Chapter Fifteen

~ Jos ~

"What are these?" I asked in a low tone when Miko opened his eyes. I'd felt the patches of slightly raised skin on his back the night before, but I hadn't thought much of it in the heat of the moment. Now, I wanted to know.

"How did you get them?" I asked as I stroked my finger over one of them.

Miko's eyes dropped.

"Miko?"

"Punishment."

My jaw clenched. I instantly knew what the small scars were caused by and I wanted to kill someone. "Is this what you meant when you said no punishment? You didn't want to be whipped?"

Miko gave a curt nod.

I grabbed Miko and pulled him to my chest, wrapping my arms around him. "No one will ever whip you again or hurt you like this. They'll have to go through me first."

"They ugly."

They probably were, but they were also proof that Miko had survived whatever horrors caused them.

"We all have scars, Miko. Some physical, some emotional or mental. It's how we deal with them that makes a difference."

Miko's head tilted back so he could peer up at me. "You have scars?"

"My Pa was an alcoholic that beat my Ma every day until she just finally gave up one day and died. I was about fifteen at the time. He'd knocked me around as a kid, but when I grew bigger than him, he stopped. On the day we buried her, I beat the crap out of him, packed my stuff, and walked away. I never saw him again."

"Where he now?"

"I heard a few years back that he had tried to pick a fight with the wrong person and ended up in a coma. He died a couple of weeks later."

"I sorry."

I smiled as I pressed my cheeks against Miko's head. "We all have scars, Miko. None of them are pretty. All you can do is accept that it happened, learn from it, and move on."

"First Uncle preferred this method of punishment, but he used others. I quickly learned not to disobey the rules, but sometimes that didn't even work. Others would break the rules and the blame would fall on me. First Uncle never believed me when I said it wasn't me. After awhile, I just gave up."

I clenched my hand into a fist and rested it against his naked back. "Did your grandfather every whip you?"

"Only once," Miko replied. "I snuck out of the compound to go to a street festival. I was spotted by one of the family and dragged back. I think Grandfather whipped me that time to remind me never to sneak out again and get caught. If I hadn't gotten caught, he wouldn't have done anything even if he had known."

I still didn't think that was a good reason to whip someone, but I could see how it could happen.

"You know we don't whip people here at the ranch, right?"

I had to be sure he knew that.

"How do people get punished if they break the rules then?"

I let out a little snort. "They usually get fired."

Miko's brow flickered. "Fired?"

"I think rules is the big issue here, Miko. The ranch doesn't have a lot of them. Granted, there are things you shouldn't do simply because it isn't right, but beyond following the laws of the land, there's just not a lot of them. If you do something really stupid, you'll get fired and asked to leave the ranch."

Miko pushed himself up into a sitting position, the blanket pooling at his waist. "What rules?"

"No stealing, not hurting others, don't hurt animals, don't set a fire, stuff like that. Common sense stuff. We don't have archaic rules here, Miko. This is not feudal Japan. It's a ranch in the heart of Montana."

"You'll tell me if I break the rules?"

"I don't think you will simply because you're not the type of person to want to harm someone else or their property, but if a situation comes up, I'll tell you. I promise."

"No leaving?"

I shook my head. "You'll never be asked to leave, Miko." I swear to that on a stack of bibles if that would make him feel better. "Just be yourself and you'll be fine. And if you are ever unsure, ask me. I'll tell you."

" Hai ." Miko smiled as he settled back down next to me, lying his head on my chest. "I ask."

Just then Miko's stomach grumbled.

I chuckled when his face flushed red. "Why don't I show you the delights of a shared shower and then we'll go down and get something to eat?"

"Kouki, too?"

I didn't groan.

That was a plus.

"Kouki, too."

* * * *

I'd been moved back into Miko's room for a couple of months now. Luckily, there had been no more talk about divorce. I still seethed every time I thought of that word or how it sounded coming out of Miko's mouth.

I hated it and prayed I never heard it again.

Miko seemed to be settling into married life okay. He'd certainly taken to being gay readily enough. The nights we spent together were filled with so much passion that my cock became instantly hard every time I thought about them.

I certainly had no complaints.

It was outside the bedroom that there seemed to be issues. It wasn't one simple thing I could put my finger on, but every once in awhile, Miko went quiet and seemed to withdraw into himself. Granted, the instances of this happening were getting fewer, but they were still there and that bothered me.

I rapped my knuckles on Monty's open door to get his attention. When the man glanced up and gestured for me to come in, I stepped into the room, making sure I shut the door behind me.

Monty had his eyebrow cocked. "It's going to be one of those conversations, huh?"

"I wanted to talk to you about Miko," I said as I settled myself in a chair across the desk from him.

"What about him?" Monty asked. "Is there something he needs? Something he wants? Is he having problems settling in?"

"No, I think he's settling in just fine, but..." I shook my head, not sure how to say this or even if I should. "I think something is still bothering Miko."

"Something like what?"

I shook my head again. "I'm not sure."

Monty frowned at me. "Not helpful, Jos."

"He won't talk about it with me. Every time I ask him about it, he says nothing is wrong." I knew he was lying, but I didn't know how to get him to trust me with whatever was going on with him.

"Maybe it's just a matter of time, Jos. Miko spent his entire life in that stupid compound. Leaving there to come to America was a big enough shock, and then he found out about me and you two got married. That's a lot to take it. It's only been about two months. He needs time to fully trust us and get used to living here."

I hoped that was all it was, but I doubted it.

"How are things between the two of you?" Monty asked. "I've noticed that you seem to have grown closer over the last couple of months."

"We're good as far as I know." I wasn't going to go into how much things had changed between me and Miko. That was nobody's business but ours. "I think we're both committed to giving this marriage a fair shot."

"Good, good." Monty smiled as he glanced out the window. "Miko needs someone in his corner, someone that will put him first. I'm getting older. I won't be around forever. Miko needs someone that will be there for him for the long haul."

I had every intention of being that someone.

I glanced at the door when someone knocked.

"Come," Monty called out.

The door opened and Wade stuck his head inside. "Jos, man, you're gonna wanna see this."

My eyebrows snapped together as my heart started to climb into my throat, making it hard to breathe. "See what?"

Had something happened to Miko?

Wade gestured for me to follow him. "You gotta see it with your own eyes, man."

He had a grin on his face so I didn't think it could be all bad.

Right?

I jumped up and followed Wade out of Monty's office. He headed through the kitchen to the backdoor, then off the porch and across the yard to one of the corrals by the barn.

I could see several of the ranch hands standing around the fence before I even got there. A couple of them were sitting on it. No one was saying a word.

As soon as I reached the corral, I pushed through until I reached the fence. Words left me as I caught sight of what had fascinated them all into silence.

Miko was riding around the corral as if he had been born in the saddle. More confusing yet, he was riding Bucky. Bucky never let anyone ride him except me.

I was struck by the fact that I never truly thought Bucky would be able to be ridden again and yet the proof as right in front of me that Miko had been right. He'd healed my horse. Bucky was galloping around the corral as if he had never been injured at all.

I rested my arms on the top of the fence and leaned into it. "Well, would you look at that?"

"I thought Bucky was a goner for sure," Wade said, "but whatever Miko did seemed to do the job. He looks even better than he did before he got injured."

He did look better.

I just wasn't sure why.

When Miko slowed and rode closer to my part of the fence, I climbed over it and hopped down to the other side. Miko rode right up to me and stopped. He had a big grin on his face as he looked down at me.

"Did you see him?" Miko asked.

"I did." I stroked my hand over Bucky's flank. "There's barely even a scar."

"Oh, I made some ointment for that," Miko said quickly. "It's actually supposed to help the healing process, but it also has the effect of diminishing scars."

Of course he did.

"Mind if I come up?"

Miko's eyebrows lifted for a moment before he scooted forward and then removed his feet from the stirrup. I grabbed the pommel, fit my boot into the stirrup, and then pulled myself up behind Miko.

I took the reins from Miko, gave Bucky a gentle nudge with my boot, and then made a tsking noise to get him moving. We rode gently around the corral several times as I tried to get a feel for how Bucky was riding. His gate seemed normal and even paced. Even when I sped him up, he still ran normal.

"You think he's ready to go out on the range again?" I asked as we slowed.

"He should be," Miko replied. "I wouldn't take him on any long rides yet, but I think he's good to go on a daily basis. He's been out of commission for several weeks so he needs to work his muscle tone back up first."

I held the reins with one hand and wrapped the other around Miko's waist before leaning in close to his ear. "Thank you, Miko."

" Doitashimashite ."

I'd been around Miko enough now to know that meant "you're welcome". I was picking up more Japanese every day. I'd even purchased a dictionary and signed up for an online learning class. I wanted to be able to talk to Miko in his native language, even if I wasn't sure what I'd say.

"Who is that?"

I glanced up and looked around until I spotted the two cars coming up the driveway. I didn't recognize them, mostly because they were fancier than I usually saw around the area.

"I'm not sure," I told Miko. "Guess we should go find out."

I guided Bucky over to the fence line and then help Miko down to the ground. After I climbed off, I handed the reins over to Axel. "Can you give Bucky a wipe down? I need to go see to our company."

"Sure thing, Boss."

"Wade, you're with us." Since I didn't recognize these cars, I wasn't taking any chances. "Miko, you stay close to me, okay?"

" Hai ."

The three of us headed for the house, climbing the back steps to get to the porch and then walking around to the front of the house. We reached the front steps just about the time the two cars stopped and doors opened.

Miko inhaled sharply and edged closer to me when three men climbed out of the two vehicles. One I recognized as the lawyer that had delivered Miko to us. One was older, with shorter gray hair. One looked younger, buffer, and he had a definite bulge under his suit jacket.

I glanced down at the shivering man beside me. "Miko?"

"That's First Uncle," Miko whispered, "my grandfather's brother and the head of the Kaneko family."

That would explain the fear wafting off of Miko.

"I'm not giving you back."

The loose strands of Miko's dark hair fell back from his face as he tilted it up to mine. "I'm not going back."

Good, just as long as that was understood.

"Can I help you?" I asked when three men approached.

"I am Nitori Kaneko," the older man stated. "I'm here to speak to my brother's grandson."

I clenched my jaw at how easily he dismissed Miko. "He has a name."

Miko tugged on my sleeve, but when I looked down, his gaze was on the two cars. It wasn't even on the three men standing in front of us.

That told me all I needed to know.

I tilted my head to the side, turning it slightly. "Wade, call the others," I said in a low voice. "I want them armed and ready for anything."

"Trouble, Boss?" Wade asked.

"I'm not sure yet." I returned my attention to the three men standing at the bottom of the steps. Granted, I had never fully looked away from them, but still. I wanted to keep them where I could see them. "What business do you have with Miko?"

The old man rested both hands on a silver tipped cane. "That is between Mitsuaki and myself."

At least he used Miko's name this time, even if it wasn't the one he preferred.

"If you want to speak to Miko," I said as clearly as I could, "you'd best be telling me what you want here or you can forget about it."

"It's family business."

"Well, I'm his husband," I corrected him. "That makes me his family."

The man's distain was clear to see as he looked me up and down. I knew that he was dismissing me as if I was the help. Technically, I kind of was. I might currently own fifty-one percent of the ranch, but I was still the foreman.

He might also have a problem with me being gay.

Fuck him.

"What do you need to talk to Miko about?"

If he didn't answer this time, I was kicking him off the ranch.