Jan was bouncing up and down on her boyfriend, Bubba's lap but not in the way you might think. With five of them in the cab of Jake's old pickup, she did not have anywhere else to sit. They were packed in like sardines but that didn't keep them all from bouncing around on the rough dirt road that led into the hay fields.
"Come on Jake, you need to get the boss to fix this damned road before we hurt ourselves," Jan said after they crashed through a particularly large pothole.
"I'm not complaining," Bubba said with a big grin as he held onto Jan a little tighter.
"I'm beginning to think you're right," Jake said as his head bumped the top of the cab on the next hole.
Todd, who was sitting next to Jake said, "Slow down a little, will ya!"
Mike the youngest of the group at eighteen laughed and then let out a whoop as they hit the next deep hole. "Ride-em Cowboys!" He yelled and then added, "And cowgirls."
"I'm going to cowgirl your butt when we get out of this truck." Jan told him as she took a swing at his shoulder and missed as the truck wallowed through a set of ruts.
Mike grinned and whispered, "Promises, promises, all I ever get is promises."
Bubba nudged him with an elbow. "Behave before I have to hurt you."
"What are you going to do? You've got both hands full trying to keep Jan from flying out the window," he said with a laugh.
"This truck will stop sooner or later." Bubba replied menacingly.
"Are you sure about that?" Todd said as they rumbled over a cattle gap.
Before anyone could answer, the truck rounded a curve and slid to a halt beside two tractors and two hay trucks. "We're here!" Jake said.
"About time!" Todd and Jan said at the same time. Mike and Bubba laughed.
*****
The cool morning air had Jan's nipples hard as she drove the hay truck out across the field toward the first line of hay bales. The heater in the old truck hadn't worked in years and it never had air conditioning, which was even worse. By lunch break, she would be ringing wet with sweat.
As she neared the first bale, she geared down to low and let the truck idle along. Bubba and Mike jumped to the ground, grabbed the first bale of the day, and tossed it up to Jake and Todd. This was the easy part. The truck was empty, the air was cool, and everyone was fresh and rested.
Jan sighed and settled in for another long boring hot day.
By Jake's estimations, these two truckloads would finish this field. The two loads from yesterday had been devastating for all five of them. One hundred and three degrees in the shade and ninety something percent humidity had beat them all down.
By the time they had headed out to deliver the loads, everyone was soaking wet, worn out, and grouchy. Today's weather was not supposed to be any better.
*****
By the end of the first row, a quarter of the truck was full and it was starting to get hot. Jan ditched the long sleeved shirt she had worn for the morning chill, when she stopped in the shade of a big oak for the guys to rest and get a cold drink. She climbed out of the truck to do the same and to stretch her legs.
Jake and Todd sat on the edge of the truck bed with their legs dangling. Bubba and Mike lay sprawled out on the ground. She grinned at the two on the ground as she got a coke out of the cooler tied to the back bumper of the truck.
"You two look like shit," she told them with a grin.
"You toss these bales and lets see how good you look." Mike told her frowning.
"No thanks, it's bad enough in the cab of the truck," she said to Mike and then she turned to Jake. "How about lowering that broke ass passenger window for me?"
He shook his head. "I'd love to but I'm afraid it'll fall down in the door again, like last time."
"Somebody needs to fix some of this junk." Jan told him and then sighed deeply. It was not going to happen and she knew it. The guy they worked for paid fairly well but never fixed anything until it died and stopped work.
Jake shrugged because he knew the same thing she did. They all knew it. It was a standing joke of sorts. "I'll lower it but you have to take the door apart and retrieve it if it falls down," Jake finally said as he hopped down off the truck.
"Thanks," Jan said to him and then added to no one in particular, "I wish I had my bag, I'd change early and beat the heat."
"At the end of the next row, we'll all change as usual." Bubba replied.
"One of these days, I'm just going to strip and drive naked," Jan said and then laughed.
"All, right!" Mike said loudly and then gave Jan a leering grin. "I hope I'm on the truck when you do."
Bubba slapped him in the back of the head. "Watch your mouth, bonehead. She was joking."
"Are you sure?" Todd asked from the bed of the truck. He laughed as Bubba glared at him.
"Yes, I'm sure," Bubba, growled. He glanced at Jan out of the corner of his eye. She grinned at him and winked.
"What's that mean?" He asked her sharply.