Buccaneer (Dane Maddock Adventures) Read Free

” Avery struggled against the urge to look down.
    “ Are you kidding? I ’ m in this for the long haul. ”
    Avery forced a smile and felt herself slip a little bit. “ I ’ m sorry about this. It ’ s not the way I intended for us to meet. ”
    “ So you don ’ t spend your days hanging around pits with strange men? ”
    Her fingers slipped again and she wondered , for a moment, if she should just let go. This was all her fault and it wasn ’ t fair for Maddock to go down with her. Literally.
    “ Did somebody say hanging?” Just then, a rope dropped down alongside them. “Don ’ t worry. It ’ s not a noose.”
    “Bones!” Maddock exclaimed. “It ’ s about time you got here.”
    “Talk about ungrateful. Now, how about you and your new friend take hold of this rope before you both fall?”
    Avery reached out , slipped one arm through the loop , and grabbed hold of the rope. She started to rise and, next thing she knew, strong hands lifted her up and onto solid ground
    Her rescuers were tough-looking men. One , a stocky man with short brown hair, introduced himself.
    “I ’ m Matt,” he said. “This is Bones.”
    Bones stood well over six feet tall, with striking Native American features, and a mischievous twinkle in his dark eyes. He wore his long, black hair pulled back in a ponytail , and his t-shirt displayed a giraffe with a speech bubble that read, “Moo! I ’ m a goat.”
    “ Maddock ’ s got to go back down for his air tank and other crap,” Bones said. “ He ’ ll meet us back at headquarters, if you can call it that. ”
    “ Okay. ” Avery could barely find words. She was still freaked out about her near death experience and she was exhausted from the ordeal. “Are you part of Mister Maddock ’ s crew?”
    “ He ’ s my partner. Or I ’ m his. It gets a little confused at times. And don ’ t bother with the ‘ Mister. ’ He just goes by Maddock. ” He raised an eyebrow. “You got a name?”
    “ Avery Halsey, ” she replied. “ Sorry, I ’ m usually much friendlier. ”
    “ I hear you. ” Bones took her by the arm and guided her toward the work site. “ What are you doing out here anyway? ”
    “ If you ’ re Maddock ’ s partner, then I have a business proposition for the two of you. ”
    Bones didn ’ t break his stride or even look at her, but threw his head back and laughed.
    “ Did I say something funny? ”
    “ No, ” he said. “ It ’ s just, we get that all the time. ”
    A motley group awaited them at the work site . The two who stood out to her were both Native America n . One was an attractive young woman with the body of an aerobics instructor. Avery wondered if she was Bones ’ girlfriend, and found the thought raised a pang of jealousy. Whatever. She ’ d known the guy for all of two minutes.
    The other was a man of about sixty. Unlike Bones, he wore his long, silver-streaked hair down, with a black leather headband holding it back. His weathered face was handsome and , like Bones, mischief danced in his eyes. He wore a coat and tie , blue jeans , and cowboy boots.
    Bones introduced the man as his uncle, “ Crazy ” Charlie Bonebrake, and the girl as his sister, Angelica, or Angel for short. Now that she saw them up close, the family resemblance was unmistakable.
    “ Glad to see you ’ re okay, ” Angel said. Her handshake was firm, almost manly in its strength, but the air about her was d istinctly feminine, though with a touch of tomboy.
    “ We had no idea anyone was coming out to the site, ” Crazy Charlie said , a touch of disapproval in his voice . “ If we hadn ’ t gotten Willis’s call , we ’ d never have known.
    “ I still can ’ t believe I fell. I ’ ve been coming to this island since I was a little girl. I know better than to let my mind wander. ”
    “ So, what brings you here? ” Charlie crossed his arms and waited for an answer. The transfor mation was immediate, as his expression went from warm and inviting to