Enduring Pride - Teaser #3

Howdy! I’m excited to say that Enduring Pride is now available in print. And in celebration of that fact (it only took 3 months to get it done… note the dripping sarcasm!), here’s another teaser for you.

I hope it gets the juices flowing and the excitement ramped up to a level where you’re finally ready to have a copy of your very own (digital or printed). If so, you can go straight to Amazon and buy a copy. I would really appreciate your support.

Enjoy!

———

Dan Jenkins could have set up a portable building at the cutting site, but he preferred to work from his truck, especially on short contracts, and he fully expected the Bennett job to be finished in a week and a half.

The weather had been cooperative so far, and work was progressing well.  The access trails had been completed, the cut teams were working their way out from the center toward the boundaries of the property, and the trucks were transporting an average of 10 loads a day.  In fact, the only potential issue on Jenkins’ radar, three days into the contract, was having enough transport capacity to keep up with the cut teams; a problem he was happy to deal with.

Jenkins sipped coffee from a mug as he reviewed a map he had spread out on the tailgate of his truck, studying the progress lines his surveyor added twice a day.  Completing a fairly complicated formula in his head – one he had done hundreds of time over the years – he calculated how much more timber he expected to harvest.  Adding it to what he knew had already been trucked out, he mentally updated his estimate of how much Brazos Valley Timber Company would make on the job after Dr. Bennett took his cut.  Jenkins smiled at the numbers flashing by in his mind’s eye.

“Dan, are you there?  Come back.”  The portable radio laying on the front seat of the truck crackled to life.

“Dan, you there?  Come back!”  The disconnected voice coming out of the speaker sounded frantic.

Setting his half empty coffee mug down on top of the surveyor’s map, Jenkins walked around to the open window of the driver’s door.  He reached in for the radio, but before he could key it to reply, the agitated voice turned desperate.  “Damnit, Dan!  Where the hell are you?”

“This is Jenkins,” he spoke into the microphone.  “What’s going on?”  He did not have to wait long for an answer.

“Oh, shit, Dan!  This is Wally.  Where have you been?”  Wally Taylor was one of the leadmen, and on this project he was in charge of the cutting crews.

Some in management at Brazos Valley Timber thought Taylor was too young for the position, but Jenkins had held firm to his recommendation, and Wally’s performance to date had proved him right.  The emotion in his leadman’s voice belied that fact, however.  He was on the verge of hysteria, Dan thought as he keyed the mic to reply.

“Calm down, Wally.  I was just a couple of steps away.  What’s the matter?”

“Aw shit, Dan.  Shit!  You’re not going to believe it.  You’re just not going to believe it!”

“What’s going on?” Jenkins asked, immediately concerned there had been an accident.

“Chuck found something.”  Chuck Evans was the lead cutter; a seasoned member of the crew and not prone to unwarranted theatrics.

“Found what?”  It did not sound like an accident, and Jenkins relaxed momentarily. 

Accidents sucked big time.  Not only did they threaten the health and well-being of his men and the security of their families, but like it or not – and it felt terribly callous to even think it – the associated paperwork was a nightmare.

“You need to get up here, Dan.  It’s just… it’s just… you need to see it for yourself.”

“Settle down, Wally.  Just tell me what’s going on.”  Jenkins was becoming annoyed now that it appeared there was no injury to deal with.  He lowered the radio to his chest and closed his eyes, trying to picture what his leadman could be so upset about.  After a second, he raised the radio back to his mouth.

“Wally?  Come back,” but there was no reply.  “Wally, come back!”

“I’m here, Dan.  You just… you just need to get up here.”

Jenkins had had just about enough, and harsh words were on the tip of his tongue, but before he could spit them out, he had a change of heart.  Wally Taylor was just not one to get upset over nothing.

“I’m on the way, Wally.”