Authors: Sandra Leesmith
His praise boosted her spirits. Thankfully, she moved into his embrace.
CHAPTER 14
At first the hot air felt good, after being in the dank and musty cave. But by the time Jess helped her descend the rock wall, the heat took its toll. Without water to drink, she’d become too dehydrated to protect herself from the effects. The water Jess had given her from his canteen hadn’t been enough.
Half walking and half sliding down the shale that was crumbled at the base of the cliff, Autumn stumbled. Jess caught her to him.
“I can’t go much farther.”
“There’s a spring just a few yards ahead.” He supported her with his arm around her waist until they reached solid ground. Without further comment, he bent and placed his other arm behind her knees and lifted her against his chest.
At first she started to protest, but then she gave into the safe feeling of being cared for. Now that she didn’t have to concentrate on where she stepped, she took advantage of her position and absorbed her surroundings. She had no idea how good it would feel to hear birds sing, see the green cottonwood leaves flutter in the wind. She didn’t even mind the pesky fly that buzzed around her face. He was evidence of life, and she welcomed all of the signs.
Behind her, a horse snorted. She turned to see that they were approaching a grove of trees. Two horses stood munching on the few blades of grass next to the spring, but Autumn soon lost interest in the animals. Her full attention focused on the crystal water.
“I could drink that spring dry,” she told him.
He shifted her weight and spoke, his voice candid yet firm. “I’m sure you could, and that’s why I’m not letting you near it. When you’re dehydrated like this, you have to take it slow.”
She understood the logic and knew desert survival. It didn’t stop her from longing for the cool liquid. “If I promise not to drink, will you just set me down in it?”
“I’m not stupid.”
She looked at him. “No? I was afraid of that.”
He smiled as he placed her on a patch of grass beneath one of the trees. If she’d had the energy, she would have walked to the water by herself, but her muscles refused to obey her command. She finally contented herself with watching Jess as he went to the horses and took several items from a saddlebag. Next he knelt and dampened a clean bandanna.
“This ought to make you feel better.” He wrung out the cloth as he approached.
The moisture from the cool bandanna seeped into her parched skin. She closed her eyes. Jess gave her a sip of water and returned to the spring to dampen a small towel.
With care not to hurt her bruises, he wiped away the dirt covering her face, neck, and arms. Autumn relaxed and let each pat soothe away a small portion of the anguish she’d suffered in the cave.
“Do you want to talk about it yet?” Jess asked.
Did she? She wondered as she glanced at the blue sky. Talking would bring memories of fear and death. “I suppose I should,” she managed in a shaky voice.
“Do you know what happened to you?” he asked.
She explained about following him in the morning. “I couldn’t imagine why you’d gone. I’ll have to admit, I was getting concerned until I came across the fire.”
“I was hiding in the rocks along the cliff behind their camp. I was hoping to see how many were there before I charged.”
She flinched. “Something I should have done. Why didn’t you warn me?”
“When I saw you coming, you looked like you knew where you were headed. I figured you were going to meet them.”
Autumn stared in surprise. “You don’t mean you thought I was working with them?”
“It seemed that way until you grabbed that rifle.”
“There were times in the cave when I thought the same thing about you.”
“What do you mean?” His surprise matched hers.
“I saw two men at the fire, then someone hit me from behind. It could have been you.”
A puzzled frown creased his forehead as he considered her words. “You thought it might have been me?”
“No.” She covered his hand with hers, stilling his cleansing. “Real Tall Man told me to trust you.”
“And you believed him.”
“It wasn’t just that.” She stared into his eyes. “I don’t know what happened between us, but one thing I do know—you would never hurt me.”
His eyes closed and she read remorse. Unless she was still hallucinating, she sensed a change in his feelings toward her. He was treating her like he had before, only this time, there seemed to be an added intensity. She started to ask him about it, but he questioned her first.
“What happened when they hit you? Did you know the men?”
She shook her head and told him the conversation she’d overheard.
“Someone hit me on the head. I don’t remember a thing until I woke up in the cave.” She grasped his wrist and stilled his ministrations. “My uncle’s body was in the cave. I thought he was part of it until I found him dead. They wouldn’t have killed him if he was working with them, would they?”
“No. He was trying to find the men, too.”
He placed his free hand over her fingers and squeezed. The warm flesh contrasted with her parched skin. As he continued to minister to her cuts, he explained what he’d seen.
“Why
did
you leave that morning? How did you find them?” Questions reeled in her head. “Did you plan for me to follow you like that?”
“No, I woke up and felt restless, so I climbed up that big rock just outside our camp.” He paused and absently caressed her cheek. “When I got to the top, I started looking around and saw a light. I figured it was the gunman’s camp.”
“That’s how you managed a direct route to the spot?”
“It must have made me look suspicious in your view, but that’s how it happened”
“Why didn’t you wake me up?” She shifted slightly. “We could have set a trap.”
His deep sigh brought her attention to his face. “I didn’t want you hurt. I was afraid something might happen.” She tried to straighten, but he gently pushed her down. “You followed. Then we were all in a mess. When I saw that man attack you, I knew there was trouble. I started for you, but they let me have it. Bullets were flying everywhere. Before I could get closer, they’d shot your uncle and hightailed it out of there.”
Autumn sighed as she relaxed against the tree. She didn’t feel guilty for following him—she only regretted that she hadn’t been more careful. She realized he felt that way, too. “A fine pair we are. I wonder where we are now.”
He explained about the canyon and the ceremonial purpose of the cave.
“How on earth did you find me?” she asked. “This is miles from where we were.”
With a growing sense of wonder, Autumn listened as Jess explained his encounter with Real Tall Man.
“Unbelievable,” she whispered, more in awe than disbelief.
Jess, however, took her meaning literally. “Scientifically it doesn’t make sense, but there’s research on mental telepathy that…”
“Don’t explain it away.” She placed her hand on his to still the outburst. “Let’s call it a miracle. You see, I saw images of you and Real Tall Man, also. They kept me going, Jess. You might not have found me if I hadn’t crawled into those tunnels.”
His expression closed and she sensed he wasn’t comfortable with the paranormal aspects of their encounter. Yet, he had followed Real Tall Man’s directions.
Jess started pulling the torn material away from her knees and her attention focused on the bloody mess he uncovered. On top of that, she could sense a different tension building in him.
“As soon as you get back your strength, we’re getting out of here. Those men aren’t going to get away with this.” His fists tightened. “They’ll pay for the drugs and for murder—but I especially want them for what they’ve done to you.”
His words distracted her attention from the injuries. “Drugs? What are you talking about?”
From the way the muscles in his jaw worked, she realized he was sorry he’d let that slip. There was no way she was going to allow him to drop it.
“Drugs?” she repeated. “Is that what this is all about?”
He studied her for several minutes, and Autumn could see the war of emotions going on inside his head.
She bolted upright and gripped the lapels of his shirt as understanding began to break through the hurt and anger. “You’re not just a rancher checking on his property, are you?”
“Yes, but it’s also a cover.”
“For what?” Her voice sounded hard.
“A special unit.” He explained about the international task force that he’d been involved with ever since he’d left the army.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” The anger began to overflow.
“I couldn’t. I wanted to trust you.”
“Trust me?”
“When the drug operation started to point to you, I had to pull out of the relationship.”
“What do you mean, point to me?” Forgotten were her injuries and all thoughts of miracles. “All this time you’ve thought I was involved in a drug operation? Did it occur to you to ask?”
“Right.” His glance quelled her protest. “All the evidence was damning.”
As she listened to his explanation, she had to agree. With her family’s involvement abroad and her arrival coinciding with the first signs of the operation, her possible participation appeared obvious.
“I don’t know what to say, Jess. I didn’t understand and I was hurt.”
“I know that.” From the strained tones of his voice, she realized it had been difficult for him, as well.
“I don’t blame you for being angry. I had no right coming on to you these past couple of days when I couldn’t trust you.” His voice lowered. “But I can’t help myself. Every time I get near you, all I can think about is touching you…” He paused. “…and wanting you.”
“Jess.” A surge of unexpected love rose. Its strength surprised her, but she should have known. It had taken effort to keep the feeling buried. “It was the same for me. I wanted you, too.”
“Come here.”
She moved into his embrace.
“When I suspected the others, it didn’t hurt. But when I thought you might be involved, I ached,” Jess murmured into her hair. “My mind told me to be careful, but inside, I knew…”
“I felt the same. You know that, don’t you?”
“Now I do,” he whispered.
“At least that part is over. We can share our feelings.”
“Lie down, then, and rest.” Gently he held her while he stretched on the ground. He eased her beside him on the cool grass. “We’ll need our strength to get out of here.”
Her response was a resigned sigh, but in minutes she was breathing steadily. Now she didn’t fear sleep. She knew she’d wake up alive and with Jess.
The deep blue color of the sky contrasted with the red spires framing it. A jet trail streaked across the sky and was intersected by two others heading west.
Cobwebs in the sky
. Jess thought of the Hopi prophecy.
Daya had told him about the Hopi stones, carved centuries ago, that foretold the future. All had come true except the one proclaiming the end of the world. That would happen when a house was built in the sky. In fact, the Hopi had been concerned when NASA had launched the Skylab.
Jess glanced toward the jet stream. He watched the crisscross pattern as another airliner flew by. The trails did look like giant cobwebs in the sky.
Autumn stirred in his embrace and he bent his head to nuzzle his cheek against the soft down of hair at her temple.
“You were right, Daya,” he whispered in his grandmother’s tongue. “The Hopi prophecy came true, and it looks like yours is also.”
He thought about Daya’s promise that a woman would teach him to love the
Dineh
. Autumn hadn’t actually accomplished that, but last night, he’d participated in one of the ancient traditions for the first time in years. There had been moments during the long night when he’d felt as one with his roots and his past. The ancient chant had plucked at chords in his consciousness that he associated with The People.
The daylight had brought doubt. The memories had faded as his mind played again the refrain of hatred, bitterness, and denial.
Jess closed his eyes. The action shut out the present view, but it didn’t close the doors in his mind. If Daya were here, she’d claim he was plagued by evil spirits. Maybe he was, but they were the doubts and fears in his mind, not supernatural phantoms.
Daya had been right about one thing, he admitted. He’d met a woman he could love at Coyote Springs. His lips curved into a smile as he recalled that first encounter. He’d been expecting a rugged, maybe even a masculine woman, used to the outdoors. Autumn was strong and her clothes utilitarian, but every inch of her spelled class. On first sight, he’d given her a week—a month at the most. It had surprised him how readily she’d taken to the land.
His gaze drifted to where her shirt had ripped apart. Her breasts were encased in black lace, no longer a surprise. He remembered the first time he’d kissed her. It had been a delight to discover the feminine side to her nature.
It would be easy to resume their relationship now that the drug issue had been resolved, but would it be fair to Autumn? When he’d first met her, he figured her interest in her Indian heritage would soon disappear—especially after she saw the less than ideal conditions her relatives lived in. It certainly didn’t compare to the high style of living she’d been used to.