Page 1 of Brad

Prologue

“I’m here to deliver an order from the dairy warehouse. It’s from Miller Farms.” Dill handed over the paperwork to the man at the guardhouse. When he asked for her name and identification, she handed it over as well. Since she’d been doing this particular delivery for about five years now, she had all her things ready to hand over when asked. “I’m supposed to be here by noon, and it’s just shy of that.”

“They told me that you were coming in early for this one. I’m to tell you thanks and to give this to you.” She was handed an envelope along with a gift card from the restaurant. “Mr. Kirk, he’s in the warehouse right now and said to make sure that you get some food for you for coming in four hours early. We all appreciate it.”

Dill put the card and the envelope over her visor and went to the dock door, she was told. Not a bad deal for getting on the road a few hours early, she thought. After backing into the space, she was getting ready to get out when her cell phone rang. She wouldn’t do two things at once. It was difficult enough to get a trailer backed into a small space and then get the wheels locked and everything without being distracted. Answering the phone with her last name, she sat in the cab.

“Ms. Dillard.” She said that it was her and that she wasn’t going to be taking a long call to get to the point. “I like that. Right to the point. It’s Brad Kirk. I wanted to personally thank you for today. You’ve saved our butts here.”

“Like I told the guy out front, I had time, and I didn’t mind. But Mr. Kirk, I can’t get this ready for unloading while jawing around on the phone with you.” She looked in the cab and saw that her son was awake now. “Is there anything else?” His laughter made her pissy, and she didn’t know why.

“No. Nothing else. Go on. Get your work done. I’ll talk to you later.” She closed the connection and turned to Toby. He was getting his shorts on just as she was opening the door. Dill wondered what he thought they’d have to talk about but let it go. People said all kinds of weird things.

“Don’t get out until I tell you.” He said ‘yes, mom’ like he’d heard her say the same thing a hundred times. He probably had. Toby and she had been riding the roads since he was four weeks old, and she was fresh out of trucking school. “Don’t eat much. They gave me a gift card for the place. I know you’ve been wanting to try it.”

It took her nearly an hour to get her trailer locked and ready for unloading. The man on duty at the doors told her that it wouldn’t be long, but he’d have her trailer pulled into the lot if she wanted to get some food. Glad for that, she told him where she was going to be. After getting her gear and her son, they were headed to the parking lot to see if there was room for the big rig.

They had been seated when she remembered the envelope. Stuffing it deeper into her backpack, she was talking to Toby about the menu when they both decided on the big brunch that was going on today. If they could stuff themselves enough, she knew that they’d not have to stop again until dinner. That was fine by her. She hated snacking on the road.

They were in line when she heard from the warehouse. Her load was emptied, and her trailer was in the lot. Glad for the knowledge that she’d be able to get out sooner than planned all the way around, Dill watched Toby fill his plate with two slices of pizza, three burgers, a large load of fries, as well as mashed potatoes, gravy, and fried chicken.

“You do know that we’ll eat again, right?” Dill got a salad, something that she sorely missed while being on the road all the time. Toby got himself two glasses of milk and headed to their table. She’d bet her next check he’d be ready for another round of food by the time she got there.

Since it was so early in the day, the place was practically empty. When seated, they put her and Toby in one of the larger rooms alone, and she was glad for that. No one would be so close that she’d feel closed in. It was a problem that she had with larger restaurants. Especially ones with buffets. The room they’d been seated in was devoid of anyone but her and Toby.

“Ms. Kirk?” Dill glanced at the man standing not a foot from her while she was putting croutons on her salad. “You’ve been difficult to find.”

“My name is Becka Dillard. I don’t know who you’re looking for, but it’s not me.” He just laughed at her. Finishing up her salad, she turned and left the man there. She was just reaching out to her son when another man stepped in front of her. “Toby, I want you to find a waitress and tell them that I’m in trouble here. That someone is looking for a woman by the name of Kirk and thinks it’s me.”

She could see her son now, and when he nodded, wiped his mouth off, and stood up, she could have kissed him. As he made his way away from the table, she sat her plate down across from her son’s and sat down, much to the anger of the two men.

“Ms. Kirk, you’re not making this easy on yourself. We only want to talk.” She told them that she had an ID and that she’d show it to them if they would just leave her alone. “I have ID too. It don’t tell you shit about who I am. We just want to talk to you and then to your husband.”

“I’m not married either.” She slowly pulled her backpack to her front and slowly eased the zipper down. “I’m a self-employed driver. I don’t have a spouse, nor do I have a company that I work for. You’re making a mistake, and I’m only going to tell you one more time that I’m not who you’re looking for.”

“Bradley boy is going to make sure that we’re paid this time.” She told the second man that she was happy for him. Then, a gun appeared on the table, and she could feel one ramming into her ribs from behind. “You pull out anything other than a little bitty purse, and I’m going to blow your head off.”

She shot the second man before he could wipe the fucking grin off his face. Her gun was pointed at the first guy’s head. Really, she was pressing it into his forehead when someone cleared their throat from behind her. She didn’t move but told whoever it was the same thing that she’d told the two men.

“I was in line when they approached me. The second one there, he threatened me. I don’t take well to that. This guy, he said something about Bradley boy paying him. I just want to enjoy my first good meal in a long time with my son.” She could smell Toby. “Are you all right, son?”

“Yes, ma’am. This man is going to help us. He was at the cash register when I got there. He said that you know him.” She didn’t so much as take her eyes off the man in front of her. “See, I told you that she’d not care. Mom will kill this other man, too, if he don’t put that gun down. She’s not one to mess with.”

“Toby.” He said he was sorry, moved across from her, and resumed eating. “Really? You’re going to enjoy your food now?”

“I might not be able to if you splatter that man’s head all over me. This is the best fried chicken since your grannies. And you know how much I like that.” He was calming her. Something that he did very well. “Mom? Do you know Mr. Kirk?”

“No.” She heard the scrape of a chair and glanced at the man who sat next to her son. “You touch him, and I’ll tear you apart.”

“No one will bother him. On this, you have my word.” Dill snorted at the man. “Someone else I know does that when she’s disbelieving of something. You’d like her, I think.”

“Doubtful. I don’t suppose you’ve called the police, have you?” He said that he had, and when Toby offered him a piece of his chicken, she glared at the two of them. “This isn’t a social event, young man. Eat so that we can get out of here when the police arrive.”

“Since my mom is really busy right now, my name is Toby Dillard. I’m sixteen, and she’s my mom, Becka Dillard. Not Rebecca, but just plain Becka.” Mr. Kirk told him who he was. “Good to know. You might not care right at the moment but she’s not really my mom but my aunt. My mom died when someone from another group decided that they’d do a better job than my dad and mom did and killed them off. If not for visiting my aunt, I might well have—”

“Toby, what are you doing?” He told her. She looked at the man for the first time. “Oh. I don’t know anything about…please keep the information to a minimum if you don’t mind. I don’t care if he smells like home to you.”

“Yes, ma’am.” She watched her handsome nephew stand up and smile at her. “Since you have things under control, and I don’t know when we might get to have a meal like this again, I’m going to go and get some more food. Just…if you’d not mind, Mom, please don’t make more of a mess with this other guy’s brains until I get done eating. All right.”

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