Breaking the Bad Boy (42 page)

“How long?” She asked.

“It’s our wedding day,” he said. “Brent is here with Belle, and Sir Gerard dropped in with exceptional timing. Sleep, we’ll talk later. I love you, Joss,” he whispered and kissed her temple.

“You sleep, too,” she said and slept.

The next time she woke she was much stronger. Buck’s body was next to her in the hospital bed, his arm across her upper abdomen. Brent was sleeping in the chair across the room, his mouth open and head flung back.

“Hi,” Buck whispered in her ear.

“Hi,” she whispered back.

“Am I hurting you anywhere? The nurse didn’t want me here in the bed, she said I’d hurt you, but I explained how she was the only one in any real danger.”

“No pain at all,” she said. “What happened?”

“I almost lost you, Duchess. I could feel you slipping away. Your heart stopped. I broke your rib, by the way, while I was giving you compressions, I’m sorry.” She smiled at him. “Sir Gerard came out of nowhere in a little bell helicopter and landed in the field. We commandeered his bird and flew you to the hospital.”

“
Elgin
?”

“Eddie said he lunged for you and stumbled. While he fell he pulled you down on top of his knife. Eddie put an arrow through his throat. He won’t bother us again.”

“Graham,” she breathed.

“He was scared, but he’s okay. He and Eddie both said you were incredible, like a mother bear,” he said quietly. She could feel the exhaustion wash over her but she didn’t want to go.

“Hold me, Buck,” she said and drifted off again.

Buck was gone; she knew it before she opened her eyes. When she did open her eyes she saw Winston standing near her bed as still as stone.

“Winston,” she said smiling at him.

“Granddaughter,” he said smiling back. “You certainly keep it interesting.”

Joss huffed out a laugh, and suddenly felt her broken rib. She gasped and put a hand to it.

“Your broken rib, no doubt.” She nodded.

“Is Brent still here?”

“Your father, yes. I like him, Belle, too. They won’t leave until you are safely Duke’s responsibility. They are negotiating terms as we speak. Ah, here is Duke, now,” he said and the door swung open and there he was. How Winston heard the quietest man she knew through a door she would never know.

“You’re awake,” he said smiling at her. Brent came in behind him almost shyly. He leaned over her and kissed her forehead and took her hand.

“You look like shit, Joss,” he said and she laughed and gasped as she remembered the broken rib. Brent paled when he saw that he hurt her. She waved it away.

“Karma’s a bitch,” she said.

***

“Are you ready, Joss?” Brent asked her outside the Hogan. She stood next to him dressed in a mostly blue tea length woolen dress with traditional Navajo blanket designs. Her feet were covered in doeskin boots that were possibly the finest things she had ever worn. In her hair was a wreath of tiny pink roses and baby’s breath. She looked stunning.

“I am so ready,” she smiled and took his arm in one hand and the shallow basket of corn mush in the other. Together they walked into the Hogan. She saw the back of Buck’s head first, as he was a head taller than anyone in the eight sided building. He stood at the northwest corner and turned at her approach from the east. His face softened at the sight of her and he smiled showing perfect white teeth. His black shirt was long, almost to his mid thigh and belted with a silver band of turquoise stones. She took his extended hand and Buck nodded at Brent who looked terribly ill, suddenly. Buck took the basket and put it on the floor for her.

He then helped her kneel on the blanket that would be the only thing separating them from the dirt floor. She felt remarkably little pain getting down, less than a week after her injuries. She smiled at Buck again and his breath caught in his throat. She glanced at the man in an expensive black suit kneeling next to Buck. He smiled warmly at her and she realized he was somehow familiar to her, but she couldn’t immediately place him.

There was a brief purification ritual with the washing of hands, Joss washed Buck’s and he washed hers, then they ate corn meal from the four cardinal directions of the basket, and began grinning like idiots. Everyone came to them one at a time and shared the corn mush, eager to get a good look at both bride and groom. They smiled throughout. Once everyone was reseated Winston spoke.

“Exchange rings,” he said in Navajo. Joss pulled Buck’s ring from a small pocket in her dress, and Buck turned to the man next to him, who fumbled for a moment and came up with the ring and handed it to Buck.
He must be Buck’s best man
, she thought. Buck put hers on her hand first, it was a simple golden band, but he had it engraved with bear claws evenly spaced around the ring. She smiled at him in surprise. She slipped his ring over his long finger and he smiled at her without looking at it.

“Look at it,” she said quietly leaning into him. On it was the same cat that she’d had tattooed on her inner thigh when she thought he might be gone forever. Buck recognized it immediately and laughed out loud and kissed her. Winston cleared his throat.

“Kiss her,” he said and Buck kissed her again with such gusto that Winston felt compelled to clear his throat again. Buck paid him no mind, they were married, she was his, and he loved her and she him. It was all he could do to pull away from her to great applause. He pressed his forehead against hers holding her hands in his.

“It’s done, Mrs. Buckingham,” he said and she pulled away surprised at the name. She hadn’t even thought of that. Her smile was huge.

“The Duke and Duchess,” she said. He kissed her again and she clung to him. Brent stood up.

“I am so happy today to welcome John Buckingham to my family as he has been held in my esteem for some time now. I wish you all the luck in the world, Buck; you’re going to need it. Joss, I’m so happy for you. Thank you all for coming, I understand tradition requires you eat everything before you go. Well, I hope you’re hungry,” he said and sat back down.

Winston stood and waited for everyone’s attention. “I almost gave up hope that my grandson would find a soul mate with a strong enough spirit to match his. Now that I have met Joss, my only hope is that his spirit can keep up with hers. I long to meet your children,” he said and then repeated it in Navajo.

Sir Gerard stood when the laughter died down. “I am astounded at the depth of devotion these two people share. It is almost as if they were handpicked for one another,” he gave them a sly grin. “Godspeed, Buckinghams.”

Joss leaned against Buck. “Are you all right?” He asked.

“I am.” She gazed at him and again at the man next to him.

“Joss, I want you to meet Special Agent Benjamin Fields. You saved his life,” Buck said.

“Call me Jamie,” he said taking her hand. “Congratulations.” He was dark haired and slim with a pleasant, almost nondescript face.

“How did I save your life?”

“You told
Davis
where to find me. They found me and put me back together again,” he said quietly. Joss looked at Buck.

“You were with Sir Gerard, in the helicopter,” she said to his surprise.

“Yes, I was there, I can’t believe you recognized me,” he said. Buck smiled at her.

“I can’t believe it took me this long to figure out where I saw you before,” she said smiling.

“You lucky bastard,” Jamie said and Buck laughed.

“I know,” he said looking at Joss.

The food came in and was shared and eaten. There was a tremendous cake, twice as large as they originally planned.

“Why is the cake so big?” Joss asked her husband.

“Once you were stabbed, no self respecting distant acquaintance was going to miss the wedding of the year,” he kissed her.

“Will you tell me where we’re going for our honeymoon?” She asked.

“Yes,” he pulled a tube of 75SPF sunscreen out of his pocket and handed it to her. “You, Mrs. Buckingham, are going to lounge around on a yacht in the Aegean Sea, visiting the
Cyclades
whenever the urge strikes.” He kissed her. “You will see more old art than you can shake a stick at, and you will be completely pampered and loved for the next two weeks. Well, the next fifty or so years, too, but I was talking specifically about our honeymoon.”

“Old art and you, what more could I possibly want?”

Epilogue

Eight Months Later

“I’m just saying that I’d rather be lying on this rock with you, naked in the sunshine than in that icy water,” Buck said. “You Vikings might like cold water, but we Indians prefer warmer climes.”

They were lying on what they now called Grizzly Rock over the bright pool.

“Have you taken your wedding ring off?” She asked him out of the blue.

“No, and I don’t ever plan to,” he touched her golden hair and frowned slightly. “Why would I?”

“To read the inscription,” she said closing her eyes and enjoying the feel of his fingers.

“Now I suppose I have to, don’t I?” She smiled at him. He slid the ring off his finger and read the inscription. “
Tu es mon ecu
. You are my shield.” He looked at her. “It’s lovely, Joss.” She put her hand on his chest where he took the bullet meant for her, and she looked into his green flecked eyes and suddenly smiled.

“I have two things of import to impart to you, and if you can catch me,” she stood up on the rock naked and glorious in the sunshine. “I will tell you.” Before he knew what she planned, she stepped off the cliff and plunged into the icy waters. He stood and watched her resurface. “Ahh,” she leaned back and kicked her feet in the water, her dark nipples stark against her fair skin. “Come on in, the water’s fine.”
When had her nipples gotten so dark
, he wondered.

“And so are you, Duchess,” he said and stepped off the cliff as she had, into the water. He rushed up to her from underwater and wrapped his arms around her bringing her to him as he surfaced. He jerked his head as he came up to get his wet hair out of his face and grinned his glorious grin. “I have you, my Duchess, tell me these important things.”

“The first one I will show you,” she said. “Trust me?”

“Of course,” he said and she smiled and went under. He hesitated, and felt her tug on his ankle. He smiled and took a deep breath and followed. Joss waited under the shadow of the rock and turned. He followed her alabaster behind like a beacon, smiling as he closed on her. She started to rise out of his reach, and he hoped they had enough air to see this through and make it back up to the surface. She took his hand and tugged him upwards and surprisingly, into the air. He gasped for breath, treading water next to her.

“We’re under the rock,” he said surprised.
 

“Yes, come with me, your eyes will adjust in a second from the hole in the ceiling. He heard her splash out of the water and he saw a lighter flicker off to the side. He watched as she lit several candles that must have been there for years. He treaded water looking at his wife in the flickering candle light.

“You are so beautiful, Joss,” he said.

“Brand and I found this cave when I was eight years old. He was six, and very brave to follow me down here once I told him about it,” she took Buck’s hand and pulled him from the water. “Watch your head.”

He only had eyes for her. He pulled her close to him and their shared body heat made the cave a little cozier.

“Thank you for sharing this with me, I wish it was a little warmer. Will you tell me the second item of import here or in the sunshine?” He had begun to shiver in the cold dampness of the small cave.

“Buck, I haven’t finished with the first item of import,” she kissed him. “Do you know what they call
Montana
? It’s on the license plates.”

He thought for a second. “Big Sky country?”

“No, the other one,” she grinned.

“The
Treasure
State
,” he said and his eyes widened a little as he watched her smile.

“Look around you,” she swept her arms around the cave and he tore his eyes from his delectable wife and his jaw dropped.

“Fuck,” he breathed his wife’s favorite invective when he saw the chests of jewels and gold stacked against the far wall of the cave. The chests were smaller than the movies would have you believe; otherwise they’d be impossible to lift.

“I think Sir Gerard was hoping that the Frenchman’s gold would be on government land, and thus belong to the government. This tract was part of the original parcel my great grandfather, Bjorn Erickson, bought God knows how many years ago.”

“You passed the polygraph,” he said. “How?” She grinned at him.

“They were asking the wrong questions. It’s not French. It’s Spanish, I think. Sure there are French coins; Portuguese coins, Italian, but the chests are Spanish. Hell, the creek we were swimming in is called the Spaniard’s Creek. I simply told the truth, that’s how I passed the polygraph.” He pulled her to him.

“You are amazing. The second thing of import is surely going to pale in comparison to all this swag,” he said kissing her.

“
I
don’t think so,” she took his hand from around her waist and placed it gently on her lower abdomen. His eyes went wide again and he became very still, hardly breathing. “Within me is someone I think you will very much like to meet.” Buck’s hand tightened and tenderly cupped her still flat abdomen.

“Joss,” he pulled her close and closed his mouth around hers. “Oh Joss.” Her uterus was nicked when she was stabbed and every month since, they thought she’d never get pregnant. He laughed and she laughed and he went to his knees and put his cheek to her belly, the red scar from
Elgin
’s knife fading finally, and he hugged her to him. “Let’s call him Brand.” She inhaled sharply and touched his hair and raked her nails across his scalp and he shuddered and looked up at her.

“What if it’s a girl?” She said very quietly.

“This one is a boy, if you believe my dreams, the next one is a girl,” she laughed.

“Let’s have this one before you start planning the whole cricket team,” he snorted.

“When?”

“I’d like to think it was the afternoon in the hayloft, on the blanket in the shaft of sunlight. That was, I think, the most powerful orgasm of a year full of really powerful orgasms.” He laughed.

“They heard you screaming in town, Duchess, and
you
were shushing
me
,” he rolled his eyes at her and she laughed.

“They’ll get used to it if we plan to stay,” she said.

“You’re the one who has something to leave and regret leaving. My world is you, and what is within you, but I love this ranch, I love the work, and now I love the hayloft,” he grinned.

“Then let’s stay, because I can’t find an argument for living in
Denver
. But let’s travel, Brent always felt trapped here, that’s why he and Belle took off as soon as they could. We’re loaded, let’s spend it.” He looked up at the chests spilling their loot.

“Oh yeah, I forgot. Come here, Duchess, warm my cockles.”