Breaking the Bad Boy (36 page)

“I don’t know what to say to reassure you, I could sign a pre-nuptial agreement if you’d like. Really only time will tell, but I do love him, and we’ve been tested already, and I still love him,” she looked at Buck and he chuckled.

“She’s saying that despite my having been an asshole to her, out of necessity, I might add, she still loves me,” he said and put his arm around her waist and breathing in her skin.

“Okay, I’m convinced. I’m familiar with your asshole mode,” Miri said smiling at them. “I’ll let you eat breakfast, you can tell me everything tonight; I have to go in three minutes.”

“Miri, I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you everything. We met on assignment, I can only tell you some things,” Buck said. Miri and Joss both looked at Buck.

“Are you FBI, too?” She asked Joss.

“No, I’m an art historian,” Joss said and Miri laughed.

“Mild mannered art historian meets Federal Agent, gets in deep with guns and bombs and the world is saved, something like that?”

“Something like that. I’ve resigned from the Bureau, Joss and I are done with saving the world.”

“Good, maybe now you’ll be safe,” Miri said.

“Not likely, Joss is magnetic north for assholes,” Buck said.

Miri gave her brother a long look. “Clearly.” Joss laughed and Buck smiled at her.

“My sister thought I was gay, Duchess,” he said looking for sympathy.

“Because you’re so beautiful?” He rolled his eyes at her.

“Et tu?”

“When’s the wedding?”

“Saturday,” he said watching his sister.

“Saturday? Do I get to help plan?”

“I was hoping you would say that,” Joss said.

***

“Pull into the Circle K, I didn’t get any coffee, the blonde knocked me for a loop,” Eddie told his brother as they were driving by. Clint thought it was a good idea, and pulled in.

While they filled their coffee cups Eddie shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. “I can’t stop thinking about her, man.” He said to his brother. “She’s gorgeous.”

“Duke’ll skin you alive if you touch his woman, Eddie,” Clint said.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a woman like that before. She must be six feet tall,” Eddie said.

“Forget her, Eddie,” Clint said in a warning tone.

“I wonder if she’s a real blonde,” he mused.

“Eddie, Duke is not someone to test, he can be a nasty piece of work; I’ve seen him fight. He’s as mean as a snake when he wants to be. He eliminates problems quickly and efficiently,” Clint paid the cashier and turned to look his brother in the eye. “There’s even a video on YouTube. Don’t piss the man off by making a play for his woman.”

“I thought you said he was gay.”

“Miri was just playing with him, he’s not,” Clint said laying a finger on his brother’s chest.

“I hear you, Clint; I’m just fantasizing a little. Why does she call him Buck?”

“That’s his name, John Buckingham, everybody calls him Duke but her.”

“She could call me whatever she wanted, too. Where’d he meet her? I want to go.”

“I don’t know, he was here last Christmas, he loaded up his horse and his Harley when he left. He didn’t say where he was headed.”

They walked out of the Circle K and to Clint’s truck. A man with a pronounced limp walked to the window to watch them drive away. “Natani Construction” was written on the side of the truck. He smiled malevolently, limped out of the store and got on his motorcycle.

***

“This is where you grew up, isn’t it?” Joss asked him as they drove through the Rez to his grandfather’s house.

“Yes,” he said. Joss noticed he had gotten very quiet as soon as they drove onto the Reservation. She wished he’d open up, but he would give her what he could when he could, she would wait. He smiled at her.

“Tell me about your grandfather,” she said leaning back in the Jeep and looking at him. The corners of his mouth went up and he turned briefly to look at her.

“And ruin the surprise? No way, Duchess.” She sighed. “He’s going to love you, Joss, don’t worry.”

“I just don’t want to fuck anything up,” she said and he looked at her in surprise.

“Just smile at him, he’ll be putty in your hands. You’re not really concerned, are you?”

“With your other grandfather I wasn’t concerned because I was too damn mad at him. Your relationship is complicated with him, but there is affection there even if you both deny it. And I think my anger delighted him, anyway. Winston is someone you have great affection and respect for, and if he disapproves, I’m screwed. And, well, I’m so
white
.” Buck came to a sudden halt in the middle of the deserted road. Dust followed and enveloped the Jeep. He looked at Joss’s surprised face for a moment trying to decide what he could possibly say.

“Joss, what I’m about to say is very important, and I want you to listen. I want you to hear it in your brain and in your heart, and I want you to memorize the words,” he said looking deeply into her eyes. “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” she breathed.

“I love you,” he said simply. She looked relieved. “Ultimately, I don’t give a damn about what anyone else thinks; you’re not joining yourself to them, but to me.”

“I know, it will just be easier for you if they like me,” she said.

“Since when have we taken the easy route? Anyway, believe it or not, you and Winston have more in common than you might think. I’ve never known you to be nervous about meeting anyone before.”

“I’ve never been nervous about meeting anyone before, this is a first. No one has meant enough to me to warrant being nervous. And your sister wasn’t exactly pleased to see me.”

“I handled that wrong; I should have told her I was bringing you; that was entirely my fault. Anyway, you won her over in no time.”

“No I didn’t, she is still having reservations about me.” Buck smiled.

“Is that an Indian joke?” He asked and she smiled back.

“Just not a very good one. Are we surprising your grandfather, too?” She asked and he laughed.

“Not likely, news travels fast in these parts, right now he’s wondering why we’re stopped in the middle of the road.” He reached for her hand and she gave it. After giving it a reassuring squeeze he put it on the stick shift and placed his hand on top of it shifting the car into gear.

“Thank you, Buck,” she said and he winked at her. A few minutes later they pulled up in front of a small house with a round building in front of it, and horses in a paddock. “I’ve seen a lot of those, what is it?” He continued holding her hand, sitting in the car seemingly not in a hurry.

“That is a Hogan, the people used to live in them, in fact, many still do. This particular one is used mostly for ceremonial purposes and slumber parties. Miri’s, not mine. You’re getting married in that, you know?”

“I am? How lovely.” She smiled at him and the door to the house opened and a man stepped out.

“The moment of truth, Duchess. Be brave,” he kissed the hand he held and got out of the Jeep and came around to her side. She climbed down and Buck took her hand again.

“Hello Granddad,” Buck called up to him, and his grandfather smiled and gave the universal wave to come in. They walked up the stairs to the porch and into the house. “Granddad, I’d like you to meet my bride to be, Joss Erickson. Joss, this is Winston Dohi, my grandfather.”

Winston put out a hand to her and they shook. He smiled at her warmly. He stood with Buck’s erect posture, and moved with his grace, she noticed, but the height gene was definitely from the Buckingham side of the family. Winston had lines etched in his handsome face, but his hair was still jet black, darker than Buck’s.

“It is a privilege to meet the woman strong enough and brave enough to take on my grandson. I am delighted to meet you, granddaughter. Please sit, I’ve made tea.” He walked out of the room and Joss looked at Buck.

“Well, that was easy,” she said and he inclined his head to her not saying “I told you.” On their way to the couch she saw photos on the wall and she moved to look at them. The first one she saw was a couple with an infant. It was a photo of Buck’s parents looking very pleased with themselves about their baby. Joss’s heart lurched in her chest. They were beautiful, and so clearly happy, and so painfully young. She looked at Buck, he was watching her response and his face was once again unreadable. In the picture his father was leaning down looking at his mother adoringly. He was exceedingly handsome. Buck’s mother was the image of Miri, a delicately chiseled beauty.

“You should have a copy of this picture. They are so happy.”

“I do, it’s in DC,” he said.

“You have a house in DC?”

“A townhouse near headquarters; I’m not terribly attached to it. But it has a really great bed,” he winked at her. She grinned. There were thirty five years she needed to learn about, and they had the rest of their lives to do it.

Joss stepped in front of the next picture. It was of a young, maybe eight year old, shirtless Buck. He was thin enough she saw every rib and he had long black hair with what looked like a rattle snake coiled around his arm, the snake’s head firmly in his grasp. She inhaled a little and looked at Buck again, he was looking shyly proud of the picture of his younger self.

“You caught him with your bare hands?”

“That was the easy part, Duchess,” he had an “aw shucks” look on his face, she’d never seen it before and she really wanted to kiss him and she opened her mouth to say just that.

“That picture was taken about thirty seconds before the snake bit him,” Winston said right behind her. She laughed. Buck pulled up his sleeve and showed her the two white puncture marks on his wrist.

“I tossed him away before I had fully unwrapped him from my arm, he didn’t go anywhere. I won’t make that mistake again,” Buck said.

“No, I’m sure you won’t,” she said. “Did it hurt?”

“Nah,” he said and his grandfather laughed.

“He didn’t say a word, but it hurt.”

“Yeah, it hurt, it hurt worse than getting shot, but mostly I felt stupid, that hurt worse,” he said.

“You were so skinny,” she said. Winston laughed and Buck smiled at him.

“Not for lack of eating, Duchess. My grandmother referred to me as ‘the black hole,’ among other things.”

“Drink, and tell me about yourself, Joss,” Winston said. They moved to the low blue couch and Winston poured. “How do you take it, Joss?”

“Milk, no sugar,” she said and watched him pour. When he handed her the cup she sat back on the couch warming her hands with the cup.

“I grew up in southern
Montana
on a cattle ranch, that’s where I met Buck, or rather Duke, sorry,” she said, but Winston waved his hand.

“What were you doing in southern
Montana
?” Winston asked Buck.

“Falling in love with the ranch owner’s daughter,” Buck said looking at Joss. “Didn’t take more than a few hours.”

“Mmm,” Winston said. There was a silence, and Joss figured this was just what they did, they were both so still, birds would land on them. They drank their tea.

“Will you live there, once you are married?”

“I don’t know, we haven’t discussed it yet,” Joss said with a quick look at Buck. “I work in
Denver
, but I could give DC a try.” She looked at Buck who had a look on his face she recognized from the first time they clapped eyes on each other. He was picturing her in his great bed, she had no doubt.