"Are you sure she won't fall out or something?" I mumbled worriedly.
Logan finished tying off the tarp and shook his head, "Not with the tailgate up and the tarp above her."
I carefully set Nix down and she ran to sniff her space in the bed of the truck.
Logan had had it after she had an accident in the truck for the fourth time.
No, no. Not dog pee or a few turds, not this time.
I now know what regurgitated dog food looks like. The cab of the truck was sure to reek for a few hours more, even after shampooing it.
So, Logan had pulled over on an exit to fix our problem. We ate at a diner and decided what to do.
The bags and other stuff in the bed of the truck had to be arranged carefully, like playing a weird game of Tetris and everything had to be strapped down tight.
Logan and I had both thought that we had too much crap, but as it turns out, when you place things neatly, it doesn't look so bad.
The good news is, nothing had to be thrown into the back seat to cluster up our space.
In the middle of all the bags and stuff was a big enough space for Nix to stretch out, sleep, or play.
We'd laid a towel down for her and put Barry in there to keep her company. She was suddenly too big and too accident prone to keep inside the truck at all times with us.
When I'd looked at the weather earlier this morning, there was a chance of rain. So Logan had stretched the tarp over all the bags and strapped it down neatly. Nix had a bed and a roof now.
My only hope was that she didn't freak out and loose her shit back here. I would absolutely die if she somehow fell out of the truck while we were doing eighty on the interstate.
"That'll do," Logan said, satisfied with the self made kennel.
"I'd hope so," I chuckled.
I scratched Nix behind her ears one more time before carefully pushing her back so I could close the tailgate. I even jostled it a little to make sure it wouldn't budge.
Nixs' black nose poked out of the small gap and she snorted at us.
"Sit, silly girl," I chuckled. Logan and I went around and jumped into the truck.
At my grand total, we'd only been on the road for about ten hours. It was getting late now and we'd wasted some daylight securing Nix.
Logan sat behind the wheel this time and got back on the interstate. I got out my journal and scribbled down my memories of the sunrise over the canyon.
The radio was a distant hum and Logan and I sat in comfortable silence. It was weird not having Nix sniffing around the truck or barking at a passing vehicle.
I kept looking back through the back glass widow to make sure the tarp was still over her and she hadn't Houdinied her way out of the bed.
"She's fine," Logan chuckled, his hand resting on my leg.
I turned back to the road in front of us, "I know. I also know if any dog can find their way out of something like that, it'd be Nix."
Logan shrugged, "Yeah but she's got Barry and space and a new place to sniff out. I'm sure she's enjoying the breeze."
Nix did like putting her head out the window. Maybe being in the back was like that for her.
I jumped as a loud beeping noise crackled from the radio, breaking the music we had playing.
"Emergency weather report. The following areas are at risk of severe thunderstorms and flooding-"
Logan and I looked at each other as we listened to the report. I glanced up at a sign hanging above the interstate.
"Is St. George in Washington county?" Logan asked. I unfolded the map and narrowed down my search to southern Utah.
I nodded, "Yeah."
"We should probably find a place to stay then, I don't wanna get trapped out here in pouring down rain," Logan sighed as we watched some rain begin to pitter down.
I was glad Nix had her tarp.
"We can stop at the next exit," I agreed with him.
Eventually, Logan had to flick on the windshield wipers. I was keeping an eye out for the next exit we saw. We were kind of going through a remote part of the interstate that was surrounded by forest and there was a shortage of exits.
"Ah, shit," Logan muttered and I glanced up.
A large workers truck sat in the middle of the road with a large flashing sign.
Road flooded -> Take Detour.
"It's okay, I'm sure there will be a little town or something we can stop at," I smiled at Logan as the rain started to pour.
Ten minutes later, it was coming down in sheets. I couldn't see anything but the blurry yellow line in the middle of the road.
Nix was still safe in the back, but that was the least of my concerns now. I was worried something would happen while driving in a storm like this.
I jumped as lightning and thunder rumbled around us simultaneously.
"Logan, I think we should pullover and wait it out. I don't like this," I admitted nervously.
I looked over to Logan and saw him squinting through the rain washing over the windshield. The wipers were literally doing nothing.
"There's gotta be a little town or something on this road. This is an interstate, not a back road," Logan growled in frustration.
Lightning flashed somewhere close by and Logan sighed, "Okay, alright."
He pulled over and put the hazard lights on. The back end was under an overhanging tree so Nix could be sheltered a little more.
Logan put the truck in park and sat back defeatedly, "I hate bad weather."
I watched him grump for a moment before laughing. He looked at me and raised an eyebrow, "What?"
"You're so cute when you're frustrated," I chuckled.
Logan narrowed his eyes and grabbed the map, grumbling lowly as he looked it over.
"You know, I think that half blurry, half bent sign said this town right here. What's that, like, half an hour away? I can make that," Logan pointed to a very small town on the map.
"You sure?" I raised an eyebrow at the pouring down rain and screaming wind. By now, the clouds were as black as night and the visibility was minimal.
"Yeah, I'll go slow," Logan promised and turned the key.
My brows furrowed at the sound of some dry sputtering.
"What?" Logan gasped and tried again.
The truck shuddered and promptly died. Logan looked absolutely distraught.
"No, baby no!" He sighed and smacked his hands against the wheel.
I grimaced, "Maybe we're out of gas?"
Logan shook his head, "No, it's probably the engine. Hang on."
I watched in surprise as he stepped out of the truck and slammed the door. I could barely see him as he walked out in the pouring rain.
He lifted the hood and I waited nervously. Ten minutes later, the door opened again and Logan hurriedly jumped back into his seat.
He was soaked to the bone and angry looking.
"So?" I asked.
He shook his head, "I don't know. I can barely see, there's nothing big jumping out at me, I don know what the hells wrong with it. It's a twenty fourteen, it should still run just fine."
"Well...we can wait out the storm and then walk to the town?" I suggested.
"I'm going to try to call a Tow first. I doubt anyone would come out here right now. It's worth a shot though," he sighed and pulled out his phone.
He got an operator that connected us to a mechanics shop.
"Uh-huh," he grumbled, "Well, thanks anyway."
Logan looked at me unhappily, "They can come out here- when it stops storming."
"So we're stuck out here until the rain stops?"
"Yeah," he sat back in his seat angrily.
I watched Logan sulk. It was a pretty piteous sight, I'll admit. His shirt was plastered to him, his hair was matted to his head and dripping and he had the worst RBF.
I chuckled a little, despite the situation. Logan looked at me and looked worried for a moment, "How much sleep did you get?"
"Enough. It's just, you know, kinda funny," I giggled stupidly.
I could tell Logan did not find this fun at all. I laugh at the worst of times.
"It's going to take longer to get to Louise's, we're stuck here because my truck is broken, and it's pouring down rain. Maybe we'll get the luck to have a tornado come through here too," he crossed his arms, "And this is boring."
I chuckled and unclipped my seatbelt.
Logan looked at me as I turned to him, "I'm sure we can find a way to entertain ourselves."
"Yeah?" He raised an eyebrow.
I smirked as I climbed into his lap as smoothly as I could, straddling him. My shirt started to get wet as I pressed myself against him, "Oh yeah."
Logan grinned as I pulled the lever by the door and the seat went all the way back, leaving me on top of him.
"What about the tow truck?" He asked, his voice deeper than usual.
I looked out the window, "I don't think the rain is going to stop anytime soon. Might as well make the best of it."
My lips met Logans and suddenly we were both more comfortable with being stranded in the rain.
I yanked off his saturated shirt and ran my hands over his wet muscles. Logan's hands gripped my butt as I bit his lip seductively.
I earned a deep groan from him as I began to grind against him.
"I swear you can make anything fun," Logan muttered in a husky voice, his eyes full of lust as we broke apart for air.
I grinned and hurriedly undid his belt with eager fingers.
----------------------------------------------
Knock knock knock.
I blinked and frowned with a groan of irritation. Nix had been so good until now.
"Whassat?" Logan mumbled underneath me.
We both sat up as we heard actual knocking.
"Oh shit, thats the tow truck," Logan snickered, his arm around my bare waist so I didn't fall off him.
I'm not sure how we migrated to the backseat but my clothes were somewhere up front. I was incredibly grateful for the fogged up windows, not so grateful for the smeared handprints on them.
Logan was pulling on his underwear and jeans as I scrambled to find something.
"Help me!" I hissed and he tossed his shirt at me with a smirk. I yanked it on as Logan climbed up front.
He opened the door to a guy in overalls standing there with an uncomfortable look on his face.
"Uh....we got a call about a truck broken down on this road?" He stammered, his clipboard in hand.
"Yeah, she won't start. We've been stuck here for a bit," Logan chuckled, pretending he wasn't sitting there with his jeans unbuttoned and his hair a mussed up mess and me, only sitting in his shirt with my hair sloppily pulled up.
"I see," the guy muttered, "Uh, I'll hook you up and we can get you back to Mike's."
"Thanks," Logan grinned and closed the door as the guy turned to get his truck.
"Oh my god," I hissed in embarrassment, hiding my face as Logan burst out laughing.
"Shh and get some pants on," he snickered.
I pulled on my shorts, which was nearly pointless since his shirt came to my knees.
We could hear Nix going insane in the back.
Logan didn't bother putting a shirt on as we left the truck. I grabbed Nix and we got in the back of the tow truck after the guy loaded up Logan's truck.
The guy, who's name was Darrel, wouldn't make eye contact with either of us as we drove to town in thick silence. My face was still a flaming red and Logan was still looking as happy as a guy who just got laid.
At least it stopped raining.