Power of the Raven (10 page)

“Yes, it was,” he answered, laughing. “In your own way, you’re a romantic.”

“Sure I am, but that doesn’t mean I’m looking for perfection—just the right fit.”

“That sometimes means the coming together of opposites. Navajo teachings say that everything has two sides. Light needs dark, just as good needs evil to balance each other. A man also needs a woman, and a woman, a man. By pairing they become whole.”

His words drifted over her like an intimate caress that left her tingling. She drew in a shaky breath. Gene brought an intensity, a sparkle of something she’d yet to define, to every moment. Just being with him made her feel more alive, more vibrant.

At last they arrived at a one-lane wooden bridge across a deep arroyo. Gene slowed to a crawl and they proceeded across, the tires rumbling on the rough timbers below. Ahead, Lori could just about make out the sandstone walls of a high bluff.

Gene came to a stop and switched off the headlights, leaving only his dim parking lights on. He then put the Jeep in low gear, and headed toward a dark area of the bluff. As they drew near, Lori saw that the dirt road they were taking would lead them through a narrow pass flanked by two high cliffs.

“We’re now entering Copper Canyon,” he said.

As they drove between the walls, barely a hundred yards apart, she saw the canyon open up ahead. It widened to the point she could no longer see any details, just dark, high cliffs on both sides. The arroyo lay to their left now.

“It’s beautiful and mysterious,” she said. “But it’s so isolated. You must have felt lonely out here.”

“I know it seems like a big empty box at first, but it’s filled with life. Look ahead,” he said, pointing as he came to a stop.

She leaned forward and drew in a sharp breath. “What is that? A feral dog?”

“No, a coyote. There are a lot of them out here.”

She waited for him to keep driving, but they remained where they were. “The house is farther up?” she asked, and saw him nod. After several minutes she added, “Shouldn’t we keep going?”

“I want to watch for a bit. If anything’s out of place, that coyote will let me know.”

She watched the animal watching them, its eyes gleaming in the low glow of the parking lights. Eventually it trotted off.

Lori spotted movement in a nearby shrub. As she focused on it, a small creature, maybe a rat, came out of hiding. It turned around and began sniffing the ground, but before it could go far, a big bird swooped down, wings outstretched, and grabbed the animal in its talons. In a flash, it disappeared into the night.

“The owl has taken a late supper,” he said. After a long while, he placed the Jeep in gear again. “Everything is as it should be out here. Let’s go on.”

“I hope someday I can see your ranch, too,” she said, straining to catch a clear glimpse of what lay ahead.

“Would you really like that?”

“Very much so,” she said.

His dark eyes focused intently on her. The power of that one look nearly took her breath away. It reminded her of the old saying, “still waters run deep.” The real measure of the man by her side lay well beyond what he allowed the world to see.

“Someday I’ll take you there and show you around. Life has a different rhythm at Two Springs Ranch.”

The road circled left, eventually reaching a low spot in the arroyo. As they dropped down inside, the Jeep fishtailed slightly in the sand. Soon they rose out of the depression onto more solid ground. A hundred yards ahead, across a small meadow, was a rectangular stucco frame house nestled near the opposite wall of the canyon. Moonlight shined down on its metal roof, giving it a soft, almost unearthly glow.

Gene parked close to the front door. “Come on. Let’s get inside,” he said, then reached for her suitcase while she picked up her large tote.

“The moonlight makes the house look enchanted, magical,” she said, as they walked to the raised front porch. “Somehow it fits you.”

He shook his head. “I have no magic. That was solely
Hosteen
Silver’s thing.” He searched his pocket for the key to the dead bolt. “He could do things that defied logic at times.”

“Like what?”

“He’d often know things before they happened. At first I thought that he studied people, then predicted their behavior, but there was more to it than that.”

He flicked on the light switch. “No one lives here now, but that’ll change when Kyle, one of my brothers who’s serving with NCIS overseas, comes home to stay.”

“Where does the electricity come from? Is there a generator, and batteries?”

“No, there’s a buried power line that runs out the back and to the highway along a very narrow footpath between the cliffs. It’s not wide enough for vehicles, though, and not too many people know about it.”

She smiled. “Now it sounds even more like a magical place—with a secret path to the road and all.

“There’s a real sense of peace here,” she added softly. “Maybe it’s the furnishings, or the beautiful Navajo blankets that are draped over the couch and hang on the wall. I don’t know why, really, but I feel…at home.”

“People often say that,” he told her. “When Dan and I lived here with
Hosteen
Silver, friends were always dropping by. Patients, too, but they generally went to the six-sided log medicine hogan out in the back. It’s hidden by the house when you come in by road.”

“All my Navajo friends in high school grew up in town and none of them had a hogan. You’ve certainly led an interesting life,” she said. “I’d love to hear more about your time here in Copper Canyon.”

“Maybe tomorrow,” he said. “It’s past one in the morning and you’ll have to get up early to get to work on time. When, exactly, do you have to be there in the morning?”

“We don’t take lunch because we close at noon, so if I don’t take a break, I don’t have to come in till nine-fifteen.”

“Okay, then. Let’s go make up one of the beds and we’ll talk as we work.”

He led her down the short central hall and into the first bedroom on his left. There were two twin beds inside. “I think you’ll find these beds comfortable. The mattresses are foam now, but originally they were filled with straw and wool from our sheep.”

“You had sheep?”

“
Hosteen
had a small flock, and we and the guys who came after us tended them. He used to say that the sheep and the land provided for us and that’s why we’d never go hungry.”

“Did that ever happen to you?” she asked softly. “Go hungry, I mean.”

He nodded slowly. “My mom and dad were alcoholics. Buying booze was their priority, so often there was nothing in the fridge. When I couldn’t beg food from the neighbors I’d go to bed early, because once I fell asleep my empty stomach wouldn’t bother me so much.”

The reality of what his life had been like at one time stunned her. She reached for his hand and covered it with hers. She wanted to say something deep, or something wise that would make it all better, but couldn’t find the right words.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” she found herself saying, meaning every word, and wishing it didn’t sound so lame.

“Everything has two sides, remember?” he said. “Those days taught me to appreciate the good times.”

As she looked at Gene, she saw a man whose courage had been forged by adversity. After seeing the darkest spot in hell, nothing much could frighten him.

“You’re all set now,” Gene said, as he finished tucking in the sheet. “I’ll start a fire in the fireplace. The house will stay warm till morning, then.” Seeing her yawn, he smiled. “Get some rest. One good thing about Copper Canyon is how quickly sleep comes to everyone out here.”

“I didn’t bring an alarm clock. Do you have one?” she asked as he started to leave.

“No, but it’s not necessary. I always wake up before daybreak. It’s an old habit. It doesn’t matter what time I go to bed.”

“Will you wake me up?”

“Before daybreak?”

“Yeah. I’d like to look around and see Copper Canyon by daylight,” she said.

“Okay. I’ll give you a tour first thing tomorrow morning. There’s a lot to see. It’s a completely different place when the sun’s out.”

“And, Gene?”

He turned his head as he reached the doorway.

“Thanks for sticking with me.”

Electricity charged the air between them as he met her gaze and held it. She didn’t want him to leave—and he didn’t want to go.

“I won’t be far. If you need me, call,” he said in a rough voice, and closed the door.

She needed him—in every possible way. Yet that was one line she didn’t dare cross. If she did, instinct told her she might never find her way back again.

Chapter Nine

Gene felt the blood thundering through him. The idea of Lori lying in his old bed just out of his reach was making him crazy inside. She was all softness and gentle curves, a woman practically made to be loved. His body hardened thinking about her.

Though it defied logic, since he scarcely knew her, the crazy attraction between them was real. Lori had touched him in a way he couldn’t—or maybe didn’t want—to fight. He loved her smiles, her spirit, and just being near her was a constant reminder that he was a man, and she, a woman.

Swearing softly, he got busy building a fire in the large cast-iron fireplace insert, a design
Hosteen
Silver had carefully selected because it would provide effective heat for hours.

Looking at the bright flames behind the glass and feeling the heat now flowing into the room, he remembered his foster father’s teachings. A man and a woman needed each other to be complete. That, too, was part of the pattern.

After making sure he had a clear view of the front door, Gene lay down on the couch. The stillness in the house and warmth of the fire made him drift quickly to sleep, but even there, her arms found him.

L
ORI OPENED HER EYES SLOWLY
.
The cool, crisp air filtering through the narrow opening in the window nudged her awake gently. As she sat up she heard a soft rustling in the leaves outside. Maybe it was a cottontail or quail searching for seeds.

The peaceful smile on her face disappeared in a flash as a deep, menacing growl sounded outside, somewhere close by. Cold with dread, she crept out of bed and across the room.

Afraid to see what was outside, she didn’t watch where she was going and smashed her toe on the edge of her suitcase, still on the floor where she’d left it. Covering her mouth with one hand, she muffled a yelp and breathed in and out till the pain passed.

Lori inched over to the window and peered out. The first thing she saw was Gene, standing completely still. Then, following his gaze, Lori saw a huge black bear about ten feet from him.

She drew in a sharp breath and stared in horror as the bear slowly walked up to Gene and dropped what it had in its mouth like some giant retriever. It then growled again, a softer sound this time, but still terrifying.

To her surprise, Gene seemed calm. “The kill is yours. Eat it in peace and live, my brother,” she heard him say.

Lori remained rooted to the spot, watching. The bear calmly picked up the animal it had caught, holding it in its powerful jaws, but didn’t move away.

Gene began to chant, his voice strong and compelling. Even though she didn’t understand the words, she felt the power of the song. It rose into the air and danced through the pines, and as it did, everything stilled. It was as if nature itself was holding its breath, listening.

Man and bear continued to stand face-to-face, but neither seemed afraid. Then the massive animal turned around slowly and walked away.

Lori stumbled back from the window. Her hands were shaking and her body felt ice-cold. Shivers ran up her spine, but that had nothing to do with the breeze coming from the open window. While she struggled to even her heart rate, she heard a soft knock at her door.

“Time to get up,” Gene said from the hall.

Without even thinking, Lori opened her door and launched herself into his arms.

“I heard the growl, went to the window and saw you and that bear! I’m so glad you’re okay.” She was trembling and couldn’t make herself stop. “How did you keep from running?”

“That would have been a fatal mistake.
Prey
runs,” he said, wrapping his arms tightly around her. “More importantly, I was never in any danger. On some level, I know you sensed that, too.”

She nodded slowly. “What made
you
so sure he wouldn’t attack? Your gift with animals?”

“Partly, yes, but in this case, that’s not the whole story. Bear medicine, ritual items I carry in my medicine bag, link me to the animal and make him my spiritual brother. Neither one of us would harm the other. I also carry the fetish of a bear with me. It was a gift from
Hosteen
Silver. He chose it especially for me.”

“Why a bear?” Lori’s childhood friends had taught her about some of their tribal beliefs, and fetishes were common.

“
Hosteen
Silver saw me as a loner, despite my closeness to my brothers. He told me that Bear’s power was made strong in solitude, and though Bear had a dark side, he also stood for confidence and inner stillness.” He looked into her eyes. “I’m sorry you were scared, but you never have to be when I’m near.”

As desire shimmered to life between them, he tilted her face upward. Gene took her mouth slowly, filling her senses with a sweet fire.

His arms tightened around her until she could feel his heart beating against hers. Lori sighed softly, and almost instantly, he deepened the kiss.

Following her heart, she surrendered to the sensations rippling through her. Nothing else mattered right now but him. As she melted against him, his kiss became hotter, wetter and more demanding.

The warmth inside her soon became a raging fire that started at the center of her being and spread outward. Lori clung to his shoulders, drinking in his taste, loving his roughness.

He broke the kiss with a groan and looked into her eyes. “In another minute I won’t be able to stop, and you won’t want me to. Decide now, Lori.”