TWELVE

Elizabeth dug her heels into the side of the big bay mare, wishing she’d paid more attention to Brody during his incredibly patient attempts to teach her how to ride.

“Come on, old girl, we’re almost there.” Her words sent white puffs into the crystalline winter air. She patted the horse’s neck, wishing she’d trailered the animal up this mountain instead of giving in to her foolishly sentimental idea of riding into Kane’s life as he had ridden into hers the summer before. She reached up and tucked behind her ear a lock of once-more blond hair. Then, tugging the brim of her Stetson lower on her forehead, she prayed he wouldn’t make her walk back down the mountain when he saw her.

She halted the horse as she crested the next rise on the snow-packed trail. Oh my. Brody hadn’t been kidding. The land Kane had purchased three months earlier was definitely a slice of heaven.

She smiled. She hadn’t known who’d been more surprised; her at hearing Kane had bought land, or Brody for actually telling her about it. She admitted she didn’t have Kane’s tracking skills, but for an ex-secretary she wasn’t half bad.

She scanned the valley before her. It was stunning. Beautiful wide, open fields, marked only by the skeleton rows of fence posts poking up through the snow and the occasional stand of aspens. The Bitterroot Mountains provided an awe-inspiring backdrop only Mother Nature could have created. Nestled in the middle of it all was a modest log cabin, or at least most of one. There were also several corrals, a large barn, and the framework of several other buildings.

But instead of the hive of activity such construction should warrant, only the sound of a single hammer cut through the cold winter silence.

She prodded the horse and covered the final distance. There was a four-wheel-drive truck parked in front of the main cabin. She looked around. Brody had said Kane mentioned rounding up the horses he had stashed all over Idaho and western Montana, but she didn’t see any sign of them. Well, he had one now.

Nerves on edge now that the moment of truth had arrived, she dismounted, biting back the groan at the twinge of protest from her inner thighs. She tied the horse to the railing of the finished front porch. As she’d managed the last stair up, quietly stamping snow from her boots, a loud thwack rang out. It was immediately followed by a string of words that made her smile in a way she hadn’t been able to for five long months.

She stepped inside without knocking, leaning on the doorframe. Her breath escaped on a soft whoosh. Dear Lord, she’d missed him. She drank her fill of him. His hair was longer, she thought, though it was hard to tell the way he had it tied back. His flannel shirt was damp from his labors, his chest straining at the worn fabric as he pulled in a deep breath. He was as glorious as she’d remembered. She swallowed against the memories of how close she’d once been to that warm, powerful body. She’d never felt as safe and secure since.

She banished those dangerous thoughts and slid the small ladylike knife—it was only five inches long—from the sheath she had strapped to her belt. With all his swearing and cussing, he still hadn’t noticed her. She balanced the weight carefully, then tossed it so that it landed, pointdown, in the piece of wood Kane had just dropped back onto the bench so he could hold his throbbing thumb.

“Might as well cut it off now and save yourself the trouble later.”

He went completely still. It was another long, mind-wracking moment before he looked up.

“Annie?”

She nodded, damning the burning sensation that had come from nowhere at the unguarded leap of emotion in his eyes when he’d first seen her. It was gone now, a carefully guarded look in its place. But she’d seen it, and it gave her hope.

“I have something that belongs to you. I brought it back.”

“Annie,” he repeated, as if still unable to believe she was actually there.

Elizabeth kept talking, not wanting to give him the chance to throw her out yet. “She’s a little worse for the wear, you were right, she’s a tough old—”

“What are you talking about?”

“Sky Dancer. I found her. With Brody Donegan’s help. She was up in the Selkirks. We tracked her after the first snowfall. She was a bit banged up—”

“Is that why you came here? To return my horse?”

She didn’t know what she’d expected, but it certainly wasn’t the flat, expressionless response she’d gotten. She knew how much that horse had meant to him. Knew he’d almost killed himself trying to find her. It had been her one tie to Brody. She’d been banking on it being her tie to Kane. If she was wrong, then maybe she’d been mistaken about—No. She’d come too far to question her actions now.

“No,” she repeated out loud. “You also have something that belongs to me.”

He didn’t say anything, but she noticed his hands were now tightly clenched into fists.

She knew convincing her dark warrior that he was worth fighting for was going to be tough. The fact that he’d bought land had renewed her hope. She’d been preparing for this showdown for months. Only now did she realize she hadn’t known the half of it. Maybe that was just as well.

“What?” The single word seemed to have been forcibly wrenched from somewhere deep inside him. “What do I have of yours?”

So he wasn’t as unaffected by her as he seemed to want her to believe. Please Lord, let her be right about this.

She swallowed hard and looked him straight in the eye. “My heart. I gave it to you over five months ago. I came here to find out if you still needed it.” She took a deep breath. “If not, then I want it back. I’m—” Her voice broke. “I’m having a hard time going on without it.”

He cleared the construction rubble in one graceful leap, and in the next second she was where she’d wanted to be every second of every day since the moment he’d said good-bye.

“Oh God, you feel so good,” she said against his wonderfully hard, broad chest. Her tears fell unchecked. Everything she’d kept bottled up inside her for months came tumbling out in one long rush. “I tried to go back to my life after Sam was arrested, after the trial …”

She remembered how abandoned she’d felt when Kane’s deposition had been read but he hadn’t appeared. She looked up at him. “I tried, Hawk, but I … I found out I didn’t have one.” She didn’t want to take her hands from his shoulders even long enough to swipe her tears from her cheeks.

As if he’d read her mind, he reached up and rubbed them softly away with his thumb. The tender gesture, even while his expression was still so wary, made her cry even harder. “Nothing I did seemed right. Matt tried to help me. He found an apartment for me, bullied me into looking for a new job. He even tried to find you for me.” She sniffed, a watery smile on her lips. “He swore he was going to drag you back and do anything short of killing you to get you to take me off his hands.” Her attempt at laughter was a choked failure. “I knew I had to see you again. Matt and I both tried to find you, but we had no luck. I even went to the reservation …” Kane’s eyes widened in shock, but she kept on, there was no stopping now. “It was fascinating. I learned a lot.” Such as how special the amulet was he’d given her and how hard his life must have been as a child, she thought. But they could talk about her experience later. “No one there knew where you were either. Then I remembered Brody Donegan …” She looked up at him, “I found his card. I … I called him.”

“He sent you here?”

“In a manner of speaking.” Brody had become her friend and ally in a time when she’d needed both desperately.

“I knew from Dobs that you hadn’t found Sky Dancer. I … tried to get Brody to tell me where you were. All I found out was that you’d bought this land.”

“That was several months ago.”

“I know. I sort of struck a bargain with your friend. He’s very protective of you.”

“What sort of bargain?” He didn’t comment on the rest.

“He told me you’d decided to give horse ranching a try. So in exchange for helping him track down Sky Dancer, he’d teach me everything he could about horse ranching.”

She’d surprised him with that one. Good.

She hurried to finish her explanation before he could say anything. “Only when I’d proven myself to him—and trust me when I say he’s not an easy man to impress—would he tell me where you were.”

“How long ago did he tell you?”

Kane’s quiet question jerked her thoughts to the present. “Five days.”

Again he was silent. Damn the man and his unreadable face. Despite his physical show of welcome, she had no idea what he was thinking. Her nerves were frayed almost past the snapping point.

“You went to all that trouble to find me. Why?”

His expression was one of cautious need, like that of a kid who’d been told Santa really did exist, but was waiting for the proof in case it was all a horrible joke.

“Because the night you said good-bye to me, you didn’t let me say good-bye to you.”

“Is that why you’re here, then? To say goodbye?”

“I’m here to tell you that I love you. The goodbye part is up to you.” She held her breath. He didn’t exactly look overjoyed.

“Would you say that again?”

She squared her shoulders, locked her rocking knees together, and looked him square in the eyes, pouring everything she had into her words, knowing this was her last chance. “I, Little Sun, love you, Eyes of the Hawk.”

The fierce look that entered his eyes should have made her turn tail and run. And she might have if he hadn’t yanked her tightly against his body and brought his mouth down to hers for the hardest, longest, sweetest kiss she’d ever experienced.

He took her mouth again and again. It went on and on, and she didn’t think she’d ever get enough. Finally they both had to break for air. It was then that she realized she hadn’t truly tested her courage. She looked up at him, taking comfort from the fire of desire flaming in his eyes.

It was the other emotion she saw there that had her reaching deep inside for the unwavering faith and trust she had found she still had in him. “You weren’t ever planning on coming back for me, were you?”

The pain etched in his face sliced at her. “No.”

“You know, I was really angry at you for a long time after you left. But not for the reason you might think. Your role with Sam was the easy part to deal with. Your actions spoke loud enough, and after thinking about it, I understood why you couldn’t tell me. What I don’t understand is, if we shared something that was as wonderful and unique as I think it was, why didn’t you have enough faith in me to let me be part of the decision about any future we might have?”

“Your life was in Boise. Mine … I didn’t have a life.”

“What about this place? The ranch?”

“I didn’t plan this. I guess I understand what you went through. I took on several more jobs, but my concentration was shot.” He lifted his hand to her face. “I kept seeing brown freckles and hearing this soft laugh.” He let his hand drop, soft color blooming on his bronzed cheeks. “I missed you, Annie. Every day.”

“Then why—?”

He placed a finger against her lips. “I bought this land as a test. Of myself, of my life and what I had or hadn’t done with it.” He gazed deeply into her eyes. “I have no idea if I’ll last the winter here, much less make a go of this. I might be as miserable staying in one place as I was …” His voice drifted off.

“As you were?” she prompted, her heart thrumming at what she swore he’d been about to say.

“As I was without you. But Annie,” he added quickly, and she knew her hope had shown plainly on her face. “This”—he gestured around him—“doesn’t really change things. I’m still not sure what I want, where I’m headed.” He took her face in his large palms. “I still don’t have anything to offer you. Certainly not what you deserve.”

“What do I deserve, Kane?” she asked softly, determination lacing her every word. She was fighting for her life. “Do I deserve to be happy?”

“Of course. More than anything, that’s what I hoped for you.”

“And what about you? Don’t you think you’ve earned the same right? What would it take to make you happy, Hawk?”

“You.”

“Then why in the hell are we standing here arguing?”

Frustration and pain lanced through his proud features. “Because, dammit! Haven’t you heard a thing I’ve been saying? I can’t promise you anything!”

“Have I asked you for a promise?” she shouted right back. “I don’t recall needing a promise before deciding to spend three months of my life learning about ranching because I knew that’s what you wanted to do.”

“And what if this doesn’t pan out? What then, Annie? Don’t pin your dreams on me. I’ll disappoint you.” His anger fled as suddenly as it had appeared. He pulled her into his embrace, and when he spoke, his voice was choked with emotion. “I’ve barely managed to survive these past five months by telling myself you’d gone back to your life. That you were happy. I don’t think I could survive trying, and failing you.”

She ran a trembling hand down his face. “But I’m not happy. What you do for a living isn’t what made me work so hard to find you. It was a means to an end. It’s you, Kane. Whatever you are, wherever you go. It’s you that I need to be happy.” Her voice broke. “Only you.”

Tears brimmed over his thick black lashes. “What did I ever do to deserve someone like you, little sun?”

“You came to me, offered your protection, your support, your shoulder, your friendship. Your life.”

“You forgot one thing,” he whispered roughly.

“What?”

“My heart, I gave you my heart. I love you, Elizabeth Ann Lawson. I love you, little sun.”

Elizabeth jumped up and held on to his shoulders so her face was even with his. “I love you,” she whispered fiercely, the words interspersed with kisses on his cheeks and forehead until he lowered her so their mouths fit together.

He kissed her long and hard, soft and sweet. He finally lifted his head so they could both take in some much-needed air. “I will make you a promise.”

“I’m not—”

“I want to. I may not do this right, and I can guarantee things won’t always be easy. But little sun, I promise I will always, always give you the best that I have in me to give.”

“Then that’s the very best I could have hoped for. The same goes for me, you know.”

“But I’ll warn you,” he said hoarsely, “I’m new at this. It will probably take me years. Sixty or seventy, at least.”

“Wait a minute, I have something else to give you.” He lowered her to her feet. The feel of his body rubbing along hers almost made her forget her intention, but she forced her mind back to her purpose.

Reaching inside her blouse, she tugged the leather necklace free. Finally. “I don’t think I’ll need this to keep me safe any longer.”

He took the amulet and stared at it for a long moment, then abruptly lifted her into his arms. He stalked down the hall into a partially completed room that was furnished only with a bed. A very big, very old looking four-poster bed.

“This was Cloud Dancer’s. I’ve had it in storage for so many years …” Kane looked down at her again, still truly stunned. For the second time, his life had been turned upside down and changed forever. For the better. Both times it was due to the woman, this woman in his arms, who actually loved him. All of him. Kane Hawthorne. Eyes of the Hawk.

He moved to the top of the bed and draped the amulet over the corner of the only decoration in the entire room—a large silver frame sitting above his headboard.

In it was the picture of her at age seven, standing proudly next to Matt under the Lazy F sign.

On the other corner of the frame hung an exact replica of the necklace he’d given her.

She smiled up at him. “I think maybe you had faith in us all along.”

He smiled. The full, sexy, breathtaking smile she’d only seen once before. She decided then and there that she would see it again. Often.

“Maybe you’re right. That one belonged to my bi’a, my mother. Cloud Dancer made it for her.” He nodded at the one he’d just added. “That is the one my bi’a made for me.”

“Your mother? Oh, Hawk.”

He saw the tears trip over her lashes and felt his own eyes burn. “I love you,” he whispered.

She reached for him, opening her mouth to his as he lowered her to the bed, then turned and pulled her on top of him. Her weight felt wonderful, perfect, cradled between his hips. His body responded, he was so hard with the need to reclaim his place in her warmth that he wasn’t certain he’d make it past removing his clothes.

“Annie,” he whispered, then bit down softly on her ear. She squirmed deliciously on him, making him groan. “Last time …”

“I know,” she said, her voice as breathless as his.

“But this … This time, I want to take it slow.” He lifted his head and framed her face in his hands. “I want to know every inch of you, little sun. Taste you, touch you.”

“Yes. Me too. Every inch of you.” She slid her hand down over his chest. “Touch you,” she breathed against his lips. “Taste you.”

Kane lost control. He closed the distance, sinking his tongue deeply into her mouth. His hands moved over her. All over her.

“To hell with taking it slow,” she growled in his ear.

Kane smiled against her lips. “Little sun,” he said, “we aren’t leaving this room until hunger or thirst drives us out.”

“Could take hours.”

“I was thinking more like days. Two. Maybe three.”

She writhed against him, pulling at his shirt. “Maybe by then we’ll have figured out how to do this slowly.”

Through clenched teeth he said, “Then again, maybe not.”

She reached up and raked her fingers through his hair. “Tu’pambe,” she murmured silkily.

Kane’s chest swelled, and his heart tightened. Lord, it was a lucky man who’d be blessed with hearing the sweet sound of Annie’s voice each morning for the rest of his life.

Damn but he’d be forever grateful that man was him.

He suddenly realized what she’d called him. Tu’pambe. Shoshone for black hair. He remembered what she’d said earlier. “You really did go to the reservation.”

“Mmm-hmm,” she mumbled as she started to undo the buttons of his shirt.

“Waipe,” he said.

“Woman,” she responded, as if he was quizzing her.

Unable not to, he whispered, “Gwu’aho.”

She immediately lifted her head to look into his face. “Wife,” she said softly, her eyes bright with hope.

“Another new dream,” he admitted roughly. When her eyes turned wary, he tightened his arm around her. “But only until I can find a preacher.”

He was rewarded with a fierce kiss, and returned it wholeheartedly. “There’s one thing this tu’pambe needs to know first.”

“Anything.”

“I want to know if it’s true what they say?”

“About what?”

He raked her curls back into her face, reveling in every scent, taste, and texture that was her. “About blondes having more fun.”

She tossed her head back, then slid her toes slowly up his calves. “I’m not certain. But I know a great way to find out.”