Page 33 of Good Duke Gone Rogue

Speechless, Reggie just nodded his head.

This was not going to be the passionate road trip he had envisioned. They were not going to have the alone time he had anticipated. And he was pretty sure he was not going to be struck by any mood for which he would share any of his feelings about a future and a possible forever. A loose pile of yarn, he leaned back to enjoy what he could of the ride. He hadn’t even brought a book, so preoccupied with Bernadette’s undergarments was he. He shook his head, and huffed out a small sigh. No undergarments for Reggie.

A couple of hours passed and the carriage pulled over for a break. Everyone needed to stretch their legs, and there was a perfect place with a stream to have a picnic just a short distance from the road.

Reggie and Bernadette settled by the stream for a small snack while Jacob took off to throw rocks into the water.

“You didn’t expect him, did you?” Bernadette broached the subject.

“No–Yes, of course I did.”

“I should have made it clearer.” She took a small sandwich from the basket, and Reggie grabbed some pieces of cold meat, tucking one into his mouth.

“There was no need to do that. I should have known. He’s your son. Of course he would travel with you.”

“It just—” she broke off. “It just made more sense this time to bring him.” Her eyes met his as if offering an apology, or asking him if he needed one. Or possible, asking him not to require one.

Despite seeing her discomfited, he didn’t have a moment to clarify that he didn’t need an apology because Jacob bounded over before he could reply.

“Lord Reggie,” he grinned. “Remember how you told me about making fire and the rules about it. Do you think we could make a fire here?” He gestured toward the stream. “There’s plenty of water.” He pointed at his mother and Reggie. “And there are two adults.”

Reggie peered over at Bernadette, appreciating her word would be the final say in this request. Not only because she was the mother, but also because of their shared past involving fire. He hoped she would trust him. Not aware of how eager he was to have her vote of confidence, his muscles tensed.

With a small nod from her, he reached into his pocket, disguising what he had.

“You’re in luck, Jacob. I packed what I might need in case of an emergency, and I just so happen to have exactly what we need to make a fire.” Reggie stood, offering Bernadette a hand up. “Let’s go by the stream, away from the grass here, and build ourselves a fire.”

After they had cleared a dirt space and placed several stones, Reggie showed Jacob how to strike the flint to createa spark. Several tries later, through which Reggie offered encouragement, Jacob finally flicked some sparks off of the flint. Reggie caught the sparks with the dry grass he had cupped in his hands, and then he placed the smoking grass with a small flame into the pile of twigs they had collected.

“Blow a little bit of air into the flame,” Reggie prompted Jacob. And the fire caught hold of the twigs.

“We did it!” Jacob exclaimed.

“We did,” Reggie patted the boy on the shoulder. Overwhelmed with admiration for the boy’s curiosity and determination. He was too busy feeling proud of the boy to notice the look on Bernadette’s face.

Once the awe of the fire had died down, they splashed water on it and then stomped it out. Or so he thought. A stray spark and a few embers still burned. So he took a stick and dashed the pieces apart. Taking a few handfuls of water, he doused the fire, and with a few more stamps, it was out.

“Are you quite done?” Bernadette teased.

“You can never be too safe with fire.” He was half joking. As his eyes drew to her scarred palm, something on his face must have shown because she stopped him with a brief touch on his forearm.

She lifted her palm to him. “I love this.” Her small scar was held an arm’s length from his face. “It reminds me that I can be curious. Adventurous. Reckless, even.”

“But—”

“Don’t take that away from me.” She was stern, but her eyes were soft.

“Mama? Are we going now?” Jacob had tossed his last stone and was ready to go.

The three made their way back into the carriage, another brick of guilt removed from Reggie’s shoulders. The second half of the trip was shaping up to be a bit better than the first half. A littleless anticipation. A little less awkward. And a whole lot more wonder.

Chapter 16

BERNADETTE’S HEART WAS GROWING too soft. It almost melded her to the spot to see Reggie interact with Jacob again. Her son needed a father figure, a man to teach him about life. It was yet to be seen if Reggie was that man, but he was making it hard to see anything past him. Being two years younger would lead to gossip that she wanted to avoid. Was he mature enough? Did he know how to handle responsibilities? She knew him as a friend and more recently as a fiery lover, but fire would go out, and she didn’t know if friendship was enough. Her heart was dreadfully afraid of making another mistake that would cost her years. And a scared heart made for a confused heart.

She was grateful when their carriage finally arrived at Lanston Manor, the ducal seat of Greyshire. It had been ages since she had seen Kat, but she was eager to visit with her old friend. Tocontemplate Kat’s response at becoming a duchess was a little beyond Bernadette’s reach. Of course, there were really only two ways to take such an elevation in status: with humility or with pomp. She hoped Kat would be that of the former.

She also couldn’t help wondering what kind of man would be the one to tame Kat. Or perhaps he would not have tamed her at all. Perhaps he let her be her wild and free self. If she were more intent to see Kat or the dynamic between Kat and Quinn, she couldn’t say for sure.

---