Tracking Tahlula (Police and Fire: Operation Alpha) (On Call Book 3)

by Freya Barker

  I watch anxiously for her reaction.

  “Does that mean moving to Durango?” she asks hesitantly.

  “We can make it work if you want to stay here, but ideally, yes, I’d love for you to move closer if possible.”

  I don’t have to wait long for her response; she slams her fist on the table.

  “Done.”

  19

  Tahlula

  “Hello, my darlings!”

  Karen Dove, my editor, never fails to intimidate me.

  Only a few years older, she walks into the agency dressed like a million bucks, wearing a skintight pencil skirt, a matching deep rose fitted jacket, and impossibly high, burgundy heels on her already tall frame. The woman is an Amazon: a gorgeous, blonde-haired, lithe bombshell.

  “Hi, Karen.” Jaimie gets up to greet the woman and I follow suit. The next moment, I’m swept up in a Chanel No. 5 cloud and surprisingly strong arms around me, both of which threaten to choke me.

  “Nice to see you,” I manage, when I can finally draw a full breath. Jaimie hustles the exuberant Karen into the small boardroom and I trail behind them at a safe distance. “So, Karen,” I start when she’s safely seated across the table. “What brings you here?”

  “Mens Rea. It’s fabulous. I have a few things I’d like to go over with you and it’s easier in person.” She pulls a thick file from her briefcase and takes out ring-bound copies of my manuscript. “I marked up a few things.”

  The next two hours we spend arguing over my hero, who I portrayed as an average looking man with a great personality, but Karen would prefer to see as a rock-hard Adonis with questionable morals. We eventually compromise on a handsome, dark-haired hero still with the great personality. A few other bits and pieces are ironed out before I see an opening to insert the contract into the conversation.

  “We should address the existing contract.”

  “Why?”

  “Well,” I proceed with caution. “At this point the future of the Griffion Agency is up in the air, but I want to make sure I can retain Jaimie as my agent. She and I have discussed our options for moving ahead and would like to know what your stance would be on that. In particular, on what remains of my contract with you.”

  “I would have to have legal look into that.”

  “If you wouldn’t mind? I’ll get in touch with my own lawyer to see what would be needed to make that happen, but I want you to know—I’m committed to moving ahead with Jaimie—one way or another.”

  “I see,” she says rather primly, and I get the sense she’s a little perturbed I brought up my own legal representation and drew a clear line in the sand regarding Jaimie. I don’t mean to imply I don’t trust her, I just trust whomever is on my payroll more.

  With a promise to be in touch, Karen sails out of the office twenty minutes later in the same cloud of perfume. Jaimie immediately opens the windows, despite the hot Denver air.

  “How did things go?”

  I’m sitting out on the deck in Jaimie’s yard while she puts River to bed, checking in with Evan.

  “I’ve offered to take Jaimie on full time.”

  “That’s actually a great idea. What did she say?” he wants to know.

  “She’d like to stay on with me, but isn’t sure about relocating. She’s still trying to figure out her marital situation.”

  “Marital situation?”

  “Long story. I’ll tell you when I get home.”

  “Still tomorrow?”

  I hear a wistfulness in his tone that puts a smile on my face. “Yeah. Still tomorrow.” I pause for a moment and then I add, “I miss you.”

  It’s quiet on the other side before he returns, “Fuck, Lula; I haven’t slept since you left. Miss you too, baby.”

  “We’ll have a nap when I get home tomorrow.”

  I chuckle when I hear his groan. “I wish. I’m going on forty-eight hours straight here, and there’s little relief in sight. This damn fire is kicking our ass. We’ve had to put a call out for extra crews, but with these fires popping up all over the state, everyone is stretched thin. We’re waiting for some out-of-state reinforcements. I may not be home until Wednesday.”

  Evan phoned me Saturday night to let me know he was called out to a wildfire west of town, they thought was under control, and might not be able to answer if I called. He also mentioned dropping off Luke with his mother. Not only did he make sure my dog was looked after and made arrangements to pick up my SUV from the shop, but he also remembered my appointment for today and found time to call me. I’m starting to think I’m a lucky woman.

  “I’ll be there when you get back. Maybe Pen or Moose could pick me up. Have you heard from them?”

  “They just got here this morning, and before you ask about the donkey, Blue apparently offered to look in on him.”

  “Don’t you worry about me, I’ll find a way home.”

  “Trunk’s gonna come pick you up.”

  I’m equal parts touched and irritated he went ahead and made arrangements for me, but decide to go with touched. “You called him?”

  “Got off the phone with him before I got hold of you.”

  “Careful, Evan, you keep this up and a girl might get ideas.” The tease slips out before I think about how that might sound, but I don’t get a chance to retract anything.

  “Not gonna complain about that. I’m glad it’s working,” he immediately returns, and I can hear the warm amusement in his voice. “In case you missed it, I have ideas of my own.”

  For a self-proclaimed, independent woman, I’m sure getting happy tingles at his inference.

  Like a lovestruck teenager, I’m hanging on to the silence between us, unwilling to end the call, when I suddenly hear Jaimie’s raised voice from inside.

  “I’ve got to go, babe,” Evan says, as I twist my head to see what’s going on in the house.

  “Me too, I think something’s up with Jaimie.”

  “Go see to that, and I’ll see you Wednesday at the latest.”

  “Be safe, honey.”

  “I will.”

  Ending the call, I hoist myself out of the chair and head inside where Jaimie is pacing the kitchen, her phone at her ear.

  “Fuck you, Rob. I don’t hear from you for weeks and then you call me for this? Forget it. I’m not gonna drop everything and come running when you snap your fingers.” She doesn’t even notice me, her face taking on a worried expression at her husband’s shouting I can hear clear across the kitchen. “Don’t you threaten me, Robert David Sutherland.” With that she stabs at her screen and tosses her phone on the counter, before covering her face with her hands. I rush over and put an arm around her shoulders.

  “What was that all about?”

  “Fucker calls, after ignoring me all this time, never once asked how things were. Instead he insists I pack up some shit from his office and drive it to one of his croonies in Boulder tonight. He’s crazy if he thinks I’ll pack up his son and drive all the way out there in the dark. He got ugly, threatening me.”

  “What do you mean, threatening you?”

  “He said if I didn’t, I’d find out he had ways to make me toe the line. He knows I’ll do anything for River; it’s not the first time he’s threatened to take him from me. He suggested locking the doors wouldn’t prevent what’s coming to me.”

  It’s clear things are worse here than I already figured they were. “You can’t stay here.”

  “I know,” she agrees, sniffing. “What am I gonna do?”

  “You’re going to pack a bag for you and River and come with me to Durango—if it’s only to get your bearings—figure out your next move. Even talk to a lawyer. Take a break.”

  It’s not until she goes off to do as I suggested that I realize I may be inviting her from the fat into the fire. I quickly give Trunk a call.

  “Yes, I’m picking you up,” he says when he answers.

  “Not why I’m calling, but thanks. I have a favor to ask.”

  Evan
<
br />   “We’re heading out, guys!”

  Blue and Sumo stayed back in Durango because of tourist season—it usually coincides with a surge in medical calls—so it’s just Roadkill, Cap, Hog, and myself out of our crew.

  Reinforcements came in early this morning, and God knows we needed them. We’ve had to fall back a couple of times because the fire got a jump on us. We’ve lost about three thousand acres in the past two days, despite the air tanker dropping thousands of gallons of water from above. Of course they can only cover so much at once, since they have to fly to Vallecito or McPhee Reservoir to refill, depending on the winds.

  I grab my portable fire tank and my brush hook and jog over to where Cap is waiting, eager to get out of here.

  They have to wake me when we get to the fire station, and this time I opt to take a shower to wake me enough to drive home safely. Sumo has breakfast waiting when I come out of the locker room.

  “I’m gonna pass.” I want to get home to Tahlula. I haven’t even looked at my phone since Monday night, and I need to see her.

  “Sit down,” Cap orders. “Sumo hung behind to feed us, and the five minutes it’ll take for you to wolf down those eggs aren’t gonna make a difference.”

  Grudgingly I grab a plate and serve myself, half listening to the conversation around the table. Most of it around the fire closing in on Durango and discussing the emergency evacuation plans put in place for some of the outlying areas around town.

  “Unless something changes in the next twenty-four hours, those plans may have to be called into action,” Cap shares. “Be prepared, if that wind turns tomorrow, as they predict, we may be back out there sooner than scheduled. Keep your phones on.”

  “Will do, and thanks for breakfast, Sumo.” I pick up my plate and any other empty ones from the table and load them in the dishwasher. “I’m gonna head home. Later.”

  “Tell Tahlula I’ll be happy to check in on her if she feels lonely next time you’re away,” Sumo calls after me, but I’m too tired to respond to his tease. I simply give him the middle finger behind my back.

  It’s coming up on noon when I open the front door, and I’m almost bowled over by an excited Luke. Tahlula is not far behind, but judging from the smile on her face she’s equally happy to see me.

  Fuck, not nearly as happy as I am.

  “Naptime.” I grin when she steps into my arms, and I cut off anything she has to say with my mouth over hers.

  This woman has me by the balls, and if that little girl she carries is anything like her mother, I’m sure she’ll have me wrapped around her finger in no time as well.

  The taste of her mouth works as an aphrodisiac, but when my hand slips down the back of her stretchy pants to squeeze her ass cheek I lose her lips as she twists away. “We have a guest,” she mutters, quickly adding, “technically, two.”

  I look past her into the living room to find a short, round blonde staring back at me from bright blue eyes. In her arms, she holds a small baby.

  “Evan, this is my friend, Jaimie, and her son, River. Jaimie, meet Evan.”

  Right, the ‘marital situation’ Tahlula mentioned.

  20

  Evan

  “Morning.”

  I look up to see Jaimie walking into the kitchen, her little boy, River, on her hip.

  Yesterday I ended up in bed around seven and slept straight through the night. Our anticipated ‘nap’ didn’t happen. I didn’t even notice Tahlula joining me at some point. The girls had been talking when I started dozing off in the chair.

  When I first got home, Tahlula took me aside and apologized for bringing Jaimie here, but I quickly waved her off. From what I gather, her husband is a fucking moron. I don’t understand some guys. The woman is pretty, funny as shit, and her little guy is cute.

  “Morning. Would you like some coffee?”

  “I’d kill for a cup, but I can get it after I feed this little glutton.” She looks like she’s half asleep on her feet.

  “I’ll get it. What do you take in it?”

  “Lots of milk, one sugar. I probably shouldn’t be having coffee since I’m still nursing mornings and nights, but fuck it, I need a little reinforcement to get through my day.”

  “I’m not gonna judge,” I assure her, pulling down another mug as she sits down at the table.

  When I turn around with her cup, a few moments later, she has the baby latched to her breast. “I’m sorry, I didn’t consider it might make you uncomfortable.” She tries to pull her shirt down over the baby’s head. “I don’t usually expose myself to random strangers first thing in the morning.”

  I chuckle at her pained expression. “Doesn’t bother me, and I don’t think we qualify as strangers anymore.” I sit across from her. “And I want you to know you’re welcome here as long as you need a place. So by all means, feel at home.”

  She looks at me, her head slightly tilted. “Tahlula is a lucky cow, she snagged herself a good one.”

  “Don’t know about that. I’d say I came out on top in this one.”

  “Like I said, Tahlula’s a lucky cow,” she persists.

  I shrug it off and move to a different subject. “So how do you feel about settling in Durango?” I ask. Last thing I remember, before I crashed, was them talking about getting some of her stuff packed up in Denver and shipping it here.

  “If I could get over how terrified I am, I’d probably be excited.”

  “I’ll put some calls in this morning. Plenty of friends who will help make sure you and River are safe here.”

  “You don’t need to do that.” She lowers her eyes to her baby’s head. “I feel I’m imposing enough as it is. I don’t want to burden everyone with my problems.”

  “You’re not. We don’t look too kindly on guys who threaten and intimidate women and children. Besides, we take care of our own.”

  She snorts. “You don’t know me from Adam.”

  “Sure we do. You’re a friend of Tahlula’s, that’s all we need to know. Now, do you have a lawyer? I’m thinking that’s a good place to start.”

  “Your girlfriend already contacted hers. I talked to him yesterday morning.” I feel an odd satisfaction at her mention of Tahlula as my girlfriend. “Those wheels are already turning.”

  “Good. That’s gonna be the hard part. The rest will fall into place. I don’t want you to worry.”

  “Easier said than done,” she says, lifting her son, who looks to have fallen asleep, on her shoulder while she one-handedly tries to cover herself.

  “Here, give him to me,” I find myself offering, already on my feet. “You drink your coffee.”

  She lets me take the sleeping baby, and I settle him on my shoulder, one hand under his diapered butt and the other rubbing his back. I’ve handled my share of babies, but this is the first time I imagine holding one of my own. My thoughts go straight to Tahlula’s baby. Feeling her move against my hand on her mother’s stomach has connected me to that little girl as if she were my own.

  “Gonna say it again,” she comments, leaning back in her chair and eyeing me through slitted eyes. “Tahlula is one lucky cow.”

  “Who’s calling me a cow?”

  Her copper eyes are soft as she stands in the doorway, watching me. In them I can see my own feelings reflected. I smile at her and follow her graceful movements as she comes toward me.

  “Morning, baby.” I tilt back my head and she leans down for a sweet kiss, before turning her big grin on Jaimie.

  “You’re right; I’m a lucky cow.”

  Just then my phone rings and Tahlula quickly divests me of River, while I grab my phone off the counter.

  “We need to head back out,” Cap says when I answer. “We lost another two thousand acres overnight.”

  Tahlula

  “Jesus, that’s some house,” Jaimie remarks, when I pull up to the log home.

  She’s not kidding; the place looks like something out of a picture. I thought my house was rustic, but it’s nothing compared to Au
tumn and Keith’s.

  At some point before Evan left this morning, he’d managed to call Keith to give him a heads-up about Jaimie’s asshole husband. As I find happens here a lot, news travels. About five minutes after Evan’s truck backed out of the driveway, I had Autumn on the phone, inviting both Jaimie and me over for lunch.

  Driving up here I was shocked to see the heavy smoke darken the air to the north. It’s getting a little too close for comfort, and I’m wondering how Pen and Moose are faring at my place. I should probably check in with them soon.

  Autumn must’ve heard us coming because she’s already standing in the door opening by the time we get out of the Lexus.

  “Oh my God, he’s so little,” she exclaims, seeing River in his car seat.

  I make introductions and Autumn hustles us inside, where her little boy is babbling in his playpen. After putting a pot of tea on the beautiful harvest table, and grabbing a pad of paper and a pen, she turns to Jaimie.

  “Okay, I hear your husband is a douche, so we won’t waste any breath on him, but let’s talk about you. What do you need?”

  Jaimie, a straight shooter herself, takes a second to process Autumn’s unapologetically direct approach before responding. “Well, it looks like I have a job, which makes for a good start. I guess the next step would be to look for a place to live. I’ll need to see if I can get a few things from my house, mainly for River—his crib, the rest of his clothes—and a few personal items of mine.”

  “Trunk offered to go,” I inform her. He pulled me aside after picking us up from the airport on Tuesday, after barely acknowledging Jaimie.