“This is nine-one-one, what is your emergency?”
“Please send someone out to collect this fidiot with a gun.”
“Excuse me, ma’am, did you say fidiot?”
“Yeah, you know, fucking idiot.”
The red and blue lights fade behind the bank of trees lining the road. I let out an exhausted breath.
Aunt Delores gives me a light hug. “Well, I’ve had enough excitement to last me a while. I think I’ll go check my britches and take a nap.”
“Check your britches?” I ask.
“I just about shit all over myself when you fired that gun. I figure I should check for skid marks at the very least.”
She grins and I laugh. Leave it to Aunt Delores to bring a smile in the midst of these warped circumstances.
As she climbs the stairs to head up for the night, Buck wraps Nan in another hug.
He pats Pops on his back. “I’m fine. We’re all okay. You two go on home. I’ll be over later. I need to talk to Lou.”
A lead rock falls into my gut.
The yard clears out in about ten seconds as the crew scatters to the wind.
Buck runs his hands over my shoulders. “Lou.”
My skin burns under his touch. “Buck.”
He yanks me into his embrace. “I am so fucking happy you’re all right.”
I nod. “Me too.”
“Look, about earlier—”
I put my finger to his lips. “Shush. We don’t need to talk about that. I know being married is a nail in the coffin of your career. Proposing for the show was a nice touch, but I don’t really want to have to fake a break-up in a few weeks.”
He presses his lips tight, but then they turn up in a small smile. “You’re right. Look, I’m leaving for Anguilla in a few days to shoot my next film. I’ll be gone and, if you want, you can move on. But until then, can we just be together?”
“Together?”
“Yeah. Spend time in one another’s company? I’ve missed you, Lou.”
The weight in my heart lifts. It isn’t exactly what I hoped for, but at this point, I’m just pathetic enough to take what I can get.
I lean to him, whispering in his ear. “Can we be together in bed?”
His hold tightens on me. “Fuck yeah, we can.”
TWENTY-NINE
I roll over, covers tangling around my legs. The knocking becomes more insistent.
I crack an eyelid, yelling, “It’s not even fucking dawn.”
Buck’s voice comes through the exterior door. “Loula Mae Fontaine, open up.”
I drag to my feet, flip the lock, but don’t bother turning the handle before I flop face-down onto the bed.
The door creaks and a second later Buck’s kiss lands on the shell of my ear. “Go brush your teeth. We have something important to do this morning.”
“Well, go do it. I don’t have a thing on my schedule. Let me sleep.”
He tugs at my shoulders. “C’mon, Lou. I think you’ll be glad you came.”
I roll over, his smile warming me. “I’ll get up, but under protest.”
“Protest is fine.”
I brush my teeth and spend a few minutes detangling my curls.
When I step out of the bathroom, Buck shoves my dress into my hands. “Here, throw this on.”
“What the hell? Can’t I have a half a minute to wake the fuck up?”
He drops a kiss on my brow. “Nope. Not this morning.”
I barely get my feet into my boots before he grabs my hand and drags me out the door. “I love the sundress-combat boot combo, by the way. Very sexy.”
I grin. “Hey, I worked hard to earn these boots. Besides, they’re more comfortable than you’d think.”
He ducks in for a quick kiss, his tongue sliding along mine before he pulls away. “I was serious. You’re hot as fuck.”
Dawn breaks, and a faint gray glow illuminates the tops of the trees.
Buck hands me the yellow lantern as he pulls a picnic basket over his arm. “Delores packed up some coffee and breakfast.”
I dig in my heels. “Where are we going?”
He tightens his grip and tosses a look into the woods. “Just come with me, will you?”
“All right.”
He’s leaving in a few days, and I’ll have a very long wait before I see him again…If I see him again. We’ve pretty much avoided the subject over the last day or two.
My heart constricts at that thought. I push it away so I can enjoy every minute with Buck between now and the moment Hollywood takes him away—again.
We trek through the trees a ways. In the distance, flickering points of light shine. As we approach our old fort, the trees are illuminated by hundreds of tiny white lights, wrapping the trunks and into the branches of our magnolia and several smaller trees in the area.