pretty much emptying out his Silverado. Tucker had more carvings at home, everything from furniture to animals and birds, to human figures (some tasteful, and some more racy). The country folk at the fair wouldn't have much taste for the really kinky nudes he liked to carve, but they were more for his own amusement, as were the toys he hoped someday to find the perfect playmate for.

He had skipped getting a haircut this time around, and his thick sandy hair was teasing the back of his neck as he nodded his head to the rhythm of early Carlos Santana. The hair was kept under control with a Houston Astros ball cap that showed years of use. The pick-up seemed like overkill for this ride, but it had been full of finished lumber when he set out at the crack of dawn this morning. Now the double-wide bed was virtually empty. While Tucker didn't need the money, he spent several weekends a year, particularly in autumn, hitting the fairs with his woodwork. The woodwork he'd be doing anyway, as a challenge to his abilities, but he sold off most of his finished work, just to keep them from cluttering up his home.

Back in the old days, I'd be pouring over the Asian markets around this time, he thought. He'd worked like a serf those years, accumulating his own small fortune, before retiring with a personal vow never to be someone else's wage slave again. Just the opposite, although that goal had yet to be achieved.

His silver-blue eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of reflection in his bright headlights down the road. In seconds he could tell it was a car pulled over with the hood raised. Too bad, sucker, he thought uncharitably, eager to drive on and reach home and bed. But he had second thoughts as he made out a figure sitting dejectedly on a suitcase down the road shoulder a bit from the car. Nice looking young woman, he thought, liking how her dark hair flowed off her shoulders as she huddled against the cooling night air. He didn't see anyone else around the car, and made a quick decision, pulling to the shoulder and slowing to a stop a dozen feet behind the car.

After a minute, he opened the driver's door, and eased his six-foot-one frame from behind the wheel onto the gravel. His boots crunched toward the car, his wide shoulders and trim body reflecting his college football experience. "Anybody here?" he called out, rounding the car to bring the huddled young woman into view. "Hey, Miss. You got some car trouble? Anything I can do to help?"
 
Jacey wasn't sure how long she sat there, but it sure did feel like forever. Her body shook from the cold as she huddled up, pulling her knees to her chest, causing her dress to ride up as she buried her face in her knees. She kept her eyes closed, trying to both contain her tears and keep herself from getting scared of the dark that seemed to consume the area around her. Though it was honestly the last thing she wanted to do, all she could do as she sat curled up on the side of the road was think. She thought about how she was going to get herself out of this mess, and the fact that she was completely unprepared for the step she had just taken. However, she also thought of how much worse things would be at home if she chose to return after she had left so abruptly without telling a soul. Overall, it just seemed like nothing was going to work out in her favor. Still, she was naive. There were other things that should've been on her mind, such as her safety and that fact that she was a young girl stranded by herself in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. However, those things didn't cross her mind.

It wasn't until she heard what sounded like a car approaching that her thoughts finally ceased. Her head rose, her eyes fluttering open only to see the road before her illuminated by head lights. Her heart began to race, a spark of hope running through her as she watched a man step out of the vehicle. She stood quickly as he spoke, grabbing her bags and practically running to him. More than anything, she just wanted to wrap her arms around him and thank him for stopping. She'd never been so happy to see another person, despite the fact that he was a complete stranger. "I.. I don't know whats wrong with it." she said desperately, her eyes red from crying as she stared up at him. At 5'5, he stood much taller than her. "It just wouldn't go anymore.. and then there was smoke everywhere." she told him, her voice catching at the end.

All over again, her eyes filled with tears. She turned to the side, quickly trying to wipe them away. She was sure that the last thing he wanted to deal with was an unstable, emotional teenage girl. As she tried to compose herself, the wind grew stronger, causing her dress to blow up slightly. She quickly moved her hands from her face to her thighs, trying to hold the flimsy fabric down. Already, the dress showed a fair amount, revealing her lightly tanned, toned legs. Her cheeks flushed as she looked down, her body trembling. "I don't know what to do.." she said quietly, her eyes still cast downward as she hoped to herself that somehow, this man would be able to help her.
 
Everything he was seeing convinced Tucker he'd made the right decision to stop. Even in the darkness, he could see enough of her to like what she was showing him. Petite, young, a helpless damsel in distress, he thought, and nice legs, he added to his assessment as the wind whipped at the high hem of her light dress. He still needed to learn some things, so for now, he would be her knight. "Let's take a look," he offered, returning to his truck to reach into the bed and retrieving a flashlight held to the side by magnets.

He moved to the open hood and shined the bright beam around on the damage. He could smell burnt oil even before he arrived. Not good, he thought, and the flash beam revealed the dark, greasy stain of oil all over the engine. "You said it was smoking?" he confirmed with her. "It's not good, Miss..." He didn't know her name yet, but that would come. "It looks like you're badly leaking oil. That's what was making smoke when it hit the hot metal. You might have thrown a rod, or cracked the casing somewhere. How old is this model?" If he had to guess from the styling, he'd put it before the millenium, at least.

He closed the hood and turned to her, letting the flashlight illuminate her for a moment before he moved it out of her eyes. "I could be wrong, but I won't lie to you. It could be pretty bad. For a car this old, the insurance may total the car out instead of trying to pay for repairs. We, uh," he waved vaguely into the air, "...don't have cell coverage on this stretch of road, but if I got you to a phone, is there anyone you could call?"
 
"Ok." she said in response, nodding slightly as she followed behind him to take a look at her car. Truthfully, she didn't know a single thing about cars. He could've told her a complete lie and she would believe it, but she couldn't think of a reason why he would do something like that. As far as she was concerned, all he wanted to do was help her, and she was gladly going to accept every bit of help she could get. Jacey listened as he spoke, trying to act like she understood what he was saying. "Um.. its from 92 I think." she told him, a couple of years older than her. She suddenly felt even more depressed than before. He was probably right, with as old as the car was, there probably wasn't much hope for it.

Jacey sighed, trying to keep herself composed as he spoke. She let out a short, bitter laugh as he asked if there was someone she could call. "Not anymore.." she said, her voice trailing off as she shook her head. Even if she did call her father, he probably wouldn't help her, not after she ran away. And if he did by some chance do something to get her back home, things wouldn't be pretty when she arrived. As far as she was concerned, at that point she was on her own.

At that moment, so many different thoughts were running through her head. This just wasn't what was supposed to happen. When she left, everything was supposed to get better, and she was supposed to be happy. So far, everything was just going wrong. "Are there any hotels or anything near by?" she asked, biting her lip slightly as she looked up at him, her innocence and naivety clear on her face. Perhaps she could just stay somewhere for a day or two, considering that was all she could afford, and try to figure things out. At that point, she didn't know what other options she had. "I'm Jacey by the way." she added, realizing that even after he had stopped to help her, she hadn't even introduced herself. "And thanks for stopping, it really does mean a lot." she said, smiling lightly for the first time that night.
 
He nodded to her hesitant intro. "You can call me Tucker, Tucker McPherson. Nice to meet you, Jacey, except for the circumstances." He gazed around, as if considering her problems. "Probably won't find a motel or a garage for your car until Springfield. That's where I'm headed, but it's a trip that will take most of the night," he lied. Yes, it would take several hours to make Springfield on this curvy road at night, but he was heading for his house another thirty miles on. "It wouldn't feel right, me leaving you here like this, but I don't know how you'd feel about coming along in my truck. I mean, a girl has to watch out for herself, if you know what I mean." Especially with guys like me around, he thought. "I could strap your bags in the bed, and the seat in the cab is a wide bench. You could even lay down and take a nap if you needed to."
 
Her face fell as he told her there wouldn't be a motel until Springfield, but her eyes lit up as soon as he said that he was heading there. That was honestly the most convenient thing that had happened for her all day, and it made her think that maybe, things would start to get a little better after this. She tended to see the good in every situation and person, and held tight to it, which more often than not was her downfall. She needed to learn that sometimes it was more realistic to focus on the negative things, rather than getting your hopes up for nothing simply because you tried to find the best in a situation.

"Well, I think I'd rather go with you than be stuck out here by myself." she said with a light laugh, not really taking his warning or realizing that she was putting herself in more danger by going with him. Not a single part of her thought that he may be lying to her or that he could potentially pose a threat. "You really don't know how much this means." she added as she picked her bags up from the ground, feeling more grateful than she could express to him.
 
He immediately went to help her with her bags, taking them from her and lifting them over the sides into the truck bed. There were straps there to tighten around them so they wouldn't slide or bounce out. "Is that all?" he checked. "Nothing else in the car you need to bring along?" When they were sure they had everything, he suggested she lock the car doors until she could get back here with a tow truck.

If she'd stayed here, in the car seat with the hood up, eventually a highway patrol car or a county cop would come by and call for assistance. But that might mean she'd end up back with whoever it was she didn't want to be with, he thought. This way, if the car was noticed, they might tag it with a ticket or two, but Tucker figured once he had things settled, he could come tow the car home himself, and erase the last trace of the girl from the public eye.

But for now, he was still the knight rescuer. He helped Jacey up into the passenger side (the step was pretty high), then hopped up into the driver's seat. "Okay, Jacey, settle in and get comfortable. I've got satellite radio here with some music from before you were born, probably, but if you'd rather find something else, feel free to spin the dial." He checked the road (empty, of course; they hadn't seen a car passing them the whole time he'd been there) and pulled out.

As they headed down the road, he started what he hoped sounded like innocent conversation. "So, um, if you don't mind my asking, how did you end up in this pickle? I mean, broke down on a less-traveled highway with no one you can call for help? Where were you headed?"
 
"No, thats everything." she told him as he strapped her bags down in the back, wishing that she could've grabbed more. It was a last minute thing though, and she simply grabbed the essentials. Thanking him as he helped her up, Jacey made herself comfortable in the passenger seat of Tucker's truck, a sigh of relief leaving her lips as they pulled out onto the road. Despite the fact that she was in the car with a complete stranger in the middle of nowhere, she was hopeful. Her doubts had slowly disappeared, and there wasn't a sign of nervousness on the young girls face as they began to make their little journey.

It wasn't long until he asked the question she knew would be coming sooner or later. She smiled lightly as he asked, though the expression on her face was pained. "Just needed to get away I guess." she said, pausing for a moment as she stared out the window. "My dads been drinking a lot.." she said after a good minute of silence. "Things just got really bad back at home." she added, not going into detail.

"At this point I don't really know where I'm going." she told him with a light laugh, turning back to face him once more. "I'll figure something out though. I just think anywhere would be better than where I was. We'll see though." she said, sounding a little more hopeful than she should have, considering the situation she was in.
 
Tucker smiled at her quickly, not taking his eyes off the road for more than a couple of seconds. "Wow, pretty gutsy," he said with a tone of admiration. "Heading out into the world, cutting all you ties with the family, the past. Sometimes I wish I'd done that. Instead I just followed the path laid out for me. It took me another chunk of years for me to realize it was time to make my own path. Like you're doing, Jacey."

Inwardly, his thoughts were more exhuberant. A runaway. No contact with family and friends to worry about her and start a search. No one knew where she was or where she was going. This was a setup too good to be true. And another ten miles to his turn off. "What about your friends? Isn't there anyone who knows what you're doing?" he probed, trying to keep his tone casual and supportive
 
It made her feel good inside to know that he seemed to admire what she was doing. She had thought that him, along with anyone that she would tell on the way, would think she was just being a stupid teenage girl. That was what her father had said anyway all the times she had threatened to run away but never actually managed to find the guts to do it. He told her she wouldn't make it, and that her dreams were too unrealistic. Even though Tucker was still essentially a complete stranger, it felt good to know that at least someone seemed to approve of what she was doing.

"Not a soul." she said, glancing over at him once more before turning to stare back out the window. She had a handful of friends back at home, but it was a small town, and it was hard to trust anyone too much. There wasn't a single person she felt she could fully open up to there. "I didn't want to take the risk of someone telling my dad where I was going or what I was doing, even though I still don't really have the complete answer to that myself." she said with a bit of a laugh.

"So how long is the drive exactly?" she asked, a hint of curiosity in her tone. She was still amazed that this had worked out so perfectly, and he was going to the place that seemed the most convenient for her to be after what had happened that afternoon.
 
Not a soul, Tucker repeated to himself. It's as if she's a gift, the perfect present, dumped in my lap, he thought exhaultantly. Despite his intention to keep control, he found his breathing deepening. Stay focused, he told himself. "Well, you'll find the answers you need, Jacey. Count on it," he smiled to her, as if encouraging her.

When she asked him how long the drive was, he answered, "If we drive straight through, we out to reach Springfield around, I guess, 5:30 or six. Of course, we might find a truck stop for a bathroom break or a snack." He had an idea. "And I do need to drop off that trailer along the way. The guy I rented it from is just up the road a few miles. I'll just drop it off and we can head back out."

After a few more miles, Tucker casually announced, "There it is," and signalled a left turn. There was a mailbox beside a gravel road off the highway, labeled with a number. Tucker carefully maneuvered the truck and trailer into the turn, and started up the long driveway. It was almost three quarters of a mile before he caught his house in the bouncing headlights. It was dark, of course. "They go to bed early," he said to Jacey, "but they know I'm coming. The trailer goes in that little shed," he pointed to a small building with a garage door off from the main house. "I'll just pull it in, unhook it, and we're done." The driveway split near the house, different paths leading before the house, beyond it, and one circling over to the shed. Tucker carefully moved past the shed and then backed up toward the door, constantly checking the rear view and side mirrors to line it up. Once he was satisfied, he slipped out the door, went to open up the shed door, and returned. He backed the trailer into the shed and slipped out his door again, this time unhitching the trailer from his pick-up, then pulling forward just enough that he could close the shed door again.

"Alright," he said, happy to have that chore done. But instead of taking the path back to the highway, he pulled over in front of the house. Jacey's door was closest to the house front door. Tucker reached to his back pocket and pulled out a checkbook, slapping it against his palm. "Just have to leave them the rental fee," he smiled, slipping out the driver's side and casually taking the car keys with him. He went around the truck and suddenly opened Jacey's door and grasped her arm, pulling her down from the seat. "Hey," he said, holding her arm but still acting like her savior, "they can probably help you inside. Let's tell them what the problem is." He pulled her toward the door. There was a security keypad by the door frame, and he quickly punched in a few numbers to unlock the door.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom