Bravo Unwrapped (4 page)

B.J.
took off after Buck as another piercing scream echoed up the stairwell.

“I won't!” a woman shouted. “I will not. No way!” Another scream followed, fading right in on top of the words.

A man spoke—roughly, and low enough that B.J. couldn't make out what he said.

The woman screamed again.

“Now, settle down, Glory.” That was Chastity's calm, level voice. “Bowie. Back off.”

By then, Buck had cleared the stairs and was striding toward the living room. B.J., right behind him, glanced back and saw Lupe coming down after them. Lupe always wore about twenty silver bangle bracelets on each arm. They jingled together as she took the steps two at a time. “What's going on?” she demanded, kohl-lined black eyes wide with surprise.

As if B.J. knew.

In the living room, they found Chastity in front of the fireplace, legs braced apart, fisted hands planted hard on her hips. Behind her crouched a petite, dark-eyed brunette.

“No, Bowie,” the brunette cried. “No, no, no!” She peered through the crook in Chastity's left elbow, gripping hunks of Chastity's chunky sweater in either hand, using Buck's mother as a human shield against the strapping, shaggy-haired mountain-man type over by the window.

“Your brother?” B.J. asked Buck out of the corner of her mouth, tipping her head toward the mountain man.

“'Fraid so,” said Buck, sounding midway between amused and resigned.

Even without Buck's confirmation, B.J. would have pegged the guy as a Bravo. Beneath a couple of days' worth of beard, he had that telltale cleft in his chin—not to mention that beautifully shaped, way-too-sexy mouth. “Glory,” Bowie said, his tone gentle and careful—the look in his eyes anything but. “Come on, honey…” He took a step toward his mother and the little brunette who cowered behind her.

Not wise.

The brunette let out another wake-the-dead shriek.

“Glory,” groaned Chastity, putting a hand to her left ear—the one nearest Glory's wide-open mouth. “Cut that out. You're breaking my eardrums.”

“Well, I can't help it,” Glory wailed. “I just can't.” She spoke to Buck's brother again. “Get it through that thick head of yours. I will not marry you. Ever. You don't love me. You only
say
you do because you think you have to.”

“No, damn it. That's not true. I do love—”

“You don't.” The brunette bit her trembling lip and shook her head. “Oh, Bowie. You'd make a terrible husband.” She edged out from behind Chastity. “We both have to face it. You're wild and irresponsible and…and you can't keep a job.” With that, she burst into tears and buried her head in her hands.

Bowie, looking about a mile out of his depth and sinking fast, tried again. “Honey. I
do
love you. And I'll get a damn job.”

Glory threw back her head and screamed some more.

B.J. winced at the piercing sound. She slid another glance at Buck. “What's this about?”

“Hey. Don't ask me. I just got here myself.”

“I don't care who knows,” Glory wailed. “I don't care that the whole town'll be talking. It's nothing to me what anyone says.
I
said no. I meant no—and I will never change my mind!”

“That's it,” said Bowie. “Damn it, I've had it.”

Whimpering, Glory scooted back behind Chastity. “Don't you dare come near me, you big lunk.”

Bowie made a sound like an injured moose. Then he pointed a threatening finger at the sobbing brunette. “You will marry me, Glory. By God, I'll get a ring on that finger of yours if it's the last thing I ever do.”

“No, you won't.”

“Yes, I will.”

“No, you—”

“Enough!” shouted Chastity, so loudly that both Bowie and Glory actually shut up. Into the lovely moment of silence, she commanded, “Bowie. Get out.”

“But Ma, she—”

“Out. Now.”

“Ma, she's gotta—”

“I said, out.”

Mother and son glared at each other. Bowie blinked first. Chastity swept out a hand toward the front door. “Now.”

Muttering very bad words under his breath and shaking his big golden head, Bowie turned for the foyer. Buck, B.J. and Lupe were blocking the door. In unison, they each took a sliding step to the right, into the room—and out of Bowie's way.

About then, Bowie noticed his brother. He paused in midstride. “Hey. Buck.” His dark look brightened. “How the hell you been?”

“Good to see you, little brother.”

“Bowie,” Chastity warned on a rising inflection.

Bowie scowled again. “Awright, awright.” He clapped Buck on the shoulder. “Good to have you home.” And he trudged on by and out the front door—slamming it good and hard behind him.

Chastity clucked her tongue. “That boy. He'll be the death of me, I swear.” She turned to Glory. “You okay, honey?”

“Oh, Mrs. B.” Glory burst into a fresh flood of weeping.

Chastity gathered the girl into her capable arms and spoke over her head to Buck and the two women flanking him. “If we could have a few minutes…”

Buck nodded. “B.J. and I were heading out, anyway.”

Lupe cast a nervous glance at the still-sobbing Glory. “I'm going with you—wait. I want to grab a camera…”

B.J. spoke up before Buck could argue. “Good idea.” She beamed Lupe a big smile—and sent a
defiant look in Buck's direction. “We'll be out on the porch.” Lupe took off up the stairs and B.J. followed Buck out.

 

“You can't avoid me forever,” Buck warned, as they waited on the steps for Lupe to join them.

“Probably not.” B.J. wrapped her jacket tighter against the late-afternoon chill. “But I'm giving it my best shot.”

“We have to talk.”

“So you keep telling me.”

“If you'd taken just one of my damn calls—”

She waved a hand. “I know, I know. Maybe you wouldn't have found it necessary to manipulate me into coming here.”

“I didn't manipulate you.”

“Hah.”

“I had a story you wanted. To get it, you paid the price I set.”

“As I said, you manipulated me into coming here.”

“You could have turned down the story…” He sent her one of those looks—intimate, dangerous. “Or maybe not. Maybe you
couldn't
turn it down. After all, anything for
Alpha,
right?”

As if she'd deny it. “That's right. Anything. Even a week in the sticks with you.”

“A week?” His breath plumed on the air. “I don't know. This job is likely to take a lot more than a week….”

More than a week?
To cover her dismay, she stuck her hands in her pockets and laid on the sarcasm. “Now you've really got me scared.”

He moved in closer—too close, really. But she had her pride. Damned if he'd make her step back. He asked, “Did you notice?”

“What?”

“You're actually talking to me.”

“Don't let it go to your head.”

He loomed closer still, close enough that she could feel his breath across her cheek, marvel at the thickness of his lashes over those damn night-dark eyes of his. “You're not scaring me off.” He spoke the threat tenderly. “Not this time.”

She held her ground. “Watch me.”

“I am. I do.”

The door behind them opened and Lupe appeared, a black pea coat flung over her black jeans and short-sleeved black sweater. Her bangles jingled as she held up a Nikon. “Ready.”

B.J., deeply grateful for the photographer's timely appearance, flashed her a blinding smile.

Buck muttered, “Fine. Let's go.” He led the way across the bridge to Main Street.

As they strolled along the town's major street, Buck played tour guide. He pointed out landmarks: the post office, the school on a rise one street over, the hardware emporium, the town hall, the firehouse. Three gift stores, a beauty shop, two restaurants. He showed them the bars, of which there were also two—one on either side of the street. And the Catholic church on the hill behind the school. Lupe got several shots of the white clapboard building sporting one central spire and nestled so prettily in a copse of autumn-orange maple trees. There was also a Methodist church, Buck told them, farther up Commerce Lane from Chastity's B & B.

Everybody seemed to know him. It was “Buck, how you been?” and “Buck, nice to have you home again,” and “Great to see you back in town.” Some had even read his book.

One grizzle-haired old fellow perched on a bench outside the grocery store asked him when he was going to write a book about “the Flat,” as the locals called it. “Now, there's a book that needs writin'.” The old character winked at B.J.

“One of these days, Tony,” Buck promised.

“You be sure to come and talk to me before you put down a single word,” Tony warned, turning his bald head this way and that, hamming it up for the camera as Lupe snapped shot after shot. “I got all the best stories—and I can tell you where all the bodies are buried…if you know what I mean.” He wiggled his bushy white eyebrows.

“Tony, you know you're the first one I'll come see.”

The old guy nodded, looking gratified. “I'll hold you to it, see if I don't.” He winked again at B.J.—and then at Lupe, too. “I like a pretty woman. Which one of these is yours?”

Buck sent B.J. a far too intimate look. She pretended not to notice.

“Well?” prompted old Tony with a chuckle.

Lupe blew a midnight strand of hair out of her eye and brought her camera into position again. “Leave me out of it. I'm just here to take the pictures.”

“Ah,” said Tony, turning to size B.J. up. “You, then.”

“No. I'm not his—and he's not mine.”

“You sound real definite about that,” said Tony. “Maybe too definite. So definite I'm wondering who you're tryin' to convince.” Tony did some more chuckling.

Buck stepped in and made the introductions. “Tony Dellazola, this is B. J. Carlyle and Lupe Martinez.”

“Well, I am pleased to meet you both—so Buck. Tell me. You still livin' in New York City?”

“That's right.”

“Never been there, never will. It's not healthy, folks livin' all on top of each other that way. Like rats in a maze. They start chewin' off their own tails.”

“Hey.” B.J. couldn't let that remark pass. “
I'm
a New Yorker. You couldn't pay me enough to live anywhere else.”

“And I like a good-lookin' woman who knows her own mind,” declared old Tony. He pulled a toothpick from his shirt pocket, stuck it between his yellowed teeth, leaned back on the bench and asked Lupe, “What d'you need all those pictures for?”

Lupe kept shooting and let Buck answer for her. “We're here to do an article for
Alpha
magazine.”

Tony snapped to attention. “What's that? I'm gonna have my picture in
Alpha
magazine?”

“Could be.”

Tony thought it over. “Well. I suppose that's okay with me.
Alpha
's a fine magazine. Classy, you know? And those
Alpha
Girls…each one prettier'n the last, all of 'em wearing a nice, big friendly smile—and not a whole lot more.” He gave yet another cackling chuckle and then grew serious again. “You'll send me a free copy so I'll know I was in there?”

“Absolutely,” said B.J.

Buck thanked the old guy and they moved on, crossing the street and heading down the other side, back toward the bridge to Chastity's place.

“Quite a character,” Lupe remarked once they were out of earshot.

Buck said, “He was sitting on that bench all day every day back when
I
was a kid. I swear, he looks exactly the same today as he did then. He's gotta be ninety by now. Glory's his great-granddaughter.”

“Glory.” Lupe looked pained. “You mean the screamer?”

Buck ignored Lupe's question. He seemed faintly bemused. “Glory was maybe ten years old when I left town. And now look at her.”

“Yeah,” said Lupe, “hanging around your mother's B & B, terrorizing the clientele.”

Buck shrugged. “No one to terrorize. It's the slow season. For tonight, I think we're the only guests—and whatever she was screaming about, Glory does have a valid reason to be there. She lives downstairs, in an add-on apartment in back. She's the maid.”

Lupe shuddered. “Remind me to lock up my valuables when I leave my room.”

“Relax,” Buck said. “Glory's a good kid. Yeah, she's got a little drama queen in her. Like all the Dellazolas. They're a big, rowdy family and generally, with them, the one who screams the loudest gets the most attention. But they're sweet and harmless, really—and honest as the day is long. Every last one of them.”

 

Back at the Sierra Star, all was quiet. They went in the front door to find the fire still burning cheerily in the fireplace and nobody in the living room or the front hall. Lupe headed for the stairs. B.J., oh-so-casually, fell in behind her, hoping to reach the safety of her room without Buck suggesting another outing—one with just the two of them this time.

She made it halfway up.

“B.J.”

With a sigh, she turned and looked down at him. Their eyes met. Zap. There went that disgusting hot little thrill coursing through her.

Really, he was much too attractive—an attractive
ness consisting of more than mere good looks. He had a certain…energy about him. An energy that radiated off him and kind of filled up the space around him with excitement, with a sense of expectation.

And why, oh why, was she thinking about how attractive he was? She really had to watch herself or she'd be falling into bed with him all over again.

And she wasn't going to do that. She really, truly wasn't.