Gunnin' for You (Rolling Thunder series Book 4)

by Pj Fiala

  Hitting the end call icon on his phone, Gunnar never removed his gaze from Emma’s eyes. She was frozen in place. She wasn’t sure if she should ask; she wasn’t sure if she shouldn’t. He made no move to clarify, so Emma stepped farther into the room and as casually as she could, she asked, “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah.” Gunnar jabbed his hands in his hair and let out a long breath. “Let me shower quick and I’ll take you home for your car.”

  Gunnar stood stiffly and quickly grabbed his Rolling Thunder shirt off a hanger in the closet. Snatching a pair of boxer briefs from his drawer as he walked past the dresser, he woodenly walked into the bathroom, not bothering to close the door. Emma stood, puzzled by the call and his sudden mood change. She remembered another call he received earlier this week, but he wasn’t as agitated after that one, so she just figured it was work stuff. Now, she was starting to get that nagging feeling you have when something isn’t right.

  *****

  Gunnar dropped Emma off at Ashley’s around seven o’clock. Little was said in the car, and she could tell his thoughts were far away. Quickly kissing him good-bye, she jumped out of the car when he pulled into the driveway.

  “No need to come in. I’ve got to get going.” She softly smiled, and ran her hand along his jaw. “You sure you’re okay?”

  Gunnar swallowed. “Yeah, sorry. It’s just…stuff.”

  Emma nodded once and slid out of the car. Waving once as she got to the front door, she turned and walked inside. Ashley came into the kitchen as Emma filled her travel mug with steaming fragrant coffee. Her black pencil skirt and short sleeved teal sweater with tiny black dots fit her body perfectly. She finished her outfit with teal high heeled pumps, a teal chunky bracelet and a black handbag.

  “You look beautiful as usual.”

  “Thanks, Ash. How have you been?”

  Ashley smiled. “We’ve been fine. How have you been?”

  Emma turned and looked at Ashley. “I’m great. Gunnar’s great. His family is great.”

  “I’m happy to hear it, Emma. I really am, but I worry about you. After Greg came over the other night, I worried. Did he bother you anymore?”

  “Gosh, Ash, wait till I tell you about my weekend.”

  Emma quickly filled Ashley in on her eventful Friday night. Including Mrs. Kendall and how Molly rounded on Mrs. Kendall and how the guys all stood up for her without batting an eye at The Barn. She told her about their ride on Saturday. Molly’s horrible childhood, how they spent the day on Sunday.

  Ashley sat and listened as Emma told her about her new life. She smiled as she watched Emma’s enthusiasm—the bike rides and her new friendship with Molly. And when Emma talked about Gunnar, Ashley’s face split wide in a smile.

  “What are you smiling at?”

  “Em, look at you, you’re glowing. You look happier than I have ever seen you. When you were with Greg, you never looked like this. You never had that smile on your face or that sparkle in your eyes. You didn’t stare out the window with me and sigh just looking at him. You didn’t go on and on about his family. You didn’t glow with happiness like you are now.”

  “Really?”

  “Really. I think you’re in love, sister. Really and truly in love. And it looks good on you.”

  Emma’s mouth turned down at the corners.

  “You can’t fall in love in a few weeks.”

  “What are you talking about? If you remember, I told you I loved Ron after our second date. As a matter of fact, I was living with Ron within two weeks of us starting to date. Don’t you remember we had this same conversation? Do you remember what you said to me?”

  “No. What did I say?” Emma’s brows were furrowed.

  Ashley laughed. “You told me to follow my heart. You asked me if I wanted to move in with him and wake up every morning with him, and I said, yes, I did. Then you told me, that was my answer.”

  Emma looked into her sister’s eyes, a little lighter in shade than hers, but very pretty and framed in thick dark lashes.

  “So, Emma, do you want to live with Gunnar? Do you want to wake up every morning with him?”

  Emma smiled and nodded her head. “Yeah, I think I do. But we haven’t talked about it yet.”

  Ashley jumped up and hugged her. “I’m so happy for you, Em. He seems like a great guy. I would like the two of you to come home and have dinner one night this week so we can get to know him better, okay?”

  “Okay.” Taking a deep breath, Emma sighed. “Now I have to go start working with new people. I’ll see you after work, Ash. I love you.”

  Emma drove to work with a smile on her face, her radio turned way up, Buckcherry singing to her, and a cup of coffee in her hand. Life…was…good. She parked in the ramp and walked to the office. As soon as she entered, the same receptionist was sitting at the desk.

  She barely looked up at Emma before saying, “Oh, you’re here. Follow me.”

  Emma followed the sour receptionist—whose name she still didn’t know, since she’d never bothered to introduce herself—to an office down a hall to the back of the building. Chery Treklin was sitting in an office directly across from the office the cranky receptionist pointed her to. Chery came out of her office and walked into the office Emma was pointed into.

  “Welcome, Emma. I’m happy to have you here.”

  “Thank you. I’m happy to be here.”

  “If you want to set your purse and jacket down, I’ll show you around the building and introduce you to everyone.”

  Emma set her jacket and bag on a chair and followed Chery around the office. What immediately struck Emma was that everyone was in an office and every office door was closed. They met a few people walking through a room or two, but people weren’t bubbly and nice. They said the cursory “Nice to meet you” then walked on. Emma was introduced to Wendy, who would be showing her the computer system and getting her paperwork together for new employee orientation.

  She spent the morning with Wendy, going over the computer system, the filing system, where supplies could be found, how the phones worked, and the overall office atmosphere. By three o’clock, Chery came in Emma’s office and gave her some work to do. She didn’t explain it very well, and Emma noticed that when she asked questions for clarification, Chery didn’t want to answer questions. She was short and sharp with her. Emma sat back in her chair and read through the file she was given to try and get a handle on what was needed.

  By the end of the day, Emma left the office deflated and unhappy. This was a mistake. The office atmosphere was sour and dreary; the people in it were unhappy and dysfunctional. They didn’t talk to each other, they didn’t smile, they were snippy and cross with each other, and it was simply awful. She should have known when her day went to shit on Friday night, that it was because of this job, not a damper on the celebration of it. She was going to keep her resumes flowing for right now.

  She got home to Ashley and Ron’s and found them sitting on the sofa watching TV. Emma walked in and smiled at the two of them sitting side by side, Ron’s arm around Ashley and her hand on his thigh. They were sweet together. Emma thought about their conversation this morning. Sometimes you just knew when it was right. Ashley and Ron had been together eight years, married seven. Now they had Tyler and they were happy together.

  “How was your first day?”

  Emma flopped on a chair and toed her shoes off. “It was awful, Ash. These people don’t talk to each other. They are dreary and unfriendly and my new boss is a royal bitch.”

  “Emma, I’m sorry. That sucks.”

  “I know, Ron. Don’t worry. Maybe it’s just the first day blues.” Emma laid her head back against the chair. “I really didn’t do much today, but I’m exhausted.”

  Ashley laughed. “How about a drink? Maybe a wine cooler? I’ll have one with you.”

  “Sounds great.”

  Ashley got up and went to the kitchen. She came back in with two wine coolers and a beer for Ron. They removed the caps
from their bottles, clinked them together and took a drink.

  “Mmm. Now that’s a great way to cap off a shitty day.”

  They sat and visited for a few minutes when Emma’s phone rang. She looked at the screen and saw Gunnar’s picture. She smiled, swiped the screen and answered, “Hey, sexy. How are you?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “You sound like you’re in a good mood. Did you have a good day?”

  “Not until I got home and Ash gave me a wine cooler.”

  “Uh oh. Bad, huh?”

  “Yeah, bad. Are you finished with work?”

  “Just getting ready to leave. Should I come over?”

  Emma looked at Ashley and Ron. “If you guys aren’t doing anything tonight, do you mind if Gunnar comes over? I would love for you to get to know him.”

  They both shook their heads—nothing going on.

  “Yeah, why don’t you come here. I’ll find us something to eat.”

  They hung up and Emma took another long pull off her drink. “How about we order pizza and have it delivered? My treat.”

  Ashley offered to order and Emma went to her bedroom to change into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Ron took care of Tyler when he woke up, changing his diaper, feeding him, and burping him. When Emma came out of her bedroom, Tyler was happy and smiling and Emma was ready to snuggle with him. She hadn’t seen him in a few days and he looked like he had grown. Emma sat in the rocking chair, cooed and talked to Tyler. She heard Gunnar’s motorcycle pull in the driveway and she got up to walk to the window to watch him.

  “See, Tyler? That is Gunnar. The most handsome man I’ve ever met; besides you, of course.”

  Emma and Tyler walked to the door to open it for Gunnar. He stepped in and smiled. Good God, those dimples, the blue eyes and that dark hair. He simply took her breath away. Hell yeah, she wanted to wake up to him every morning.

  “Hey there, beautiful. How are you?”

  Gunnar kissed her lightly on the lips, then looked down and cooed a hello to Tyler. A little smile played across Tyler’s lips; probably gas, but he sure was cute.

  Pizza arrived and they sat around the living room eating and getting to know each other. Emma watched as Gunnar successfully charmed both Ron and Ashley. The horrid day left her thoughts as she settled in to enjoy her family and her man.

  Hearing a buzzing sound, Emma licked the sauce from her fingers and sighed her appreciation of the delicious sauce. Licking her last finger, she caught Gunnar’s eye and said, “Your butt is buzzing.”

  Gunnar looked at her as one side of his lips lifted. He leaned in and whispered, “It feels good too.”

  Emma breathed deeply and took in the fresh clean scent of this man she was falling for. He had showered before driving over and his fresh soapy scent mixed with the fresh air from being on his bike gave her goose bumps. Tilting her head to the side she looked into the crisp blue of his eyes, swallowed the lump in her throat and whispered. “It sure does.”

  A slow smiled spread across his handsome face, his cheeks dipping in to show her those darn sexy dimples and he chuckled. Chuckled!

  When his butt began to buzz again Emma said, “Aren’t you worried that someone seems eager to get in touch with you?”

  “It’s probably no one.”

  “The no one from this morning?”

  The smile left his beautiful face; he nervously raked his hands through his hair and looked across the room at nothing in particular.

  “Possibly.”

  Emma’s brows furrowed and she sat straighter. She had that feeling something wasn’t right. The fine hairs at the back of her neck prickled and her chest tightened as Gunnar avoided eye contact.

  Chapter Fifteen

  As she pulled into the driveway at Ashley’s house on Friday afternoon, Emma was relieved to have a couple days off and rethink this whole work thing. She had some savings and she was living frugally right now. It would be better to quit this damn job and find a real one. She walked into the house to a flurry of activity. Ron’s parents lived in Minnesota, just over the Wisconsin/Minnesota border, and Ashley and Ron were taking Tyler to visit them for the weekend. Ashley was running around trying to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. Ron was trying to stuff it all in his SUV.

  “God, Em. Who knew the smallest person in this house would go with so much damn stuff!”

  Emma grinned as she watched Ashley run around like crazy. “Can I help with anything?”

  “No. Oh, shit…Wait, where’s Tyler?”

  Ashley ran back to Tyler’s room. She came running into the living room where Emma was toeing off her shoes. “God, Emma, I can’t find Tyler.”

  Emma stood up and walked to Ashley. She put her palms on Ashley’s shoulders and forced Ashley to look at her. “Ash, honey, calm down. Ron has Tyler in the SUV. They escaped your crazy ass packing binge. I saw them when I came in. Ron told me to enter at my own risk and to hang onto something so I didn’t get packed in a bag or something.”

  Ashley furrowed her brows and looked at Emma. “Crazy ass packing binge?” She burst out laughing. Pulling Emma into a hug, she squeezed her tight. “I get so nervous going to Ron’s parents. His mom is kind of ‘judgy’ and I’m worried she won’t think I’m a good mom.”

  “Oh, Ash. You’re a great mom. Tyler is a healthy, happy boy. You and Ron may do things differently than his parents did, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t a good mom. You remember that if she says anything to you. Just tell her you have a different way, but that doesn’t mean it’s the wrong way.”

  Building her resolve, Ashley straightened her spine and leveled her shoulders. “I love you, Em. Thanks.”

  They hugged again and Ashley picked up her bag and walked out the door. Emma chuckled as she walked back to her bedroom to put on a pair of jeans and a tank top. She began packing a bag; actually, a large suitcase to take to Gunnar’s. Tonight they were having Molly and Ryder over for supper. Emma promised to make her favorite teriyaki ribs and Gunnar offered to grill them. They’d been marinating all day. She grabbed her suitcase and toiletry bag and locked up the house as she left. As she was putting her suitcase in the trunk of her car, Ashley and Ron hurriedly pulled into the driveway. Emma stood by her car smiling at them. Ashley jumped out of the car and as she was running into the house she yelled to Emma, “I forgot my purse.”

  Emma laughed, looked over at Ron and shrugged her shoulders. She slid into her car and drove out of the driveway, giggling at her sister.

  *****

  Emma had arrived at Gunnar’s, unpacked her suitcase into a drawer Gunnar had given her to use, put it back into her trunk and started working on supper. Molly came over before the guys got home and was making a potato salad. Each sipped on a wine cooler while chatting. Emma asked Molly questions about her childhood and more about the lies that almost broke her and Ryder up. Molly explained the whole sordid mess, her stepfather’s abuse, the rape, the guilt, all of it. Even though they had talked about it before, Emma wanted to know her better.

  “How’s your job going, Em?”

  “Oh, it’s not the best job in the world. I’m rethinking this one.”

  “Sorry to hear that. Something better will come along.”

  “Yeah.”

  Continuing to baste the ribs in the marinade, Molly watched Emma’s face.

  “It’ll be okay, Em, really.”

  Emma looked into Molly’s bright blue eyes, identical to Gunnar’s. Her mouth turned down into a frown.

  “Can I ask you something personal, Molly?”

  Molly giggled. “We’ve been talking about my crazy ass past, it can’t get much more personal than that.”

  Emma nodded. “Gunnar’s been getting phone calls. I don’t know who they’re from, and he gets agitated when he receives them. A few days ago he got one and refused to answer it. Do you know what’s going on with him?”

  Molly stopped stirring the mayo into her salad and looked into Emma’s eyes.

  “Have you a
sked him?”

  “Of course. His behavior is so weird afterwards. It’s been bothering me and I know it’s bothering him. But he won’t say who’s calling.”

  Molly released the wooden spoon she was holding and wiped her hands on a towel lying on the counter. She glanced outside as they heard the rumble of motorcycles rolling down the street.

  Giving Emma a half smile she said, “You need to insist he tell you. Joci said Keith, our biological father, used to get mysterious calls at all times of the day and night, and then he would disappear for a while.”

  Emma’s frown deepened as she stared out the kitchen window to the backyard. Watching two birds hop and play along the top of the wooden fence separating this house from the backyard neighbor’s. The motorcycles were pulling into the garage, making goose flesh form on her arms and legs. The thunder those bikes created in the smaller confines of the garage was exciting.

  The door sprung open and Gunnar was the first to enter the kitchen. His tall massive frame instantly made the kitchen seem smaller. When Ryder and JT entered, it positively dwarfed the room, making it feel like a phone booth. Gunnar looked at Emma’s face and cocked his head to the side. He flicked a glance at Molly and saw the frown on her pretty face.

  “Did we interrupt something?” His low voice vibrated through Emma, making the gooseflesh spring up again.

  Emma shook her head and plastered a stiff smile on her face. Staring into the blue depths of his eyes, taking a moment to breathe in the fresh scent of spring air, and shower soap, she rested her hands on his hips, looping her thumbs through his belt loops.

  “No, we were just chatting.”

  Gunnar leaned down and kissed her lips, but quickly bent his knees to level his eyes on hers.

  “It looks serious.”

  “No. It’s okay.”

  Ryder walked over to Molly, wrapped her in a hug and kissed her fully on the lips.

  Whispering to her, Molly bobbed her head twice and stared into his eyes. He chucked her under the chin and grinned.