Slim To None (Cedar Tree #1)

by Freya Barker

  "Well, Hello!" That was Arlene, observing the lip lock with keen interest from the edge of her seat. "Somebody got some - and it sure as hell wasn't me!"

  Emma could feel Gus's shoulders shaking in laughter, as his smiling lips slowly detached from hers. "Subtle, girlfriend."

  "Me, subtle? Hells bells, if I didn't know any better, I'd swear you were trying to give each other an endoscopy by tongue." Arlene grinned.

  Oh my, Arlene was on a roll.

  "Gross." She wrinkled her nose, as she looked back up at Gus, who still had both hands loosely on her face. Gah, that man did funny things to her insides. She felt sixteen - fine, eighteen. Tops!

  "How are you doing?" Gus prompted her, stroking her cheek with his thumb before sliding his hands down to her shoulders and stepping away to grab the stool next to her bed.

  "You went and got me a walker?"

  "You always answer a question with a question?" He smiled.

  "You got me a purple walker. That is the best gift ever!" She couldn't help it, part knock on the head, part medication, and a huge part stunned pleasure at the his thoughtfulness. It had her acting stupid and non-responsive.

  "Okay, I'm getting a coffee. I feel a sudden need to ... leave." Arlene quipped as she got up. "How long has it been? Already you guys are nauseating! Anybody want something?"

  "Oh, wait," Gus jumped up, "I whipped by the diner and Seb made you guys some food, so don't get anything to eat. They’re in the bags on the walker."

  That had Arlene silent for a minute.

  "Oh, wow. Nice of Seb." She murmured, turning to head out the door. "Be right back."

  "Yes, I got you a purple walker. I saw it, it was vivid, and colorful, and unique... and it looked like it was made for you."

  Emma had to swallow a few times at that. The man was just too much. "Thank you." She managed to squeeze by the frog in her throat. Always a little uncomfortable with intense moments, she fiddled with the edges of her blanket, trying hard not to look at Gus, but aware of every hair that moved on his head. "I uhmm... I really appreciate it."

  "My pleasure." Gus said firmly, making clear that subject was closed, before pulling the chair Arlene had vacated closer to the bed.

  "Now, I wasn't going to ask, because I want you to understand it makes no difference to me. You are simply Emma, but I realized coming in here with you earlier that I still have no real grasp on your condition, or conditions. It scared the shit out of me, thinking that I might not have the right information to pass on for them to help you - to do the right things for you. I'd like to know.

  Emma struggled to keep the tears that were forming from spilling over. Other than Arlene, who mostly fussed because that's what Arlene did, there really wasn't anyone who had ever made such an effort, or taken such care to treat her right. Even Kara, her own daughter, was so used to having 'mom' be capable and self-sufficient; she hardly ever asked how she was doing. But this... this is something on a whole different level.

  Frankly, she didn't quite know what to do with it. So tempting to hand yourself over to someone and say 'here, you drive for a while', but not all that easy to do when your butt's been stuck behind the wheel most of your adult life.

  "Is it that bad?" Gus joked, as he leaned in and used his thumb to wipe away the stray tear that managed to escape, making Emma snort.

  "Hardly. Nothing lethal anyway. Just very annoying, and debilitating and painful. And generally progressive." She sighed with a slump of her shoulders.

  "Hmmm." Gus rumbled, grabbing both her hands in his. "Go on."

  "It's not just one single illness, or condition - whatever. It's a combination of a few problems. I have some forms of arthritis that have wreaked havoc with my spine, causing damage. I've had a few corrective surgeries, but there is only so much that can be done and in the meantime, my spinal cord and nerve roots are slowly affected. Then there is the rheumatoid arthritis, which causes inflammations in the big joints. Hence all my meds. It's how I try to keep on top of the inflammation and minimize pain, so other than that, I'm just peachy!"

  Emma tried to lighten the mood with a chuckle when she saw the serious look on Gus's face. He hadn't stopped using his right thumb to massage the palm of her hand while his other hand would incrementally increase its pressure as she went down her list.

  "You are that. Appreciate you telling me. It helps me to know, but it changes nothing." Gus bent toward her to lightly kiss her mouth. "But I'm still not done with you." He mumbled, smiling against her lips.

  Chapter 9

  After spending a fairly restless night in a hospital chair next to Emma's bed, and being woken every two hours by a nurse checking Emma's vitals, Gus was glad to stretch his legs as he left the room to chase down a cup of coffee for himself. Emma had one with her breakfast, but apparently hospitality didn't stretch to include anyone but the patient. Besides, he had a feeling he hadn't missed much, judging by the grimace on Emma's face after her first gulp. She still drank it, and he smiled, recalling her face with every sip she downed. It obviously hadn't stopped her from her apparent need for caffeine, even though she didn't want another one...he couldn’t help but offer her another one.

  Stopping at the nurses station, he asked the charge nurse if she had any idea when Dr. Waters would be in to discharge Emma.

  "She does her rounds after 10 AM." Was the answer.

  "Thanks." He said, looking at his watch and continuing on his quest for sustenance. Only 7:30 AM now ...still a ways to go, but not enough to get anything substantial done. Maybe he should check with Arlene to see what her plans were. He might as well stay around, and maybe call Dana to see how she was making out gathering his team. With any luck, she was already on her way.

  Armed with his coffee and a couple of bagels from the coffee shop in the hospital lobby, Gus returned to the room to find Dr. Waters already there.

  "Hey, you're here already. The nurse just told me you would be by after 10."

  "That's when I normally do my rounds, but I was up most of the night anyway, so I thought I'd pop in now."

  "Sounds like no one got much sleep." Emma piped up. "I can't wait to sleep in my own bed and not be interrupted every couple of hours to see if I'm alive."

  Dr. Waters grinned, "Well, let's see if we can get you out of here."

  *****

  Less than an hour later, he pulled up to Emma's bungalow, finding Neil's van parked out front. Emma grabbed his arm.

  "Somebody's at my house!"

  "Yeah, I know." He said calmly, making Emma narrow her eyes at him. "Shit. I forgot to tell you, I had my office manager pull together a team to come and assist out here."

  "Here? As in, at... my house? I have no room. Hello - only one bedroom. Where the hell am I going to put a 'team'?" Emma rambled as she nervously grabbed for the door handle.

  "Stop. I'll get you out, and no, they are not staying here. My assistant Dana has booked a block of rooms at the motel. Look, I talked to Joe, and they don't have the manpower to secure you twenty-four seven. Also, I figured I wouldn't be able to get you away from here with a tow truck, so until we have our guy, you are not to be left alone."

  At that last sentence, Emma scoffed. "Pffft. I'm not a child. I don't need someone telling me what I can and can't do." Crossing her arms over her chest, she tried to stare him down.

  He dipped his head down, bringing his face closer. "Trust me, babe. No one, and I mean no one is going to mistake you for a child." That earned him a full out eye-roll. He got why she would get a little defensive about her life being invaded, so he was straight with her and filled her in on his discussions with Joe. Hearing that the hit and run was deliberate, she was obviously disturbed. Although Emma nodded her grasp of the situation, her face had drained of color.

  "Now, let's get out of the car and I'll introduce you to my team. They're probably just here to let us know they've arrived, and then they'll be off to the motel."

  "Great." Emma grumbled, "I have to meet your friends when I haven't
showered and look like I was hit by a truck. Just what I wanted after a night of no sleep."

  Grabbing her bag from the back of the truck, he had to smile at her sour mood. Putting his arm around her and placing a kiss on her head, he tells her, "You could sleep in a dumpster for a week and still look great."

  "And you lie for shit." She countered, making him laugh.

  *****

  "So how long have you worked for Gus?" Emma asked his manager, Dana. A spark-plug of a woman, not much taller than Emma herself, with a cherubic appearance, but the demeanor of a drill-sergeant. Dana had taken it on herself to 'mother' her a little, while Gus and Neil were discussing hard drives at the kitchen table. Apparently, there were two more to the team scheduled to arrive, but they were coming from other jobs. Neil was the computer and technical specialist and Dana not only ran Gus's office, but seemed to 'run' Neil as well. If she hadn't been told differently, she would've sworn they were mother and son.

  "I've worked for Gus for about six years now? When my youngest was done at University and I was pretty sure none of the kids were going to come back home again, I wanted something to do. Good thing too, since my husband passed away unexpectedly just two years after that." She smiled sadly.

  "Lord, I'm so sorry. He must have been so young still."

  "Yeah, he had only just turned sixty when he was hit with a massive heart attack. Didn't see it coming either ...Healthy as a horse - always. But it happened so fast, and he was gone instantly." She shook her head. "Figure it was harder on the kids. He was about to become a grandfather."

  What do you say to that? Getting older didn't particularly bother Emma much, but that blissful illusion of immortality did start disappearing and that scared her.

  "Gus tells me you have a daughter in her twenties already? You hardly look old enough. Where is she?" Dana prompted.

  "Kara is twenty-four. She still lives and works in Boston." She smiled at the older woman. "Luckily she has a great job and fantastic friends, so she is quite settled there. She was happy for me when I decided to move here."

  "Oh yeah, two months ago, right?"

  A little surprised by the information Dana had on her, she quipped, "So I guess I shouldn't be telling Gus any of my deep dark secrets then, should I?" Making Dana laugh.

  "I think he's a little sweet on you. He's actually been filling me in on a lot of details of this case, which is extremely unusual. Normally I have to pry information out of him by force, but not this time. Anything to do with you he seems eager to share with me." Dana confessed with a wink, causing that awful blotchy blush to creep back up on Emma's face.

  "Ahhh -" Dana studied her, "So that's how it is!"

  "That's how what is?" Gus asked, walking in.

  Great. Wondering exactly how much of that he heard, Emma tried for diversion.

  "I'm tired, so I think I'm going down for a nap."

  "You okay? Here, I'll give you a hand." Gus pulled her up from the couch, wrapping his arm firmly around her waist.

  "Need a hand there, Boss?" Dana teased, with a half-smile playing on her lips.

  "I've got it, Dana. Thanks." Gus snapped, stopping Emma in her tracks.

  "You know, it was on my lips to say - I'm not an invalid - but we all know that would be a lie, now wouldn't we? Anyway, can we tone down the damsel in distress rescue? And I'm. Right. Here. There's no need to talk around me. Geeze." With that she turned around, leaving Gus standing there, too stunned too move. She could hear Dana howling with laughter, saying, "Oooo, can we keep her? You just got told! I wish you could see your face right now. Damn, where's my camera!"

  It didn't surprise her when only minutes later after hearing low voices replace the raucous laughter from the living room, the bedroom door opened and Gus walked in, a sheepish look on his face. "Sorry 'bout that." He grumbled, looking at his boots. "I just don't want you to overdo anything."

  Emma stood in front of him, letting her hand stroke the stubble on his jaw, down his neck, coming to rest over his heart. Leaning in, she put her cheek on his chest and slid her arms around his waist, breathing in deep and letting all the stress out of her body on the exhale. The heat of his body soothed her and the steady beat of his heart made her feel secure. Slowly she felt his arms come up around her, one grabbing her firmly around her waist anchoring her, and the other stroking up her spine gently, but firmly. She felt his big hand slip under her hair and grab the back of her head - his fingers speared through her curls. So safe.

  "If I could, I would stop time, − right here in this moment." Emma whispered into his shirt, earning a slight squeeze from his arms. Leaning back a little she looked into his eyes.

  "Thank you for caring for me, Gus. Honestly. , I appreciate it, but it pisses me off when people talk over me like I'm not in the room. It sets me off. I guess too many times lying in a hospital bed or on an examining table while medical staff discusses you as if you are a specimen instead of a living, breathing person has done that to me."

  A small smile played up at the corners of Gus's mouth, and the lines at the corner of his eyes slowly deepened.

  "You're right you know." She could feel his voice rumble deeply from his chest. "I do care for you." His dark brown eyes held her gaze for a moment before pulling her in and planting a quick kiss on her lips.

  "Now, lets get you in bed for that nap while I organize these guys and get them on their way. Caleb and Katie should be arriving at the motel at some point too, and it would be nice if things were set up so they can hit the ground running."

  Emma's ears picked up the names for the other two members of the team. "Caleb and Katie?" She asked pointedly, looking at Gus with her eyebrows raised, seeing him wince. Ouch. So her guess was on the money.

  Sitting down on the side of the bed, she started undressing, having decided to simply ignore Gus, ignore the awkward situation, and have a well-deserved nap before losing her shit.

  "Shit, Peach. I never even thought -" Emma cut him off when she stuck her hand in his face.

  "You know, I'm really, really tired, so why don't you go do your thing with your team and I'll just go have my nap."

  "Just let me explain something." Gus started.

  "Not now. Please. Just... I need a nap now." Emma rolled herself under the covers and turned her back on him, closing her eyes and willing those dang silly tears away.

  "Just so you know, we are not done yet." She heard him say.

  Ignoring him, she forcibly slowed down her breathing until heard him leave and close the door behind him. Just a minute ago she had felt safe in his arms, oblivious to emotional or physical threats ...now, all those insecurities came washing over her again. The thought of sharing space with his convenient fuck buddy was a bit too much for her emotions right now, even if she couldn't quite pin down where they were at at this point. The fact that it was someone he worked with stung as well. She wasn’t just someone he saw once in a blue moon. Did she mean more than he had implied?

  Too tired to think anymore, she willed her spinning thoughts away. That's when she heard the door open back up, footsteps approaching the bed and felt him leaning in behind her, whispering.

  "Couldn't leave it at that. I'll let you sleep, but not without telling you this. I fucked up. Caleb and Katie are independent contractors who specialize in personal security, and occasionally, we will hire them on as part of investigative teams. Calling them in was a routine move for me, and I didn't consider the implications this time. I blindsided you and that's the last thing I wanted to do." Kissing the shell of her ear, he said, "We okay?"

  Taking in a deep breath, she forced herself to detach from the slightly nauseous feeling in her stomach,

  Emma responded lightly, "Sure thing. We've only known each other for what? Three, four days?" Forcing out a chuckle, she finished. "Just fun and games, right?"

  She could feel his growl behind her.

  "Fuck no, woman." He bit out. "You know it, and I know it. We'll sort it, but now is not the time. You're exhauste
d and I have a team to set up. So, when I say 'sort it', I mean I'll have myself up in your face, and under your skin and into your body so deep, you won't be able to doubt my intentions." Those last words sent a full body shiver down to her toes and had her turning her head, seeking out his eyes. She found them burning with heat and determination into hers.

  "Now. Once more. Are. We. Okay?"

  "We're okay." She said so softly, the air barely passed her lips. But he heard her and latched onto her mouth with a fierce intensity that left no room for doubt. With one last brush of his lips on her forehead, he pulled back.

  "You sleep. I'll be in the living room."

  The warm feeling of security at least partially returned, as she rolled back over, closed her eyes and promptly fell asleep.

  Chapter 10

  "Are you sure you're up to this?" Gus asked Emma, as he turned his truck towards town. The rest of the team had arrived and he had briefed them all on the case and the events to date. He then sent them off to the motel to set up camp there. They were supposed to grab something to eat at Arlene's after and bring something over for him and Emma. He hadn't heard a peep out of her since leaving her bedroom. She must've been worn out. Of course neither of them got much sleep in the hospital, and he could feel it too. Then, not thirty minutes after everyone took off, she had come out. When she found out they would all be at the diner, she insisted on going too.