The Five Dollar Mail Book 3: The Road Home

112: Kickers

Cover painting by Angela Taratuta. Chapter artwork of Fiona by Laura Hollingworth. All graphics by me.

Book 1: The Green, Book 2: Lynch's Boys, Book 3: The Road Home, and the Riders & Kickers Anthology are available on Amazon under the name Regina Shelley. So if you hate waiting for chapter posts and/or want a more polished read, the finished product is available now.

Sorry, you guys! I switched the chapters by accident. I thought the titles were weird. Last Friday's chapter with Rosie and the gang over at the schoolhouse is actually "Kickers" and goes here. This is actually "To the Depth and Breadth and Height".  Oops. 

Jesse's grip around Fiona's shoulders was desperate, almost painful. "C'mon," he huffed as the two of them practically dragged each other along in the dark. "Still Water Woman and her brother will be hiding in the woods. You stay with them, and I'll find Storm and Lynch. Then we're gettin' the hell out of here."

"Storm's here?" It was surprise to hear it. She knew Storm was here. There was no way he wasn't. Her heart hurt in her chest, tearing in half.

He came for me...and he might be dead here somewhere. Oh, dear God...

"Everyone's here," Jesse said. "Every damn body's here. Storm, Lynch, my friends from the village. That Army captain from Bridger brought soldiers out here looking for you."

Alex? The name came unbidden to her mind. Later, she would come to realize it was the first time she was willing to refer to him by his first name. He had become more than the insufferable army captain she fantasized about setting on fire. He was a friend. A good friend. If he's harmed...if he's dead for trying to rescue me...I don't think I could bear it. She stumbled, leaning on Jesse as the sharp, burning pain intensified down her arm. Jesse was shaking as hard as she was, and she knew it was anyone's guess as to which of them would collapse first. She wondered if the fighting had slowed, as the pop of gunshots grew sparse and occasional, or if the buzzing in her ears was drowning them out.

Then she heard it. Her name, howled from a raw and scoured throat, echoing off the stone like a thunderclap. She spun around, shaking off Jesse's arm and nearly falling.

Storm leaned against the rough-hewn doorway of the cabin, more stricken and feral than Fiona had ever seen him. He looked possessed, his eyes wild. Blood streaked down his front, spattering his ashen face like warpaint, and dripping in a lazy trickle from his left ear. 

Then he saw her, his gaze locking with hers. "Fiona," he mouthed, taking a step and collapsing to his knees.

"Storm!" She threw herself forward onto the beaten earth, and hauled him into a one-armed embrace, sobbing as she felt his arms come up around her. She buried her face into the side of his neck, and the scent of him and the silky feel of his hair against her skin was sanctuary. It was redemption. His breath was the gasp of a man pulled from drowning, and she realized he was openly weeping, the tatters of his carefully maintained composure broken and forgotten in the dust.

I'll never let him go. We will never be apart again, in this world or the next. I want to...

"I want marry you, Lights the Storm," she blurted between sobs. "To bloody hell with everyone. To bloody hell with the entire bloody world." She struggled to pull away enough to look into his face, not caring that her voice was shrill and cracking. "I love you so much," she choked. "Nothing else matters. I want you to marry me."

He stared at her, his red-rimmed eyes sending tears coursing down his cheeks, and she could feel her heart starting to crumble, threatening to shatter apart and fall into nothingness like a cliff face in an ice storm. No...no...I can't bear it. "Storm...please..." she pleaded. "Don't..."

"I can't..." he whispered, wincing and gesturing at his bleeding ear. He pulled her close, his lips settling over hers, drawing strength from her. She leaned into him, their tears mingling hot on her face. Let them see. It doesn't matter. Her heart was breaking, and she knew...she knew...it would be their last kiss. That he would leave her, that he would be just so bloody, stupidly, infuriatingly noble, and walk away for good. And she knew that the moment he let her go, her heart would stop beating and she would simply cease to exist. She tightened her arm around his neck, clinging to him, as if she could absorb into her being his warmth and the sweetness of his mouth, and way his arms felt around her. He won't have me. It can't end like this. It can't. Not after everything. Storm...beloved...

He abruptly broke the kiss, his black eyes searching her face with a near-madness. "I can't hear anything. Fiona..." He caressed her face with his hand, wiping the tears away with his thumb. "I don't know what you said. My ear...Collin's gun went off right next to my head. I'm sorry. I just..." He was dazed, falling over his words. "Listen..." he said breathlessly, his voice thick with emotion. "I just want to say I can't give you an easy life...but I love you...and I can give you happiness. Let me do that forever, Fiona. Marry me."

She gave a strangled cry, words failing her, and pulled him close, pressing her mouth to his as she claimed him as her own. 

Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying this story, please let me know by giving me a star or a comment! I appreciate your support!