Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 70488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
When I got into the garage area, there were two very large pieces of equipment that could seriously be considered a forklift.
I mean, they both had freakin’ forks.
With no other recourse, I called my brother.
He sent it straight to voicemail, then sent a quick apology text.
Creed:
I’m really sorry I declined that, but I’m in the middle of something.
I sighed and did the next best thing.
I called Mable.
I’d met her a few times, and I loved everything about her.
She was a heavy equipment operator, and generally used the really big machines that cleared trees and things.
She would know how to do it.
I queued up her number and hit dial, biting my fingernail as I waited for her to pick up.
She didn’t answer, either.
Which had me groaning.
The next best thing?
I got on Duck Duck Go and searched up what a freakin’ forklift looked like.
When I determined which one was which, I pulled up a video on how to operate a forklift.
After watching several videos, I finally decided to open the huge bay door that the truck was parked behind.
Only, the freakin’ door was massive, and it took every bit of my strength to get the damn thing open.
By the time that I was done, I was seconds away from an asthma attack.
At least I was warm, though…
When the trucker came up to me with a clipboard, I held up my finger and reached into my pocket for my inhaler with the other hand.
The trucker looked at me with wide eyes, panic filling his features.
I did the whole inhaler thing and closed my eyes as I waited for it to do its job.
Luckily, my body decided to react well to the medication today and my asthma attack stalled before it could become full-blown.
“You okay?” the trucker asked with more concern than my boss had.
“I’m dandy,” I admitted. “Today’s my first day, and they’re saying that I need to use the forklift to unload you. I watched a couple of YouTube videos…”
His lips twitched. “Is that why you’re having an asthma attack?”
“Probably partially. Stress isn’t any kinder to me than physical exertion, and that door was huge and heavy,” I admitted. “However, if you’re comfortable with a brand new, never driven a forklift before person unloading you, I’ll do my best.”
His eyes were kind when he said, “That’s all anyone could ever ask for.”
I smiled, my first genuine smile of the day, then nervously got into the forklift.
I started it up and patted myself on the back for being able to do that.
I then put on my seat belt and pulled up YouTube again, pausing it frame by frame, as I figured out what to do and what buttons and levers to push.
Eventually, I backed it out, but immediately stopped when the screamy beeping started.
“That’s normal.” The trucker grinned.
I blew out a relieved breath, but still it came out through tight lungs.
Not fully gone yet.
Great.
I backed up, then pulled forward, happy now that I’d managed to maneuver it without breaking it.
And that it was cooperating with what I wanted it to do.
As I slowly drove into the back of the man’s truck, I breathed a sigh of relief when I was able to get the first pallet off.
However, when I got to the area that Vera had told me to put it, I realized that it wasn’t going to work.
Not with my inability to maneuver in the tight spaces that the other pallets forced me to do.
So I put them in a different spot, being careful and slow the entire time, right next to a shiny motorcycle that had to belong to Huxley.
It was on the last such trip that I got cocky.
I turned a little bit too hard and fast, and the motorcycle toppled over.
I stared in shock at the bike lying on its side and felt fear slither down my spine.
“Shit!”
“Whoops,” the trucker drawled.
“What. The. Fuck?”
I looked over to find Huxley, dressed in a huge plastic apron with rubber boots on, a knife in his hand, and blood up to his elbows, staring at me like he would like to murder me.
“I’m so sorry!” I cried. “I didn’t mean to!”
Harvey wheezed.
Hux elbowed him in the belly, forcing him to bend over to catch his breath.
Then Hux looked at the driver and frowned.
“JohnBoy, why didn’t you just do it for her?” Hux grumbled, looking pissed as hell as he stared at his bike lying on the ground.
I bit my lip, trying not to cry.
“Because Vera’s a bitch, and she’s going to make her figure it out anyway. Plus, like always, it’s not my damn job to unload. It’s y’all’s job. And Vera can unload it her damn self, but she’s too good for manual labor. Yet she has this poor girl out here doing it. You’re lucky all she did was hit your bike and knock it over.”