SOLVED. Middle Grade, Short Story. Trucker named Jake realizes the hitchhiker he picked up is an alien. Read mid 1980s.

[Brian]

A middle aged trucker named Jake picks up a young hitchhiker who acts weird. He claims his name is also Jake. When the trucker asks if the kid has the law on his tail, the kid freaks out 'What do you mean, 'my tail'?" When the trucker starts hearing reports of a UFO sighting, he realizes the kid is an alien and helps him get back to his ship. The kid later contacts him through the CB to let him know he made it home.

Read in the mid 80s, I think in a textbook of short stories.

[Rainbowheart]

This is "Night Rider" by Steven Otfinoski.

“Listen, kid,” I said to him, “I’ve been driving a truck for fifteen years, and I’ve picked up just about every kind of person you can think of. Some of them are hitchhiking because they like it. Others do it because they have to. And some of them are running away from something. Now if that’s what you’re doing, it doesn’t mean a thing to me. I just want to be sure that you don’t have the law on your tail.”

“Tail?” he asked. “What tail? I’m afraid I don’t understand.” It was as if I were talking in another language.

I found it in the textbook Cascade-Journeys.

[Brian]

That's it! Thank you!

[Rainbowheart]

Awesome, glad to help out!