Nothing Else But You

by Elle Wright

  Two sentences and she was all gooey, mushy.

  “Working on making both those things solid. I have an idea.”

  “Okay.”

  “When I saw Marko.”

  “Wait. I need context. Who the fuck is that guy for real?”

  “He works for Ivan Demko. Ivan is, was, Vasyl’s father.”

  “Vasyl was your stepfather.”

  “Right. And Marko was his friend.”

  “Fucking asshole. Never thought I’d say this, but I’m glad Tommie was there. If this Marko prick works for a guy with a big enough patch to launder money, then he knows who I am, and that Tommie works for my father. Ivan would be an idiot to fuck with you now.”

  “Maybe. He’s an arrogant piece of shit, and I can’t count on him being afraid of your father. At some point he’ll want to take out his revenge on me, and will think your dad won’t care.”

  Gio hung his head.

  “But.” She put her forefinger under his chin and made him look at her. “I have an idea.”

  He let out a big sigh. “Yeah. Tell me.”

  “Marko wasn’t born here. Ivan sent for him from some town in the Ukraine. Ivan sent for almost all his inner circle from the same town. I’m guessing where he grew up. Maybe they’re all related. Anyway, Ivan wasn’t born here either. How much you want to bet none of them are here legally.”

  Gio perked up. “Go on.”

  “Instead of hacking Homeland Security to find out if my supposition is correct and putting myself in more potential trouble with the feds, I thought I’d go to Ethan.”

  “Cop number two?”

  “Exactly. And, unless he’s away for work, or at a conference, this Friday is his usual dinner with the folks, spend the weekend in Fiddler’s Rest to see the fam.” She wiggled her brows. “He’d have the connections to find out if Ivan is here illegally, and I can’t believe some fed isn’t monitoring his activity. All I have to do is drop a dime. Like you said, Vaysl’s dead. They won’t be able to talk to him to find out he’s too stupid to have done what he went to jail for. And Ivan ranting to the feds that I set up his son is going to fall on deaf ears. He’s a sleazeball. If they’re able to deport him and most of his crew, commendations will be handed out to everyone involved. They’ll shut down a criminal enterprise, and no giant tax dollars will have to be spent on prosecuting the shitheads and keeping them in prison. Win-win.”

  Gio leaned forward, put both hands on her cheeks, and kissed her until she couldn’t breathe. Then he pulled back, and wearing a giant grin, he said, “I guess we’re having dinner at Mr. and Mrs. B’s house on Friday.”

  She smiled.

  Gusk’s Hardware

  Fiddler’s Rest

  Gio

  Sometimes people and places look exactly as you pictured them. Fiddler’s Rest was a small town frozen in time. Some of the buildings dated back to the early twentieth century, but most of the stores lining Main Street were built mid-century, and not one of them was over three stories high.

  The ride from Boise had taken a little over three hours, and they pulled into town at 10:30 a.m. Gio and Natalia had driven the rental Tommie picked up in Boise, a GMC SUV. Too big, and completely unnecessary, there had been no arguing about vehicle choice. Tommie had followed them in Natalia’s Toyota Corolla, and by the time they got to the motel, his back was killing him. They switched cars at the Best Western, where Tommie was staying. He wasn’t thrilled it was a mile from Natalia’s apartment, but there weren’t a lot of choices, and this motel was the closest to her place.

  There were three traffic lights in town, all on Main Street. According to Natalia, Fiddler’s Rest was in full swing at 10:30 a.m. Shit. There were more people walking around Brown’s campus at three a.m. than there were here at the height of the mid-morning shopping rush.

  Natalia had called Eddie the night before to tell him she would be at work by noon. Since they’d showered and eaten breakfast at the hotel, all she needed to do was go home, freshen up, and change clothes. Gio was going to do the same. He’d unpack later. He wanted to drop her off at work and give her time to get situated with her crew. Then he’d head over to the motel, and ride around town and the surrounding area with Tommie to get the lay of the land. This way Tommie would be able to fulfill his promise to the Don to stay close to Gio, and they’d both get to see where they’d be living for the next few weeks. No doubt, Tommie would be underwhelmed, but Gio was looking forward to seeing where his girl had spent the better part of the past year of her life.

  Natalia’s apartment was in a two-story white clapboard building that seemed more suited for New England than the high desert of Oregon, and the place had seen better days. They parked around back and walked through an unsecured door to a narrow hallway that took them to the front of the building, where there was a staircase that had worn burgundy carpeting. He hated that she lived here.

  She walked up the stairs in front of him and he enjoyed the view. Such a great ass. Round and juicy. He loved having something to hold on to while he pumped inside her.

  “You’re watching my ass.”

  “Oh yeah. Absolutely.”

  “Start unzipping now, Ivy League.”

  She ran the rest of the way up the stairs, unlocked the door, and he was in the apartment, slamming the door behind them, and dropping the bags at the same time she was shedding her clothes. One minute later, he was deep inside her tight, fabulous pussy, his hips pistoning like he hadn’t had her in weeks. Maybe he’d go into genetics and find a way to keep his body in this condition for fifty years so he could have at her like this all the time.

  When she dug her short nails into his ass and urged him to go faster, he smiled and complied. This girl was made for him. Her legs tightened around his and she arched up, crying out, “Gio. Gio. Gio.” Which made him come so hard he felt the pull all the way up his spine.

  He collapsed on her. “Damn, baby.”

  She nipped at his earlobe. “I could write a doctoral dissertation about your cock.”

  He busted out laughing. Made. For. Him.

  At one minute past noon, Gio pulled the Corolla in front of Gusk’s Hardware.

  “I’ll be here at six so you can show me off to the crew.”

  “Be prepared, sports fan, you won’t get out of there for over an hour. Mrs. B will be on the horn the minute you walk in, and everyone who can come over, will.”

  “It’s cool, Ace. Really.”

  “One more time, to feed my OCD.” He nodded. “No calling me Natalia. Not until we’re sure there aren’t any more clouds hanging over my head. Then we’ll explain a watered-down version of the truth.”

  “Got it. Ace, all the time.”

  “We can tell them we met through The Letter Club, but that’s it. Nothing about the fam.”

  “Absolutely nothing about the fam.”

  “You wanted to come out west and spend some time with me before you had to go back to school.”

  “Baby. I know what to say. Stop stressing. It’s gonna be fine. Now go to work. I’ll be back at six.”

  She squeezed his hand and smiled. “Later.” Then she jumped out of the car and ran into Gusk’s.

  Gusk’s Hardware

  Fiddler’s Rest

  Natalia

  Eddie had given her a big hug. Mrs. B a giant hug. Stan had given her a chin lift, and Frank gave her a peace sign, which, coming from him, was way weird. After she’d put her backpack in her locker, she put on her apron, and for the first time since she’d lived here, she kept one of her phones turned on and in her apron pocket. Gio knew not to call or text unless it was an emergency, but she felt like she had put a neon sign on Gusk’s roof that could be seen from space telling everyone in the world where she was.

  “Did you have a good time, dear?” Mrs. B wasted no time trying to wheedle the play-by-play out of Natalia.

  “I did. How was your weekend?”

  “Uneventful. Mr. B put in new sprinkler heads in the greenhouse. You remembe
r, I told you a few of them were leaking.” Natalia nodded. “I made my summer salad and a few pies for the church social on Sunday, and I put one aside for Pastor Williams. Poor man doesn’t eat right since his wife passed. You know, he’s not too old to remarry. His kids are grown and gone, and he needs more than the congregation and the good Lord. I’m thinking of asking my friend Shirley Eberhard to come visit. She’s been a widow for a couple of years now, and she and the pastor would get along like a house on fire.”

  All Natalia could think of was the parade of women, and men, Mrs. B had trotted out over dinner every time Ethan had come home. Poor Pastor Williams indeed. Now that Mrs. B had made him her new project, the man would eat well, but would be subject to widows from three counties. He was going to need the good Lord more than usual.

  Apparently Natalia’s departure and return was town news. Rita came in around four to show Natalia the picture from the sonogram. Eddie and Blake had been told the sex, but they weren’t saying because Rita had insisted she wanted to be surprised. Now everyone in town was miffed because no one won the pool. Which meant a new pool was started for the day, date, and time of the birth. In three days, lots of shit had happened.

  Including Rita switching to maternity clothes. No more stretchy sundresses, that was for sure. Her boobs had gone into Dolly Parton territory, and her stomach was more half a basketball than baby bump. Rita had gone the hippie maternity route. Today she was wearing a jewel-toned paisley peasant blouse with pointy three-quarter sleeves over a pair of tangerine-colored jeans. She had on Roman gladiator sandals and was carrying a tan crocheted bag with long fringe that had wooden beads interspersed on the fringe.

  Another change, to accommodate Rita, was a rearranged entryway at the hardware store. The display for the tool belts had been moved to the other side of the cash register, making it a tight squeeze to get down the nail aisle. In the display’s place was a sweetheart bench with thick padding. Now a couple of geezers could cop a squat and jaw-jack for hours, or, as was the case until Rita showed, play greeters to incoming customers. Eddie said he might leave the bench there since the “greeters” had been talking up the new products section, and sales had increased.

  Now, an hour after she’d arrived, Rita had perched her expanding ass on the bench and was having a natter with Mrs. B’s neighbor, Hildy Watson. Natalia figured those two would still be there when Gio arrived.

  Eddie, good-natured soul that he was, had assigned Frank to take deliveries to two construction sites and the lumberyard in Pressville, two towns over. Round trip should’ve been no more than an hour and fifteen minutes. Frank left at two-thirty. Even if he stopped at Cuppa Joe around the corner from the community college, he should’ve been back an hour ago.

  Mrs. B had been calling Frank every five minutes for the past hour, and each time the call went to voice mail. She’d passed her last nerve about forty minutes ago and was full steam ahead into pissed-off mixed with frantic-ville. Eddie was trying to play it cool, but Natalia could see he was getting nervous.

  After Mrs. B made another call with the same results, Natalia, who was at the cash register, made the thumb and pinky telephone receiver move, then motioned Eddie to go into his office as she mouthed, “Sheriff.” He hung his head but got moving.

  Forty-five minutes later, Frank pulled up with Deputy Sheriff Two Trees on his tail. Eddie let out a long sigh, Stan shook his head with disgust, Rita let out an, “Oh,” and Mrs. B went running through the open front doors to the sidewalk where she did something Natalia wouldn’t have believed if she hadn’t seen it.

  As Frank got out of the truck, Mrs. B screamed on top of her lungs, “What the hell is wrong with you, boy? Have you lost your goddamned mind?”

  Everyone in the store, all the geezers sitting at the gas station, and two women who were getting ready to walk into Knit & Pearl’s had gathered around the scene on the sidewalk. Natalia was certain no one in Fiddler’s Rest, or anywhere in Oregon for that matter, had ever heard Mrs. B curse. Never mind scream.

  Deputy Sheriff Two Trees – who had the most amazing hair he wore in a ponytail that went down to the middle of his back – walked up to Eddie and said, “Found him at the back end of the high school football field, er…” he glanced around the crowd and clearly amended his word choice, “making time with a young lady.”

  Eddie’s mouth hung open for a moment, then he narrowed his eyes and asked Deputy Two Trees, “Was he making time inside the cab of my truck?”

  To which Frank muttered, “Fuck.”

  And Deputy Two Trees followed with, “What he said.”

  Gasps all around, and Mrs. B clutched her hands to her heart.

  And, of course, at that moment, Natalia heard, “Baby. Are you all right?” looked up and saw a panicked Gio barging through the crowd.

  Talk about you could hear a pin drop.

  “I’m fine.” He came right up to her, put his arm around her waist, and pulled her flush against him. Yep. They’ll be talking about today in Fiddler’s Rest for the next twenty years. “We’re having a little employee issue.”

  “That requires a sheriff?”

  “Well…”

  Someone coughed, a woman muttered, “Geez. He’s gorgeous,” and another woman said, “He sure as hell ain’t from around here.”

  Natalia got up on her toes and whispered, “Maybe you should turn around so I can introduce you before Mrs. B keels over.”

  “Okay. Yeah.” His arm stayed tight around her waist, but he stepped back so they were side by side. There were a lot of wide eyes, and that was before he beat her to it and said, “Hi. Sorry. I got nervous when I saw the cop car. I’m Gio. Her boyfriend.”

  Silence for two beats, then everyone spoke at once.

  Deputy Two Trees put up his hand and everyone quieted. “Eddie. How about you, me, Frank, and Mrs. B head into your office?”

  Eddie nodded, waited until Mrs. B went into the store, then he followed her. Frank dragged his feet until Deputy Two Trees said, “Move it, lover boy.”

  After they were gone, Natalia turned to the remaining assemblage and said, “Gio will be in town for a few weeks. You’ll be seeing him around, but for now, we need to get back to work. Okay?”

  People nodded, or mumbled assent, and the crowd dispersed slowly. A few of the women looked back a couple of times. Natalia knew the feeling.

  Rita and Hildy hadn’t moved off the bench, and Natalia knew if she and Gio answered all their questions, most of the town would hear the details, which would cut down on uninvited approaches.

  Natalia went behind the checkout counter to the cash register, and Gio leaned against the counter.

  “Hi, Gio. My name is Rita, and this here is Hildy. We’re glad to meet you.” Hildy, a grown woman with children in college, dipped her chin and smiled shyly at Gio. Rita wouldn’t know shy if it came up and smacked her across the face.

  “Nice to meet you, ladies. What was all that,” he waved at the sheriff’s car, “about?”

  Rita began the story by explaining about Frank. Natalia couldn’t see Gio’s face, but he nodded at Rita’s accurate and colorful description of Frank’s failings. When she got to today, she said, “I know Eddie asked Frank to do some deliveries, but Mirabelle would know the whole story.” Gio turned to Natalia as Rita urged, “Go ahead, honey. Tell your sweetie what happened.”

  What she meant was, “Fill us in on the real dirt.”

  Gio repositioned himself so he could see Natalia without turning his back on Hildy and Rita.

  “Eddie asked Frank to make three deliveries. Two to construction sites near town, and one to the lumberyard in Pressville, which is a couple of towns over. Frank left around two-thirty and should have been back no later than four.”

  “Well, that’s right,” Hildy said. “I go to the dentist in Pressville, and it takes no more than thirty minutes each way.”

  “Exactly,” Rita chimed in.

  “After he was late returning, Mrs. B –”

  “
As I’d mentioned, that’s Frank’s great-auntie,” Rita supplied.

  Gio nodded.

  “Mrs. B,” Natalia continued, “kept calling him but got his voice mail. By the time it was a little after five, Eddie called the sheriff’s office. Deputy Two Trees found Frank by the high school football field –”

  “Knocking boots with April Kodanesky,” Rita filled in a blank Natalia thought only Frank and Deputy Two Trees knew. “In the cab of Eddie’s truck, no less.”

  “How do you know it was April?” Hildy asked.

  “Well,” Rita warmed up for the big story. “About two weeks ago, I was at Carl’s Pizza, over on Sixth, you know, ’cause the cravings and all that.” She rubbed her half basketball. “And who comes strolling in hand-in-hand happy as you please?”

  “No.” Hildy looked shocked.

  “Yes, ma’am. April and Frank.”

  “Her momma told me she was steady and heading to being engaged to Allen Davis. You know, his daddy is Davis Motors at the end of town. It’s a good match for the girl.” Hildy looked a little guilty when she explained to Gio, “I don’t mean nothing by it, but everyone knows April isn’t what we call college material, if you take my meaning.”

  Natalia had to hand it to Gio. He kept a straight face and nodded like this was solemn business.

  “Exactly.” Rita slapped her thigh. “I saw them again givin’ each other goo-goo eyes across the table at Cuppa Joe’s last Thursday.” She looked at Gio when she said, “I had such a hankering for a hot chocolate. Can you imagine? Hot chocolate this time of year.” She giggled.

  Jesus. Everyone was completely stupid around Gio. Which, Natalia had to admit, she understood.

  “Now, I’m not saying it was April in the truck with Frank for sure, but it stands to reason,” Rita finished her indictment.

  “Well,” Hildy huffed. “I never.”

  Sure you have. You have two girls in college, and as far as modern science is concerned, there is no such thing as the stork.

  In an abundance of caution, Natalia bit the inside of her mouth.