Layers Crossed (7 page)

“Why dig up
old wounds, Eric? Why not just let it go and move on with your
life?”

“Because it
seems that my parents haven’t been able to live in peace since that
day. There’s a dark cloud hanging over their heads, and I’d like to
find what that is. Call it a gut feeling, but I think Huntz may
still be after their land. I need to find out why. I need for my
parents to live in peace.”

“All right.
Well, there’s no better place to start than your hometown. Plus you
owe me those articles you didn’t bring with you. Even with today’s
technology, they’re not all scanned into the system. I’d like to
leave Friday. That will give me enough time to do some research at
the office before we head out.”

“My ranch is
ten miles south of Ogden. It’s a nine hour drive from here.”

Emma laughed.
“Not when you fly.”

“I don’t fly.”
I cringed.

“And I don’t
make nine-hour drives that will tire me out.”

I crossed my
arms, wondering how in the world I’d stumbled upon a woman who was
so bossy. “How do you expect to book a flight on such short
notice?”

“It’s not that
difficult when you own a jet.” She shrugged.

She owns a
frickin’ jet?
I thought, before saying, “You’re not
joking.”

“Do you see me
laughing, Cowboy?”

“Is this a
city thing? Where you have to fly when the destination’s just
beyond city walls?”

“A nine-hour
drive is not ‘just beyond city walls.’ Don’t worry, I’m not the one
flying.”

“If you tell
me you have a pilot’s license, I will strip naked and jump into
Hudson River right now.”

“I don’t have
one, but you have no idea how much I wish I did.”

Was she
flirting? Fuck me, she was flirting. How in the world had I gotten
so lost in my own story, one I hadn’t told in years, that I lost
track of the fact that we were on a date, not a job interview? Emma
made it so easy to mix business with pleasure.

“I’m sorry,
Emma. Tonight wasn’t supposed to be about the job. A job that it
now feels weird hiring a woman for.”

“Why? This is
the twenty-first century, you know. Plus, I’m much better at the
job than any man could be.”

“You’re
confident. That’s good. But this is different. And please try to
understand – I come from a town where the women are meant to cook,
clean, and bear children.”

“Otherwise
known as the Neanderthal age.” She rolled her eyes.

“An age where
a woman is respected for her hard work and expected to act a
certain way.”

My phone
buzzed with an incoming message. I felt my mouth curve up reading
it. It appeared that tonight wasn’t the only night I’d spend with
Emma.

“I could never
be constrained that way. They must feel like there’s no way out.
How can they even experience life? Is everything okay?”

“Yes, I’m
sorry. Please continue. Hasn’t your family expected you to act a
certain way?”

“True, but
that’s different.”

“Not all of us
stick to the old ways, Emma. We’re not even close to the Amish. The
younger generation has grown up with new views and dreams. My
sister’s studying nursing in San Francisco, for instance.”

“Oh, well.
That’s really good. Sometimes I wish I had gone into a different
field. But Cross Enterprises is all I’ve ever known.”

“Do you not
like your job?”

“I love the
company. I love what my family does, and solving puzzles and
mysteries and helping out others. But I don’t like breaking the
news to women of their cheating husbands every single day.”

“So, from what
I gather, I’m your guinea pig, then?”

She laughed. I
loved that sound, and right then and there decided it was one of my
favorite sounds in the world. “If I wanted you as my guinea pig,
Cowboy, I can guarantee you we’d be doing something else.”

I leaned
forward and lowered my voice. “What would we be doing, Emma?”

“You
know.”

“Tell me.”

“You’d be on
top of me, or I’d be on top of you, testing out my riding
skills.”

“Have you been
dared by Grace tonight?” I asked.

“No, but I
have had a bit too much wine. It’s been a wonderful evening, Eric.
Thank you. And please excuse my bluntness. I’m not a big
drinker.”

Did she even
know how polite she was? She was more of a country girl than she
realized, but with a twist.

“Again, I’m
sorry to bore you with my story. This was supposed to be a personal
dinner, not business.”

“As much as my
brothers would frown upon this, I believe that there’s nothing
wrong with mixing a little bit of business with pleasure.”

“Emma, please
tell me you weren’t the reason one of your clients found out about
her cheating husband.”

“I can go for
some extravagant dares and crazy stunts, but I would never break up
a marriage or any kind of a relationship.”

“It looks like
you’re the kind of a woman who needs an outlet because she hasn’t
had a man who can give her exactly what she needs.”

“And what do
you think it is that I need?”

“You need a
man who will give you his soul, cherish you like you’re the only
woman in the world, and pleasure you senseless.”

Her mouth
opened by a fraction and her breaths grew shallow. “How would you
pleasure me?” she asked, her confidence like that of a purring cat
anticipating a petting. And just how much I wanted to pet her
surged beyond my previous expectations.

“Some things
are meant to be shown, Emma, not told. So unless you’re ready for
me to show you right now, we should end this conversation.”

If she teased
me or taunted me another minute, I wouldn’t be held responsible for
taking her. I’d find a nook, a closet, a car, or even a bathroom
just to have her.

She thought
about what I’d said for a moment, and thankfully changed the topic.
“So, does this dinner come with dessert?”

Not the kind I
have in mind.

“Pick for me.
I want to see if you can guess what I like.”

I thought
about it for a moment before waving over the waitress and
whispering in her ear.

“What did you
choose?”

“You’ll
see.”

The grin on
her face was priceless. And when the crispy home-made apple pie
with a scoop of coffee ice cream at its side was brought to our
table, with two spoons, I knew I’d gotten it right. Emma dug into
it within seconds.

“How did you
know?” She said with her mouth half-full. “I mean, why not
chocolate mousse or crème brûlée? And why coffee ice cream, and not
vanilla?”

“Because you’d
likely had those thousands of times. How often do you get to eat a
home-baked pie? And coffee ice cream to bring that familiar taste
you probably have each morning. The country and city blend
perfectly together, don’t you think?”

“Yes, they
certainly do.”

If I’d known
that was the smile I’d get from Emma, I would have started our
evening with dessert. Driving her home was excruciating. I didn’t
want to leave her for a moment, but I knew that tomorrow afternoon
she’d get a surprise she wasn’t expecting, so the anticipation
would have to hold me over. I kissed her rosy cheek goodnight and
waited until she got in the elevator. As soon as the doors closed,
I heard a muffled “Yes!”, and I smiled.

C
HAPTER
7

Emma

I barely slept
that night. And when I did, the things I dreamed the Cowboy did to
me left me sweaty and needy and worn out. I might as well have been
up, running on my treadmill (which I hated), feeling my muscles
tense and burn and ache. I found my hand lingering between my legs
at night, but I didn’t go through with the building orgasm,
promising myself that the next one I got would be with the
Cowboy.

And why hadn’t
he kissed me? The warmth of his lips still lingered on my cheek. It
had been a long time since I’d gone out on a date and the guy
didn’t make a move or try to get into my panties afterward. The
fact that he hadn’t made me wonder if there was something wrong
with me.

Nah!
That was impossible. Confidence wasn’t a quality I lacked.

Not having a
depressing case of cheaters greet me first thing in the morning
felt liberating. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off my
shoulders.

I’d texted
Grace with the details of last night’s events and now, sitting
behind my desk researching Eric’s home town and John Huntz, I
wondered whether Eric had been hesitating to make a move because I
was working for him. It would be smart of him to do so, but I had a
feeling we’d work quite well together if he could only let go of
that protective shield he held around him. What was he so afraid
of? I knew there was more to his story than he was willing to
share, but didn’t we all have hidden secrets? As I watched my
printer spew out geological surveys and pages of information I’d
need to read through, I booked the company jet for Friday morning.
And, of course, it wasn’t long before Julian knocked on my
door.

“How’s the
case going?”

“Good.”

“Care to
elaborate?”

“No.”

“Why aren’t
you taking a security guy with you Friday?”

“Why are you
questioning my work, Julian? I said I could handle it, and I
will.”

“I’d prefer
James or Laura went along.”

“And I’d
prefer you butt out.”

“Fine, listen.
Mom called. She wants us all over for dinner tonight.”

“It’s
mid-week.” I frowned. I still had to pack and read through my
prints and make an itinerary for our trip. There wasn’t enough time
for me to close off all the old files so that I could start this
one. I’d already briefed Tristan’s new hire on my other work, but
had barely enough time to organize myself.

“It’s her
invitation, Emma. You’ll be there, right?”

“Of course
I’ll be there.”

Julian’s look
of satisfaction took me aback. He was planning something, but I
didn’t have time to interrogate him. Not when the Cowboy needed all
my attention.

After a day of
fast-forward work, I pulled up to my parents’ house just before
six, completely exhausted. Dino barked as soon as he saw the house
and I let him out to roam the property. I’d gotten him as a gift
from my brothers, right after Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm passed, just
before I moved out. I remembered the sadness in my parents’ faces
as I left our family home. It was still difficult to forget my
brothers’ melancholy mood, as they insisted on installing new
security features in my new condo. I loved how much they’d always
cared for me, but it was time to let the fledgling leave her
nest.

It was as if
my old dogs had known that I was leaving and couldn’t live without
me. The smaller breed of a Miniature Pinscher was a perfect fit for
my condo.

When I pulled
up the driveway, no cars were parked outside. My brothers must have
walked over from their houses, which were both adjacent to my
parents’.

“Auntie Emma!”
The scream of the youngest of the Cross clan greeted me. Julian and
Kendra’s son, Jack, ran toward me, his four-year-old feet barely
keeping up with the pace he wanted to give them. He slammed into
me, nearly tipping me over.

“You want a
ride, Jack?”

“Yes!”

And the same
way he did each time, Jack stepped onto my feet and clasped my
legs. I wobbled like a duck toward the house, picking him up at the
entrance.

“Ok,
double-oh-seven. Do you know what this dinner’s all about?”

He shook his
head up and down feverishly.

“Aren’t you
gonna tell me?” I crouched down to meet his gaze with mine.

“Daddy said if
I say anyphing he will phake away my iPad.”

“Don’t you
know that Auntie Emma would give you our secret one?” I patted my
over-sized purse.

“But Auntie
Emma’s not at my home and I can’t use it if youw not phere.”

“What if we
find a secret place to hide it in your room?”

“And what if I
take away your gadgets, too?” Julian’s deeper voice sounded.

Shit!

“I didn’t say
anyphing,” Jack said defensively, before running into the
house.

“I’m not five
anymore, Julian.”

“You sure act
like it sometimes.”

“That’s
because you choose to see me as a child.” I rolled my eyes and
pushed past him, desperately trying to find one of my
sister-in-laws who I knew would save me from Julian’s grilling.

“Don’t roll
your eyes, Emma,” I heard behind me.

“Hi Mom, hi
Dad,” I hugged my parents. “What’s with the mid-week dinner?”

“Ask your
brothers. They set it up.”

Great! I
should have known.

I made my way
over to hug Kendra and Allie, both of whom sported seven-month
tummies. “Please tell me you’re going on a vacation somewhere and
taking my brothers away with you.”

“Oh Emma, I’m
so sorry they’re over-protective,” Allie said.

“Believe us,
we feel your pain,” Kendra added.

“I wish they
could fixate on something else. Where are Raleigh and Amme?”

“They’re in
the family room,” Allie said.

“I’m just
gonna say hi.”

I hurried over
to the couch, where my niece and nephew were sitting, listening to
music with earphones glued on. I removed one ear-bud from each
child’s ear and stuck my head between theirs so they could hear
me.

“I need double
agents. Find out what this dinner is about, and I’ll add an extra
ten for each of you.” I placed a five-dollar bill in the hands of
each twin. Next to Jack, they were clever little spies, just as I’d
been at their age. And they could work their parents better than
anyone.

Raleigh and
Amme shot off the couch and went two different ways, so
nonchalantly and without drawing attention I could swear they were
professionals.