Options Are Good (2 page)

It would be some time before the greenhouse was ready, equipped, and in service. Before winter, but not much before. But Bandy was on it, and when he got started, it was only a matter of time before he completed a project.

One of the things that would delay the completion was the expense of acquiring the independent solar power and battery system to run the aquaponics pumps, the fans, grow lights, and other systems for the greenhouse.

But the components were all in the budget, and Bandy knew how to handle a budget. Which he was looking at a couple weeks later. He had many budget line items. And of course some of them were savings and emergency funds, and a couple of funds for high ticket items that had quite a bit of cash in them available.

And then there was the relationship line item. He’d been faithfully putting in a few dollars every paycheck into that fund. And hadn’t pulled any out to speak of. His social budget was smaller, and he used a little from time to time to get a drink with the guys, or go to an event, or something, but finding a woman he thought he might consider a relationship with wasn’t going well.

Bandy almost revised the budget, to drop the relationship fund and spread it out in several others that he really wanted to expedite. But when he shut off the computer, he was still without a relationship, but he did still have a budget for one.

It is amazing how things can work out. Almost a foreshadowing aspect to life. Ana-Bella Sheridan walked into Bandy Hawkins’ life the following week. Drove, actually. She was a hotshot truck driver running mostly emergency loads to the oil patch in Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana.

This run she was just doing a friend a favor. After some items that as soon as Bandy saw the pick order, he realized were quite probably destined for a survival shelter of some type. Somewhere.

The warehouse wasn’t a survival store by any stretch of imagination, but it handled several hundred thousand items, from tiny screws and washers up to one inch thick hard steel plate. That included some retail products, in addition to mostly commercial products.

Framing steel, small commercial appliances, some blowers and pumps, several kinds and sizes of steel plate, rebar, concrete finishing tools, fastening materials, insulation, commercial triple bunks; pipe, wiring, and duct with appropriate fittings and tools; and several more items that would all be useful in a fallout and blast shelter more so than in a tornado or simple disaster shelter.

Bandy saw the pick order long before he saw Ana-Bella. He had to suddenly revise what impressed him the most. That pick order was something. But Ana-Bella Sheridan was something else.

And Bandy couldn’t quite figure out what. She was pretty, but not a stunning beauty. Kind of tall, but not as tall as him. Very slim, top to bottom. And really long legs. In tailored khaki cargo pants that didn’t quite fit like a glove, but came close. The pants were tucked into tall brown leather shotgun boots with Vibram soles.

The blue shirt, that Bandy noticed had two pockets and epaulets, was partially covered with a light brown leather jacket. And she had on a hat. A real hat. Not a cap or even a cowboy hat. But another leather item, matching the boots and jacket. It had a solid flat top and wide brim, but the sides of the crown were of mesh.

It was only when someone called over to her as she was walking toward Bandy that he saw the long blonde hair hanging over the collar of the jacket. It swayed, Bandy noticed. Swayed nicely.

It was Betty that had called over. She was hurrying from the office and, needlessly, waved Bandy over to join her and Ana-Bella at one side of the loading door. Right next to the neatly stacked, ready for loading items on the pick list.

“Bandy, this is Ms Sheridan. There is a problem with the payment, Ms Sheridan. I can’t let Bandy load your truck until it gets straightened out.” Becky looked at Bandy. “Bandy, don’t load her until I give you the okay.”

Bandy looked at Ana-Bella helplessly and shrugged slightly. To Bandy’s delight, Ana-Bella smiled and shrugged herself. Which was, despite the slim and trim figure, and leather jacket, and blue shirt, a nice sight.

“I’m Ana-Bella Sheridan,” Ana-Bella said, holding out her hand for Bandy to shake. “Got a place I can get a snack and another bottle of water or two while I wait?”

“Sure,” Bandy said. “Follow me. I’m Bandy Hawkins.” Bandy would have pretty much died of embarrassment had he known, much less seen, Ana-Bella giving him the onceover, from head to toe, as she followed him toward the office from the warehouse side.

“We have several options, as you can see,” Bandy said, pointing out the snack and drink machines in the short hallway that opened to the customer bathrooms. “You don’t seem too upset.”

“Wouldn’t help any, and I’m used to it with Longhammer, anyway. He has a habit of doing things like this. The man is smart as they come, and can certainly pay for the load, he just has a tendency to forget details sometimes. Like paying up front.

“This isn’t a high priority load. He won’t use any of the stuff for some time. But I had some down time and told him I’d come get it while I had a chance. You want something from the machine?”

“No. But thanks. You, uh… Know what the load is for?” Bandy asked rather tentatively.

“Well, actually, I do,” Ana-Bella said after taking a long drink of water that made Bandy as thirsty as he’d ever been in his life, he decided.

“But it isn’t public knowledge and I keep my loads pretty confidential.”

“I see. I would that one, if it is what I think it probably is.” Bandy leaned against the wall with one shoulder.

Ana-Bella took up a similar position, a slight smile playing on her lips. Bandy couldn’t take his eyes off her. “You think you know what everything is for?” she asked.

“I think so. All for one project, unless I’m way off. Might be some extras, just because you have the space. But, yep. I’m thinking one fairly large project.”

Ana-Bella laughed. “I see. Quite confident of yourself. And I’m of a mind that you would be a mile off. Kinda makes for the option of a nice bet, wouldn’t you say?”

“A bet?” Bandy asked. “I’m not really a betting man. I just have it fixed in my mind what the load is for. I don’t have to know.”

“Yeah. But I have to know if you are right or not. My insatiable curiosity. And since I’m stubborn as all get out, too, according to my Mother, I won’t just ask you. Gotta be a bet. A real bet.”

“I’ll just tell you. We don’t have to…”

“Chicken?” Ana-Bella asked. But it was with a smile. She thought for a moment, and then did something, that despite her propensity to engage in these small bets, she had never done before.

“Tell you what, Bandy, guys are always hitting on me and wanting to take me out for dinner. What say I agree to go out with you tonight, on me, since I’ll still be in town, if you are right? And if you are as wrong as I believe, you can just give me fifty bucks to get my own nice dinner.”

“Fifty bucks! I never bet like that!” Bandy said, thinking of what the money would buy in preps. It suddenly struck him that he did have that relationship money burning a hole in his pocket, metaphorically.

“Okay. And don’t worry. I won’t ask for more than a nice meal and a nice time. I’m not the kind of guy you have to worry about, anyway.”

“You are so sure!” Ana-Bella laughed throatily, sending a shiver down Bandy’s back. “I’ll hold you to that, if you inconceivably win. And besides. I can take care of myself. I wasn’t worried about that. But I’m glad you told me.” And she was. “So. What do you think the load is for? And I will give you one hint. It is all for one project.”

Bandy studied Ana-Bella’s face. It was pretty. Maybe more than pretty, the more he saw. “Okay. It’s all for a disaster, slash fallout, slash blast, shelter and or bunker.”

Ana-Bella’s bright blue eyes widened dramatically and she gasped. So softly, that Bandy wasn’t sure he heard right the first time, she said, “Yes!” Then she repeated it. Just a bit more loudly, after looking around to see if anyone was close. “Yes. It is a shelter and bunker complex a friend of my Father is putting in. He’s become a big time survivalist. How could you possibly have known?” Ana-Bella was shaking her head.

“It was easy,” Bandy said, suddenly trying to decide how to get out of the bet. And said something he very seldom said. “I’m a prepper myself. If I was going to build something like that for myself, on that scale, the items are the type that I would get.”

“Prepper?”

“Survivalist without many agendas. I’m out to survive what comes, not start something with any entity.”

“Oh. I guess that is what Longhammer is, really. He’s getting some guns, but said they would be the last thing he picked up. I can’t believe this! No one else would have ever figured it out, I’m sure.”

There was an awkward silence for a few moments. But then Bandy said, “Look. I won’t hold you to…”

“Oh, no. I don’t welsh on my bets. I’ll pay up. If I can remember how to even go on a date. I haven’t had one in a couple of years.”

“You? But you’re gorgeous! You should have dates every night!” Bandy said, surprising himself no end.

“Aw, that’s sweet, Bandy! But I stay pretty busy for the most part. On the road all the time. And it’s hard to meet nice guys doing what I do.”

Ana-Bella looked startled for a moment. “It just occurred to me. I’m not stepping on your girlfriend’s toes, am I? I mean, I’m not out to steal you away. I never thought you’d win.”

“Naw. I don’t have a girlfriend. And it has been longer than two years since I’ve had anything even resembling a date. I’m not sure how to act.”

“We’ll work it out. But later. Here comes your lady.”

Betty gushed. “It’s all perfectly all right! I so apologize! It was just some minor misunderstanding!” Then she turned to Bandy. “Bandy, you take good care of Ms Sheridan and the load for Mr. Longhammer. He was quite charming on the telephone.”

“And Longhammer scores again,” Ana-Bella said with a laugh. “He could charm the food away from a starving man. So. I guess I’d better position the truck.”

They were all business for the time it took to load the truck. There was another awkward moment when Ana-Bella finished securing the load and was ready to leave.

But she smiled, one foot on the running board of the truck, and a hand on a grab rail of the cab. “Where and when? Your choice.”

“I don’t know. We can always do some fast food. Or pizza, I guess. I don’t want to cost you an arm and a leg.”

“Nope. Someplace nice. I haven’t had a really nice dinner in a long time. Somewhere a nice dress would be appropriate.” She smiled down at Bandy. “I actually have one. Never worn it on a trip, but I always carry it.”

“Yeah. I’m a believer in options, myself. Okay. There is a steak house on Main that isn’t too expensive. About seven? Or earlier if you need to get on the road earlier.”

“Nope. I’m here until tomorrow noonish. Seven it is. I’ll find the steakhouse. What’s the name?”

Bandy told her and Ana-Bella climbed up the rest of the way into the cab of the truck. “I’ll see you at seven.”

Managing not to think about the upcoming date with Ana-Bella constantly, at least no more than fifty-five minutes out of every hour until shift end, Bandy was extra careful when loading the trucks that came in, since he knew he was a little distracted.

And then came the dreaded request. He would have bet a lot more than a date on the fact that someone wouldn’t show for swing shift. And his boss was caught at a loss when Bandy, when told he’d be working through, declined.

“You always work these situations! Who am I supposed to get?”

“Let Randy handle it. He could probably use the time, though you probably have to get him some coffee and food. He doesn’t have any extra, I’m sure.”

“Come on, Bandy! I need you here!”