Bones Of Contention: The McKinnon Legends - The American Men Book 3 (28 page)

“Go to hell, Trey. I’ll be happy to show you the way,” Josh offered, wishing there was not a law against killing the messenger.

Trey put himself back into neutral. “You obviously know the way. Been there and back I see?”

Josh took a couple of deep breaths, needing to regain control and find his center.

“I’m there right now if you care to join me,” Josh confessed with true irony.

“Josh, listen man, I’m sorry to be so blunt. And I’m really not the enemy because I want what is best for her, just like you. However, it is not in you to let her be what and who she needs to be. Let her go before it is too late. She can still recover at this juncture. Just let her go.”

“Can’t do that.” Josh felt the conviction of his statement. He just couldn’t, not like this and maybe never.

“Then mark my words and I will hate to say I told you so, but there will come a point when you will be forced to take sides in this little war you seem to have stumbled into.”

“Oh, trust me. The lines have already been drawn. And I am quite clear where I stand.”

“Maybe so, but who you are will eventually override what you want. You will be forced to make a choice and Jamie will not come out the winner. That is just the way it is, like it or not. I’m just asking you to think about it.”

Josh already was and the outcome was always the same. He would not give up on her if it took him a lifetime.

Jamie’s lights had long been extinguished when he finally went back into his room; the morning sun was only minutes from making its debut. He had spent the better part of the night thinking about his life. He loved her. He wanted what was best for her just as Trey had said. Was he really what was best for her? Maybe not, but he still had to give it a shot because, as much as he had tried to envision a life without her, it was just not a life he wanted anymore. She was as necessary as breathing or sunlight. She was as necessary as Jesse was to the fulfillment of his life.

He looked at the peace offerings in his hand. Silently, he eased by her bed and placed them on the nightstand. They were nothing compared to the life he wanted to give her.

Taking one small luxury for himself, Josh touched her hair as she slept. He loved her deeply, that was not in question. Did he love her enough to let her go? Softly, he kissed her lips and silently left her sleeping.

“Josh, don’t go,” she mumbled barely loud enough for him to hear. “Please.”

He came back to her bedside dropping on one knee. It was something he should have done the moment he laid eyes on her again.

“Forgive me,” he softly begged.

“I did before you ever even asked.” It was from the heart and that was exactly how she felt. However, forgiveness was not always the total answer.

He could sense her begin to open up, a small crack in her shield of protection.

He did not dare invade her personal space regardless of the fact he needed to feel her physically. The emotional distance had been excruciatingly painful, and it was all he could do not to reach out and touch her. “I do not deserve you,” he said kissing her fingers.

“Maybe, maybe not. I’m not perfect either, Josh, and oftentimes a gift is given regardless of the worthiness of the recipient.”

“How can I make myself worthy again? What can I do? How can I change?” Josh was willing to barter his soul if she asked. Yet, he knew she would never ask it of him.

Jamie did not want to go there. She was not sure she was prepared to answer. When she said she was not perfect, she was not underestimating her flaws and to ask someone to go the extra mile when you yourself were not perfect was just hypocritical.

“Do nothing, Josh. You are a good man, never doubt that.” She touched his cheek.

“But?”

“No buts. We just made some mistakes. Both of us made mistakes, and I am not going to ask you to make changes when I’m not prepared to do likewise.”

She and Josh were at an impasse. He was looking for answers, and it was obvious she could not give him any answers.

“Tell Jesse thank you for the scarf. It is beautiful.”

“I will.” He was being dismissed. He knew when to fold and this was one of those times.

“Josh.” She stopped him again before the blanket dropped between the doorways to their rooms.

“Yeah?” He turned back to look at her over his shoulder.

“Just give it some time and then we will see.”

He nodded and then disappeared behind the blanket. At least it was something, he thought.

Wow, that was quick, she thought as she stood there blankly staring at the papers the Realtor sent via priority delivery. After seeing it slipped under her suite door, she quickly opened it to find a very generous offer on her house.

She held the pen in hand and hovered over the signature line. The decision to put the house up for sale had been impulsive, and she really had not given it another thought since arriving here with everything that had happened.

“Oh, stop stalling you big chicken. Just do it,” she scolded herself scrolling her name.

She very hastily initialed on all the pages marked with the sticky flags telling her to
Sign Here,
and shoving the set of documents back into the return mailer before she changed her mind, she stepped out into the hall asking the guard to follow her down to the lobby. She really had no beef with the guy and did not want to cause him problems with Josh; he was just doing his job. Jamie saw no need to argue the point. They had all been tagging along behind her like a litter of puppies all week anyway. What were a few more minutes to the hotel lobby?

Dutifully, he followed her down the hall and to the elevator, informing Josh via their cellular two-way radios along the way. After dropping the papers off at the front desk, she felt suddenly free, freer than she had in a very long time.

She finally understood. She had been using her house, her job, and her students as the anchor and the reason to stay in a place she was long overdue to leave. She had been in Lubbock now, almost thirty years. It was time to go.

London was calling and so were eight people who had patiently waited over three thousand years to have her bring them back to life.

Josh had some personal time coming, so he used it to help get Jamie settled in London. Her abrupt departure from Miami somehow did not surprise him. What did surprise him was her follow-through on the sale of her home.

He recalled swallowing hard at the news. Gauging her attitude and the amount of preparations, it was looking like she was actually leaving Lubbock for good. He feared it meant she was leaving him behind as well. He was having a really hard time digesting the prospect.

He was supporting her career move. What other alternative did he have? If he acted on what he really wanted to do, it would totally collapse any peace talks and crush all hopes of her coming back.

He was not happy she had decided to pull up stakes, but what could he say? He could protect her, but he could not force her to stay by law or any other means.

No man could.

She was a Fairy Princess answering only to the king, her father. Furthermore, he could clearly see this was a wonderful opportunity for her. Seeing how excited she was at all the potential of this assignment, he was happy for her on many levels. There was new fire in her eyes when she spoke of the tasks ahead of her. It was her bliss. He would never take that from her.

Nevertheless, he was just selfish enough to ask her one last time to reconsider. Being half a world away from her was not going to be easy. She argued it was better this way. It was a stance he could not and would not share no matter how much logic she felt she was tossing his direction. He wasn’t biting off on that crock. They belonged together, and time would bear that truth out.

It was a very old argument between them at this juncture of her relocation to England, and the only reason he agreed to drop it for the moment was because Jesse had insisted. That persuasion was accompanied with the threat of bodily harm.

“Daddy, will you just back off and leave it alone! Stop pushing for pity’s sake. Otherwise, you will blow any chance we have with her, and if that happens, I swear I’ll whack you with just cause,” she whispered, pinching him softly as an exclamation to her words.

He was glad Jesse had come along. Even more grateful, Jamie had been the one to suggest the trip would be good for her.

Educational was the term Jamie used to justify pulling Jesse out of school for the final few days before the Christmas holiday. The girl had been a buffer to what might have been a very awkward trip. It became obvious very quickly Jamie had indeed forgiven Jesse her transgressions, and Jesse was eating it up, loving every new sight and sound she had been introduced to with Jamie’s expert knowledge.

Jamie was a wonderful guide who shared her insights and unique firsthand experiences of the events they were discussing. She had witnessed the coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066, the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215, and the beheading of Anne Boleyn in 1536 on the Tower Green. These were just a few of the things she shared.

The two girls were now inseparable, and he found Jesse was usually sandwiched in the middle of their threesome. Jamie was not intentionally placing her there. He suspected that was just happenstance with Jesse feeling the need to be close to both the adults she now found in her life. He wondered how Jamie’s leaving would ultimately impact the girl. Then he wondered how deeply Jamie's leaving would impact him. Very deeply was his conclusion.

Jamie had been affable with him, even very comfortable lately, but she always managed to keep him at a friendly arm’s length. It was killing him. The only time she let him close enough to touch her was during her training, which he was grateful she had insisted they continue. If she had not he would have insisted if for no other reason than to have some time alone with her. That, too, was a personal kind of hell he found he could really do without. He had taken every opportunity to hold her a little longer than necessary or rub a sore muscle he noticed her favoring just to feel her close. If she knew he was doing it on purpose, she gave no indication he should stop. It was the only positive in the whole damn mess.

Trey and his entourage managed to accompany them as far as London. How convenient, for Trey at least, that he owned a building containing six fully furnished flats with one just happening to be vacant.

Josh wanted to cry foul, but he did not dare voice his suspicions. He was sure his sigh of relief was audible when Jamie very swiftly, but tactfully turned down the offer to rent that flat in Trey’s building for her extended stay in the city. Trey offered to throw in a car and driver to sweeten the deal. It nearly swayed her. The savings she would experience from not having to purchase, maintain, and park a car were substantial. Public transportation was fairly inexpensive, but the parts of town she would be traveling were not always safe with the hours she would keep. A car was a must have not a frill.

“Bastard.” Josh believed was the term he used to describe Trey after that bit of bribery.

Josh had already put wheels in motion to secure her a reasonable accommodation. There had to be some McKinnon family trust property she could lease at a reasonable rate and be able to live in a safe environment. It was the only way he could comfortably leave her when the time finally came for them to part, a prospect he was trying very hard not to dwell upon. He eventually would have to face the proposition as it looked to be inevitable, and no amount of sulking or arguing was going to alter that path. It was now left to fate.

Josh’s patience was beginning to wear very thin as far as Trey Jackson was concerned. The guy had been there at every turn just like a squeaky floorboard -- irritating, bothersome, and always underfoot. He had been there every time he turned around. Well, enough was enough.

"I'll be damned if Trey thinks he's welcome to come along to my family home." Josh felt there was absolutely no reason for him to be there, so there was no invitation extended expressed or implied.

"There is no reason to be rude about it, Josh"  He did not argue the point. he might be rude but it was no skin off his back. Trey was staying in London, and that's that.

"Jamie, this is my family, and I'll call the shots on whom will be and won't be invited. Trey is staying."

The only downside to the arrangement was Jamie had to stay in London to finish some work before she could join Josh and his family. This allowed Trey to have what he wanted, time alone with Jamie. Alone was a relative term, for Josh would make sure that Jamie had several men to guard her in his absence.

Jamie would not be joining him soon enough for his liking, either. Nonetheless, there was no way around it. She had legitimate obligations that he could not forestall, so he would just work around them. The extra guards were a necessity. The icing was it kept Trey from having her all alone and to himself. Josh trusted Jamie, he could not say the same for his feeling for Trey.

"By the way, while I'm gone it is important you stick with your guards. They will protect you should anything come up."

"Really, Josh, six round-the-clock guards seems like overkill, doesn't it?"

"Humor me, baby. Your security details are not up for negotiation."

"You know how I feel about having that many people around me all the time."

"Not up for negotiation." He repeated while shaking his head. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Any other requests?"

"You are being just a little bullheaded," Jamie said with a half-grin. It completely destroyed her initial intent with the statement.

"That's just the way I roll at times." He agreed with her. There was no reason to take exception to what she had said. It was true. He was being bullheaded. But with her life in the balance, he really had no other choice except to stand firm.

Ultimately, she gave in realizing he was not going to budge. The topic was closed.

Jamie was going to join him at the end of the week after she took a first look at the bones of the eight Minoans, the star attraction of the exhibit. In the mean time, he and Jesse were moving ahead with the plans and taking a few days to visit some relatives.