by Freya Barker
Hearing a car coming down the drive, Gus figured it was the sheriff's office and decided he'd rather meet them out front than in the close quarters of the small house, so he made his way out front, and to be on the safe side, he walked out with his hands out and up.
It didn't take long after checking him for the officers to clear him and validate his credentials with the Montezuma County Sheriff's Office.
"Sheriff Frank Cooper." The burly, gray haired man introduced himself. "Good thing Joe Morris called and gave me the heads up, or things could've been mighty uncomfortable, although I'm none too happy that you went inside," he grumbled.
"Couldn't wait, not on the off chance that someone inside might be hurt. I didn't want to take that chance, but I took care not to stomp all over your crime scene... and I may have seen your perp, too."
"Oh yeah? How's that?"
"Black new model F150 came tearing up the road from behind the house just as I was turning in. Tag was all dirtied up, so I couldn't get that, but the rest of the car was clean as a whistle. Looked brand new to me, or it could be a rental."
"Did you get a look at the driver?"
"Nah. Tinted windows, and I was pretty busy trying not to get sideswiped. All I can tell you is it was a good sized man, head close to the roof of the car. No hat, no glasses, and that's about it."
The sheriff shot him a glance from under the brim of his hat. "You think it has something to do with the case ya'll are working on?"
His eyebrows rose as he answered. "Possibly. Did Joe fill you in?"
"Some. You and I will talk some after we're done here. Anything goes on in my county, I'd like to know about it." He leveled a stern look at Gus, who met his eyes straight on.
"Fair enough. We'll talk, but let me check in with Joe first."
Frank nodded once and finally looked back toward the house.
"Well, I called the tenant; she's on her way in. Once my deputy's done clearing the house, I guess we'll go in with her and have a look around."
*****
Okay, so she was freaking out a little. Who'd want to break into her house? Here in Cedar Tree, for Christ’s sake! Arlene offered to drive her, and Seb was going to close up the diner.
"I think you should tell Frank about the truck you keep seeing." Arlene urged.
Emma's head whipped around to look at her friend with wide eyes.
"Shit. You think this has something to do with that? Great, now I'm officially freaking the fuck out. It's not like I can run away or anything, Arlene. Jesus."
Trying to calm herself down by breathing deep, she knew better than to start panicking before she got all the facts; She’d had enough bad experiences to know that much. Calm, cool, and collected – come on, Ems... get it together.
Moderately calmer when they pulled into the drive leading up to her bungalow, she could see all the lights on in her house and three cars out front; two sheriff's vehicles and one big-ass, black SUV she had seen parked outside the diner just a few hours ago!
"Frank!" Emma almost tumbled out of the car as Arlene grumbled at her.
"Hold your friggin' horses, woman! Let me get you your walker before you land flat on your face, will ya?"
Pulling the walker from the back and rolling it over, Emma barely had her hands on it before she started moving toward the two men who had turned around to face them. It almost stopped Emma in her tracks to see the pie-eating hot guy from the diner standing right there next to the sheriff. What the hell?
"You that taken with her pies?" Arlene, with her smart mouth, had obviously spotted him too. His mouth pulled into a smirk.
"Is that a trick question?" he said. "Loved the pie, no denying that, but I was simply passing by here."
"What's going on, Frank?" Emma interrupted while looking between the sheriff and the stranger.
"Seems someone broke into your house, Emma. Need you to come in with us and have a look around to see what's missing."
Slowly shaking her head, Emma was trying to make sense of what he was saying.
"Wait, I don't get it. I don't own anything worth anything. Break in? How? And what are you doing here?" She turned to Mr. Hot Stuff, taking him in properly for the first time. Tall... so very, very tall. Of course, against her short stature, everyone pretty much seemed tall, but this guy towered over everyone there; even Arlene, who was taller than a lot of guys. He was wearing an old brown cord jacket over a white Henley shirt. His jeans were worn, and he had on light brown boots that'd seen better days. As her eyes traveled back up − way up to meet his − she noticed his dark lashes first. The dark, long fringe framed his deep brown eyes, and right now, they were surprisingly warm. Damn. Those eyes made her squirmy in an inappropriate way, given the circumstances. Holy hell...was that a hot flash? She quickly turned her attention back to Frank before she completely embarrassed herself and started drooling on him, or humping his leg.
"Who is this, Frank?"
"Name's Gus Flemming," he rumbled from behind her. "I was the one who called in the sheriff."
"Oh yeah?" Emma whipped her head back to him, "And how did you come to find out my house was broken into? What brought you out here anyway? Who are you?"
"Now settle down, Emma." Frank tried to calm an obviously agitated situation down a bit, especially with the overprotective − and highly vocal – Arlene, who was not too far behind in putting her two cents in. "Gus here is working with Montezuma County on a case and happened to see a truck tearing out of your drive, so he came out to check. When he found the blinds to your office dangling outside of the window, he suspected something amiss, so he put two and two together, and gave us a call. Now Ralph is almost done in there, and then we can get on in and find out what is what. Why don't we sit down on the porch for a spot, you look ready to drop."
Arlene grabbed her arm and almost hoisted her onto the porch.
"When the heck are you gonna get that ramp installed, Ems? Thought you said you had some contractor lined up to come look and quote you?"
Emma slowly turned her head to Arlene and gave her an incredulous look.
"Seriously? You’re picking now to scold me over a ramp I haven't had installed yet? Need I knock something over your head to clear the obvious fog that resides there so you might realize I have other priorities right now? I can't even think straight."
Dropping her head in her hands, her fingers scratched her curls into an even bigger frenzy. She lifted her head and speared Gus with a glare.
"Wait a minute! Gus, right? Are you a cop? What case? I'm the only one who lives here, so does this have to do with me? Were you looking for –”
Throwing his hands up, Gus interrupted, "Whoa. Hold on with the fifty questions. I'll explain as best as I can, but let's do things in order, okay? Let’s deal with this break in first."
"Were you spying on me?" Emma narrowed her eyes at him. "At the diner? Were you there because of me?"
"Can't say I won't be next time I show up, but today, no. I was simply having a coffee after a long drive."
"Hey there, Emma. Arlene." Ralph appeared on the porch carrying some bags and a case. "Sheriff! All done in there, so it's all yours."
"Thanks, Ralph. Come on folks, let's see what we have."
*****
Not a very pleasant experience to say the least, knowing that someone has gone through your stuff; been in your house, in your space...your sanctuary. It feels like a violation of some kind.
Emma left the walker outside and took her cane out of the clip as she followed the sheriff into the hallway. At the far end, she could already see the disaster that had been her relatively neat kitchen. Groaning, she turned toward the living area, which was just as big of a mess. She was so, so tired already, and trying hard to tough it out through her pain, but she finally lost it when she turned into her bedroom where everything − absolutely everything − was upended, torn, and thrown around. Even the photos she had hanging on her wall were flung through the room. Unable to hold back anymore, she sagged
against the wall, her knees buckling as the tears started running down her face.
"Ahh, geeze, honey." Arlene hurried over, trying to keep Emma upright in a hug. "That's all you need, right? Like you don't have enough on your plate already. Come here."
Emma could feel someone move in behind her, holding her up as she heard Gus' voice say to Arlene, "Why don't you make some room on the couch? I'll get her over there." No longer caring, she let herself be held up by two strong arms as her cane clattered to the floor. One arm hooked around her waist, the other behind her knees, and before she knew it, she was lifted off the ground. Turning her face into his body, she managed to mumble, "Your back may not survive this little breakdown of mine..."
"Nah. I like my hands full." His deep voice rumbled from his chest.
After settling Emma on the couch with a cup of tea, Arlene offered to do a quick walk through to see if there was anything obvious missing, even though it seemed pretty obvious this wasn't a regular burglary. The sheriff suggested they close off the house for now, and for Arlene to pack Emma a bag and take her home for the night − leaving the follow up for tomorrow morning at the sheriff's office.
"You staying around here?" Frank asked as he turned to Gus.
"I was going to drive back to Cortez, but I'm thinking I'd better stick around town."
"There's a motel you would've passed coming into town, right off county road G. They should have room; I can call ‘em for you, if you want?"
Gus turned to look at Emma sitting on the couch, watching them.
"No thanks, I'll be okay. Think maybe I'll make sure the ladies get home okay while you close up here, and I’ll head straight to the motel after. I'll meet you at your office in the morning. Nine okay?"
Frank looked him over with one eyebrow raised, and finally shrugged his shoulders.
"Fine by me, tomorrow at nine it is."
Helping Emma into Arlene's truck, he filled them in on the plans for the next day. Arlene grudgingly agreed to let him follow them back to her place, for safety purposes only. Once he had seen them home, he let them know he'd be at the diner for breakfast the next morning. He was off to find the motel for a good night's sleep.
He noticed that Emma seemed to have perked up a little after her meltdown, but when he left, she was still quiet; looking pensive and a bit worried. She had felt pretty good in his arms, even though he didn't want to think about the effect she seemed to have on his body too much; at least not with an audience, and not under those circumstances. If he was honest with himself, he had to admit that he liked having his hands full of curves − especially knowing the curves belonged to the incredibly hot woman he had phone sex with not too long ago. Who'd have thought it?
*****
When Emma cracked an eye and found the early morning sun coming in through the crack of the curtains, the smell of coffee hit her nostrils as a slight hung-over feeling settled in her body. Arlene must be up already. Last night when they got in, Arlene hustled her right up to the spare bedroom, hoisting her up the narrow stairway without exchanging more than a couple of words; Not normal for the two of them to be so uncommunicative. They had already been exhausted from the long day yesterday, and last night's events must have taken all the stuffing right out of them.
Emma couldn’t remember the last time she had such a complete meltdown. Damn, and right in front of him too... Embarrassing as shit. Not to mention being picked up, as if she didn't weigh a ton. Ugh. Oh well, c'est la vie... can't be helped now. Better get her ass out of bed and have a pow wow with Arlene before they had to meet up with Gus and deal with the sheriff. Emma was curious to find out what the hell Gus's story was.
Rolling herself out of bed, Emma made her way over to the guest bathroom and freshened up. Arlene had left out the toiletries she had grabbed from Emma's bathroom and some towels. Emma pulled out some yoga pants and a hoodie for comfort − screw dressing for the public eye. She was sore and wanted to be comfortable, so lounging wear it would be, everyone could just deal with it.
Emma gingerly sat down at the top of the stairs and slid down on her ass, not willing to complicate things by falling on her face too. Arlene must've heard her, because she was waiting at the bottom.
"You could've hollered, woman."
"Yeah, I know. I managed so no biggie. I smelled the coffee and I need some. STAT."
"Here's your cane." Arlene handed it over. "I have your cup ready for ya. You sleep okay?"
"I did, surprisingly." Emma walked over to the kitchen and sat at the counter. "I was out like a light, but I felt like I partied like an animal last night. We both know that ain't true. I still can't believe someone broke into my place, Arlene... here, in Cedar Tree. What would they want from me of all people? And what did you think that big hunk of a man was doing there?" She glanced at Arlene while taking a sip of her coffee.
Arlene smirked.
"Other than eyeballing you? Not a clue, although, he seemed to be there in some kind of official capacity, or Frank wouldn't have been so friendly with him I figure."
"He was not eyeballing me. You're delusional, Arlene. Have you seen the guy? He's gorgeous and way out of my league, and besides, he picked me up last night which would instantly cure him of any fleeting interest he might have thought he had."
Ignoring Emma, Arlene popped some bread into the toaster.
"Toast okay for now? We can have breakfast at the diner, or do you want breakfast now?" She turned to Emma, "And knock it off with the dumb talk before I slap you. You're beautiful, and any guy is lucky to have you. I don't want to hear any more out of you on that!"
Emma stuck her tongue out and said with a smile, "You have to say that because you love me."
"Whatever. You want butter on your toast?"
"Please."
Arlene slid a plate in front of Emma. "Eat up. We're supposed to meet up with Gus in 15 minutes and I want grab some cleaning supplies so we can clean up at your house later − if we can get in."
"You think we might not be able to. Why?"
"Well, let's just find out what is going on and see, but if the sheriff, or someone from their office still has to get in, they may want to preserve things as they are for now. I don't know how these things work, but Frank will tell us."
"Jesus, I hope I can at least get my laptop or something."
"Ems, your laptop is missing."
"What?"
"Your laptop was not in the office area or anywhere else in the house when I went around with Frank last night. I was kinda hoping you had it in your car."
"Shit! All my contacts are in there! My work...how am I going to do my work? Emma dropped her head in her hands. "I am so fucked"
Arlene walked over and rubbed her shoulders. "Now hang on. You have all your accounts on an online server, right?"
"Yea, I can access them remotely from anywhere. My files are stored on a server too... Okay. I guess I'm less fucked than I thought, but I'll still need something to work on."
"Well, we'll have time to figure that out, as long as your files and contact lists aren't lost, you should be alright." Arlene grabbed the dishes and the cups and set them in the sink. "Come on, girl, we have a hunk to meet!"
Chapter 4
Pulling into the parking lot of the diner, Emma could see Gus's big body leaning against the driver's side door of his SUV. With his legs crossed, he was clad in jeans and a loose plaid shirt, over a grey Henley. His hair looked wet, like he just stepped out of the shower - and that thought sent her mind spinning in all kinds of inappropriate directions, the same directions her hands and tongue wanted to wander on that imaginary hard, wet chest and abdomen...
"Coming out?" The object of her momentary slide into la la land was standing with the passenger side door open, waiting to help her out. Busted. She felt a blush creeping up her chest - of all places - and tried to turn around to get her walker from the back. Beating her to it, Gus had it pulled out of the truck bed and set up in front her before she managed to finish her
turn.
"You move on ahead, I'll be right behind you," Emma said, hoping to avoid having to feel self-conscious with him walking behind her.
"Why?" He asked, one side of his mouth lifting, "Wanna check out my ass?"
Stopped dead in her tracks, Emma just stared at him with her mouth hanging open, then coughed out a laugh.
"You just said that. I can't believe you just actually said that!"
"Well, I was planning on walking behind you and checking out your ass, but if you insist, I guess I can let you check out mine just this once." Smiling broadly now, Gus turned on his heels and slowly made his way to the diner's entrance, leaving Emma shaking her head in amused disbelief.
"Cocky bastard." She mumbled. So she followed him in, making sure to get a good look at his assets, and they were mighty fine assets indeed she thought as she slipped through the door he held open for her.
Arlene had the coffee going already, and Seb, who had come in the back entrance, was heating up the grills.
"Grab a booth, guys." She called out, "I'll be right there with the menus and we'll talk over breakfast, but wait for me! I want to hear everything."
Gus stood by the booth he'd been sitting in the day before, motioning for Emma to sit down, then he slid in across from her, bending his head down to try and catch her eye. Emma couldn't help the smile that snuck out, no matter how hard she tried to keep a straight face.
"What?" She wanted to know, tilting her head to the side, irked with the mildly arrogant grin on his face.
"Don't feel bad. I snuck a peek in." He said with a wink.
"Good lord! You are something else."
"What's funny?" Arlene piped up as she slid three mugs of coffee and a few menus on the table. "Move over, Toots." She said to Emma as she settled in beside her. "Seb's serving this morning, and I'm planning to enjoy being on the receiving end for a change. So, what did I miss?"
"Oh, not much," Emma informed her, "Gus was just saying how much he enjoyed the view from where he was sitting." Not even trying to contain her snicker, Emma glanced at him across the table, noticing his eyes quietly fixed on her. A little unnerved now by his silence, she quickly averted her eyes, focusing on the menu.
