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“I don’t know him, so I don’t think about him at all.”
“You will once you meet him. He’s a very attractive man,” Gemma assured her. “That’s one of the perks. The guys around here are phenomenal and also trainable. That’s part of the problem. I’m used to dudes from Bliss. I’m sick of the rotating clowns Nate brings in from all over Southern Colorado. They get all excited about the extra pay and then they whine because they don’t know how to deal with the Detector 6000 or what to do when two moose decide to take a nap on someone’s porch, and yeah, there wasn’t a lot of sleeping going on, but that’s the circle of life. Maurice has decided to join it. And don’t live in Colorado if you can’t handle a couple of bears. So you’re my solution.”
“I did not apply at the sheriff’s office.” She hadn’t thought to ask. Actually, when she thought about it, she was pretty qualified. She’d even done some time with military police. On the other hand, it felt like jumping in with both feet. Also, who was Maurice? She should probably hold that question until the end of this weird session. “I was thinking a couple of hours a week selling honey or waiting tables would be a good start.”
The blonde shook her head. “There are no other jobs for you. You’ll find I’ve cut you off from all other employers in the area. I am the one who shut down the road into town just as you were trying to come in for the interview with Teeny. You’ll discover she’s no longer hiring. She wasn’t really. She’s trying to get Marie to slow down, but they do this every year. She asks Marie to rest more and Marie then drives her up the wall and Marie goes back to work where she’s happy and then whoever they’ve hired quits because Marie can be a lot to handle. So you’re welcome.”
She was fascinated by how fast this woman could talk. And she seemed slightly evil. It would be better to kick her out, but she kind of wanted to know where all of this was going. “And Stella’s? I take it you set up some kind of poker game.”
“Oh, I didn’t have to set it up. The girls play out at the palace once a month. Luckily the game was last week and all I had to do was get Stella to go deep. Do you have any idea how long I’ve had those boots worn by Dolly Parton herself when she was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1969? I tracked those suckers down two years ago when I realized someday I might need a real favor from Stella, and she cannot be bought by normal means. Now they were far too expensive for me, so I had to strong-arm a rich dude who likes to pretend like he’s not rich into buying them, but the doc and I now have an understanding. I talked his nurse into staying around even though he’s a weirdo and this place can be difficult on the medical professional.”
“Okay, so you traded the nurse to the doctor for Dolly Parton’s old boots and the boots to Stella for not hiring me?” It was kind of nice to be wanted, even though she still hadn’t figured out why the woman named Gemma Wells wanted her.
A satisfied smile crossed Gemma’s face. “Oh, that’s the brilliant part. I still have the boots. I caught an ace on the river, and that’s how I won you.”
She had so many questions. It was odd since she never questioned shit back at home because she didn’t care enough to. It felt like she was waking up out here. “And the Bee Bliss Store?”
“Oh, I told her I had looked up your record and that you’re a scam artist who hires on at businesses to rob them,” Gemma admitted. “And Zane owed me. Also, it turned out he wasn’t down an employee for the holidays. Van is staying in town. I wonder why that is.”
He was? She’d seen Van a couple of times, too, but he was more standoffish. Not unfriendly. She’d caught him looking at her the last night of the festival, but he hadn’t come over to talk the way Hale had. “He probably decided he needed to work.”
“Sure he did.” Gemma held up the garment bag. “Do you want me to put these in your closet? I had them pressed and everything. I run the office. I also ensure the uniforms are clean, so I’m going to need your dirties every Monday by noon or you’ll be stinky all week, and that makes people nervous. No one likes a stinky deputy.”
Oh, but there was one person Gemma Wells hadn’t bribed yet. And it was an important person. It struck Elisa that she found herself in a position of power. A place she so rarely was. She was wearing flannel PJ bottoms and a sweatshirt that proclaimed she was a Boss Babe her sister had given her that one time she’d thought of opening her own gym. She’d then realized she preferred to work out alone and tossed that idea right out the door. But the sweatshirt was warm as she sat back on the bed and regarded her opponent. “I don’t know that I like the idea of being a deputy. They have terrible hours, you know.”
