Nobody (Men of the White Sandy) (Volume 3)

by Sarah M. Anderson

  “Wait—what?” Her mouth dropped open. “You gave me Star? I thought you were just, you know, loaning her to me to get home or something.”

  He cupped her cheek, wanting to kiss her but not knowing if he should. “Yours now.” She blinked at him—too stunned to speak. He couldn’t help himself. He lifted her face to his. “She’s a good horse. I want you to have her.”

  I want to have you. The thought popped up unbidden in his thoughts as he kissed her. He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted any one or anything in his entire life. She’d turned everything in his world upside down, inside out and a few other directions he hadn’t even figured out yet. He should have hated it. But he didn’t. It felt good to be with her. Like being dragged out of a dark closet after days—years—of starving. Starving for the touch of another person.

  But he couldn’t have her—not more than he had, anyway. Not more than pulling her into the shadows of the night. She was too bright, too soft for a life like his. And him? He couldn’t even go inside.

  She pulled away from the kiss but didn’t go far. She rested her head on his chest as she looked at the horses grazing in the clearing. The simple touch made him feel like he had right before he’d gotten stabbed—he’d die to protect her. He could redeem himself for her, if he had to. If it came to that.

  Then she spoke and he knew he’d never be redeemed.

  “Nobody, what are we going to do about Jamie?”

  ######

  Chapter Fifteen

  Ouch. Watching that man shut down on her was not a pleasant thing to endure. His hand dropped away as the light died in his eyes. She didn’t see the smile fall away, but that was only because Nobody turned away from her and was walking back up the path to his camp.

  A wisp of panic floated through her. God, she hadn’t made yet another huge mistake, had she? Sleeping with Nobody Bodine wasn’t going to make doing the best thing for Jamie even harder, was it?

  Then he paused and looked back at her. He was waiting for her to explain.

  “Look, I know you’re keeping an eye on him. I understand that. He told me how you saved him. But you can’t watch him all the time. The black eye he had when he first came to the center?” Nobody dropped his head in what looked like defeat. She didn’t like it on him. “The fact is, as long as he lives with his parents, he’s in danger. I don’t want something to happen to him. I don’t want him to be like you.”

  The moment the words were out of her mouth she knew she’d said the wrong thing. Nobody’s back went stiff and she swore she saw the hairs on his arms stand straight up. She wondered if she touched him, would he shock her? “I mean like when you were locked in the closet,” she hurried to explain. “When you were all alone. I didn’t mean—” like you are now. But she didn’t get the chance to say that.

  At least he wasn’t going into stealth mode on her. He was just walking away from her. Damn her mouth. Why was it always doing this to her—forging on where angels feared to tread? “Wait,” she called out as she hurried after him. Her voice seemed extra loud in the still of the woods.

  He didn’t stop, but he did slow down enough that she could catch up. That was probably as good as it got. “Nobody, wait. Please.”

  “There is no we here, Melinda. I can’t do anything more than I’m already doing for the boy,” he said, not looking at her. “You know what I am.”

  She put her hand on his bandage—a gentle touch that wouldn’t hurt. She hoped. “I know you’re working on being good. That counts for a lot.”

  “But it’s not enough. It won’t ever be enough.” He shook his head. “It’s not enough for you, either.”

  “You stop that right now, Nobody Bodine,” she snapped. “You’re just going to have to get used to the fact that I like you.” His cheeks shot ruddy red. “And I’m not the only one. Rebel? Madeline? They like you, too.”

  “Not like you do,” he mumbled under his breath.

  Now it was her turn to blush. But she wasn’t going to let him distract her. “Stick with me here. There is a we here because you’ve given me a reason to trust you and I hope I’ve done the same.”

  He didn’t reply, but he covered her hand with his and looked at her.

  She knew him better now, well enough to see that this conversation was pretty low on his list of things to do—far below getting stabbed and outrunning helicopters. “Trust me, Nobody. I won’t take him away from you. But I can’t leave him with his parents.”

  His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, but he didn’t say anything.

  She sighed. The glow of the good sex was gone and she was back to having important conversations with a brick wall. “Promise me something.”

  “What?”

  This was important. She couldn’t do anything for him if he got himself locked up again. “Promise me you won’t kill Jamie’s father.”

  Nobody gritted his teeth and she swore she felt a current run over his skin. “You can’t hide from me,” she reminded him, holding onto him even though it sort of hurt—like a really powerful burst of static electricity. “I just found you. I don’t want to lose you again. Promise me.”

  He moved and she felt herself tense, but then his thumb stroked over her cheek, his callouses rough against her skin. That was Nobody in a nutshell—sometimes gentle, sometimes rough. Always different.

  “If he’s hurting the boy …”

  Melinda closed her eyes. Yeah, that was probably the best answer she was going to get out of him. “Try. For me—and for Jamie.”

  Then his arms were around her, holding her tight as the shock of his skin seemed to fade away. “I really didn’t hurt you earlier?”

  He still sounded so nervous about it. About her. “No. I didn’t hurt you?”

  He shook his head.

  “You’ve been honest with me. I’m being honest with you. It was just right.” Not too hard, but definitely not too soft. She grinned up at him. “But maybe clear off one of the beds for next time, okay?” Behind her, she heard the clomping footsteps that she now knew were horse steps.

  “Red,” Nobody said, sounding relieved.

  But the horse was a reminder that the outside world could intrude at any moment. “I need to go home. Madeline will be worried sick. I was a tad upset when I left this morning. I don’t want her to think …”

  He nodded. “I’ll have to get a different horse to take you home on. Star needs a rest.”

  Of course he’d be worried about the horses. Underneath the scars and the scowls, he cared. She stood up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “You can try to tell me you’re not a good man, Nobody Bodine, but I know better.” She swatted him on the ass—a playful swat, not a violent hit. A sheepish grin pulled up the corners of his mouth. “Now. Please take me home so we can discuss our plan.”

  By the time they got back to Madeline and Rebel’s house, it was the middle of the afternoon. On the bright side, Nobody no longer looked uncomfortable. She didn’t know what was worse for him—talking about what to do with Jamie or talking in the middle of the prairie, with no place to hide or even blend. But she really liked that he was trying.

  On the other hand, he was now an unreadable wall. They’d barely crested the hill when Madeline came flying out of the house, a look of pure fury on her face. Yeah, Melinda should have probably used that damn walkie-talkie. Oh well.

  Madeline pulled up short when she realized that Nobody was riding next to Melinda. Melinda tried to hide her grin at the wide-eyed shock on her sister’s face but, judging from the look Madeline shot her, she didn’t do a very good job. “Nobody! In broad daylight!

  “Ma’am,” he said with a tip of his hat to Madeline. Melinda could hear how uncomfortable he was. If she touched him, she wondered, would he shock her?

  She asked, “Is Rebel home?” If it were up to Nobody, they might stand there all day.

  Madeline looked at her like she’d never seen Melinda before. “He had something he had to do. Why?”

  “We have a
plan.”

  Madeline was no idiot. She heard the we, loud and clear. Her mouth opened but then she got it shut as Melinda watched her get herself under control. “Can you wait?”

  They both glanced at Nobody, who looked as if Madeline had made straight for his liver with a spoon. But he nodded.

  So they waited.

  *

  The wait was excruciating. Nobody tried to keep busy by rubbing down the horses and checking out the land around Rebel’s house—anything to stay out of Dr. Mitchell’s way—but he wasn’t happy about being this visible while the sun was still high in the air. If the sheriff showed up, Nobody would have very few places to hide and he didn’t fully trust the doctor not to call the cops on him.

  But she didn’t. She stayed in the house and no one else arrived. Melinda stayed with Nobody. They talked about which spot on the hill would be good, but that was about it. For once, she was pretty quiet. It was a comfort to him that she was there, but her silence made him nervous all over again.

  She had a plan. It was a decent one—far better than anything he could have come up with on his own. He wasn’t surprised—she was a smart lady. Smart and beautiful. And, for some reason, with him.

  Man. He still didn’t get that. She liked him—enough to have sex with him. Enough to trust him.

  It didn’t feel right. But it didn’t not feel right, either. To catch Melinda looking at him, that soft, satisfied smile on her pretty red lips—to know he gave her that smile—well, he didn’t know what to think. It’d never been his strong suit. So he waited for Rebel.

  The medicine man got home just as the sun was setting. If he was surprised to see Nobody sitting at his fire, he didn’t show it. And if he was surprised to see Nobody and Melinda holding hands, he didn’t show that, either. Instead, he sat next to the fire and said, “What did you decide?”

  Nobody’s stomach churned. It’d been a rough day—except the sex part—and he was tired. He’d been up for almost twenty-four hours at this point and he needed to go check on Jamie after they got done here. More talking—even if it was with Rebel—wasn’t something he was looking forward to. He wanted to go home and lie in his chair and replay the way Melinda had cried out his name over and over again until he drifted off to sleep. Then he wanted to wake up and find her and do it all over again, just to prove it hadn’t been a dream.

  Melinda waited until Dr. Mitchell had come to sit with Rebel. “I want to get custody of Jamie,” Melinda announced.

  Nobody winced as her words hung out there. The urge to disappear into the shadows of the trees was almost overwhelming. People didn’t talk with him, especially about important stuff like this. Just about him. He wasn’t the guy whose advice people sought out. Not like they did for Rebel.

  “You want to do what?” Dr. Mitchell asked. She sounded stunned.

  “Get custody of Jamie,” Rebel answered for her. He, at least, didn’t sound surprised. But he did sound thoughtful.

  “You can’t live here with that boy,” Dr. Mitchell said real quickly. That woman could be scary when she was in a mood. And with the firelight dancing off her face? Yeah, this was clearly a mood. “I mean, I love you and all,” she went on, “but …”

  “But children scare you,” Melinda said. When Dr. Mitchell glared harder, she said, “Of course I wouldn’t live here with Jamie. You’re doing the most good you can do at the clinic and anything that would disrupt that would be bad for everyone.” She turned her attention at Rebel. “And I can’t take him off the rez.”

  Everyone looked at Nobody. This was almost as bad as prison, but he didn’t say anything. To do so would invite Dr. Mitchell to tear into him and, given the mood she was in, he’d rather wrestle a mountain lion.

  “Where would you live?” Rebel asked. He still sounded thoughtful. Careful, even.

  “I thought I could get my own place.”

  “Where?” Yeah, Nobody was just going to stay out of the sights of Dr. Mitchell right now. “There aren’t exactly a lot of available places on this rez that are inhabitable and building permits are impossible to come by since the government holds the land in a trust for the tribes.”

  But Melinda didn’t seem upset by her older sister’s sneering tone. “You have a nice house.”

  “You are not moving that boy in with us,” Dr. Mitchell said again in an even more severe tone. “I understand you want to save him, but what if his father comes after him? I’m sorry, Mellie, but I’m not going to put myself at risk.”

  Nobody glanced at Rebel. He didn’t appear to be listening to his wife rant. Instead, he was staring at Melinda as if he’d never seen her before.

  Nobody didn’t like that look. He knew Rebel was an attractive guy. If what was basically his only friend in the world thought of making a move on Melinda …

  “We do have a nice home,” Rebel said in his thoughtful tone. “I bought it.” The fact that he hadn’t shut down this whole idea yet was encouraging.

  Melinda leaned forward, pulling Nobody with her. “And the water? The electric?”

  “I know a guy,” Rebel replied. “A guy who can get things done.” Then he looked at Nobody.

  Jacob Plenty Holes. Nobody nodded in understanding. Jacob sat on the tribal council—if anyone could get through the maze of rules for utilities on the rez, it’d be him. He hired guys to work at a cattle ranch—guys that were loyal to Jacob and didn’t ask questions.

  Plus, Jacob had bought horses from Nobody. He didn’t like Nobody—nothing new there—but when it came to the horses, at least there was respect. Nobody had helped Jacob out last year by catching his boss in some insane scheme to take over the rez and hurt a little albino girl Jacob had adopted. That had to count for a lot, right? If Nobody called in a favor on Melinda’s behalf, Jacob couldn’t say no, right? Hell, given that the favor wasn’t directly for Nobody’s benefit probably meant that Jacob would be more likely to agree. Jacob wouldn’t like helping Nobody, but he’d respect that Melinda was trying to help the tribe.

  With Jacob’s political clout and manpower supplies, they could have a trailer set up in a couple of weeks.

  “They could run it off your lines.” Hell, even he could do that. He’d wired the trailer off that forgotten cabin, after all.

  Melinda grinned at him, the firelight catching in her curls as the sky darkened around them. “Perfect! This is a pretty big hill. We walked around earlier and found a nice spot that gets good shade on the north side—no need to crowd together, as long as we could get the utilities.”

  Nobody’s face went hot. Thank God the dusk had settled in enough that no one would be able to see. Shade. She knew he needed the shadows.

  He looked up to find Rebel staring at him, a knowing half-smile on his face. Damn it all—Rebel didn’t need to see Nobody blush to know what was going on. Nobody tried to take comfort in the fact at least he didn’t seem to disapprove, but still.

  “Again,” Dr. Mitchell said in a cold voice, “not to be the Negative Nancy here, but what’s to stop that boy’s father from coming up here and exacting revenge for us taking his child?”

  Finally, one Nobody had an answer for. “Me.”

  Dr. Mitchell jumped. “You?”

  “Me.” But he didn’t know what else to say, so he didn’t say anything.

  Dr. Mitchell was looking back and forth between him and her sister. Nobody would have given anything to be able to slip off unseen into the night, but it was too late for that.

  He didn’t know if Melinda’s plan would work. But he had to try—for the boy, yes. Jamie needed something more than what Nobody could give him. But Nobody had to try for himself, too. One morning in Melinda Mitchell’s arms wasn’t enough.

  “Nobody can’t get custody,” Melinda said. He had to admire how easily she withstood her sister’s frostiness. “But there’s nothing to say he can’t spend time with the boy. He’s already doing that.”

  “So you’re going to, what—move in together?” She gave her sister the look that scared
the hell out of people in the Clinic. “You were ready to toss him in prison this morning, remember? And now you’re going to move in together? This is too much, even for you.”

  Rebel put his arm around his wife and said, “Babe, let them explain. Crazier things have happened on this rez, you know.”

  Dr. Mitchell opened her mouth, but then, unexpectedly, everything about her softened as she leaned into Rebel’s arm. It was the sort of contact that had always made Nobody hurt in ways he’d hated before. But that was before Melinda.

  Now? He wasn’t comfortable mirroring Rebel’s actions—not with Dr. Mitchell still trying to kill him with sneers alone—but he had his own contact. Melinda gave his hand a squeeze.

  “We’re not moving in together.” For the first time, Nobody heard something new in Melinda’s voice—something harder. Something that sounded more like Dr. Mitchell. “And I didn’t have all the facts this morning.”

  “Oh, so now you do after a fact-finding mission? Is that what they’re calling it these days?”

  “Madeline.” Everything about Melinda changed. Her back went stiff as she launched a pretty damn good sneer across the fire at her sister. “That’s enough.”

  The two sisters tried to out-glare each other for a minute. Nobody wanted to do something—anything but sit here. Nothing about this was normal. In his world, when people fought, they fought with their fists. There was no talking—hell, there wasn’t even that much shouting. Just fighting until one side didn’t get up again.

  “So,” Rebel said in a calm voice. “Melinda will get a manufactured house, we’ll work with Jacob to get the sewer and electric run, Nobody will keep watch and then you’ll work through social services to get custody of Jamie?”

  Melinda stared down her sister for a moment longer before relaxing. “Basically. I was an advocate for a foster girl back in Columbus—she stayed with me for a month. I understand how the system works—I can go to court. It shouldn’t be too hard to prove that Jamie’s home is not a safe place.”