Slim To None (Cedar Tree #1)

by Freya Barker

  "I'll just have a mushroom omelet, and you guys better get some breakfast down too. We don't have a lot of time before we're due at the Sheriff's office, and I still really want some kind of explanation as to what you were doing at my house yesterday, Gus, if you don't mind?" She stared straight at him, willing him to answer. He met her eyes without blinking.

  "Yes, I guess it's time for me to lay my cards on the table. I am actually working together with a task force in an ongoing investigation, and although I am no longer a police officer, I am sometimes hired to try and find people who have gone off the grid."

  "Cool!" Arlene smiled, "You're like Dog!"

  Emma snorted as she watched a puzzled look come over Gus's face.

  "Dog?"

  "Yeah... the Bounty Hunter. Big dude, long blond hair, buxom wife, and he has that hot scrumptious son... Damn. What's his name again, Ems?"

  Arlene turned to her. By this time, Gus was shaking his head and Emma was chuckling. They had gone through a phase where they watched that show all the time and would chat about it online. That was before Emma had moved out to Colorado.

  "Hmm," Gus muttered. "Sorry to disappoint, even though I guess I am licensed as a bounty hunter in a few states, I can promise you, it's a pretty boring job."

  Wanting to get things back on track, Emma prompted him. "So, you were saying you are working with some task force? What does that have to do with my house being broken into, or you being there. I'm still really confused."

  "The person I am looking for is instrumental in a big case. He made a deal with law enforcement and disappeared. We think he may be trying to clean up some loose ends before he hops a border somewhere, and we'd like to nip that in the bud"

  "Okay, and you think he's in Cedar Tree?"

  "Actually, we discovered some of his so-called loose ends, and one of them was a post office box in Cortez, where I happen to have a buddy working for the County Sheriff's Office. With his help, I found out the renter of that box lived here in Cedar Tree."

  Emma slowly felt the blood draining from her face when Gus mentioned the post office box in Cortez, and she felt Gus's eyes on her the whole time. Slowly lifting her eyes, she saw the confirmation in his face.

  "Are you saying...? Do you... Am I? Me?" She stuttered out.

  Arlene, who was slow to clue in, suddenly slammed her fist on the table, rattling the coffee cups. "Damn, Ems – that truck!"

  Gus whipped his head around to face her. "What truck is that?"

  "Ems was telling me yesterday that she was freaking out over it..."

  "I did not say I was freaking out." Emma cut in. "I said I didn't feel safe because that truck followed me into Cortez a few times, and I would feel safer going with someone, but that's not freaking out; that's being safe!" She glared at Arlene, willing her to stop bringing up the damn truck, because the next thing would be the anonymous phone call. She had no intention of discussing that with a man who made her feel all kinds of niggly little persistent things she hadn't felt in forever, no thank you.

  "What.Truck.Is.That!" Gus bit out, making both Emma and Arlene snap to attention.

  "Well then," Arlene huffed. "Ems here would drive into town to check her mail, and found this truck sitting at the intersection at the highway into Cortez. Once getting to Cortez, it would be there at the same time.”

  "Excuse me, but what does all of this have to do with me? I'm still not understanding any of this. I just moved here two months ago and all I do is bake pies and do bookkeeping online. Fine, and I also go to doctor's appointments. Other than that, I don't do a damn thing." She was getting a little impatient now, and more than a little anxious. She was not liking where this was going.

  "Alright," Gus said, "I'll tell you what I know, and then you can maybe fill in some blanks before we head over to the sheriff's office." That earned a nod from her.

  "My guess is that the person we are after, Ernst Corbin... Is that name familiar by the way?" He looked at her with his eyebrows raised.

  Emma shook her head. "No, never heard it. However, I mostly deal with business names, or business emails. To be honest, I rarely look closely at signatures on checks."

  "Yeah, I figured that would probably be too easy, but like I said, I assume he must have called in for your bookkeeping services at some point. He may have inadvertently given you some sensitive information, and now wants to make sure that information disappears and never sees the light of day."

  "So I guess that's what he was looking for? But I never actually print off much at all. Only time I might is if there are discrepancies, because sometimes it is easier to find errors on paper than it is on a computer, but then I destroy the paper in my shredder right away when I'm done. I just can't see how there is anything incriminating that I could have. I would remember if something was off, wouldn't I? It just doesn't make any sense to me." Emma dropped her head in her hands, massaging her scalp where a nice juicy headache was forming. Recognizing the signs, Arlene moved in to try and loosen the muscles in her neck, but Emma couldn't stop thinking of the mess her house was in. What in God's name would someone want with her, and how the hell had she gotten herself into this mess in the first place?

  "One more thing," Gus broke through her depressing thoughts, "I went ahead last night and called a security company I've worked with before. I noticed you don't have a security system on your house, and you don't have any direct neighbors –"

  "Wait a minute." Holding up her hand, Emma interrupted Gus. "Let me get this straight. You called someone to put an alarm on my house?"

  Regarding her calmly, Gus simply said, "Yes, I did, and I also told them to be on standby and wait for my call to confirm." Leaning across the table, he pinned her with his gaze. "I wasn't going to have them come in without your say so, darlin'; no need to get all worked up. The guys are good and they owe me one. Seemed like a good opportunity to call it in, but it's entirely up to you, of course."

  "Great idea, right, Ems?" Arlene turned to her with a big smile on her face. "It'll sure make me feel a shit load better having you a bit safer in your home."

  And with that, all of her resistance disappeared. Last thing she wanted was to have Arlene worry about her even more than she already did. Dammit, the woman already helped her out so much, so what if it had been a bit presumptuous of Gus to make the arrangements; it was also kind of nice if she was being entirely honest for someone, other than Arlene, to actually consider her wellbeing.

  With a stern look at Gus, Arlene said. "Well, if we're done discussing stressful stuff, I'm going to give Seb a hand bringing out the food. We are going to eat, have another coffee, and then we'll be off and get the sheriff done with. Giving yourself a migraine is not gonna help any... you got your meds on you?"

  Flicking her eyes up at Arlene, who was getting up out of the booth, Emma replies snidely, "Yes, mother."

  "Don't be a bitch, Ems. The day is long yet, so let's eat."

  "Fine."

  Gus looked at Arlene giving him the evil eye, and then glanced over at Emma who didn't look so good across the table from him. He reached over, grabbing her hand. Startled, she looked up, but didn't pull back.

  "Don't worry, we'll figure it out; I'm not gonna leave until we do. I won't let you deal with any of this on your own – trust me on that." A very slight hint of a smile flicked over her lips as she mouthed the word "Thanks."

  Moments later, when Arlene and Seb brought plates of food to the table, Gus found himself still holding her small hand, rubbing the palm with his thumb and staring into those incredibly blue eyes, set in a strong, gorgeous open face. He was totally losing track of time and place... Christ, get a grip already.

  *****

  Standing outside the sheriff's office after giving his statement, Gus was waiting for Arlene and Emma. He was pretty sure Arlene would need to go back to the diner, and he really wanted the opportunity to get Emma alone for a bit; there were things they needed to talk about. He just dodged a bullet in Frank's office when Arlen
e was urging Emma to say something about “that phone call.” He had a feeling it wouldn't be long before that little minor lapse in judgement would turn into a big clusterfuck. Luckily, Emma told Arlene to hush up before she could go any further, and Frank had been distracted by one of his deputies, otherwise, it would have been quite embarrassing for them both. Crap. Just thinking back on it made his cock come to life. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was about her that got under his skin. Perhaps it was the contradictions she seemed to embody, the vulnerability she already hinted at on the phone through her self-deprecating comments, countered by her quick wit and courage to dive off the deep end. They were a heady mix of nice and naughty. Those first short impressions had only been further confirmed in the time he'd spent with her so far. She was very addictive, the self-conscious, but fierce Emma.

  Deliberately stopping his train of thought, he quickly adjusted himself before the girls made their way back out. No need to show Emma what a pervert he was before he had a chance to tell her first. This could be interesting.

  "Hey, you waiting on us?" Arlene called at him as she and Emma made their way over to Arlene's truck, catching him daydreaming.

  "Yeah, actually," he said, sauntering over. "I was going to suggest that maybe I could take Emma back to her house to have another look around in the daylight. I assume you need to go back to the diner?" He looked at Arlene, but saw Emma throw a furtive look his way from the corner of his eye.

  "Sure, fine by me. Emma? Okay with you?"

  "Ehh, sure – I guess?" Raising an eyebrow, Emma turned to face him full on. "What exactly are you hoping to find there?"

  "I just want to have a quick look, and maybe we can make a start in cleaning up a little."

  "Oh, I'll worry about that later, there's no need." And with a dismissive shake of her head, Emma turned to Arlene. "I'll call you later then?"

  "Sure, Toots. Later." Arlene waved as she pulled her old truck out of the parking lot.

  "I, umm... may have a bit of trouble getting up in that massive vehicle of yours." Emma admitted with a grin.

  "Won't be any trouble at all, it just means I can get my hands on you." Smirking, he opened the passenger door of his big Yukon. Although he was not looking forward to coming clean about the telephone call, he couldn't deny he wouldn't mind spending some alone time with the luscious Emma – without Arlene's eagle eyes picking up on every nuance. He'd bet his truck that woman had already picked up on his attraction to her friend, and he was trying so hard to focus on the job... Well he was.

  "You just spit out anything that comes to mind, don't you? Is it me, or does it just seem to occur when Arlene happens to not be around?" Emma squinted her eyes at him, making him chuckle.

  Ignoring what she said, he grabbed her arm, put her walker to the side and swiftly lifted her up into the passenger seat while Emma clutched at his shoulders for dear life.

  "Holy crap! You keep doing that – picking me up like I don't weigh 170 pounds or more. Do you lift cows for fun or something?"

  Gus threw back his head and let out a hearty laugh as he folded the walker, tossing it on the backseat.

  "Woman, first of all, don't mention yourself and cows in the same breath; and secondly, I don't think I've ever met any female who willingly informed me of her weight. You are something else..." Shaking his head, he made his way to the driver's side, amused to find her staring out the window mumbling something about idiot and dimwitted female under her breath.

  Yeah, she sure was somethin’.

  Chapter 5

  Walking into her house, Emma took a few deep breaths, willing herself not to freak out again like she did last night. That was so not her style. Wilting flowers were reserved for others; Steel Magnolia was more her speed, or she'd like to think so, anyway. There was no way in hell she was going to let that big hulking behemoth of a... fuck! He is gorgeous... No, not going there. She wasn't going to let him distract her, especially now that the reality of the shit pile she somehow found herself floating in was so evident around her. Dammit, what a mess!

  Gus walked in and around her, slowly making his way through her living room and kitchen, then back through the hallway to stand in front of her.

  "So, I was thinking that we need to talk. If you wanna take a seat in the living room, we'll start there. I'll start and just pick up and you can tell me where it goes. We'll talk about what we find, and what’s missing as we go."

  Emma snorted. "Well that's gonna take forever. I may not be as able-bodied as you are, but I'm not bloody helpless! Let's just start somewhere."

  Gus threw his hands up. "Okay, no problem. Didn't mean any offence." Leaning into her space, he looked her straight in the eyes, "But no bloody heroics. If you get tired or sore, you sit. No damn excuses, okay?"

  "Fine. Bossy much?" But she couldn't hide a smile. That made her feel pretty nice.

  *****

  A few hours, and half a dozen breaks later, the living room, dining area, and the kitchen were back to normal, and Emma was about to fall over from hunger.

  "Hey, you hungry?" She called out, not quite sure where Gus went off to.

  "Gettin' there." Was the response coming from the vicinity of the other end of the hall.

  "Gonna make us some sandwiches and a quick soup, that okay?"

  "Sounds good to me." Seeing Gus sticking his head around the door of her bedroom had her drawing in a sharp breath. Her bedroom. Fuck. He's in her bedroom!

  "Erm...need any help in there?" She quickly made her way over to see how deep his investigative powers went, hoping to God her little bedside buddies were still in their protective pouches and tucked away nicely.

  "Nope, finding everything just fine, thanks."

  Oh no. She could hear it. She couldn't see it yet, but she could hear the contained laughter in his voice. Cocky bastard had found something to smile about. She began a deep breathing exercise to fight off the blasted perimenopausal flush that was creeping up her chest again. She made her way around the doorway to find him sitting on the bed with the contents of all her drawers spread out around him.

  "What are you doing?" She managed to get out.

  Eyes sparkling with amusement, the bastard looked at her with the edges of his mouth twitching, like he was fighting a losing battle not to burst out laughing. He'd better win that battle, or he might find a cane up his arse!

  "Picked up everything that was tossed from the drawers onto the floor and put it on your bed. I was just trying to sort through it to see if I could put some stuff back for ya."

  "Uh huh... and, eh... were you successful?" She ground out, now trying to hold back on her own grin that was trying to make its way out.

  "Sorta..." Gus said, bringing his hands up from beside his legs where they seemed to be resting on the bedspread, but instead, were apparently covering her best little buddies...

  "I rescued these from the floor. Is there any particular spot you would like these?" And with that, Gus let go, bending over laughing while clutching her pink rabbit and her sparkly g-spot stimulator to his stomach, which, in turn, made Emma lose it. Nothing she could do now, her secret was out... she liked her toys.

  *****

  "Again, I'm really sorry." Gus said over lunch. "I probably should've just stayed out of your bedroom, but I wanted to get a head start there so we'd have more time for the office."

  "Don't sweat it. Other than it being a tad embarrassing to have you find my mechanical companions," Emma blushed, "it is what it is. I'm too old to really give a shit, so there. If you have any lasting issues, well, I guess that'll be your problem." She looked at him from under her eyebrows, giving him a little smartass smile.

  "Oh, I don't have any issues, but thank you very much for your concern. While we are on the topic, I think there is something you should know."

  Straightening her shoulders, Emma prepared herself for some bad news, always expecting the worst.

  "I heard Arlene mention something about a phone call at the sheriff's.
.."

  "Oh, that's nothing. It’s nothing to worry about because it was just a wrong number. She shouldn't have even mentioned it. It was just once, and it was nothing. Really." She nervously interrupted Gus, not wanting to go there at all.

  "Yeah, but Emma, I need to tell you something about that phone call. You deserve to know now too."

  Finding him tilting his head so he could look her in the eye, she was starting to feel an odd little tingle of premonition in her stomach. Oh God. Don't tell me...

  "See, you know me better than you think, Emma. That was me on the phone."

  Slapping her hands in front of her face, she dropped her head down on the counter.

  "How? Oh my God... O.M.G! I'm gonna be sick."

  Gus started chuckling. "Well darlin', that's not the first thing that comes to my mind when I remember the phone call − at all. I have very fond memories of that phone call, in fact; I can't seem to get it out of my mind, but it was a mistake. I did dial a wrong number, and I ended up having one of the shortest, yet hottest, conversations that I can remember. It was with a very sexy woman who ended up being you. I didn't know at the time, and didn't put two and two together until after I saw you here at your house when I had called in the burglary."

  Barely able to contain what he was telling her, Emma's mind was still reeling with the fact that the person she shared a very private, and what she thought was, a very anonymous moment with, was sitting right in front of her in her kitchen. Holy fuck. She would never be able to look him in the eye again. Never. Oh God, he knows she shaves. She frickin' told him she shaves. How crazy was that? She would never do spontaneous shit again... never! She was absolutely mortified.

  "Emma, darlin', look at me." Lifting her chin, he tried to catch her eyes, but she stubbornly kept them downcast. "Don't be a brat, Emma. Look at me − I still have more to tell you."

  "I can't look at you. I am so, so embarrassed right now. You must be disgusted. I... I just... whatever. I don't want to bawl all over you again." Fighting to keep her tears in check, Emma was swallowing like crazy, but Gus grabbed her jaw, forcing her to face him.