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Buck ignored the shock in his brother’s voice. He smiled. Besides, Blaze was a weirdo, and it was best if Buck didn’t entertain any of his silliness. It would just lead to more and Buck wasn’t in the mood to deal with his brother’s playfulness. He needed to come up with a plan to counteract Karma’s effect. Could you counter one of the strongest cosmic forces in the universe or would it be better to keep your head down and not do anything to earn a visit? Buck was good at keeping his metaphoric head down. Not so much his physical one. Hence the nightmares.
“What do you want?” He countered as he lifted his head from beneath the hood of Karma’s car.
Blaze kept late hours due to closing the bar and finishing up the paperwork that went along with owning a business. He shouldn’t be up this early harassing Buck. He should still be in bed, sleeping on his stomach with his butt in the air as he did as a child.
But like Buck, Blaze had seen too many things in life that stole his sleep. Buck didn’t harass him too hard about being out in the early morning sunshine.
“I got up to go to the bathroom and imagine my surprise when I looked out my window and saw you already out here hard at work on this car. Is this the car you towed in last night?” Blaze strolled around the car looking at it — many people mistook Blaze and Buck for twins. In actuality Buck was a couple of years older than Blaze, throw their cousin Beauty in the mix, and you got instant triplets.
“Yeah, this is the car.” Buck lifted his attention from the diagnostic screen.
“It looks to be in good condition. I wonder what made it go down?” Blaze came to a stop next to his brother looking at the diagnostic screen.
Blaze was just as good of a mechanic as Buck. Whereas Buck dealt with his issues by hiding away from the world, Blaze embraced it. Hiding behind the mask of a fun, loving Playboy. It fooled everyone except for those who knew him most of his life. Buck wasn’t willing to pick at Blaze’s issues because then he would have to deal with his own.
The population of One-stop learned a long time ago to stop asking the brothers questions. The approximately one hundred and fifty people living in the valley learned that the brothers would give you the shirt off their backs, but they were private people, no questions.
Life in Raleigh Valley and the town of One-stop moved on. There had been a lot more families that lived there when the Raleigh Mountain Ski Resort was in business. But the ski resort shut down when the highway went in. A lot of families moved away for survival, but the Raleigh’s stayed. After all, it was their mountain.
Buck and Blaze had discussed the feasibility of opening a new ski resort. There was a location in the valley that was perfect for skiing and other winter sports. Every winter the valley got a good base of fresh powder just begging for someone to come ski. White and glistening in the winter sun. Fun just waiting to be had while reviving One-stop.
Most of the families that lived in the Valley made their living during the summer months. There were several businesses that offered bike tours, hiking, and outdoor adventures during the warm weather. Before the snow locked them in during the winter, hunting for deer and elk, also provided a supplemental income for residents of the Valley. But if the ski resort reopened that would provide a year-round income and attract more businesses back to the Valley.
“What’s the dude like?” Blaze looked at the diagnostic screen and then the engine. He reached over and fiddled with one of the dipsticks, pulling it out to see the fluid level. Satisfied he put the dipstick back.
“Woman,” Buck grunted.
“Oh really?” Curiosity laced Blaze’s voice.
Buck give him a sharp look. He knew that tone. Blaze was a lady’s man. He loved women no matter their shape, size, color or height. And women loved him.
“No,” Buck spoke the single word to him.
Blaze looked at him with wide eyes, tapping gently on the edge of the car. Buck hadn’t shown any interest in women since he returned to the Valley from the military. Blaze tried multiple times to set him up with different women who passed through Blazing Buck on different occasions over the years only to have his efforts shot down time after time after time. None of the women ever managed to spark Buck’s interest.
A physical response to Karma may be what woke up Buck’s body, but his urge to see Karma went beyond the desire to possess her body. Buck learned long ago to live without the need for companionship.
No matter how delicious her ass looked with the word “juicy” stretched across it. That would never be enough to banish the horrors plaguing him.
He didn’t need a woman.
Yet, his desire for Karma went beyond a mere need. It was a want. He wanted the soft, curvy woman with long braids who defended her honor with a baseball bat.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts. No matter how good her stance was or her form. Nope. He didn’t care if she made him smile. Or laugh. Two things he had thought were beyond him anymore.
Despite knowing she was just passing through, he had the urge to get to know her, why was she traveling here? What was she doing? Who was this mysterious sexy vixen tormenting his dreams?
Still, he was the master of his body, not a slave to it. He had learned self-control while serving in the military. He would fall back on those lessons to keep back the floodtide of emotions that Karma invoked in him.
Yeah, amusement crept up on him at the memory of Karma standing there with her bat ready to take him out. She looked like she’d meant business holding that bat. It tickled his humor. He hadn’t laughed at anything in a long time.
“Well, well, well. Now I definitely need to meet this woman especially if she woke Buckley Raleigh up and brought him back to the world of the living.”
“Fuck you, Blaze.”
“Ha. You’re not my type — too many dangly parts. Besides, it would be far more enjoyable for you to do her than me. You can’t handle all this.” Blaze did a flamboyant sweeping gesture from the top of his head down to his feet.
“You are such a dumbass.” Buck could only shake his head at his brother’s sense of humor.
