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Roll Them Dice

Written By: Spudz

On my way! The vocals repeated several times before the lyrics came in earnest. I would like to reach out my hand. I may see you, I may tell you to run.

Randy sang along with the chorus that followed in repeating fashion, almost ending in a howl with his ears pinned. "On my way!"

You know what they say about the young.

An acoustic guitar took over and the coyote strummed along, getting his whole body moving in the driver's seat of his big rig. _Well I would like to hold my little hand, I will run I will. I will cry. _

With "Send Me On My Way" still blaring in the background, he swept his gaze across his instrument cluster. He had enough sense to keep his eyes on the road and his surroundings. The Alaskan wilderness had a way of biting the inattentive, and doubly so in the winter when ice and snow could ruin the day at any moment.

The driving conditions had been good that day, so far. Plow trucks had ensured none of the snow covering the ground marred the road, leaving a mostly untainted stretch of asphalt for Randy's semi-truck. But the low, heavy cloud cover above, bathing the sky in a dreary gray, heralded the approach of a nasty blizzard. The coyote knew he would run headlong into the worst of it, judging from the weather report he'd caught at the diner that morning. It augured to be a bad one too, even by Alaskan standards.

I probably shouldn't even be driving today. Probably. But sometimes a trucker had to push the limits a bit. The yote's current haul had a time-sensitive element to it, with a bonus for delivery to the customer if he managed to make his destination by the end of the day. From what he understood, the three power generators packed into his covered trailer were destined for a power substation in Tok to replace old worn-down machinery. The sleepy little town, poised at a strategic crossroads right inside the Alaska-Canadian border, needed to keep the lights on for the humble folk that resided there. And that crucial fact was reason enough for Randy take a bit of a chance. That, and the paycheck that waited for him when he dropped his trailer off. Easier said than done.

He downshifted, letting the truck's motor dissipate some of his speed. He knew this stretch of Alaskan highway like the back of his hand; a slight dip followed the hard right curve up ahead around the mountainside -- ice liked to hide in the shadow of the cliff away from the sun's reach. A second later, and right as expected, he felt the wheels lose grip for a brief instant before the rubber grabbed again.

"Once more." He leaned over to flick the two pink fuzzy dice that hung from the overhead console. "Roll'n em again."

His 2011 Peterbilt 389 growled her reply with a rush of throttle as the truck hit the beginning of a slight grade. The Cummins, nestled under the truck's long protruding hood, answered the call for more power without missing a beat. As if on cue, his music changed over to Imagine Dragons' "I'm So Sorry". The harsher guitar intro better complemented the labored whine of the diesel.

Randy tapped his left foot against the firewall rhythmically as the song hit its stride. Unlike the older seasoned lot of truckers, he preferred the newer stuff -- not that he shunned the classics. A good healthy mix of music always made the trips bearable.

About time for anyone telling you off for all your deeds. Another curve loomed, which would be followed by another uphill jaunt. He dropped down another gear with a practiced tap on the clutch and felt the engine RPM slide seamlessly into the new ratio; the trailer's weight started to pull a bit. The song continued on all the while, as if spurring his rig onward. So you gotta fire up, you gotta let go. You'll never be loved till you've made your own!

Another sharp turn would be next, bringing him around a narrow stretch of road on the edge of a sheer cliff. He kept the current gear and eased off the gas, watching for oncoming traffic. You gotta face up, gotta get yours. You never know the top till you get too low!

He wanted to avoid skating on ice over the side of the mountain slope or careening headlong into the frozen river. The road carved its way across one side of this narrow valley, which made for tight confines and little to no room for error in many places.

A bit of sliding made Randy grip the steering wheel a little tighter. "There's that ice again." The wheels grabbed and he let out the breath he'd been holding. The edge of the road off to his right ended in one hell of a drop to the frozen river below, a drop that had claimed many a life. The flimsy guardrail that stood in the way of that grisly fate might've been good enough to stop a car, but stood no chance against a fully loaded big rig.

"Let's ease up a bit, girl." He let the speed bleed off even more, bringing his truck down to a relatively safe twenty miles-per-hour. "More ice than I thought and I don't want to become a statistic." The delivery deadline started to look long in the odds, but he still had a chance. A son of a stepfather. A son of a, I'm so sorry!

A figure on the shoulder of the road gave the yote pause. His foot instinctively came off the gas pedal. He paused his music and stared. Is that a person? Yes. Really? That is a person. The hell?

He rarely saw pedestrians this far out in the middle of nowhere. The nearest civilization was a good couple hours away by drive, and much _much_longer by foot. They could've been a hiker, maybe, or someone who had set up camp nearby. But he only really saw that sort out and about in the summer when the weather wasn't godawful.

As the yote's rig slowed, he noted that the hunched figure carried a small backpack. The jacket and winter attire made it hard for him to distinguish anything else. It could've been a hiker or an outdoorsman. Alaska had no shortage of the foolhardy lot who loved to rough it in the worst of conditions.

He almost kept on his way. But a nagging feeling told him something wasn't right about this.

When the truck eased to a stop a few paces from the mysterious person, they paused to look over their shoulder questioningly. Randy set the parking brake, giving rise to a hiss of compressed air, and pulled open the driver door.

Never a good idea to approach a random stranger on the side of the road. He'd heard many horror stories from other truckers about all manner of crazy folk that they'd had the misfortune to cross paths with. Alaska had no shortage of that sort too.

The figure didn't move from where they stood twenty feet in front of his truck as his boots hit the pavement. He took a moment to draw his jacket tighter against his person, giving him a chance to size things up better.

They... she... was a corgi, with the typical stub of a tail and the characteristic white and brown fur beneath the hood she sported. Clothing is worn. Not torn or patchwork, so probably not homeless. Definitely not enough to weather a blizzard, though. Backpack is newish. Not for hiking. Couldn't fit more than a few pairs of clothing and such. Definitely not enough to be out here like this with the weather about to move in.

He noted her concern as he came to stand a few feet away and did his best to appear harmless. "Hey there. I... uh, are you alright ma'am?"

She sized up the slender coyote that stood before her and withdrew a little. "Ah... yeah. Yes, I'm ok."

"Are ya sure?" He rubbed at the back of his head, trying to think of the right thing to disarm the tension. Still don't know what I'm getting into here. "I, erm, don't usually see people walking on the shoulder this far out here."

The statement called the corgi's attention to her surroundings, seemingly for the first time. Her gaze briefly swept out across the wintry landscape around them and the utter quiet of the wilderness that was only broken by the idling truck. "Oh."

Something's definitely not right here. "Well, maybe a hiker or two. But I don't see much of them in the dead of winter like now." He motioned to her backpack. "Were you heading somewhere?"

She blinked, her hands coming up to grasp at the shoulder straps. After a long pause she shrugged. "Nowhere in particular."

Well, that's decidedly vague and unhelpful. He looked down the road over her shoulder, tracing the route in his head. Nothing much was out there before getting to Glennallen and a fork. From there the road either went south to dead-end at Valdez and the Pacific or up further north to Tok, his destination. Beyond that a traveler could go north to Fairbanks or east to the Canadian border and destinations beyond.

From his best guess, she was probably about his age, or maybe a little younger in her late twenties. In any sense, she didn't have the air of a woman well-seasoned to the worst of Alaskan winter. Definitely out of her element. No doubt about that.

He decided to voice his first question. "You're not camping? Or have a car parked nearby?" She shook her head slowly. "Ah, well, it's a long way to the next town. Do you need to call someone, or need help?"

Again, she shook her head and made to start walking down the shoulder again. "No. I'm ok."

He watched in surprised silence as the corgi left him standing there on the side of the road next to his rig. I could just leave. She doesn't want any help.

He looked back to his truck. But... maybe I could ask if she needs a ride? The coyote pursed his lips. Would be a risky thing. No telling what sort of unhinged person I'm dealing with here.

Randy's tail twitched anxiously as he watched her retreat down the road. Rah! This isn't right.

The sound of his fast approaching footsteps made the corgi wheel about in alarm. He brought his hands up to put her at ease as he skidded to a stop. "Hey, look. I uh, I wanted to know if you needed a ride somewhere?" She blinked at his words. "Were you going to Glennallen? Or Valdez?"

She averted her gaze, clearly uncomfortable. "No."

"Tok? Fairbanks? Into Canada?" There wasn't anywhere else she could go.

When no answer came in reply, he sighed. "I'm sorry. It's just that there's weather fixing to roll in soon. A nasty blizzard at that. It's a bad one and I want to make sure you have some shelter."

This appeared to be news to the corgi. After a beat her ears folded more beneath the jacket hood. "Oh, I didn't know."

She wasn't warming up to his offer, so he gave it another try. Rolling the dice on this. "Look, I'm, ah, heading to Tok. You're welcome to hitch a ride with me to there. Or to Glennallen. I could drop you off anywhere along the way. Or you could even head back to Anchorage with me on the return trip if you want."

Her expression soured at the latter suggestion. An angry hand gesture motioned behind him toward the distant city over the horizon. "I won't go back there. No. Anywhere but there."

Her anger had taken him by surprise. Ok, bad suggestion, apparently. "That's ok, ah. Just," he looked up to the darkening clouds overhead, "I don't know when the next car might be along, and I worry you might be overwhelmed by this storm." There were far too many stories of truckers happening upon frozen corpses. "At the very least, I can get you further along to wherever you're going."

He saw the answer building on the tip of her tongue. She almost said no, but then seemed to think better of it. A war raged in her and he understood why. In all honesty she had just as much reason to be suspicious of him as he did of her.

"I'm sorry. My name's Randy. And I promise I'm not one of those creepy truckers that have ill intentions." She cringed at his terrible attempt at a joke. Ok, that was dumb to say. He tried to save it. "I am a trucker who does say the wrong things at the wrong time to try breaking the tension."

Finally she uttered a short nervous chuckle. Even though the corgi was clearly at unease -- as was Randy -- the tension did break, a little.

"That you are," she admitted, turning to face him more now. After a moment she seemed to make up her mind. "Kodi. I'm sorry, but I'm not very trusting."

"Understandable." I suppose that makes two of us. But I'm committed now. A few specks of snow began to fall as the wind picked up. Randy tried not to appear impatient. "I didn't mean to alarm ya."

"No. No." She looked down the road, her gaze becoming distant. A long deep breath followed. "I... I don't know. I... I'll take you up on that offer, I guess."

"Ok." Ok, now what? Randy had never picked up a hitchhiker before, or anyone for that matter. Some expanse of uneasy silence passed before the coyote started. His ears folded back as he thumbed over his shoulder to his idling truck. "Right, erm, we should probably get a move on then."

"Oh, ok."

He turned to retrace his steps back to his rig, pausing long enough to give her a reassuring smile. She did follow, reluctantly, not saying anything more. All the while the yote's neck fur bristled.

It was only when he came to stand alongside his beast of a rig did she pause and show a reluctance to move any closer. The looming gray semi-truck, decked out with large straight chrome exhaust stacks and fittings, dwarfed her stature as it idled impatiently -- ready to be back on the move. He could understand why she found the truck's presence intimidating.

The yote walked up to pat the fender well, trying to defuse the tension. "She's no thoroughbred stallion, but she's got it where it counts. You ever ridden in a rig before?" She shook her head. "Nothing to worry about. Just climb up and hop in the passenger seat."

He waited as she hazarded a step up onto the side of the truck and cautiously pulled the passenger door open. When he was satisfied she had things under control, he rounded the front of the truck. I hope this is a good idea.

He hardly missed a beat as he mounted the driver step, throwing open the cab door in one fluid motion to slide into the well-worn seat -- a unification of man and his trusty machine.

The sudden flurry of motion made Kodi flinch in the passenger seat. Randy rubbed the back of his head again and shut the door. "Sorry. Didn't mean to startle ya."

"It's alright." She looked down to her backpack that she clutched in her lap, not keen on saying anything else.

A brief pang of concern washed over Randy as he considered the possibility she might've had drugs or something illegal on her person. Nah. Her fur's too well-kept and she's not emaciated like you'd expect a drug addict to be. Quite the looker actually.

He shook his head and buckled himself in. She followed his example. "Just let me know if I can do anything to make the ride more comfortable." He motioned to the curtain that sealed off the front of the truck cab -- spartan in its accommodations save for the two seats, gear shifter, and dash -- from the sleeper compartment behind. "You're welcome to head back and make yourself at home, if you want." Thank god I cleaned the cab before this trip.

She followed his gesture and then shook her head. "That's ok. I'm good right here." She went quiet again and looked out the passenger window.

Randy regarded the back of her head and toyed with his whiskers. He wanted to say something, anything to lighten the mood. Once again, words failed him. Inaction gave way to a helpless sigh. I think I underestimated how awkward this is going to be.

The coyote reached over to give the fuzzy pink dice a flick for good luck. A quick sweep of the instrument cluster dials, neatly arranged across the polished wood of the dashboard, showed nothing out of the norm. Air pressure, oil pressure, voltage, fuel: everything looked good. The air brake came next with a hiss of air charging the lines; another scan of the instrument cluster verified his air pressure still read at an acceptable level. He looked out the window and noted that the snowfall had started to increase in volume. Hope we can make it.

Randy's hand grasped the heavy golf-club-sized shifter and slotted the transmission into gear with a press of the clutch pedal. The yote eased into the gas just a little, slowly letting out the clutch until the drivetrain fully engaged under a rush of engine whine.

The first gear wound out quickly when the truck reached a brisk five mile-per-hour speed; he floated the shifter into the next, rev-matching the drivetrain and engine without even touching the clutch. The action, timed perfectly with his foot coming briefly off the gas, required just the right amount of pressure on the shifter to coax it into the proper position. Once in gear he eased off to coast around the curve in the road.

Another shift and the turbo made itself known beneath the hood. Out of the corner of his eye, Randy noticed that Kodi was watching him work. He tried not to pay her any mind and focused on rowing the gears, listening with his pricked ears to the RPM through each range. The engine's torque twisted the chassis slightly with each press of the gas to build more speed, answering his call for more speed like a trusty steed hitting her stride.

After several seamless gear changes, the coyote's rig settled into a comfortable forty mile-per-hour cruising speed. Once more on the road again. And with my first passenger to boot. He hadn't remembered to set up his music before departing, which left the cab silent save for the laboring engine. For the better, I'd guess. She probably doesn't want to listen to anything right now anyway.

His passenger had gone back to staring listlessly out the side window. She didn't seem inclined to talking, and he couldn't think of anything to say. So I'll keep driving while my fur bristles from the awkwardness I dumbly created for myself. His eyes briefly darted over to the corgi with a pang of guilt. She really needed this ride, though.

Another ten minutes of silent driving brought the yote's semi-truck into the real beginning of the blizzard. Heavy snowfall cut his visibility down to a fourth of what it had been, and he could feel the wheels starting to lose a little grip. He relied on his memory now, drawing on the many trips of the past to map out the path ahead in all its twists, turns, and unseen hazards. Only a few more miles lay ahead before the road opened up to flatter and more forgiving terrain. And no damn cliff for me to plunge headlong over.

"Thank you." Randy started at Kodi's unexpected words. When he looked over to her, she ducked her gaze with ears fully pinned. "Th... thanks for the ride."

He managed a polite chuckle. "Don't worry 'bout it. It's all good."

She went silent again, staring blankly out the forward window. For a spell only the intermittent scraping of the windshield wipers, struggling to clear the melting snow from the windshield, joined the whine of the engine. Why didn't I replace those damn things? Again, the coyote's inability to find words irked him.

Kodi came to the rescue. "Do you mind if I ask you something?"

His hands flexed their grip on the steering wheel. "Sure."

"How do you shift that thing?" He managed to tear his eyes away from the road long enough to see that she was motioning to the gear shifter sticking out of the floor between them. "I can't make sense of the gear diagram."

"Oh?" The yote's right hand reflexively reached out to grasp the club of the shifter; the smooth worn surface felt natural against his palm pads. "It's not really that difficult. Once you know the pattern and such."

She canted her head and leaned in more to study the shifter with a raised eyebrow. He had sense enough to alter his grip to let her see the diagram printed on the face of the club. "I didn't know trucks had so many gears. Just how many does this thing have?"

A crooked grin managed to splay his muzzle before he could rein it in. "Eighteen, matter of fact."

"You're kidding?" Her expression said that she didn't believe him.

"Sure as shit. Kinda a running joke in the business. Can never have too many gears, apparently."

"But why?"

Randy settled back more in his seat, glad for something familiar to talk about. "It's all 'bout that fuel economy, ya see? The more gears ya have, in theory, the easier it is to keep the engine's RPM in that coveted sweet spot for fuel consumption." When he saw she wasn't quite following he motioned to his fuel gauge. "It's safe to say that a trucker's biggest expense is fuel. We live and die by it, so to speak, in a way." His hand came up to motion in a broad sweeping gesture across the entirety of the windshield's point of view, which was presently obscured by blowing snow. "We drive so much that even something so simple as one mile-per-gallon difference can make or break the bank."

Kodi digested his words at length. "So, you use all those gears to get the best fuel economy you can?"

The coyote rapped his palm against the steering wheel emphatically. "Exactly! And the builders know this so they keep shoehorning as many gears as they can into the trannies. Course there's such a thing as too many, in my oh-so-humble opinion." The way her brow furrowed made him smile. Something about corgis... "Here, I'll show ya how this works."

She watched as his finger moved to tap a dulled claw to the 'LO' symbol on the shifter. He made sure to keep his eyes on the road, relying entirely on feel to demonstrate. "Ya start off in low." The claw moved up to tap the toggle switch on the side of the shifter club. "This's the splitter. I use it to split gears. In the case of low, pressing this would take me from low range to high range on the low gear." He could see out of the corner of his eye that he'd already lost her. His claw moved back to the center of the diagram. "The general shift pattern is pretty simple. You basically draw an H with the gears, like most manual transmissions." He pantomimed the motion with his hand. "One, two, three, and four. Although you'd technically count one as second gear since we also have low... which is basically first gear."

Kodi blinked. "I guess I follow that. But I don't understand the splitter?"

The coyote chuckled. "S'ok. I didn't get it the first go either." He let his gaze drift to his side mirrors, noting that no headlights were there to signify someone behind him. "It's probably best if I show ya." Delivery deadline be damned.

He engaged his four-way flashers, just in case someone might run up behind him in a hurry, and eased off the gas. Slowly the yote's Peterbilt lost speed and coasted, until a gentle press of the brake shaved off the last of his forward momentum. When the truck glided to a stop, he depressed the clutch and smoothly slotted the shifter into low with the splitter set to low range.

"Alrighty. This is my lowest gear. First... if you will." His claw tapped the splitter switch. "I'm set to low range on this gear. Now..." His foot started coming off the clutch pedal, just as he gave it a little gas with the other. The truck was quick to respond, rolling forward smoothly into gear. "I wind this out quickly." A beat, and his foot came off the gas just as his finger flicked the splitter switch into the high range. The engine's RPM dropped as the truck slid into the new gear without any clutch input. "Now I'm in high range. Second gear... sort of."

He had her rapt attention now.

"This gear is also short." His foot came off the gas again, and his finger flicked the splitter back to low just as he worked the shifter up and over into first gear. "First gear, low range now." Another few seconds and his hand flicked the splitter to high with another drop and surge of engine RPM. "First high, now."

He worked his way through several more high and low gears until he got to fourth high. "Now here we start over again." The shifter came up and back over to where first was shown on the diagram; his finger reached down to flick the other switch on the front of the shifter. "I just hit the range switch this time to bring me into fifth low now. From here, I just rinse and repeat the same pattern for fifth through eighth to get me to overdrive. However..." He hit the clutch and skipped a few gears. "You don't usually hit 'em all. Not unless you're hauling a heavy load up the side of Mount Denali or something."

By now the yote's rig had built up a little too much speed for his liking. He let some of that bleed off and settled back into a comfortable cruise. The weather had grown noticeably worse outside, and he had no intentions of pushing his luck. 'Specially with a passenger who's already had a bad day from the looks of it.

He could see the wheels turning in the corgi's head as she studied the shifter. Finally she sat back with a simple "huh" and then shook her head. "I had no idea."

Randy shrugged. "It seems daunting at first, but after a while it becomes second nature. I could row this baby with my eyes closed." He grinned a toothy coyote grin. "Just like riding a bike."

"I wouldn't go that far. You make it look so easy."

He chanced a look over to his passenger. "Ya ever drive stick before?"

The corgi shook her head ruefully. "No. I wanted to learn but never got around to it." She seemed to want to say more.

Keep the conversation going. "It's not that hard to learn. Though this rig aint really a good place to start. Just takes a little practice and a forgiving car." He paused as a set of headlights phased into existence no less than a hundred feet away in the concealing veil of blowing snow, reminding him of the hazardous conditions outside. He waited until the oncoming car passed safely by. "Course, my stupid tail had to go and learn the hard way. Decided to borrow my dad's '87 Bronco to try my luck. Not a day older than twelve when I did. Oh, boy did I get a whooping."

He whipped the last syllable of 'whooping' in a true southern drawl to emphasize just how true that statement was. Even now, almost twenty years later, the yote remembered every painful moment of that day -- from the neighbor's mother giving him a good lashing after finding him trying to push the truck out of their ditch, to the nasty beating he later got from both his parents when they returned from working the fields. He had not been able to sit properly for almost a week after that.

Kodi was smiling when he came back to the present. "You must've been quite a troublemaker, I take it?"

"Oh, god yes, was I ever." He shook his head, laughing at all the stupid things that came to mind. "Got into so much trouble, as coyotes are wont to do. Had my hide tanned too many times to count."

"I can relate. Don't have the natural pedigree for mischief like you do, though."

Randy dropped his ears back as he put on his best innocent face. "Honestly don't know why everyone gets the wrong impression about us lot." The wicked grin that followed his words said exactly why. "I was just an innocent little yote pup who... just happened to have a knack for finding the worst trouble. My mother didn't know what to do with me."

"Didn't see eye to eye?"

"Oh, no. Brick-wall-meets-immovable-object sort of deal. She's just as stubborn as me, and that didn't work out well back then."

Kodi suddenly wilted back in the passenger seat, her ears flat against her head. "Yeah... I know that all too well."

Well, shit. Don't talk about that. He tried to change topics. "Where'd you grow up, if you don't mind me asking?

Her ears struggled to find a new position. "Ah... Colorado. Colorado Springs."

Randy nodded. I can never guess right. "A nice place. Been there once when I first started plying the roads. Real pretty and clean."

Some animation returned to her. "Yeah, for sure. Might move back one day." She regarded him anew. "How about you? Somewhere in the southeast?"

He shook his head, glad that she was still talking. "You'd think with the hint of drawl I have. But actually I'm born and raised in Minnesoooota." He made sure to give the state name a heavy Canadian inflection, which was enough to provoke a laugh from his passenger. "Southern-most province of Canada, don'cha know? I guess that makes me a Canuck, eh?"

His feigned accent brought out another musical laugh from Kodi. "You do that so well."

The coyote shrugged in the driver's seat. "When ya grow up 'round it all your life, ya tend to pick it up quite readily. Try as they might though, they never could convert me."

"Is that a good thing?"

"Nope. I wasn't much for the small northern town thing. Halstad isn't much of a town even by those standards. Just a small gaggle of buildings where two country roads meet in the middle of nowhere."

"I... can't say I've heard of the place."

Another shrug accompanied Randy's self-deprecating smile. "Don't think anyone has. Nothing to do there beyond farm and find mischief. And I was never much for the farming business."

She huffed. "You don't strike me as the sort."

"What? Farming or getting my tail in trouble?" At her eye roll he smirked. "Aye, parents still tend their fields to this day. I guess I stuck to my coyote roots." He preened up a little in his seat, striking a pose as best he could with hands still on the steering wheel. His voice took on a grandiose quality. "The lone majestic wanderer and his mechanical steed drifting across the last frontier." He turned to her with his best winning smile. "Poetic, is it not?"

She managed to hold a straight face for about a second before a fit of laughter took over the corgi. "Jesus. What is it with you yotes? Bunch of hams, every single one I meet."

"What can I say?" Randy turned back to the road, still grinning like the cheeky canid he was. "We're a special breed."

The road had leveled off onto a nice flat plateau. Even so, his visibility had deteriorated even more. Worse still, the snow was beginning to accumulate dangerously, reducing his traction. He could feel the rig starting to slide about more. Might have to start thinking about alternatives.

A strong gust of wind broadsided the semi, shimmying truck and loaded trailer over into the opposite lane. Randy quickly corrected, cursing under his breath as he did so. Yeah, not sure how long I can keep driving in this. Now he really knew the deadline for delivering his load to Tok was all but a lost cause.

Kodi noticed his sudden unease and sat back in her seat. "Sorry. I don't want to distract you."

"Oh, it's not a problem. I just gotta watch the road more now." The rate at which conditions had deteriorated alarmed him. Never seen it get this bad so quickly. He began to weigh his options.

They'd just passed the Matanuska Glacier, which meant the next hint of civilization lay several miles ahead at the Eureka Lodge -- nothing more than a tiny motel and gas station out in the middle of nowhere. And it was only open during the summer tourist season. But even so, it offered a place for him to pull off the road. "We might have to pull over," he finally admitted. I'm glad I picked her up before this hit.

Kodi nodded and kept her peace, letting him mull things over. They were gradually climbing now, bringing the truck out of tree cover to feel more and more of the brutal driving wind and snow. Out on this high plain hardly any foliage existed at all. Even if he stopped at the lodge, he couldn't be sure that the storm wouldn't still blow his rig over onto its side.

The pink dice bobbed and twirled in his peripheral vision. Do I stop at Eureka? Or push on for Glennallen? Obviously can't go further than that given the forecast and how bad this already is. The latter option offered better shelter from the storm in the form of several open gas stations and lodging accommodations. He just had to brave roughly seventy miles of open terrain to get there -- probably the riskier choice. And yet...

The coyote reached up to flick the dice, adding more animation to their twirling dance around each other. "I'm gonna try for Glennallen." He paused to survey his dash instruments. "I might have to concentrate for a while."

Kodi nodded again. "Ok."

"I can bore you with my silly yotish ways later."

The cab fell back into silence again with Randy keeping his attention fully on driving his rig now. Just a smidge outside my comfort zone. Of course the wind had to choose that moment to smack the side of his trailer vehemently to reinforce that notion. Yep... here I go rolling them again.

Of course Randy wouldn't dare communicate his growing concern to his passenger beyond what he'd already said. Hell, I should've kept my mouth shut to begin with. No telling what she's thinking right now. Again the yote began to second-guess his decision-making today.

The treacherous conditions continued to worsen over the next half hour. Kodi seemed caught up in the mesmerizing sight out the windshield... or rather, the lack of anything meaningful to see; there was nothing but obscuring white. He didn't have a spare thought to feel awkward about the quiet now. Just keeping the truck on the road, pointed in the right direction, had become a full-time job, requiring every shred of his concentration. The higher they climbed onto the plateau, the stronger the wind slammed the side of his rig. And then the situation took a nasty turn.

The truck started to slide sideways; his hands tensed on the wheel as the right rear tires almost came all the way off the pavement. The wind exerted its influence, intent on ending his journey right then and there.

Feet and hands worked in concert, applying just the right amount of counter steer while feathering the throttle and brakes to bring his steed back under control. The truck teetered on the brink of becoming a circus balancing act, all the right side wheels barely kissing the road. And then the wind relented just enough.

He let out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding as the rig settled back down. Fuck. Ok. Guess I'm slowing down more. Kodi had gone white beneath the fur; after a few tense seconds her hand released its death grip on the armrest of her seat.

Randy steadied himself. "Sorry 'bout that. Seems I underestimated this storm."

Before the corgi could reply, another gust slammed into the truck, more powerful than the first. Instincts took over.

The wheels came off the road on the windward side; he counter steered.

His whole rig balanced on one side, threatening to overturn. Randy knew he couldn't keep her on the road.

One choice!

In a perilous balancing act, the yote steered with the wind, aiming for a flatter spot on the shoulder. The truck slid and bobbled, before the left front tire snagged a snow drift.

Fuck! With a forceful turn of the wheel he threw the truck hard over toward the shoulder. The change of momentum did the trick.

The trailer settled hard with a decisive thud. Everything came to an abrupt halt.

Randy remembered to breathe again. When he looked over to Kodi, the corgi had braced herself against the cab wall with outstretched arms, a frozen look of horror painted on her face. In that moment he felt terrible. "You alright? I'm so sorry."

To her credit, she visibly relaxed with a nervous laugh. "That was some ride."

"Wasn't exactly my plan," he managed, angry with himself for getting them into this situation. The truck seemed to be ok. The controlled crash, if he could call it that, had been a relatively soft one. But now a new problem presented itself. "I don't think we're making it to Glennallen."

The view outside the windshield showed nothing but darkness. The truck's headlights were buried in snow, which left little to no illumination for him to assess the situation. But the yote had a pretty good idea what he faced.

He made a conscious effort to appear unruffled by the near disaster when he turned back to his passenger. "You're not injured, are you?"

She shook her head. "No. No, I'm fine."

Randy wavered a moment longer. "Ok, I need to check my trailer. Can you hang tight right here?"

"Yeah."

She's handling this better than I am. "Ok, I'll be right back." He drew his jacket tight and brought a hand up to grasp the driver door handle with the other holding a flashlight.Here goes nothing.

The cab offered some shelter from the biting wind and snow when he opened the door. Stepping off his rig, he landed in a good two feet of snow. Well, shit.

His semi-truck had ended up in a snow bank along the side of the road, covering all of the tires completely. It didn't take a genius to figure that he wasn't going anywhere for a while. Thankfully, he had not jackknifed, and the rig was sitting mostly level. Hell, a good bit of shoveling might be sufficient to free the truck too, but that won't be manageable until the blizzard passes.

Randy didn't dare open the rear door to check on his cargo. With the howling wind he would've never been able to shut it again. He just had to assume that everything was tied down properly for now. He also didn't bother checking on the windward side of his semi, knowing the wind and snow would make that next to impossible.

Kodi had unbuckled and stood to get a better look outside when the coyote crawled his way back into the driver seat. He shut the door with a firm thump and sat back to sigh at the ceiling. "So, yeah. That gamble didn't pay off. Good thing's the truck's still in one piece. We'll just have to hunker down and ride it out here."

"Can we do that?"

Randy reached out to flick the fuel gauge on his dash. "Yeah, these semi-trucks are built for it. Got enough diesel to last." He also had another trick up his sleeve for that as well. "I'm sorry I got us into this mess. Should've turned around at the first sign of trouble."

"No. It's ok. I don't mind." She looked through the windshield at nothing in particular. "I'm happy you gave me a place to weather this out. I don't have anywhere else to go."

"Oh..." Suddenly, Randy was very much aware of the awkwardness this put him in. He'd been stuck on the side of a road many times before. Waiting things out in the sleeper compartment had never counted as a horrible experience. _But now I have a passenger who I can't, in good judgment, share a tiny cot with._Granted he couldn't share the sleeper's single bed with anyone given its small size to begin with, but that was beside the point.

"Well I guess there's no sense sitting on my tail moping about past decisions." He got up at that and expertly vaulted himself between the front cab's two seats back into the sleeper compartment aft. Need to get things secured before I worry about anything else.

In the back the coyote slid on his knees onto the bed and reached up to flip on the dome light. He surveyed his surroundings. Once again, thank god I cleaned this up before leaving Anchorage. The bed left little room for anything else. All the basic amenities were there: refrigerator, microwave, hotplate, air conditioning and heat, even a small sink with gray and clean water tanks: he had everything he needed to survive a night just like this. No toilet though... which was going to make things a bit interesting.

The yote's trump card took the form of a small nondescript panel on the far bulkhead of the compartment. Leaning over, he flicked a switch and waited, listening with his ears as things started to happen in the background.

Behind the sleeper compartment and next to the fuel tank, a small engine grumbled to life inside a special compartment. The auxiliary power unit took a minute or so to warm up to operating temperature. But once it did, Randy had full cabin service for his truck without the need to run the more fuel-thirsty Cummins diesel.

Kodi poked her head through the threshold from the front. "What's that noise?"

"It's the APU. I cranked it on for the night." When she tilted her head as a show of not understanding he motioned to the control panel at his fingertips. "It's a smaller diesel engine that runs in place of the main one when I'm not driving. Burns less fuel and still gives me all the creature comforts I need."

He made to head back forward and the corgi moved out of the way so he could slide back in the driver seat. Everything looked normal on the dash, which left just one last thing to do.

His fingers reached for and grasped the key to the ignition. After a hesitation, he switched the truck off and listened as the Cummins shuddered to a stop under the hood. Only the hum of the APU remained, which kept the ghostly howl of the storm mostly at bay. "And that's that." He then reached over and hit the hazard lights, lighting up his truck and trailer to warn any approaching drivers of his existence. Not that he figured anyone else would be foolhardy enough to brave this blizzard now. Another flicked switch activated the engine block heater, ensuring that the truck's diesel would remain warm enough to be started at a moment's notice, should the need arise. "And with that we're buckled down for the night."

Kodi blinked. "Ah... well ok."

"I'm sorry I got ya stuck out here like this." His ears folded as it started to really hit home that he wasn't the only one cooped up in the truck cab tonight. "This... isn't a very ideal setup for two people."

"It hasn't been a very ideal day, honestly."

That's an understatement for both of us. "True enough. I wish there was more I could do to help besides get ya stuck on the side of the road in the middle of Nowhere, Alaska."

"Hey, you've done more than enough for me as it is," she pointed out with some reproach. "At this point, I'm just glad to have a roof over my head."

Randy nodded, not wanting to let things dwell on what could've been had she been stranded outside. "A good thing to have." He reached up to thump his fist against the roof of the cab. "Me and my truck've been through a lot together. She's up to the challenge." He vaulted himself back toward the sleeper compartment again. "Lemme show you around."

It took a little finagling to get things situated so that both of them could sit somewhat comfortably inside the sleeper compartment. Randy ended up taking his emergency cooler and placing it behind the shifter to act as an impromptu seat. He had intended to use said seat himself so that Kodi could sit on the bed, but she wouldn't have any of that.

And so the coyote found himself seated on the edge of the bed, regarding his passenger from the other side of the cramped compartment. He put on his best welcoming smile when they were both situated. "Well then. Welcome to my humble abode!" His hand swept out across the space between them. "As you see, the stately sleeper compartment of my Peterbilt has all the lavish luxuries one could possibly require for the long and rough road."

Kodi tried and failed to hide her growing smile at his cheesy showmanship.

"Take for instance, this magnificent hot plate." He reached over and snatched the item in question, holding it up to her like he was showcasing it as a gameshow prize. "All the function and form of a stove, but in convenient portable size for the savvy trucker." He put the hot plate down and motioned with a grand gesture to the cubby hole next to him. "And, we can't forget this perfectly sized refrigerator for storing all the possible perishables needed for a road trip." More gesturing and showmanship gave her a grand tour of it all: the small TV tucked into the upper corner bulkhead, the various storage compartments full of Randy's personal effects, the bed made up with several plush pillows and downy sheets... and that was just about it.

"Can I have all this if the price is right?" the corgi laughed, rolling her eyes.

Her ensuing grin turned out to be infectious. "It really isn't all that glamorous, if I'm honest."

"Hell of a lot better than braving it outside. I do appreciate everything you've done for me. It means a lot, really it does."

Randy nodded, glad to see her in good spirits despite everything. She was a tough cookie, he had to give her that. "It's the least I can do." He made a show of checking his wrist, which was notably minus a watch. "My stomach says that it's just about dinner time. How about a little breakfast, eh?"

The way she wrinkled her brow came across as impossibly cute. "Huh?"

"Here." The yote reached down and opened the mini fridge. When he pulled out two Ziploc bags full of mystery liquid, her puzzlement only deepened. "Ever had a boiled omelet?"

"No?"

"Ah, well, it's something I like to do when on the road." He held up one of the bags so she could see the contents better. "Just crack a few eggs and mix 'em together in a bowl. Then toss in the usual stuff -- tomatoes, green peppers, sausage, what-have-you. I typically go for a veggie mix and match." He flicked the Ziploc with a finger. "Then ya pour it in a bag like so and throw it in the fridge or freezer until you're ready to eat."

Her expression brightened, ears perking. "Oh! So simple. I like it."

He brought the hot plate back out and set things up on a small table mounted to the cab's bulkhead. Following that, the yote produced two small pots and filled each with bottled water. "Just need to get a nice boil going."

A few minutes elapsed before both pots were simmering nice and good on the hot plate. Randy added the bags and started a timer then, making sure to keep accurate count of the cook time. Five minutes and rotate. Five again and done. Simple as can be.

Extracting the cooked omelets from the plastic bags minutes later resulted in a nice satisfying wisp of steam and the delightful aroma of a breakfast done just right. They looked like misshapen pancakes when he handed one to Kodi on a paper plate with a plastic fork and knife, leaving the other for himself on his own plate. But that didn't matter to either of them.

The way the corgi's features creased in delight as she took that first bite was all the praise he needed. "Oh, this is delicious!" Her fork wasted no time going back in for another stab at the light and fluffy omelet.

Not to be outdone, Randy joined her in enjoying the spoils of his very limited cooking abilities. Simple is always best. Glad I decided to prep two of these last night.

Dinner was soon nothing but a delightful memory. Kodi sat back and licked her chops, her stub of a tail wagging happily behind her. "You certainly know how to make the most out of a meal."

"You gotta learn such things when out on the road. Can't eat fast food all the time." He took her plate and utensils to dispose of everything in a small trashcan at his feet. "Then I'd really look like a stereotypical trucker with a pot luck gut and all."

She leaned in and poked his toned stomach with a finger, provoking a startled yip from the yote. "That certainly wouldn't do for you at all."

"Ah! Cheeky." Of course she finds my most ticklish spot."It's a constant ordeal though, keeping fit while I ply the roads. I have to get inventive when I'm holed up in the cab like this."

"Oh?" He thought he caught just the slightest hint of a smirk touching the corner of her muzzle. "I guess that's true. Just what can you do to burn the calories in a small space like this?"

Suddenly Randy felt a tad uncomfortable; maybe it was that roguish glint in her eyes? "Well, erm... yeah. Just do things like sit-ups, and other random cardio workouts designed for small spaces."

"Is that so?"

He found himself blushing beneath the fur. The coyote rubbed the back of his head. "Well, yeah. Nothing much to it."

Kodi relented, sitting back on the cooler more. "Sorry. I was just poking fun."

"S'ok. I can take a good ribbing." He knew full well what she had been getting at and reproached himself for even letting her think such things... not that the unspoken allegations weren't wrong to begin with.

They both lapsed into silence, leaving only the ghostly wail of the blizzard outside and the hum of the APU. Finally the corgi nodded to herself, setting her expression. "You'd asked me where I was going. I'd spoken the truth, that I was going nowhere in particular. But I think you deserve more than that for an answer."

Now it was Randy's turn to tilt his head, as canids tended to do when taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I never said why. I guess you already figured I was running from Anchorage." She drew a long and heavy breath with her hands clutching her thighs. "I'd been in a relationship for several years. It... wasn't the best. But I held on. I wanted to make it work. But he didn't and I knew that. But I never convinced myself to leave." She scuffed. "I even followed him up here when he got reassigned to Richardson for his deployment. Was stupid."

Her words started to flow forth, and the coyote listened attentively.

"I'd caught him cheating once, before we moved. Never confronted him about it, although he knew I was wise. I guess he also knew I wouldn't leave him either. This time though... something in me broke. I'd had enough. I had to get out and stop letting him use me." A little heat crept into her voice. "It was a long time coming and I made sure to leave nothing behind. The stupid fool probably doesn't even know now that I've left. Still probably banging some random chick he picked up at a bar."

Randy felt his fists start to ball up more and more at his sides as she spoke. How can someone do such things to another? He'd seen it before, with a former colleague who had abused his girlfriend both physically and mentally. He'd suspected Kodi had shared in a similar treatment and regretted that his gut instincts had been right all along.

He forced himself to relax, knowing his own anger would not help her deal with this. "You did the right thing to leave. Nothing good ever comes from abusive relationships like that."

She nodded with a resolute look. "Yes. I hitchhiked my way out of Anchorage. Found another ride in Palmer that was heading for Tok." She started to look unnerved. "This guy though. He was sort of scary. Very bad vibe." A shudder. "I shouldn't have gotten in the car with him. But I had to get away and was desperate. Another dumb decision."

"It wasn't dumb."

"Oh, yes it was." She shook her head. "I know a bad person when I see one. This guy had... I don't know. He had this very bad feel about him. Like he wanted to do something unsavory. I realized I'd made a mistake and got out after making him stop the car."

It finally cleared up the mystery of how Randy had happened upon the corgi in the middle of nowhere. "You were that afraid that you left yourself stranded like that?"

Kodi huffed with self-reproach. "Some of the things he said and suggested when he was driving raised my hackles. He reminded me of my boyfriend with an even worse light."

Randy nodded slowly. "Then you were right to get away when you could. I'm just glad I happened upon you when I did."

"Some new start I've managed for myself so far. Who knows what would've happened had I stayed in that car."

He could understand her distress.She very well could've wound up as another statistic. He phrased his response carefully to shy away from that nasty thought. "A new start isn't without its bumps and difficulties. Trust me on that one. You can't let it get you down."

"Is it worth taking another chance? Should I even try when I know I could just hurt myself again?"

Randy fell silent at that, weighing her words carefully. And then the answer came to him almost like a strike of lightning. He caught the corgi by surprise when he got up and leaned over her to grab and remove the two pink dice hanging from his overhead console. All the while the wind howled on with unrelenting fervor outside, gently rocking the truck cab.

When he sat back on the edge of the bed, he held the fuzzy dice in both hands out before him. "I can't claim to have been in your shoes. But I can offer you the same advice that was given to me to turn my life around."

He offered the dice to her, and she took them after a moment's hesitation. "Advice?" was all she managed.

"I'd told you my family grew up around the farming life. All there was to do in Halstad besides leave. What was a young coyote to do, except follow in the shoes of his hardworking parents? I couldn't say I relished the idea. But I'd been a screw-up in school and only just managed to skirt by graduating with my GED. Nothing much else I could do." She listened intently, and when his pause grew almost to an uncomfortable length she prodded him with a head tilt. "An opportunity came about, though; father's friend had ambitions of starting a trucking company. It kinda came outta the blue. He asked me to join him... work for 'em rather. Everyone thought he was nuts to offer the town's problem child the opportunity."

"You were that much of a brat?"

"I did my share of trouble-making, yes," Randy admitted. "But I guess he figured giving me a second chance was worth a shot. Course I didn't see the worth in taking that chance. I mean," he shrugged, "what was the point? I remember telling myself just that."

"And what made you change your mind?"

"My mother, of all people." Randy motioned to the dice in her hand. "We never saw eye to eye as I'd said. Ya know how stubborn coyotes are." Kodi nodded. "Even for all the hardship I caused her, she always looked out for me. She knew that this offer was the best thing for me. Something to set me on the right path that I so desperately needed to find. To change my mind, she gave me those dice one day after dinner."

Kodi turned the pink fuzzy cubes over in her hands, studying them scrupulously. "Why?"

"She simply said 'son, you need to take a chance and roll them dice.'" He used his best southern drawl. "'Give them a roll and see what happens. Lord knows you can't spend your days wasting away in this town.' I remember her every word. I thought on it and ended up understanding what she was getting at. I heeded her advice and took the offer, and never looked back since. She made me promise to hang them in my cab when I earned my own truck to drive, and I've kept that promise ever since."

The corgi was quiet for a time. "Any reason why they're pink?"

"Well... yeah. She could only find pink fuzzy dice in the local convenience store... sooo, that's how I ended up with them." And why my unofficial nickname is Pinky. But he didn't mention that part. "I don't mind. Hell, if anything, they give me some character. You're not a manly trucker unless you can confidently sport fuzzy pink dice in your windshield."

Kodi shook her head with a grin. "Somehow, that only seems fitting for you."

"Oh, sure, some question my sexuality. But, eh. It's what it is. I'll never get rid of 'em." She offered the dice back so that he could let them dangle from his grasp by the string. "They mean too much to me. Because I wouldn't be where I am now were it not for those sage words of my mother."

"She sounds like a wise woman."

"Oh yes." And cruel as a whip when she wanted to be. He drew a breath as a means to refocus. "What I was getting at though, was that you gotta take those chances. Roll them dice, as my mother had said. Without taking chances, you'll never be happy. Without that push from her, I'd never have found my passion for traveling the roads as a trucker."

Kodi didn't seem convinced. "But, taking chances like that doesn't always work out."

"Oh, no. Definitely not all the time. But when things don't work out, ya learn from your mistakes, right?" He paused and weighed the idea of saying what came to his mind next. "You took a chance with your relationship, right? Sure, it didn't work out but ya learned from your mistakes. You learned how to cut ties and move on from something that was toxic. Hell, ya even learned what a shitty boyfriend is like to deal with. There's value in that."

She recoiled, blinking. Two false starts precluded her resigned reply. "I guess, that's true."

"It is. And don't let it stop ya from striking out and trying new things. Trust me, it will work out for ya. You'll find what you're looking for."

She chewed on her lips thoughtfully and didn't respond as she sat back.

After almost a minute, Randy decided a change in subject was warranted. "Well, enough about that, huh? How do you feel about dessert?" Kodi's wagging tail provided her answer.

Several minutes later the plastic bag he produced full of homemade oatmeal raisin cookies was devoid of its sugary contents, leaving the two occupants of the sleeper cab fully content with their meal. All that was left to do was figure out what could be done to pass the evening.

The howling wind whipping against the truck seemed far more distant, almost another world away as Randy brought out his collection of board games. Because that's the most sensible thing for a trucker to have on hand for passing the time alone in his cab. In fact, he hadn't played any of them for several years, which begged the question as to why he had said board games in his sleeper to begin with.

A surprisingly animated round of Phase 10 followed, where Randy found himself losing decisively to his corgi counterpart. The card game worked as a much needed distraction for both of them, and even after Kodi laid down the last hand to seal the win an hour or so later, he found himself laughing along with her at how one-sided the results had turned out to be.

"I'd almost suspect you weren't a coyote," she chuckled, gathering up the cards to put the game away. "Didn't try cheating to win."

Randy just shrugged and gave her his hand, which had the worst possible set of cards for someone trying to make a run of nine. "Who said I didn't?"

"Well, you need to work on your skills, if you did." The cards bridged in her hands and flicked together as she expertly shuffled them. "Definitely not doing your species any service."

"S'pose I'm not. Not that I mind failing my stereotypes."

She reached out and punched him lightly on the forearm. "You let me win, didn't you?"

The punch hurt a little more than it should've. "Nah, I just have no luck... which is a coyote thing in its own right, after all."

"Very true." The cards took another turn shuffling through her hands before she placed them back into the game box. "I'm not really feeling up to another game." She motioned with her muzzle toward the TV mounted against the wall. "You have any movies?"

"Do I?" Randy rolled his eyes and reached over to pull back a cupboard to expose an impressive collection of DVDs. "Pick your poison." Most of the collection consisted of cheesy 80s and 90s action flicks. A few more recent choices, but mostly movies of the coyote's childhood. "I'm a bit of a sucker for classic Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis."

Kodi studied the collection with no lack of interest. She zeroed in on a particular title. "You know, I've never seen any of the Die Hards."

"Really? I guess that decides it." He reached over and carefully pulled the DVD case from his collection and began the awkward contortionist process of reaching up to the hidden DVD player on a shelf above the bed. The corgi's presence made this even more difficult, and after a bit of fumbling he lost his balance and fell into her.

The heat rose beneath his fur as he hurriedly scrambled to pull away. "Sorry! Uh..." The sudden jerk of motion threw him off balance, sending the yote tripping on his own paws to fall backwards. He only had time to let a startled yelp escape his muzzle.

After a rough landing, he ended up wedged on his back between the bed and the front bulkhead of the sleeper compartment, legs and bushy tail hanging above his stunned gaze.

His fall was met with Kodi's bemused laughter. "Oh, you look so ridiculous." She reached a hand out to wordlessly apologize, trying to stop her giggling and failing. "You fit so perfectly in that little cubbyhole."

Oh Randy, why must you be so awkward? He puffed his cheeks and blew at his tail tip to get it off his nose. Of course, it only settled right back on the tip of his muzzle, almost making him sneeze. Yep... yep, of course.

He tried to remove himself and came up well short. His ears flicked with annoyance and he tried again only to fail, not having anything in reach to grab with his hands. Well, shit, if I'd managed to do this alone, I'd be in some real trouble.

Kodi's ears fell back as she peered down at him with sympathy now. "Oh, silly coyote. Here, let me help."

"I just love to get myself into sticky situations, don't I?" His sheepish look could've only been described as abashedly coyote in nature.

When he reached out and grasped her offered hand, the warmth of her fur and hand-pads came as somewhat of a surprise. He almost forgot to pull himself up out of the hole until she gave a questioning tug with a tilt of her head. Her added help was enough to finally free him from his imprisonment.

Randy rubbed the back of his head -- he realized he did that a lot when caught in a socially awkward moment -- after the yote managed to compose himself on the edge of the bed. "Thanks. I should make sure I don't do that again."

"Why? You looked rather cute all stuffed up like that." She followed her teasing words with a particularly wicked grin. His uncomfortable cough only widened said grin to split her muzzle pointy ear to ear. "Nothing wrong with being a cute canid."

"Ah, well, I guess not."Yeah...

The cramped boundaries of the sleeper compartment were really starting to become a problem. There was not all that much space to spare with two people in here, and that didn't even include the issue of who was going to sleep where. Because there's no way we're going anywhere until at least morning and this bed is only big enough for one. He pushed that thought aside for the moment to deal with the current problem.

Kodi, thankfully, offered him an escape by handing the DVD over. The second attempt to insert the disk yielded better results after they both shuffled about on the bed. Still, he ended up brushing against her several times and tried his best to focus on the task at hand... and not her close presence.

"I'm going to check on the rig a moment," Randy eventually announced, after powering on the TV to verify the movie was ready to play. And take care of my bodily needs, he didn't add. At the corgi's nod he removed himself from the cramped space to exit the truck from the driver's side.

If anything, the wind had only picked up in intensity from the last time he'd ventured outside. A noticeable shadow now accented the truck's profile on the downwind side of the road, giving him a good idea on how much snow had fallen since the blizzard had kicked off. The storm had plenty of punch left, too, from the looks of it, which meant digging the semi out in the morning would require more than just a shovel and a prayer.

And so here I sit, pissing into the snow... in the middle of a blizzard... in the middle of Nowhere, Alaska... with a beautiful corgi waiting in my truck cab to watch Die Hard with me. He took a moment to shake things out and zipped back up, being mindful not to get certain fur and things caught in the wrong place. Not where I planned to be when I woke up this morning. The nervous laughter that came next was easily stolen by the driving wind. This'll make a good story at least. But for now... no more stupid stuff, yote. Don't do anything stupid. Or that you'll regret.

Kodi apparently had the same idea he'd had when he returned to the even warmth of the sleeper compartment. Her subsequent brief trip outside left him alone with his thoughts again. 'An idle coyote was a dangerous coyote', as the saying went. So Randy decided to catch up on a bit of grooming.

The slicker brush he extracted from a shelf had seen many years of hard use. His fur had a rebellious way about it, and required a lot of attention to keep in check. Good hygiene always started with a well-kept coat, and so he always tried to take a few minutes here and there whenever he could. One good habit mother beat into me.

Kodi seemed surprised to find the coyote slowly working the brush across his arm when she returned a few minutes later. "Grooming yourself?"

Randy looked up from his meticulous work and shrugged. "Gotta whenever ya can on the road. Not always a bathroom handy."

"Makes sense." She joined him on the bed, which brought her back into uncomfortably close range. "I can appreciate a guy who takes care of his fur."

He nodded and reached up to hit play on the movie DVD, before resuming his grooming effort. Because I need this distraction. Working out the knots and mats suddenly became a very keen interest for the coyote.

"I'd do the same if I had a brush."

With the movie intro beginning in the background, Randy focused in on a particular stubborn knot. "I don't have another brush, but ya can use mine after I'm done... if you're ok with sharing coyote fur."

Her smile, out of the corner of his eye, was unreadable. "Thanks. I don't mind sharing. I'm sure you keep your pelt quite clean."

The yote hesitated with removing his jacket, suddenly unsure if this was a good idea after all. Before he could talk himself out of it, she prodded him on with a jerk of her muzzle.

"Don't worry, I've seen my share of chest fur, silly. Not like you're completely stripping, or anything."

No... but now I'm even more uncomfortable. Thanks. He finally did remove the jacket and then his shirt in short order. _Not pussying out now._On the TV, Bruce Willis was already stealing the show with his typical Bruce Willis candor.

From the other side of the bed Kodi watched, not bothering to hide her interest, as he slowly worked the brush through his fur. And not the movie. Why is this more interesting to her?

He tried to hide his growing unease as the brush moved across his slim chest and the lighter hues of tan fur that splayed his front. The movie was all but forgotten, nothing more than background noise that blended with the raging storm.

When he finished with his upper body, Kodi made a motion to his pants. "Don't stop there. You gotta cover it all, right?"

"Well... yeah. But... I'm not sure..."

She sighed with a shake of her head. "Just take it off. Nothing I haven't seen before."

Randy had been somewhat ok with removing his shirt. That was normal; men could run around with bare chest fur. But she was telling him to take off his pants here. My pants. All I have underneath are boxers.

His hesitation didn't sit well with the corgi; she reached out and took hold of the button to his jeans. He very nearly flew off the bed, thumping his head into an overhead panel. This only served to blur his vision and further cloud his thoughts.

"Easy there." Kodi had scooted closer, pinning him against the side of the cab. He had nowhere to go. Where did this come from?

Her scent filled his nose, growing stronger by the second the closer she came. His eyes darted about, finding only a predacious glint in the corgi's gaze. She deliberately plucked the brush from his loose grip.

Randy watched with a slew of confusing emotions as she deftly undid the button to his jeans. He realized his muzzle had fallen open and shut it. "Um..."

Kodi shushed him with a finger to the tip of his muzzle. "Don't say anything."

The zipper came next, putting up no resistance at all to her skillful touch. Still her scent grew stronger, more enticing. Something started to stir within the coyote and he debated trying to fight it.

A gentle but firm hand to his bare chest implored him to sit back against the wall. He didn't resist and fell back, watching her with ears slightly pinned as she worked his jeans carefully down his legs. This is really happening...

After a careful shuffle to remove his tail from the constricting clothing, Kodi sat back to admire the view of his red polka dot boxers. She rolled her eyes. "How'd I guess you'd be wearing something like this underneath?"

Randy started to reply, then stopped short. He had nothing.

Her cheeky air only grew more prevalent as she sized up the distinct bulge that adorned his underclothing. "I like it."

He felt his ears go all the way back now as he averted his gaze. "Ah, erm. Thanks?" How did things get to this?

She made a point of folding his jeans before setting them to the side, which only called his near nakedness more into stark relief. What else could a yote do, besides let things continue out of his control?

The brush twirled in her hand a moment before she pulled up one of his legs to rest in her lap. With his back pressed up against the wall, it left Randy in somewhat of an uncomfortable position given the tight confines. His discomfort found itself short-lived.

Grooming himself never really amounted to much in terms of enjoyment. Sure, he felt fresher, in some ways, after the fact. But the experience itself was no different than, say, brushing his teeth or clipping his nails. When someone else did it though... holy hell!

The brush worked its way slowly across his thigh, sending electric tingles right up his spine. It was like getting an itch scratched in the perfect, sensual way that he could never do himself. He forgot about being almost naked, and the fact he'd only met the cute corgi grooming him a few hours ago. All that mattered was how the slicker bristles worked their way through his undercoat in all the right ways.

A contented murr welled in Randy's throat and his eyes closed to bask in the soothing pleasure that worked its way up and down his leg in slow sweeping patterns. Kodi smiled as she brushed, watching him melt under her careful attention. Her strokes carried a very delicate touch that took great care to work out any knots without causing any discomfort. I could let her do this all night long. All... night... long!

She finished the top of his leg and hoisted his foot up to rest on her shoulder, letting her get at the underside of his toned thigh. Nevermind the fact that she now had a perfect view up his boxer leg to the coyote goods. He didn't care anymore and basked in the drunken pleasure.

She finished one leg and moved to the other. "Boy, you sure do love this, don't you?"

Randy tried, really tried, and failed to not squirm on the bed. "Is it not obvious?"

"Nothing wrong with that," she teased, setting about tracing the contours of his multifaceted tan fur with the bristles. "I can appreciate a canid who enjoys a good brushing. Makes you all the more soft and cuddly."

"Because that's what coyotes are known for, right?" In the background John McClain was monologuing in a bathroom mirror about the complexity of women. He might be on to something.

She silenced his musing with a deliberate poke of the plastic brush handle into his stomach. "Turn over."

Randy did as he was told, playing the part of obedient dog. For now. He ended up sliding down to take full possession of the bed with Kodi sitting on the cooler off to his side.

"Now let's see here." His tail went stiff as he felt hands dig into the hem of his boxers from behind. A careful but firm tug started to work the underclothing down his rump. After a moment she ran into trouble working his thick tail through the fabric's tailhole, much to his growing amusement.

He let her struggle for a bit, before lifting up his hips to assist. What kind of a coyote would I be to turn down more brushing? Before he knew it his boxers were gone, leaving nothing but his bare, shapely yote rump. He gave it a playful shake, well past caring that he was now completely naked. T_he goods are still covered, so it's ok._

He yelped as a firm slap landed squarely on his butt cheek. "Hold still so I can do this right."

"Yes, ma'am."

The brush found its way back to his fur, and Randy's whole body tensed and then relaxed as her soothing strokes rippled up his spine once more. He sighed, resting his muzzle in his arms and consciously forced his tail not to wag -- lest he smack her in the face with the troublesome appendage and ruin the moment.

"How long have you been a trucker?"

Ok, this just got a bit awkward with the small talk. Her brushing was quick to push his trepidation aside. "Well... about five years now. Since I graduated apprenticeship, ooh, with Mike."

The brush moved to the base of his tail, and a very undignified groan cut off anything else Randy might have said.

"Mike?"

"Ruff... rah, my father's friend. One who... mmph... offered me the job." His feet flexed and his toes curled. Fuck'n a, this is almost as good as sex...

She started working on a tangle of fur along the underside of his tail, her amusement at his reaction plain in the corgi's voice. "And it's been working out?"

"It... ha-has." It's like she's doing this on purpose. "We managed to, ah-ha, oh, get some clients lined up. Built a go-ooood repu_tation!"_ His words almost merged into a sharp bark as he bit back a colorful curse.

The brush's bristles suddenly vanished. His ears only had half a second to register the distinct thud of Kodi tossing the slicker to the floor, before an entirely new sensation stilled his breath.

Two hands found their way to his finely toned butt cheeks to splay fingers through the thick fur. Fingertips worked their way against the lay, wandering, gently caressing the muscle beneath to undo most of the brush's previous work.

"Kodi." Randy had the sense to look back over his shoulder, his ears splayed. "You don't..."

She gave his tail a deliberate tug, cutting him off. Her muzzle held a rather playful smirk. "Shush. You'd said I had to take chances. Roll the dice. Well." The hand gripping his tail let go to give his rump a light smack. "That's what I plan to do."

The coyote blinked. This is really happening.

"You've helped me so much." Her hands went back to roaming across his hindquarters, starting to work in a gentle but firm massaging motion. "It's only right I give something back."

What could a yote do? Her hands started moving in mysterious ways, hitting all the right places just like the brush, but in a whole new enthralling way. His tension started to melt away. How the?

"I suppose being a massage therapist has its perks," Kodi mused above him, seemingly reading his mind. Those magical hands of hers shifted up to the small of his back.

_Of course she's a therapist. Not that I'm complaining._Taut muscles, ones he didn't even know he had, worked themselves out under her careful touch. His vocalizations grew more guttural. He tried to silence them by burying his muzzle in his arms again to no avail. The yote's body stirred of its own will.

Gunfire erupted on the television; Hans Gruber was making his move to seize control of the situation.

She straddled his rump proper now, pressing the heat of her body against him -- grinding, pinning the coyote against the bed. Her hands worked along his back, up across his shoulder blades and neck. Her hot breath tickled his ears and flicked them back. Rah, fuck!

The pressure in his loins pressed up against the bed, growing stronger. His scent infused the space, mingling with the corgi's flowery own. This close he could catch a subtle earthy tinge from her time outside, which gave everything a courser, rougher edge to his nose -- befitting, in no small way, for the dog who had taken decisive command of the situation.

Her working hands migrated south again, raking gentle claws through his sides to leave trails in his fur. She hit a ticklish spot just below his ribs and he yipped with a jump, smacking his muzzle into the bulkhead in front of him.

"Oh, silly coyote," Kodi chuckled above him. She dismounted, but not before giving his firm rump another generous grope. "Not much space to work with in here. But... I'll make do."

Just as Randy turned to look over his shoulder, she used his momentum to expertly roll the coyote over onto his back. The goods came into view, and for a split second, his embarrassment got the better of him; he averted his gaze.

"Oh, my." A sultry growl followed Kodi's words, drawing his eyes back to the corgi just in time to watch her curl her tongue across her whiskers in an unmistakably predatory fashion. "What have we here?" She reached out to trace an idle claw through the fur around his fully erect cock, already completely out of the sheath in all its tapered crimson glory. "Coyotes..."

Randy had to bite his lip as she gently fondled his two fuzzy tan balls. "Ermph... Kodi."

When her soft finger pads wrapped around the thick base of his cock, he finally gave up trying to speak, letting a heady groan escape his muzzle instead as his eyes momentarily screwed shut.

They flew back open as he gasped; hot, slick wetness worked its way up along the underside of his length.

He managed to find the corgi's mischievous look as she leaned down to lick again, dragging her heavenly canine tongue across his tender flesh with slow, teasing playfulness. The corners of her parted muzzle worked their ways up into a grin, only giving him a moment to prepare before she took his tip into her maw.

His head fell back to hit the bulkhead again, the coyote's back arcing off the bed. She slid his generous cock into her muzzle readily, wrapping her tongue around him. Her ears fell back and her eyes lidded as she started to bob, sucking him off hungrily.

Surges of voltaic pleasure clouded his thoughts with each sensual motion of that heavenly maw around his length, searching for and finding release in the death grip his hands applied to the sheets. _Holy fuck!_He growled weakly, a whimper really. His tail thrashed against the sheets.

It took every ounce of willpower to still his twitching hips, to not buck into the corgi's hot tight muzzle in the throes of his feral instincts. He forced himself to watch, panting now, as she went down on him to the tune of raunchy slurping and sucking that grew wetter and more lewd by the second.

The tightness was already building in his haunches; his cock twitched in her muzzle to give a spurt of pre, and he caught her stub of a tail start to wag. "Kodi." It was hard to speak around the carnal barrage of heavenly pleasure that came in quicker and more powerful surges. I can't last much longer like this. Already his knot started to swell, his heavy balls ready to give her a nice load of coyote cum to swallow. "Kodi. I'm..."

She stopped, and he almost thrust forward to bury his throbbing cock back into her muzzle with a whimper, overcome with the need to get off like never before.

The way she slowly let his tapered length slide from her muzzle to twitch angrily in the air didn't help, and out of frustration he growled up at the ceiling of the cab with bared teeth.

"Sorry, yote." Another spurt of pre appeared at his tip, and she made a show of slowly lapping at it to his tormented shutter and whine of bodily need. "I'm so spun up right now that I can't wait any longer. And I'm not wasting this." She gave his balls a little teasing touch to emphasize her words.

She disrobed with haste, hurriedly tearing off her long sleeved shirt and jeans. The corgi's stunning cream-colored fur revealed itself to Randy's mesmerized gaze, no doubt soft and unbearably plush to the touch. Oh... fuck me.

What would've been the coyote's last shred of restraint found itself utterly crushed by the skimpy pink bra and thong that clung desperately to the supple curves of the corgi's lithe frame.

His heart skipped a beat as Kodi straddled his thighs, looking very much the cute and innocent dog as she pressed his tapered tip up against the lush soft fur of her inner thigh; he trembled and sucked in a heavy breath at the heavenly sensation. S_he's anything but innocent. But I'm not either._

Before she could undo her bra strap, he beat her to the punch -- two deft hands reached up and worked the clasp loose in one fluid motion. The way her ears twitched, and then splayed sheepishly at the realization brought forth his toothy grin. You can't out-mischief a yote.

"You sly canid." She held her bra in place with two hands, favoring him with a naughty look that would've done any coyote proud. "Enjoying the view?"

His tail thumped against the bed. "Would I be lying if I said 'no'?" At that he brought his hand up to show his latest prize: the strap to the corgi's scanty thong.

The underclothing in question came loose, but only just stayed put. Kodi solved the problem by first tossing her bra aside and then peeling away the last of her underwear, giving him all the view he could possibly handle.

Randy's subsequent approving growl pinned her ears as he traced his hands up and down her sides, following the line where the soft creamy white of her chest and front melded with the darker hue of her backside. His fingers wandered against the lay, much as she had done earlier, steadily working their way upward... until he gently cupped each of her perfect breasts in a palm.

A gusting howl of wind outside melded itself seamlessly with the corgi's needy whine. He fondled her, teasing her nipples into pert hardness with his finger pads. It was his turn. His turn to savor her every vocalization and marvel at her beautiful curves and body. His turn to draw her down atop him so he could lean up to lap and suckle on her perfect breasts like a hungry pup. His turn to completely forget the events of the day and simply enjoy her sensual company.

She squirmed above him, eyes closing as he teased her. His cock rubbed up against her inner thigh to smear a trail of pre into her fur. And then... a fleeting hint of slick warmth glanced against his tip.

Another. A shift, and the corgi above him settled backward, only just nestling his crimson length against her hot and ready doggy cunt. He had the wherewithal to prop his head up with a pillow so he could watch with lolled tongue as the dog above him gritted her teeth and slowly sat back.

Slick, heated warmth engulfed his aching cock slowly. They moaned together at the gradual heightening pleasure of it, finally feeling the instinctual longing to mate satisfied by his thick length filling her completely.

Their hips met decisively, hilting the coyote in his corgi lover, sending his senses reeling as he fought the urge to buck up into her. The heat of her body... it radiated through him and stole his breath. So tight. Sooo very tight and... fuck!

Kodi slowly withdrew and he watched as his slick canine cock reappeared, her warmth and tightness slowly giving itself up to a pang of emptiness and bodily need. He needed to be buried back in her, hilted to the brim. He needed her to fuck him and ride him in the throes of carnal passion. Goddamn... He needed to... he needed to...

She erased his frenzied thoughts with a powerful thrust downward, mashing her hips against Randy to bury him to the very limit. Again they moaned together, drowning out the movie and storm that became nothing more than a dull buzz of background noise.

She built up a gradual, stimulating pace, her hips thrusting down against him urgently. Each hilting motion drew a gasping breath from the corgi as her whole body rocked, each plunge sending a jolt of pleasure through Randy in rhythmic bursts that grew stronger and stronger. His surroundings dropped away, leaving only the beautiful dog riding his cock.

The naughty slurps and squelches of each frenzied thrust grew wetter and wetter, punctuated by the forceful thump of their hips meeting with each surge.

He reached up to cup her bouncing breasts, pressing her hard nipples into his palms to the dog's heady whimper. Her eyes were shut, ears fully pinned, muzzle ajar with tongue curled in erratic pants as she fought for breath through the passion of their coupling. She was so wet... so tight... so... perfect.

The tightness grew in his loins; the coyote's knot began to swell, meeting her lips with greater and greater difficulty. The urge to tie started to consume, to drive him onward, to compel his hips to ram up and meet her every downward plunge with renewed urgency.

"Oh, yessss," Kodi hissed above him. "Fuck'n tie me." She rode him hard, thrusting down forcefully to take his swelling bulge. "Knot me!"

Randy obliged, not one to deny a bitch a good tie. He grunted with each forceful meeting of their bodies. His lips peeled back in a silent snarl; the smoldering burn in his body reached a new high, threatening to flash over soon. Very soon. Very fucking soon!

A very unladylike snarl came from Kodi as she suddenly stopped. "Yote." She fought for breath, not caring how disheveled she looked. "Not... ruff, not like this."

"You mean?"

She had to make a conscious effort to pull herself off the coyote's painfully hard arousal, leaving his length to pulse in the air with a dabble of pre adorning the pointed tip. That dreaded empty feeling came back with a vengeance, and he whined before he could stop himself.

Kodi grinned over her shoulder as she turned to straddle him backwards on the small bed. She bent over, hiking her rump high, her stub of a tail wagging invitingly. "You can't knot a girl unless it's from behind."

The sight of the cute corgi bent over, her wet pussy lips just waiting to be filled with his aching cock once more, was met by his possessive growl. No better way.

He slid out from under her and quickly doubled back to mount the corgi bitch, saddling up behind to rub his slick length against her rump teasingly. Another smear of his pre added to the stains that marred her fur. Because she looks better all covered in it.

Kodi growled. "Hurry up and take me!"

He snarled his reply and thrust forward in one forceful motion, ramming his cock into her hot, tight cunt all the way to his bunched sheath. No hesitation. No slow build up. He fucked her like the wild canid he was.

His hips pounded against the bitch's rear, taking her deeper than he ever had, forcing his tip right up to her cervix. The lack of overhead storage above the bed gave Randy all the room he needed to rut her reckless abandon, and he took full advantage.

He felt the cab move with his efforts, rocking back and forth in tune to his surging hips and the corgi's increasingly vocal cries of pleasure beneath him. His legs spread further apart, and his tail twitched and flicked. He could feel his balls drawing tight, sense his knot inflating again.

The tie loomed -- the desired pinnacle they both desperately sought.

Her tight pussy tugged at his bulge as it took her lewdly. He snarled, ramming forth with all his effort, feeling that last edge of resistance build and peak. And then...

Pure carnal satisfaction; he knotted her rudely, locking the two mating canids together in the throes of their passion. It felt... so goddamned right!

In that heavenly moment, Kodi's head tilted back and her ears disappeared against her head. She cried out a loud keening whine as her whole body shook, overcome. He felt it around his damming knot and buried cock, each powerful rush of her climax that squeezed his length mercilessly.

The coyote thrust against her quivering haunches in a frenzied blur, his knot holding him against her, letting him rut her as only a canid could. His loins burned a hot smoldering fire, growing, spurred on by the corgi's release. That wondrous peak loomed so large before him.

He tried to stave it off. His teeth clenched, and he screwed his eyes shut. "Can't... fuuuuck!"

His words cut off into an untamed snarl as the coyote bared his teeth and felt himself let go. The burning fire rushed forth into a blazing inferno as his balls jerked and his cock pierced her womb.

All the pent up energy rushed out of him in thick ropes of coyote cum, painting the corgi full of his seed. He held himself against her, buried all the way to his sheath, rocking his hips, riding out the high along with her.

The peak lingered with each new twitch of his balls that culminated in another spurt of seed into the corgi. Jet after jet came, potent and unyielding. He filled her completely.

The perfect way to knot a bitch.

It felt like hours had passed before Randy's climax began to recede and he came down from his peak to pant hoarsely with exhaustion. Almost at the same moment, Kodi's arms gave out and the corgi collapsed onto the bed, her rear only held up by the coyote's grip around her hips. He made sure to keep her supported.

Neither of them spoke for a time, both simply trying to catch their breath in the soothing afterglow.

The small bed offered little room for Randy to maneuver. He settled for reaching down to wrap his arms around Kodi's stomach, taking on her weight as he shifted carefully on the sheets.

They both moaned together as his cock shifted and gave a few more weak spurts of coyote seed. The feel of having his knot tugged on in the midst of a tie was simply unrivaled.

After some careful shifting, the pair ended up curled together on the bed with Randy wrapped around his corgi lover from behind. His knot held them both together, not that he minded the feel of her pleasant warmth against him and her scent tickling his nose. The perfect afterglow. It couldn't get any better.

"Yippee-Ki-Yay motha-fucker."

The movie came back into focus again with John McClain's classic line. Randy blinked, realizing they'd already missed a good chunk of the plot. A tug on the coyote's knot brought a sharp intake of breath from him. "Ah, hey."

"You enjoying yourself back there?" Kodi asked with a wink over her shoulder. She shifted her hips again and Randy could only groan at the pleasurable tingle that followed.

"Rah, ya keep doing that... and I'm never gonna deflate."

"Who says I want you to?"

She started rocking, and the tingling built to a steady rhythmic pulse that gave rise to a few more shots of his sticky seed. He could already feel a bit of his mess seeping out around his damming knot to mat his fur.

Well, two can play at this game. His hands snaked their way under her arms to fondle her pert breasts, making sure to toy with her nipples in particular; the grinding against his haunches stopped. "Oooh, mmph, touché."

He snuggled up closer against her and nibbled on the tip of her ear. "You'd give any yote a run for his money."

"Is that a compliment?"

"You can certainly take it as one." He nuzzled into her neck, and her response became a heady sigh.

The movie action took over for the silence that followed. There was something to be said for the one-liners and action of Die Hard. With the raging storm outside the cab and the pleasant warmth of the cab's interior, not to mention his present company, it all felt downright cozy. "Ya know, I could say something cheesy right now."

Her shoulders rose and fell with the corgi's amused chuckle. "I wouldn't be surprised if you did."

"Ah, maybe I'll save it for another time."

Ten minutes later, the coyote had softened enough for him to pull out. The resulting mess stained the sheets of his bed, but he didn't particularly mind. He'd made a right mess of Kodi though, to which she marveled. "Goodness, you filled me up, yote." The fur between her legs was a sodden mess of his sticky cum. "Pent up, were we?"

He smiled sheepishly. "Perhaps a little."

"Well I could get used to this."

An honest attempt was made to rectify the situation. But without a shower or bathroom facilities, only so much could be done. In the end, both canids settled back on the bed to snuggle with Kodi wrapped against Randy's side. Neither of them had seen fit to put any clothes back on because, well, it wasn't like anyone was going to stumble across them out in weather like this.

A long drawn out breath came from the corgi at his side as she visibly relaxed and nestled her muzzle in the crook of his neck. "Thank you. Really."

He reached a hand up to massage at the base of her ear. "Don't worry about it."

"It's been a crazy day. But," she looked up to him with a candid smile, "it ended on a high note."

"It definitely did." And here I thought the sleeper compartment was too small for two. He paused briefly with the ear rubs, until Kodi looked up to him and gave a quiet _ruff_to beg for more. He obliged. "I'm just glad I could help."

After a beat, Randy knew he had to ask. "Do you still want to head to Tok? I understand if you change your mind. I can drop you off at Glennallen."

She winced against him, before her stature shrank. "Oh. I, I don't know."

A thought came then -- an idea crazier than everything that had happened today. It is the going theme and I've rolled 'em this far. What's one more toss? His hand resumed its soothing massage. "I had an idea, actually." She looked back to him with a coy flick of her ears. "If ya need a place to stay. The warehouse I use for the company has two fully furnished flats. Since Mike moved out the second place has been empty."

She blinked. "A... warehouse?"

"Yeah. It's right off The Glen Highway. Where I stage loads out of. We built the living quarters into the place as a sort of home away from home thing. But I just took to calling it... well, my home, I guess." He shrugged, mostly to himself. "Some nice benefits to having the job right there on your front doorstep. Made sure to insulate the walls to keep the noise down and such. It's actually quite cozy." He knew he was starting to ramble. "Ah, so yeah. You're welcome to take the other flat. Crash there for a bit to figure things out. It's pretty much move-in ready and I gotcha covered on rent and utilities."

It'd taken four months of blood and sweat to do it, but the accommodations really were quite good, all told; one of Mike's better ideas when they'd first started out.

"Ye... yeah? But, I... I don't." She lapsed into silence for a pregnant pause. "You would do that? For a stranger?"

"Well, not a perfect stranger, mind you." He poked her cute little nose with a finger. "Anything to help ya get back on your feet. It's no biggie, so don't worry 'bout it."

"But... what about Mike? Your boss?"

Randy laughed. "Mike retired a few months ago. Old dog's got a nice cabin out in Wasilla now where he's living out his golden years. Should meet him one day. Boy, does he have stories." He saw the wordless question in her eyes. "When he retired, he handed the company down to me. It made me a one-coyote rodeo, which does have its benefits when you're your own boss."

"Really?"

"I got lucky," the yote spoke candidly with a shrug. "But it all started with that first chance I took. And I haven't looked back since."

Kodi was too surprised to speak right away. "You mean, you own this truck? The company is yours?"

"Just me, myself, and I."

"That's amazing." She seemed to be at a complete loss.

He put a little conviction into it. "Please. Take me up on the offer. At least until ya manage to get things worked out? It'd make me feel better knowing ya have somewhere to stay."

She drew a long thoughtful breath, and then, finally, nodded slowly with a smile. "Ok. Thank you. I... this means so much to me."

Her smile was mirrored by his. "It's no problem. Just happy to help."

They shared the moment together... until Bruce Willis butted in with some ill-timed gunfire and one-liners. The backdrop of terrorists meeting their untimely end seemed to jolt the corgi into venturing a question. "So how hard is it to become a trucker?"

Oh ho? "Do ya mean, say, finding a job in the business or getting your CDL?" When she canted her head he clarified. "Commercial Driver's License."

"Oh. I suppose, both."

Randy sat up a little more, propping himself up with a pillow so Kodi could rest her muzzle on his chest. "Usually, ya start out riding with an experienced trucker. Almost like an apprenticeship. And after a while ya slowly work your way up to a solo gig after getting a good number of miles under your belt. Ya get your CDL along the way, and... I'll admit I forget what Alaska's specific requirements are. Can look that up."

"That simple?"

"Not all that much to it. Just need a clean driving record." He blinked at that. "Erm..."

She shook her head. "Don't worry, my record is clean."

"Ah, well then. You should be good. That is, if you were thinking about a career change?"

"Are you offering me a job?"

Randy made a show of thinking it over. "Maybe I am."

_"_Well." The corgi reached down and picked up his dice from the side of the bed to give them a carefree toss. "Why not?"

Before Randy could respond, her muzzle met his in a heated kiss. His lips eagerly parted to accept hers, his hands wrapping around the dog to draw her closer against him. Soon the movie was all but forgotten again.

*****************************************

A series of taps stirred Randy from the warm embrace of slumber. The coyote woke all at once, as he usually did, ears perking as he sat up in bed.

The motion stirred the lump of fur at his side, and gave way to a toothy yawn from Kodi. "Morning, sleepy head," she spoke lazily, not quite as quick to shake the sleep from her eyes.

She looked so cute like that, curled against him on the small bed with her stubby little tail wagging, wearing nothing but her soft fur. I could get used to waking up like this.

The tapping came again, jarring him from his thoughts. He turned to the front of the truck, where only part of the snow-covered windshield was visible from his vantage point. More tapping, and then a muffed voice came. "Hello? Anyone in there?"

Randy sprang out of bed to start donning his clothes on impulse, rocking the whole truck cab. _Whoever's outside will know I'm in here now._The TV was still on, showing only static. He paused long enough to power it off before putting on his jacket and heading toward the front. Kodi nodded her intent to stay put when he stole a glance.

Whoever was outside the passenger door had been courteous enough not to brush away the snow covering the side window. All the better since they probably would've gotten quite a view. When he eventually stumbled over the seat to heave the door open, letting the heat of the cab dissipate into the chill of the morning, he found an Alaska State Trooper regarding him from the snow below.

"Morning to you," the husky greeted with a cordial dip of his distinctive campaign hat. "Surprised to find a truck out here. You ok?"

Randy hopped down to join the trooper in the snow, easing the cab door closed behind him. Last night's storm seemed to have passed at his first glance. A dull overcast remained, and a few specks of snow still found their way to the ground. Quite a bit of accumulation had been left behind. "Ya. Got a bit dicey trying to make it to Glennallen and came up short. Decided to hunker down instead."

"Good choice. The storm rolled in faster than I was expecting. Faster than anyone was expecting, really." He leaned over Randy's shoulder to inspect the yote's rig. "Need some help getting out of there?"

When Randy followed the trooper's gaze, he got his first good look at the truck's condition. And things didn't look all that bad. Sure, the tires were all covered up to the fender wells in snow, but he'd gotten out of far worse. And... And, I don't even have to break out the shovel.

The trooper had brought some help in the form of a snow plow truck, as it turned out. Or rather, he had apparently followed behind as the plow carved a path down the road to clear it. A good couple feet of snow sat piled up in front of the idling utility vehicle where it sat. "I think I might just need some help, after all."

The husky nodded, then tilted his head. "Is it just you?"

"Ah, no. Have a passenger in the back." He thumbed over his shoulder to the truck cab, just as the door popped open to reveal Kodi, who'd taken time to get dressed since he'd last left her.

The corgi noted the trooper's presence and smiled a coy welcoming smile. "Good morning."

The husky dipped his hat. "Ma'am."

At that the trooper's nose wrinkled. Randy tried not to wince as he realized that the telling scent of their escapades last night had not dissipated enough to be missed by the dog's keen senses. He thought he caught the slightest hint of a raised eyebrow.

If the husky suspected something, he didn't say anything and continued on as if nothing was amiss. "The plow driver can lend you a hand getting pulled out of there. Heading toward Glennallen?" Randy nodded dumbly. "Alright. Then you can slot in behind me. The plow will take us to Glennallen. After that, road should be cleared for you to keep on."

Randy nodded again and stammered out an awkward "thanks" before making his escape to go talk to the plow driver. Kodi kept to the cozy warmth of the truck cab as he saw to things.

It ended up taking a good thirty minutes to maneuver the plow into place to attach a tow rope, and a bit more to secure things to the coyote's rig after clearing a path. With Randy goosing the throttle on his end, and the plow truck driver doing the same, both eventually wrestled the stuck semi-truck back onto freshly plowed asphalt.

And so some hour or so later Randy strapped in to the driver's seat once more, ready to ply the roads to the distant horizon_. Although this time through a landscape sporting far more snow than the day before._ Nothing out of the ordinary for good old Alaska.

A second click of a seatbelt drew the yote's attention to his passenger. "Ya all set?"

Kodi patted her armrest and leaned back in her seat with the best smile splaying her muzzle. "I am."

This has certainly been a crazy trip for the books. But a good kinda crazy. "Should be a quick trip to Tok. I'll drop the load and we can head back to Anchorage to help get ya settled in."

The corgi's expression grew serious for a moment. "Randy. Really. Again, thank you so much. I can't tell you how much this means."

"I said don't worry about it, silly." He placed a finger on the tip of her cold nose and her eyes actually crossed comically. "'Sides, ya already paid me back." He added that last bit with a wink.

"Oh." She sat up more in her seat. "Oh, no I haven't. There's more where that came from, yote." Her grin took on an air that spoke 'you have no idea what you've gotten yourself into.' "When we get back to Anchorage, your tail is mine." She mirrored his action and touched the tip of his nose. "All mine."

Randy growled at that, but decided more immediate problems needed to be addressed first. While he waited for the plow and trooper to get moving on the road in front of him, he reached down to procure his MP3 player and hooked it up to the Aux jack of the truck's radio. "We'll see about that later. For now, how about some music?"

"This should be good. Just what sort of music does a wandering coyote like yourself fancy?"

He started scrolling through his song list. "Weeelllll, anything but country."

"No country? A trucker that doesn't like country?"

"I know, right? I get a lot of flak for that from the others. I can't get into it."

"Makes two of us."

Randy's finger paused as a particular song title came up. Do I want to? It was one of those songs that he wasn't proud of for having on his list. Everyone had those. But it just seemed so fitting. And I love it. Screw the haters.

Kodi looked to him expectantly as he selected the song and set the MP3 player into the cup holder. When the intro started in, her ears perked up and her head very nearly tilted completely off her shoulders. "This is?"

The coyote was no Shakira. He wasn't even the right gender. That didn't stop him from trying to sing along as the lyrics started up. "I messed up tonight, I lost another fight." Kodi gave him a priceless look from the passenger seat. "I still mess up but I'll just start again."

Off-key would've been doing his singing justice. But ever the tenacious canid, he never missed a beat and got his whole body into it now. "I keep falling down, I keep on hitting the ground. I always get up now to see what's next!"

Kodi's surprise gave way to embarrassment on his part as the yote shifted the semi into gear. The convoy started to roll out and he made sure to follow with a gentle release of the clutch. "Birds don't just fly, they fall down and get up. Nobody learns without getting it wrong!"

The song hit its stride. "I won't give up, no, I won't give in, till I reach the end, and then I'll start again!" He strummed his hands on the wheel and rocked his whole body, all while giving her his best Shakira. And then the catchy chorus came.

"Try everything!"

He almost howled it, and quickly found himself joined by the corgi.

They sang the lyrics together, never missing a beat. "Try everything!"