Chapter 6
A groan of frustration escaped Kelsey's lips as she moved the laptop onto the bed next to her and fell back on pillows behind her, her right arm coming to rest over her eyes. She had been exploring every avenue she could think of to try to match the photo of her attacker, even some of the more questionable ones. Nothing had gotten her any closer to figuring out who he was and she felt as if her brain was ready to explode.
His face was their only lead, and she desperately wanted to succeed at tracking him down. Glancing at the clock she saw that it was nearly two in the afternoon. She had worked until late last night, choosing to get up early and resume before the sun had even risen. Her only breaks had been to sleep, eat, and shower and her body was starting to show signs of fatigue. Eye strain was starting to cause a mild headache in her temple, and she knew she needed to find some way to take her mind off the frustration.
She closed her eyes for a moment taking a few deep breaths to try to calm herself and possibly ease the tension headache. She could hear music playing faintly through the wall from the room next door, the familiar sound of big band music drifting through the walls and causing a smile to form on her lips. There was something comforting about hearing the familiar sounds of the brass instruments, and it made her feel at home and at ease.
Slowly she pushed herself up from the bed, slipping on a pair of shoes before towards the bedroom's door. Opening it, she walked a few steps down the hallway before slowly opening the door to one of the smaller, unfinished bedrooms. The floors were covered with a tarp, and she immediately noticed the smell of fresh paint. Bucky turned to look over at her, giving her a small smile before he put the roller he had been using back in the pan.
Making her way into the room, she returned the smile and said, "So this is where you disappeared to."
"Any luck?" he asked, grabbing a rag from the step ladder in the middle of the room and wiping some of the paint off of his hands.
"Nope," she said, tucking her hair behind her ear. "It's like he doesn't even exist...I can't match his face anywhere. No criminal record, no social media...not even a hit on a driver's license. I'm out of ideas."
"I'm not sure I want to know how you managed to access all of that," he responded, smirking at her, and causing Kelsey to laugh.
"Probably better I keep that one a mystery," she answered. "Do you want some help? I could use a distraction."
"Sure. There's a couple old shirts I've been using for painting in the bottom dresser drawer if you want to grab one."
"Good idea...It would be a shame to mess up a new shirt."
"Trailing around a store after you for hours once this week was enough," he retorted, and she reached out and gave him a playful shove.
"You know, I offered to go by myself," Kelsey said, placing her hands on her hips, "but someone had to be all chivalrous and insisted on tagging along."
"It's a good thing I went too or you might still be stuck in that dress," he told her, a smug smirk playing at his lips.
"Yes, it's a very good thing I had you to help me out of my clothing," she responded with a smirk of her own before turning and heading back out of the room to grab a shirt for painting.
She knew at some point they would have to actually talk about whatever was going on between them, although part of her desperately hoped it would wait until she wasn't being hunted. Getting him to let his guard down, even just for a moment, had become quite rewarding, but she reminded herself that it could also make things rather awkward while in close quarters.
The look on his face when she had made her parting comment had not escaped her notice, nor had the fact that as she had left the room she hadn't heard him move from his spot. In her mind it confirmed what she had suspected a week earlier when they had been discussing the date she went on. She had told herself at the time that the reason he had acted as he had with the questions and abrupt end to their conversation had just been him being protective because of their friendship and nothing more. However, in the back of her mind she had wondered if there wasn't something more driving his behavior.
She grabbed one of the long sleeve shirts from the bottom drawer, and after removing her top she pulled it over her head. She pulled the sleeves up to her elbows so her hands weren't covered by the extra fabric. She glanced in the mirror, looking at herself in his shirt that hung loosely from her much smaller form. Deep down she knew she was attracted to him, the thought of it possibly being reciprocated had not been something she had anticipated.
Heading back into the other room, she gave him a small smile and grabbed a paintbrush from the paint pan on the floor. She moved to one of the corners and started to work on cutting in the spots where the roller couldn't reach and began working, keeping her strokes smooth as she spread the paint over the wall.
"What's your plan for this room?" she asked after a few moments of working in silence.
"I haven't really decided yet," he told her.
"It's the smallest of the rooms, isn't it? " she said, glancing over at him for a moment to see him nodd. "Maybe an office...It's got a lot of natural light from the windows and a nice view of the water. Perhaps some bookshelves...it could be a nice space to read or work."
"Might keep me out of trouble," he responded and she could tell he was smirking again without even looking over.
"I somehow doubt that," she retorted.
"You know, I was doing pretty good until I met this redhead who seems to take immense pleasure in getting under my skin."
"It takes a strong person to handle a redhead," Kelsey said with a laugh. "That's probably why there are so few of us."
"Kels, anyone who tries to 'handle' you is a fool," he told her, and Kelsey looked over her shoulder at him again.
"Is that so?" she asked, moving to dip the paint brush in the pan again while he continued to use the roller on the other side of the room.
"You've got too much of your grandmother in you to put up with that," he told her, and Kelsey felt a grin spread across her features as she turned back to the wall.
"Growing up I idolized her," she said, moving to the next corner. "She was so strong and confident. Some girls grow up wanting to be princesses...I just wanted to be like her. I mean, she was a badass before that was even a thing."
Throughout her adult life Kelsey had always tried to live up to the example her grandmother had set. To hear that he saw that her in any way meant more than he could possibly know, especially when the world outside the safety of the walls of the house seemed so overwhelming.
With a sigh she added, "She probably would have found a way to identify this guy already."
"We're going to figure this out," Bucky told her, his voice closer than she expected.
Turning to face him, she noticed he had put the roller back in the pan and had crossed the short distance across the room while she had been speaking. She gave him a half smile as she tucked her hair behind her ear, suddenly very aware of the fact that he was standing close enough that she could have reached out to touch him. A smirk formed on his lips though and she raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"You have a tell yourself you know," he said. "Whenever you're uncertain or there's something you're holding back, you brush your hair behind your ear."
With a laugh she asked, "And just how long have you been waiting to mention that?"
"Since yesterday morning," he told her. "I noticed it long before that though."
"I see," she said, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "What else have you been noticing?"
"Well," he started, taking a small step closer and causing Kelsey's breath to catch in her throat, "I noticed you seem to have missed a spot."
He grinned at her smugly as his eyes looked at the wall behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the spot in question and when she turned back he was still grinning. Without giving it a second thought Kelsey raised the hand that was holding the paintbrush and tapped him on the nose with it. As she pulled the paintbrush away a satisfied smile formed on her lips as she saw the paint that had been left behind on the bridge of his nose.
"You are going to pay for that," he said with a laugh as he took a step back towards the paintpan.
Without wasting any time, Kelsey dropped the paintbrush on the tarp covering the floor and sprinted for the door, laughing as she ran. She knew he would catch her, but that didn't mean she had to make it easy for him. She made it to the front door and pulled it open before she heard his footsteps gaining on her. Heading out on the porch she ran down the stairs and moved behind one of the large trees in the yard to put something between them. He was right behind her, the paint still on his nose. There was a devilish grin on his face as he stood on the other side of the tree waiting to pounce as soon as she made a move.
"I can't help but notice you forgot the roller," she taunted, noticing his hands were empty. "Are you planning to drag me back inside for payback then?"
"I was considering just dumping you in the river," he told her.
"You wouldn't dare," she said, laughing.
"Oh, I wouldn't?" he countered. "If you can't take it, don't dish it out, Kels."
Turning she went to make a run for the next tree when he caught her around the waist before turning her around to face him. Kelsey let out a shriek through her laughter as he threw her over her shoulder like she weighed nothing and began to carry her down towards the dock and the river.
"Bucky, don't you dare throw me in that water," she said through her laughter. "Put me down!"
"Nope," he said as he marched with her towards the water, both of them laughing as he made his way across the yard.
"No! I'm sorry, please put me down!" she practically squealed then they reached the dock, both of them still laughing.
She felt him move to set her down, and when her feet hit the ground she gave him another playful shove, still laughing. The action though caused her to take a step back, not realizing just close to the edge of the dock they were standing. She felt her body start to tip back towards the water, as her backfoot slipped on the edge of the wood. He caught her, pulling her to him as he steadied her, and Kelsey's laughter suddenly died on her lips as she found herself staring into his eyes, her body suddenly flush against his.
The laughter seemed to die on their lips instantly and she saw him swallow hard as he looked down at her, his expression turning more serious as they stared at each other. Reaching up with one of the sleeves of the shirt that was now covering her hand once more, she wiped the paint off his nose. His arms around her waist held her in place, and she gave him a small smile, resisting the urge to tuck the hair behind her ear once more.
Once she had wiped away the paint, her hand came to rest on his chest, and she could feel his heart beating through the material of his shirt. It seemed to be pounding just like her own. Under her fingers she felt the familiar shape of dog tags that were hidden by his shirt and her fingertips started to run along the edges. Suddenly though, her fingers froze and her eyes widened as she looked up at him.
"He was wearing dog tags," she gasped, and she noticed the look of confusion on Bucky's face. "The guy who attacked me...he was wearing dog tags. I should be able to enhance the image enough to see his name." In a moment of excitement she placed a quick kiss on his cheek before adding, "Thank you...the distraction was just what I needed."
He released his hold on her as she pulled away and she jogged back towards the house. She was grinning as she entered the house, making her way immediately back to the bedroom to find the laptop she had discarded on the bed. Opening up the laptop, she pulled up the image of her attacker and went to work.
Bucky watched, still frozen in place as Kelsey jogged back towards the house and let out a slow breath trying to collect his thoughts. He wasn't entirely sure what had just happened, when she almost lost her balance he had acted on instinct and pulled her against him. Once he had found himself staring into her amber eyes he had been frozen in place and he felt his pulse quicken as she reached up to wipe away the paint with the sleeve of the shirt she had been wearing.
He ran a hand over his face, turning to look out over the water for a moment. He had lay awake for a good portion of the night before as his mind kept wandering back to their interaction in the store, even though he constantly tried to think about anything else. It was getting increasingly more difficult to ignore the fact that he was attracted to her. She was an unpredictable force who seemed to delight in torturing him, and at a certain point he knew they would have to actually talk about what was going on between them.
Somehow without him realizing it she had managed to start breaking down his defenses, and he was now all too aware of the fact that he cared about her more deeply than just as a friend. The feelings had been easy to ignore when she wasn't physically there, but he was relatively sure trying to remain in control of those feelings when she was so close was going to be the end of him.
Turning, he slowly made his way back into the house, heading towards the bedroom where she had been working earlier. Standing in the doorway, he found her sitting on the bed, biting her lower lip as she worked with the computer perched on her lap. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the screen, and he watched her as she concentrated on her task. A triumphant grin suddenly spread across her face, and she finally looked up at him from across the way.
"I'm guessing you got something," he said, and watched as she nodded.
"We need to call Sam," she told him. "I have a name for him to give to Sharon."
Pulling out his phone, he found Sam's contact information, tapping the phone icon next to his number. The phone rang twice before Sam's familiar voice answered and Bucky crossed the bedroom to stand next to Kelsey who was busy saving the image of the dogtags on the computer.
"Hey...I was just about to call and see how things were going over there," Sam said as Bucky put him on speaker.
"His name is Roland Norris," Kelsey said, with a satisfied smile. "He is or was in the Canadian military. I'm sending you over a closeup of his dog tags."
"Perfect," Sam told her. "I'm going to arrange for a flight to DC tomorrow and I'll see what Sharon can dig up for us."
"I'm coming with you," Kelsey said, catching Bucky by surprise.
"I don't think that's a good idea," he told her. "No one is going to think anything of Sam showing up in DC...I think we need to sit this one out and wait."
"I hate to say this, but I agree with Bucky," Sam's voice said through the phone. "I'm up there a couple times a month, no one is going to give it a second thought if I'm there."
He saw a frown form on her face as she looked back at the image on the screen. There was a part of him that hated saying it, knowing she was more than justified in wanting to get on the plane with Sam. With everything that had happened still being so fresh though he wanted to make sure she was also thinking rationally and didn't end up in worse shape than she had been in after the attack at her house.
"These people took from me the only home I have ever known," she told them. "They literally destroyed everything I thought I knew...and I can't just sit back and wait. I need answers."
"Kels," Bucky said, hearing the desperation building in her voice, "you'll get them. You just need to…"
"Please don't tell me what I need to do," she cut him off, pushing the computer aside, and standing up from the bed. He took a step back to make room for her as she added, "If the roles were reversed you wouldn't be just sitting back and waiting…You'd be going after this guy yourself."
"It doesn't matter what I would do," he told her. "You have no idea what you might be up against here."
"I'm pretty sure watching my home incinerate and having to drop a guy twice my size gave me a pretty good idea," she countered. "Or have you forgotten that part? I'm not a child in need of protection."
She started towards the door and he tried calling after her saying, "Kelsey, please just listen to me for a second."
He saw her stop in the doorway, her head shaking for a moment. There was part of him that thought maybe she'd give him a chance to reason with her, but when she turned to look at him her eyes narrowed in anger as she replied in a cool tone, "I don't need 'handling,' remember? Or is that just something you said to humor me because you thought it was what I wanted to hear? Less than twenty minutes ago we were having a very different conversation and now I'm not sure what to think."
He watched in silence as she turned and made her way down the hall. A few seconds later he heard the front door open and shut and a sigh escaped his lips. In trying to keep her safe he had apparently stepped on a landmine.
"You going to go talk to her?" Sam asked, drawing Bucky's attention back to the phone.
"Yeah...I'm just giving her a minute to cool off," he said. "I have a distinct feeling I'm not going to win this argument."
"Am I still expected to believe there's nothing going on over there?"
"Sam...not now."
"I'll send you the flight information as soon as I have it," Sam told him. "Good luck."
"Thanks, Sam," he replied, hanging up the phone.
Putting the phone in his pocket, he walked down the hall towards the front door. Opening it slowly, he spotted her down at the dock, staring out at the water. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and he could see the tension in her shoulders even from the porch. As he walked, he mentally prepared himself for whatever was about to come his way.
"I'm sorry," she said softly when he reached the dock, causing him to stop in his tracks as she continued to look out over the water. "I overreacted. I know you're just looking out for me."
Bucky stared at the back of her head for a moment, slightly shocked. He had expected more anger or frustration to be thrown his way, not for her to lead with an apology. Slowly, he moved to stand next to her, his hands finding their way to his pockets as he joined her in watching the water.
"Kels, I meant what I said earlier," he told her. "You are smart and capable...and I promise you I am not trying to tell you what to do. At the same time, I don't want whoever is behind this hurting you again."
"I get that," she said, turning to face him, arms falling to her sides. "I just...I know I can't do this alone, but I also don't need protecting."
Bucky took a deep breath before slowly turning to face her, trying to choose his words carefully, he told her, "I know that, but it doesn't stop me from wanting to protect you. There's a difference."
"Is there?" she asked, and Bucky felt his own frustration growing at her continued stubbornness.
"Christ, Kels, less than a week ago I thought you were dead... then you show up with bruises from what that asshole did to you and you expect me to what? Pretend like none of that happened? I can't do that. I can't just stand by quietly and risk losing someone I care about a second time this week!"
She turned away from him again, tucking her hair behind her ear and he watched her carefully. He hadn't meant to say all of that, but he had also been burying many of his own feelings since she arrived on his doorstep. So now he waited, hoping to get some idea of what she was thinking as she stood looking out across the water.
He saw her take a deep breath before she said, "I never stopped to think about that. I've been so focused on figuring out who's behind this I didn't take the time to think about anyone else."
"I'm not your enemy, Kels," he told her, taking a step towards her and reaching out to turn her so she was facing him once more. "I'm on your side and if this is really that important to you then we'll both go with Sam to DC on one condition...I want you to promise me that you'll trust Sam and I if we get a bad feeling about something."
"Okay," she said softly, and much to his relief. A moment later he heard her add, "I'm sorry, Bucky."
Before he could think better of it, he pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her as she accepted the embrace. Her head came to rest on his shoulder and he could feel her breath on his neck as they stood there simply being in the moment. He leaned his cheek against the top of her head and they stayed there for some time, neither of them pulling away.
When the phone vibrated in his pocket she finally pulled away. Retrieving the phone he saw a message from Sam with all the details for their flight the next day.
"Looks like we're heading out first thing in the morning," he told her.
"Thank you," he heard her say as he put the phone back in his pocket. "I should probably go pack a few things in a bag just in case."
She started to turn away, but he saw her stop and turn back to him again. For the second time that day she placed a quick kiss on his cheek before disappearing back into the house and leaving him speechless on the dock.