I nodded in understanding. “Oh, okay. So Roger isn’t here. How about Slim?”
She sat back in her seat. “Sure, he’s right back there. Go on back and give him a visit. He’d be happy to see ya.”
I grinned at her. “Thanks, Cindy.”
I walked into the back room and opened the door. Slim was leaned back in his chair, his head resting on the high headrest. I almost laughed at the man’s gaping mouth and loud snoring. Tip- toeing over, I stood right in front of his desk and brought my hands up high before I slammed them down hard on the wood. It made a slapping sound so loud that I think I even startled myself. Slim shot straight up in his chair looking like he’d just had his hand caught in the cookie jar. He was looking all around his office, his eyes unfocused while he searched for the offending sound. I started laughing at his confused expression. He brought his gaze over to me.
I was still giggling when his eyes lit up. “Busy on the job, Slim?”
He chuckled, a deep belly sound. “Pipe down, kid, I didn’t sleep much last night. The fellas that run the company are here and they kept me up checking our log books and drilling records.” He scrubbed his hand down his face. “Whatcha doing here, princess? Your uncle isn’t here, ya know.”
I sucked in my lower lip. I knew that if I could be honest with anybody it would be Slim. I’d had many talks with him about things that I’d never shared with Roger. “I’m not really here to see Roger.”
I was wringing my hands in front of me, and Slim took note of it. “Okay, well, if you aren’t here to see him, and I’m more than certain you’re not here to see my ugly mug, I could take one guess who you’re here for.”
Was I that transparent? It’s not like Slim had been around Timber and me other than at my birthday celebration, so how else would he guess… unless Timber had spoken to him about me? Was I just jumping to conclusions? I could be here for anybody else. This field is full of men, so technically I could be here for just about anybody, right?
He watched me skeptically. “Timber isn’t here, kid. He’s not been here for over a week.”
Damn… busted. “What makes you think I’m here for him?”
“Kat, I’ve known you for quite some time now. I can see the disappointment in your face when I said he hasn’t been here. Now, care to tell me why you’re looking for him?”
“You’re an observant bastard, you know that?” He laughed, but waved to the chair in front of the desk, gesturing that I sit down. Sighing, I took a seat and began talking. “Slim… I know Timber.” His eyes perked up with interest.
“Know him how?”
I looked down at my hands resting in my lap. “Timber and I attended the same high school. We didn’t run in the same crowds or anything like that, but we knew of each other.” I didn’t want to share anymore about it than that. He’d ask more questions that I wasn’t willing to answer. “Anyway, it was a bit of a shock when you and Roger brought him into the bar the other night. I hadn’t seen him in nearly six years.”
“Okay, but that doesn’t explain why you’re out here lookin’ for him.”
“Again with the observations, Slim. Cut it out.” He rolled his eyes. “Alright, well, he showed up at the beach a couple of weekends ago. He expressed some interest. He invited me over for dinner, but I declined. Instead I told him he could come over to The Hole and play cards.”
Slim’s eyebrows went up. “Kat, you’ve never asked anybody to play cards with you three. Am I to assume that there’s something different going on here?”
“No, it’s nothing like that,” I lied through my teeth. “I was just trying to get him to feel more at home here.”
“Uh-huh.” He wasn’t buying it.
“Anyway,” I said in an aggravated tone, “I noticed that he hasn’t come around since that night. I’m getting a little worried about him is all. I figured I’d come out here to check on him, to see if he was alright, but I didn’t see his motorcycle out there. Any idea where he might be?”
Slim leaned forward, steepling his fingers under his chin. “Kid, I have to say, I don’t think it’s a good idea to get involved with that one. He’s a bit rougher on the other side since being in the Army.”
“Slim…” My voice was slowly rising. “Even if there was any sort of involvement, it’s frankly none of your business.” I didn’t mean to be harsh towards him, but it made me angry that he would try to push me away from someone that was struggling. After all, I had my own demons I was dealing with, and he knew it.