Starting Over. A Bam Brown story

Starting Over. Part Four

Pulling your gun on Bam had convinced him that you were serious and he didn't try to delay you any longer. But the look in his eyes as he looked down at the gun pressed to his chest wasn't fear and it wasn't even anger. He was just deeply hurt.
"I guess no good deed goes unpunished." He had muttered as he handed you a carved wooded cane and led you out of the small room.

The walk to the beach had been a surprise. Brown Town was not what you had expected. It wasn't really a town; it was his family's compound. The trapper shack he had brought you to was where Bam lived and there was a main cabin and a small house made of tires. His large family had stood on the porch of the main cabin as Bam walked you past them. As you limped along behind him, you looked up and saw his mother standing on the porch, holding the arm of a man you assumed to be Bam's dad. Four adult guys and two young girls also stood with them, watching you with questions in their eyes.

Dipping your head, you almost missed seeing Ami's raised hand as she held up her index and little finger, waggling them at you. Your head jerked up and you smiled as she smiled back at you. "Goodbye, Sweetheart." She called to you kindly. While you could stand the pain radiating from the gash on your leg, it didn't come close to the pain you felt in your heart knowing that all they wanted to do was help you.

Docking in Hoonah, Bam tossed your backpack and cane onto the pier. Turning to help you out of the skiff, he hesitated. He hadn't spoken a single word to you on the whole ride from the island to town. He sat behind you piloting the skiff and the one time you turned around to look at him, he deliberately looked away from you. Now, he stood in the small boat looking down at you, his bush hat shading his eyes.

"What are you running from?" His question came out of the blue and you stared, mouth open, not sure how to answer.
"I'm not running from anything." You finally answered honestly.
"OK. Then what are you running to." He understood exactly what you meant and he wasn't going to let it go.
"I just have something I need to take care of. I would've done it two days ago, but I got mugged of all things. And in Juneau of all places. The guy slashed my leg as I was trying to get away."

Now that you were leaving him behind, you wanted to at least give him a little explanation. "I had a little money stashed in my backpack to pay for the ferry to Hoonah. But then I guess because I hadn't eaten and I was losing blood, I didn't get very far. That's when you found me." That should've been enough to satisfy him and you did feel less guilty. His comment about no good deed going unpunished had hurt. You hadn't meant to hurt him; you just didn't have time for him right now.

Bam held out his hand to help you up. "I'll be here in town for a few hours if you need me. If you decide you want to go back with me, if you need a place to stay..." Bam hesitated again.
"I'll be fine, thanks." You didn't look at him as you climbed out of the skiff and onto the dock, ignoring the screaming pain in your leg. Picking up your backpack and the cane, you turned back to Bam. "Really. Thanks for everything." The corners of his mouth lifted in a slight smile but before he could say or do anything more, you quickly turned around and began hobbling down the deck toward town.

It didn't take you long to find what you were looking for. The Hoonah police station was right on the main street and you found it easily. Clumping unsteadily up the short steps, you balanced the cane under your arm and pulled open the door. Once inside, it didn't take long to do what you needed to do. You had been working toward this moment for so long, it was almost anticlimactic when it was over. You sat forward in the hard wooden chair and pushed the documents to the officer. You watched as he stood up and delivered the papers to the captain in his office. When the captain looked up at you, smiled and nodded his head, you knew you could finally relax.

You walked out of the police station and your heart was lighter than it had been in a year. All the time spent away from your family and your home had finally paid off. The pain in your leg still reminded you that the past few days came at a price. But you knew it was worth it and now you could look at possibly starting over and maybe starting a new life in Alaska.

Walking unsteadily on the wooden cane, your thoughts turned back to Bam and his family. You finally admitted to yourself that you did want to be with him. Your heart wanted you to hobble as fast as you could back to the skiff and wait as long as you had to for him to return. He was just the kind of man you had always dreamed of being with. He was real and honest and so beautiful. But you didn't know if you had already closed that door completely.

Your thoughts went back and forth and you didn't pay attention to the man in the gray jacket coming toward you until it was too late.
Everything seemed to happen at once. There was a loud scraping sound as the man grabbed your backpack and snatched it from your shoulder. The strap caught on your elbow and you were pulled toward him as he tried to run down the narrow alleyway with the bag. You screamed out loud and swung the hard wooden cane at the man. Grunting loudly, he gave one last yank on the backpack as he shoved you to the ground. As you fell, out of the corner of your eye you saw a second man appear.
"Bam!" You yelled.

Bam ran directly up to the first man and pulling back his arm, he swung straight up, catching the man in the gray jacket square under the chin. When Bam's fist connected with his jaw, the "snap" was so loud, you screamed involuntarily as the man sagged and fell to the pavement.

The street was suddenly filled with people and the police officer and the captain raced down the front steps of the station, their weapons drawn. Seeing you with Bam, they hesitantly lowered their weapons.
"Are you OK, Detective?" The Captain asked you as his trained eye took in the scene.
"I'm fine. But this is the guy we've been looking for." You gestured to the motionless man on the ground. "And he may need some medical attention."

Sitting on the wooden bench on the small pier, you waited for Bam to ask you his questions. Sitting beside you, he had removed his hat and was rubbing the brim between his fingers. He finally leaned back and looked at you. "Tell me everything you can."

You sighed deeply and looked at the water as you spoke. You explained how you had been working undercover for years and you loved your job as a police detective. But a year ago your partner had been killed and framed for murder. You had finally tracked the real killer to Juneau and had been able to gather enough evidence to put him away. But he found out who you were and attacked you and that's how your leg got hurt.
"Sorry I lied to you." Bam only nodded at your admission. "I didn't know who I could trust on the Juneau police force, but I knew if I could get the documents to the officers in Hoonah, they would believe me. The Captain and I go way back and I trust him completely."
"So, the guy I hit is the same guy that hurt you and framed your partner?" Bam wanted to be sure he had his facts straight.
"Yeah." It was amazing how much better you felt after you told him everything. You didn't know if you still had a chance to start over with him. But you wanted to try.

"Thank you, Bam. For everything." You looked directly into his deep blue eyes and tried to prepare yourself for whatever would come next.
"You're welcome." Bam answered. He met your gaze and his smile widened as he took in your face, your eyes, your lips. Your heart was pounding and you couldn't believe that he wasn't shutting you down or shutting you out.
"Am I still welcome in Brown Town?" You asked quietly. Your hand went to his face and you gently stroked his soft beard.
Bam leaned forward until his mouth was on your ear.
"No more lies?" You tingled as his lips brushed your earlobe.
"No more lies."

His arms wound around your shoulders and he pulled your body to his. As his cheek rested against your hair, you never felt more secure than you did in that moment. You slowly reached your arms around his waist. Taking a deep breath, you relaxed into Bam's arms. He smelled just like rainwater and dreams.