FIC REPOST: Western Lovers: Cowboys & Archaeologists (5/44)

[sassyfic]

Title: Western Lovers: Cowboys and Archaeologists
Author:sassywitch
Beta by the talented celtprincess13
Pairing: BB/DM
Rating: NC-17 for the series.
Summary: Billy is a man to be reckoned with. Can Dom heal his wounded soul and his own into the bargain. Could Billy make him forget the bitter lessons of the past?
Feedback: Feedback is my writers crack, which is not to be confused at all with plumbers crack.
Acknowledgements: There are so many people that have helped in the creation of the Double L and it’s families. Thank you to alassenya for everything, hisniblets for the dialect help, thanks for billyhasmyheart for all the research assistance particularly with the bike specs and to glasgowhobbitfor the recipe help. celtprincess13 brings you better grammar and punctuation than I ever could. Thank you all, The Double L wouldn’t be the same without any of you. Disclaimer: Not at all true in reality. These men whilst adorable and perfectly happy to slash themselves, their actual relationship is something that they only know. This story is adapted from a series of books that I adored when I was younger written by Elizabeth Lowell.
Word Count: 4496
Previous Posting: Chapter1|Chapter2|Chapter3|Chapter4|

Posted to: fellowshippers, monaboyd and sassyfic
Header Art: Courtesy of the incredibly talented loki_girl.
Authors Notes: As many of you know, Western Lovers is my own particular labour of love, even though in the past it was ostensibly finished, there was always something missing for you the reader. I wanted to remedy that for you. At the end of this posting you will all know all of the Western Lovers family and all of their pasts and secrets. On behalf of all of them and me, I hope you enjoy their story as much as they do.



Dinner was on the table at six o'clock, straight up. By long standing custom, no one waited for latecomers. That included Viggo, who was on the phone talking to the sheriff. No one took Viggo's place at the head of the table, but any further formality ended there. Sean and Liv sat facing Dom and Billy across the table, and to his relief Dom had managed to secure a seat just to the head of the table, ensuring that he would have only one person seated next to him. Even so, he felt crowded, because that one person was Billy.

To Dom's eyes, the long dining table was supporting enough food for at least twenty people, but only five more people, the cowhands, sat at the other end of the table. There was room for five more men or even seven men in a squeeze, but the Double L was short handed. Only nine people were currently seated at the table built for fifteen. Then the outside door banged and a new cowhand called Astin rushed in and snagged the platter of pork chops before he had even sat down.
"Where's Bernard?" Astin asked as he scanned his companions, slid into a chair and began forking vegetables onto his plate.
"Garbage run," Billy said.
Astin hesitated, looked around the table and said to Billy, "Serkis, huh?"
Billy grunted.
"Who gave him the good word?"

"I did."
"How'd he take it?"
"I didn't hear any complaining."
Sean half strangled on laughter and coffee.
"Something funny?" asked Astin, glancing at the faces of the other men.
"Billy had Serkis laid out cold in six seconds flat," Sean said casually, reaching for the gravy."Poor bastard's probably still wondering what hit him."
"Can't say as I'm sorry," Astin said. He dished a mountain of potatoes onto his plate before he turned and looked Billy over.”Not a mark on you. You must be as much of an outlaw as Bernard said you were. That Serkis did a lot of bragging about what a fighter he was. Talked about men he'd busted up so bad they'd pi-er, passed blood for months."
Billy glanced at Dom then Liv before he gave the cowhand an icy look.”Astin why don't you just shovel food and leave the dinner conversation to Liv."

"Sorry Ma'am," Astin said to Liv sheepishly.

Dom hadn't noticed the looks he was receiving; he was grimly concentrating on his single pork chop, scant helping of potatoes, peas and no gravy. Despite his usual healthy appetite, his empty stomach, and the savory nature of Liv's cooking, Dom was having trouble swallowing. Even though none of the other men at the table were as big as Sean - and Viggo wasn't even in the dining room - he felt suffocated by looming, uncivilized, unpredictable males.
"Mr. Monaghan,” Billy spoke,” Will be here for the summer working at the Arwen Canyon site." He glanced at Dom, who was at the moment subtly hitching his chair away from him and drawled, "That's right isn't it?"

Liv gave Billy a quick glance, caught by the unusual edge to his normally smooth voice. That was when she noticed what the cowhands had already seen - the gap that had slowly opened up between Dom's chair and the ramrod's.

"Actually,” Dom said,”My students call me Dr. Monaghan, and my friends call me Dom."

"What does your wife call you?" Billy asked blandly.

"I'm not married."

Billy would have been surprised by any other answer, a fact he didn't bother to conceal.

"Dr. Dominic Monaghan,” Billy continued,”Will be spending most of his time at the Arwen Canyon digs. In between times, he'll be living at the old house, which means you boys better clean up your acts. Voices carry real well from the bunkhouse to the old house. Likewise, anyone who has any issues with him will hear from me."

"And from me,” Viggo said, entering the room midway through Billy’s speech, he ruffled Liv’s hair, leaned down to press a kiss to her cheek then pulled out his chair and sat down. "Pass the pork chops please." He looked at Dom, saw the gap between his chair and Billy's and gave the ramrod a look that was both amused and questioning.”Didn't you have time to shower before dinner?"

The left corner of Billy's mouth lifted in wry acknowledgement, but he said nothing.

"When are you leaving?" Liv asked quickly, turning toward her brother. She didn't know why Dom kept edging further away from Billy, but guessed that he would be embarrassed if it were pointed out. By and large, the cowhands were kind men, but their humor was both blunt and unrelenting. She didn't miss the grateful look Dom flashed her way before he looked back down at his plate again.

"Right after we play poker tonight," Sean said.

"Poker," Liv groaned.
"Sure, I thought I'd introduce Dr. Monaghan to the joys of seven card stud."

Smiling politely, Dom looked up from his plate.”Thanks, but I'm really tired. Maybe some other time."

The cowhands laughed as though he had made a joke.

"Guess they teach more than stones and bones at that fancy school," Sala said when the laughter ended.”Must teach some common sense, too."

Dom looked at Liv, who smiled.

"My brother is, er, well…" Liv's voice faded.

"Sean is damned lucky at cards," Billy said succinctly.”He'll clean you down to the lint in your pockets."

"It's true," said Liv, ”Anybody who has ever played cards with him calls him Cash."

"In fact," Viggo said, pouring gravy over mounds of food.”I'm one of the few men in living memory to ever beat Sean at poker."

Sean smiled slightly, and examined his dinner as though he expected it to get up and walk off the plate.

"Of course," Viggo continued,” Sean cheated."

Sean's head snapped up.

"He wanted Liv to spend the summer on the Double L," Viggo said matter of factly. ”So he suckered her into betting a summer's worth of cooking. Sean won, of course. Then he turned around and carefully lost his sister's whole summer to me." Viggo ran his fingertip from Liv's cheekbone to the corner of her smile before he turned to Sean and said quietly,” I never thanked you for giving Liv to me, but not a day goes by that I don't thank God."

Dom looked at the two big men and the woman who sat wholly at ease between them, smiling, her love for both of them as vivid as the blue of her eyes. The men's love for her was equally as obvious, almost tangible. An odd aching closed Dom's throat, making an already difficult dinner impossible to swallow.

"I hope you know how lucky you are,” Dom said to Liv.

His own nerves and emotional overload became too much for him, and without warning, Dom pushed back from the table and stood. "I'm afraid I'm too tired to do justice to dinner, Liv. If you'll excuse me, I'll make it an early night."

"Of course," Liv said.”If you're hungry later, just come in the back way and eat whatever looks good. Billy does it all the time."

"Thanks,” Dom said, already turning away, eager to be gone from the room full of men.

Nobody said a word until Dom had been gone long enough to be well beyond the range of their voices. Then Viggo turned, raised his eyebrows questioningly, and looked straight at Billy.

"Are you the burr under his saddle?"
There was absolute silence as all the cowhands leaned forward to hear the answer to the question none of them had the nerve to ask.

"He saw me take down Serkis," Billy said.”Shocked him, I guess. Then I made him hold Nosy while I cut that boil. Now he thinks I'm a cross between Attila the Hun and Jack the Ripper."
Viggo grunted.”Nice work by the way. Serkis, I mean. Nosy, too I suppose. Liv was worried about that fool kitten. Me, I think we have too darn many cats as it is."

Viggo caught the light, slow-motion blow Liv aimed at his shoulder. He brushed a kiss over her captive hand and said,”Honey, from now on, put Dom next to you at the table. If the skittish professor moves his chair any farther away from Billy, we'll have to serve his food in the kitchen."

The cowhands burst out laughing. For a few minutes the talk centered on the overly shy professor with the striking blue eyes and the oversized clothes. Then food began to disappear in earnest and conversation slowed. After dessert finished as well, so did the cowhands. Sean went upstairs to pack, leaving Billy, Viggo, and Liv alone to enjoy a final cup of coffee before the evening's work of kitchen cleanup and bookkeeping began.
Billy rubbed his jaw thoughtfully, and was rewarded by the rasp of beard stubble. Unbidden came the thought, undoubtedly that, too, had counted against him with the wary professor. Which was too bad - it had been a long time since a man had interested him quite as much as the one with the frightened eyes and a body kept hidden that would tempt a saint.

"How do you want to divide up Serkis' work?" Viggo asked Billy.

"I can take the leased grazing lands over on the divide, but that leaves the Aragorn Canyon Springs without a hand."

"I'll take the grazing lands, and have Sala camp over at Aragorn Canyon during the week and weekends at Arwen Canyon."

"That will make for long days for you,” Billy said glancing quickly at Liv. He knew that Viggo had been trying to spend as much time as possible with his wife and new son.

"Your days will be even longer,” Viggo said.”Starting tomorrow, you're ramrodding the dig at Arwen Canyon."

"Astin can do it. He gets along with the university types real well. You'd never know it to listen to him, but he taught math in California before he took up ranch work."

"You'd never know it to listen to you either," retorted Viggo, ”But I happen to know a certain ramrod who speaks three languages, sings like a lark, and who still gets calls in the middle of the night from official types who want advice on how to get sticky jobs unstuck."

Billy said nothing. His expression was inscrutable as he waited for his friend and business partner to finish speaking.

"But they're just gonna have to wait in line," Viggo continued.”I've got all the trouble you can handle right in Arwen Canyon."

Without moving, Billy went fully alert. Viggo saw the change and smiled thinly.

"You expecting some kind of trouble at the site?" Billy asked.
Viggo looked at Liv. ”Don't I hear Milo crying?" he asked.

"Why don't you go and check," Liv offered with a sweet smile.

The look Viggo gave Liv plainly said he wished she weren't listening to what he was about to say to Billy. She looked right back, plainly telling Viggo that she wasn't leaving without a good reason. Reluctantly he smiled, but when he turned to Billy, the smile faded.

"The Sheriff called," Viggo said.”There's a ring of pot hunters working the Four Corners. They dig during the week and avoid the weekends when there are more people in the back county. They're professional and they're tough."

"How tough?"

"They roughed up some folks over in Utah. The park service isn't making any noise about it, but the back country rangers are going armed these days. So are the pot hunters."
"Want me to leave now for the site?" Billy asked.
"No. One of the sheriff's men is camping out that way, unofficially, but he's got to be back on the road early tomorrow."
Into the dining room came the clear sound of an unhappy baby. Liv put her hand on Viggo's shoulder, silently telling him not to get up.

"I'll leave before dawn,” Billy said, watching Liv hurry from the room.

"The professor won't like that."

"I'll be quiet,” Billy said dryly.

"Don't bother, he's going with you. That little Japanese rice burner of his won't get four miles up into the pasture, much less across the wash."
Billy smiled rather wolfishly. "He's not going to like being trapped in a truck with me. Or are you sending Liv to ride shotgun?"

"Nope," Viggo said cheerfully. "She's got two fulltime jobs riding herd on me and the baby."

"That's the problem. We've all got too damn many full time jobs and not enough hands."

"I put the word out at every ranch for three hundred miles," Viggo said stretching his long arms over his head. "All we can do is wait. Harry Sinclair promised he'd start breaking horses as soon as his sister's husband is out of jail. Until then he's got to take care of her ranch."

“What's the husband in for? The usual?" Billy asked.

"Drunk and Disorderly."
"The usual."

Viggo grunted agreement.

Billy rubbed his raspy chin thoughtfully. "David called. He's pulling out of Afghanistan. He'll be home in a few weeks."
Viggo glanced sideways at Billy.”Is he still a renegade?"

"All of us are wild. It's the Highland Scots blood."

"Yeah. Outlaws to the bone. Like you. You don't make any noise about it, but you go your own way and to hell with what the rest of the world thinks."

Billy said only, ”A few years of guerilla warfare tends to settle down even the wildest kid."

"You should know."
"Yes, I should know."

Viggo nodded and said softly.”Hire him."

Billy looked at Viggo. ”Thanks, I owe you one."

"No way, compadre. I should've been the one to shake the kinks out of Serkis, not you."

A slight smile crossed the Ramrod's face.”My pleasure."

Viggo looked thoughtful.”Does David fight the same way you do?"

"Wouldn't surprise me. He was taught by the same people."

"Good, he can trade off guarding Arwen Canyon with you." Viggo sighed and rubbed his neck wearily.”You know there are days I wish Liv had never found those damn ruins. It's costing us thousands of dollars a year in manpower alone, just to keep pot hunters out."

"We could do what some of the other ranchers have done?"

"What's that?"

"Sell some of the artifacts to pay for protecting the ruins."

"The Arwen Canyon ruins are on your part of the ranch," Viggo said, his face expressionless.”Is that what you want to do?"
Billy shook his head. "I'll give the land back to you before I sell off artifacts. Or I'll give the land back to the government if neither one of us can afford to protect the ruins. My head knows that ninety eight percent of those artifacts aren't unique - universities and museums are full of Anasazi stuff as good or better. Once the excavation has been carefully done, there's no good reason not to get back the cost of the digging by selling off some of the stuff."

"But?" Viggo asked.
Billy shrugged.”But my gut keeps telling me that those artifacts belong in the place where they were made and used and broken and mended and used again. It's pure foolishness, but that's how I feel about it, and as long as I can afford it, I plan on keeping my foolish ways."

Viggo looked at Billy and said quietly, ”If my drunken daddy had sold pieces of the Double L to anybody but you, I would have been in a world of hurt with no place to call home. Thank you."

Billy stood and clapped Viggo on the shoulder.”It was an even trade, compadre. Back then I was in a world of hurt and looking for a home."

"You've got the home. What about the hurt? Still have that?"

"I got over it a long time ago."

"Then why haven't you ever dated again?"

"A smart dog doesn't have to be taught the same lesson twice," Billy said sardonically.”I'm a hell of a lot smarter than a dog."

"He must have been a piece of fucking work."
"Who?"
"The asshole who did that to you."

Billy shrugged.”He was honest. That's better than most. The attraction never wore off, but he wanted more than I could give him. By then I was in too deep with no way to save myself from the fall I was about to take. I was hurting and looking to hurt. I shipped out the first chance I got."

"That was a long time ago. You were a wild kid, chasing guys who were no better than they had to be. You're different now. You know what you want and have the ability to take it."

Billy shook his head, his voice as bleak as the look in his eyes, ”You got lucky Vig, I didn't. You learned one thing about love and relationships. I learned another."

Without giving Viggo a chance to speak, Billy left the room. Behind him, Viggo sat motionless, listening to the sound of Billy's fading footsteps and the soft thump of a closing door.

~*~*~*~*~
After dinner, Billy would normally return to his rooms in the bunk house, go over some paperwork while drinking a finger or two of whiskey, but tonight something had him on edge. The enigmatic young doctor forgoing his meal because Billy had made him uncomfortable was not acceptable. It didn’t take him long to decide what to do.
After showering, dressed in loose fitting, worn jeans and a shirt the color of the midnight sky, his feet bare, Billy stopped briefly in the kitchen before setting off to mend fences with his new camping companion.

Making a brief stop over in the kitchen, he closed the door behind him quietly. Balancing a dinner plate bearing two large pieces of crispy, apple laden pie and a pitcher of fresh cow's milk, Billy knocked firmly on the door of the old ranch house. Patience wasn't his strong suit, so after several moments, he knocked again, more sharply this time. Gratified to hear movement inside, he stepped back from the outward swinging door and waited.

Soft, golden light framed Dom as the door opened. His chest was bare, his jeans hanging low enough for Billy to see the sharp curves of his hipbones. The sweater he had worn at dinner time was clutched in one hand, the other hand holding the screen door in a white knuckled grip as he watched Billy expectantly.
Billy lifted the plate and pitcher and smiled.”You ran out without eating much, so I figured you might like a snack."

"That's kind of you,” Dom murmured, his voice sticking on the lump in his throat as he struggled to speak at all.”But-"

"I don't even have to come in,” Billy added.”It's a nice night; we can eat out here."

"I'm not sure-" Dom started to refuse the offer.
"You're too thin," Billy interrupted. "Look. If I did something that made you uncomfortable and you missed your dinner, the least I can do is bring you dessert. If it'll make you more comfortable, I can just leave it here with you and go."

Dom was silent for a long moment, before he sighed and pushed the screen door open, squeezing through the gap.

Billy wasn't ready for the arc of white hot desire that shot through his body as moonlight and lamplight combined to glisten across Dom's golden skin. He hadn’t expected it and he shouldn’t welcome it. The worn, nearly white denim hung from his too lean hips more by luck than design, his bare feet poking out from under the flared, frayed fabric. Tousled, honey blonde hair hung in disarray over his downcast eyes, hiding his expression from Billy as he studied him carefully. "I'm sorry," Dom whispered.

"No need to be sorry." Billy shrugged, extending the pitcher for Dom to take.”That crowd can be scary for a first dinner." He smiled, and slipping his hand behind his back, Billy pulled two metal tumblers from his back pocket and rested them on the railing beside him. Reaching into his shirt pocket, he extracted two forks and extended one to Dom.”I don't know about you, but I cannot resist Liv's apple pie."

Billy settled himself on the top step and waited for Dom to follow suit, his own body relaxed as he dug into one of the slices of pie. Watching from the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but wonder what had frightened Dom so badly that his body was strung as taut as piano wire, his long, elegant fingers trembling as he struggled to pour the milk without spilling it.

Dom sat on the step beside Billy, his hip pressed as tightly against the edge of the staircase as he could, his fork and his sweater clutched in one hand as he extended a tumbler to Billy, the chilled liquid sloshing gently in his trembling fingers. As Billy took the tumbler, his fingers brushed lightly across Dom's. A sharp gasp hissed from his lips, and as if he had been struck by lightning, Dom retracted his hand, almost dropping the glass and shrugged further away from Billy.
Billy took a deep breath as he watched Dom trying to calm his trembling. Reaching a decision, he put the plate on the step between them and stood.
"This was a bad idea." He shook his head. "I'm sorry for whatever I did to frighten you so badly that you can't even bear the touch of my fingers on a glass. I'm sorry for that more than you would know. I'll leave you now, in peace."

Billy's bare feet had reached the bottom step before Dom spoke.

"Please don't go." Dom swallowed tightly "It's my fault. You're right, it is a lovely night and the pie does smell good." Dom shrugged and smiled sheepishly.”I am trying."

"I can see that." Billy smiled lightly, ”But I'm obviously the problem, so you enjoy your pie, and I'll see you in the morning."

"Please stay Billy,” Dom spoke softly.”It's not you exactly. Honestly, I am trying."
Billy watched Dom carefully, observing his hand shaking as he tried to be casual and sip from his milk, gazing at Billy through upturned lashes. With a blinding moment of clarity, Billy realized what Dom's fear was. He didn't want to know the details, and certainly would never ask, but he was certain that the shy, sweet, vulnerable young man in front of him had been abused in one way or another in his past. From his skittish behavior, Billy would wager more than once.

Standing in front of Dom on the bottom step, he spoke softly, his accent rich and mellow, his tone soothing.”Would you feel more comfortable if I were to let you finish getting dressed?"

Dom looked up at him, his eyes wide, and nodded gently. "Yeah….Yeah I would."

Billy reached out, careful not to make contact with Dom's fingers and took the tumbler of milk from his hands. Turning, he gave Dom a moment of privacy to pull the sweater over his head, before at Dom's suggestion, he turned back again and handed him his milk.

Sitting back on the step beside Dom, he fitted himself into the corner by the banister and sat with his legs stretched out before him, crossed at the ankles. They shared a companionable silence, passing the plate back and forth, sipping at the chilled milk. There was no need for conversation between them. Billy happily allowed Dom to become accustomed to his proximity; Dom happily ate the pie, able for the first time in his memory to digest food while in close quarters with a man.

Billy watched Dom through his lashes as he picked the pie crust up and ate it slowly, licking the crystallized sugar off his fingers as he finished the last bite. The white-hot arrow of desire that surged through him caught him off guard.

"Good?" Billy asked softly, his accent thick, ignoring the flash of sensation the sight of Dom's long tongue licking at the sugar crystals caused.

'Mmmmm," Dom spoke softly.”I'd forgotten what a good cook Livvie is."

"She manages to keep a ranch full of rowdy cowboys well fed." Billy smiled as he reached up to lift the jug of milk from the railing, ignoring the way that Dom flinched as he leaned past him.
Refreshing their tumblers, Billy leaned back against the banister, and slowly drank his milk.
"Are you all ready to go out to Arwen Canyon tomorrow?" he asked.
"All packed and waiting,” Dom said as he nodded.”It'll be good to get out there, I've missed the solitude of being on a dig site."

"I don't want to disappoint you," Billy stated softly.”But there won't be any solitude."

"Aren't the grad students only there on weekends?" Dom questioned, his teeth worrying his bottom lip.

"Aye." Billy nodded.”But I'm going with you tomorrow. And I assure you, I won't get in your way."

"But-" Dom started to refute Billy.

"It's Viggo's rule, Dom," Billy murmured.”It's a security issue, and if you can't obey his rules, he won't let you out there, simple as that."

Dom sighed and nodded silently, finishing his milk slowly. Billy sat beside him on the step, watching the long line of his neck as he swallowed, the play of muscles as arousing as everything else about the skittish young professor.

Billy pulled himself to his feet and stood on the bottom step. Leaning forward, he lifted the plate and forks and his own tumbler then accepted Dom's. Reaching out before he could help himself, Billy's small gentle hand cupped Dom cheek, closing his eyes, almost ashamed of adding to his fears as Dom flinched. Billy's thumb brushed stray crumbs of sugar from Dom's scruffy beard before he pulled back. "I'll see you in the morning, Professor."

Billy turned and walked back up the grassy path to the ranch house.
Dom's eyes glazed with tears as he felt Billy's hand on his face. Closing them quickly, he steeled his nerves for the fight that he knew was coming. His long fingers clenched into fists, his nails digging crescents into his palms. His breath stuttered as he struggled to control his emotions for long enough to defend himself, then Dom felt Billy's hand lift from his cheek, and he released his breath in a whoosh of relief and despair.

Opening his eyes, Dom's brow furrowed as he watched Billy walking up the path to the main house. His own hand flew to his cheek to cover the warmth left by Billy's hand as he tried to analyze in his mind what just happened. Wasn't he desirable? Was Billy just toying with him? Men didn't perform intimate acts like that without expecting payback. Why did Billy just walk away?
He sat on the step watching until Billy walked into the house and long after, his mind working furiously as he tried to understand the Double L's ramrod.