Page 49 of Brother In Arms

“I’m going to come by and finish rigging the security cameras I started on the rest of your farm tomorrow. Once you blow this wide open and he gets yanked, your brother’s gonna be pissed.”

I shook my head, “I don’t think I can call Philip that. This isn’t how family treats each other.” Dragon leaned back in his seat and took a drag off his cigarette. I don’t think I’d ever seen my uncle look so proud.

“You’re gonna be fine,” he said, blowing out a plume of smoke. “You got a good head on yah, and real family backing you up now.”

Rush gave me a gentle squeeze and a meaningful look. I braved a smile and nodded when truthfully, I’d never felt so cast adrift in my life. I sighed and closed my eyes and swore in just about every language I knew how to do it in.

Looks were exchanged along with amused looks. “What?” I asked “I might as well use that fancy education for something, right?” Laughter erupted around the table and I smiled too. I couldn’t help myself. Rush’s hands were warm and held me firmly and I knew he wouldn’t let me fall. Somehow I knew that extended to more than just me sitting on his lap, too. I wondered about him. I wanted to know more. I wanted to reconcile the man on paper with the man who made me feel so many things, who turned my world upside down and inside out but still somehow managed to make it better.

It was as if we were fated to have met each other, and when we didn’t go along with fate’s plan, she just came up with another one. I needed to learn to listen to that bitch the first time. We stayed for a while more, Data and Shelly with their heads together oohing and ah-haing over this or that. Copying and printing things, moving things here or there, copying them to an external hard drive Data connected to his laptop.

Finally, it was Uncle Dragon who said, “You two should go on and git. We’ll have all this set up the right way. It ain’t our first rodeo with the rich folks of this county.”

“First one where we were just out to bust them and not –“

“Now, Shelly, that would be club business, and club business you shouldn’t be knowing anything about at that.”

Shelly shrugged, “Girls talk,” she said faintly. “Sorry Dragon, won’t happen again.”

“Keep it to your circle of ol’ ladies, princess,” Ghost said and she nodded, chagrinned.

“Thank you so much for dinner and all that you’re doing,” I said.

“Hey, got even better news for you. When your lawyers get done with this Caleb guy, we’ll all be straight getting paid.” Data said.

“He was my dad’s best friend,” I said quietly. “I still don’t think it’s quite hit me yet, you know?”

“Yer Aunt Tillie never did like yer daddy.”

I shrugged, “My mother never did like you…” I said. He nodded and sighed heavily. I instantly felt bad.

I opened my mouth to apologize but Dragon beat me to it by saying, “Well, I can’t say she was wrong about that. You two ride safe.” I got up and Rush followed suit.

Guilt was churning in my stomach as he said, “Later, brothers,” and embraced each man at the table. I hugged Shelly and gushed more about her hospitality and her help because I really couldn’t express how much gratitude I was feeling over it.

“Hey, you’re family,” she said beaming. “It’s what we do for each other that defines us as such, not so much when it comes to blood relations anymore.”

I smiled wanly and Rush folded my hand into his, I looked up at him and he gave my hand a little shake, “Let’s get you back home.”

I nodded and we tracked back through the house to the vast gravel drive and his waiting motorcycle. I was quiet, probably more reserved than usual, but Rush didn’t push things. Just let me get on behind him and when he was sure I was snug against his back and holding on, he put us in motion.

It was slightly meditative, the ride back to my farm. A little over an hour, the ride was cooler now that the sun had gone down and I found myself shivering in the last ten minutes or so. When I got off the bike in my driveway, my teeth were chattering and I could tell Rush found it both funny and adorable. I was okay with that, especially okay with it when he tucked me into his side and walked me up the porch steps and into the house.

He walked me straight past the living room and into my bedroom, past the bed; right into the bathroom and then, and only then, did he let me go; and that was only because he wanted to start the shower. He played with the temperature while I watched and then flipped the lever on the showerhead to divert the water to the rain shower’s head. The sound of gently falling rain against natural stone filled the bathroom and he pulled his tee shirt over his head.

I stood transfixed as he drew me into his arms and looked down at me. No words were spoken, just a meeting of something undefinable between us. He bent carefully, and just before his lips touched mine I closed my eyes and said, “I don’t know anything about you.”

“Got all the time in the world to find out, now don’t you?” he asked and then he kissed me.

I closed my eyes and let my body do the talking, my arms winding around his neck even as he pulled open the snaps of my blouse, his fingers gently pulling my camisole out of the top of my pants so he could find skin. He touched me, sweeping his hands over my body lightly, an admiring touch, one full of reverence and I couldn’t ever remember a time I was touched like that before.

I touched him back, and tried to put the same kind of care and admiration in it that he showed me. I trembled finely, still cold from the wind of the ride and too little by way of protection from it. Where I was cold, he was warm, and he crushed me to his body, lifting me. I wrapped my legs around his waist so he could set me on the edge of the marble bathroom countertop, complete with his and her sinks.

His kiss was no less passionate than any other time we’d kissed, however, it held an edge of something different. An almost desperation to it that appealed to me rather than repelled me. He pushed my blouse back off my shoulders and I let him, even though it pulled my arms back, my hands away from his deliciously warm, heated skin.

He didn’t waste any time, pulling my camisole over my head and letting it drop wherever it may. I was impatient, rather than letting him go for it, I just unhooked my bra myself. He took his mouth from mine and growled, “I love a woman who knows what she wants.”

“Bet you love it even more that I really want you in that shower.”

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