Eye of the Storm by Renee Simons Read Free Book Online Page B

thinking you handle this car very capably."
    "I've been driving it for a long time."
    "Belonged to Dar, didn't it?"
    She nodded. "He left no survivors, legal ones, that is. The personnel people gave me the option of keeping it or selling it. I kept it as a reminder of him. Not that I needed one."
    "I certainly can't fault his taste . . . in cars or women."
    "Well, there certainly were enough of them."
    "Cars?"
    "Women," she said without rancor.
    "I meant you specifically." He smiled as a blush betrayed her embarrassment. "The others all predated you and would've fallen short, I'm sure."
    Her hands clutched the wheel as she looked over at him and then back at the road. "How would you know that?"
    "The office grapevine. While I was training at the Agency, your relationship was a hot topic. And the grapevine seemed convinced that you'd settled him down and transformed him into a one-woman man."
    "At least I was there for him for a little while."
    "You're still there for him . . . making sure justice is done. I could've used that kind of loyalty." He glanced at the scenery, remembering his failed marriage, then shrugged off the pain.  
    "What happened between you and your wife?"
    That she understood his reference surprised him. Maybe he could bring himself to talk about Sherelle . "The court martial happened. She couldn't hack the embarrassment and the public condemnation so she left."
    "That must have been tough to handle."
    "Apparently. Being married to an up-and-coming officer carried a lot of prestige with it, so she never minded being a Marine wife. But when the unkcé hit the fan, she felt as though fingers pointed at her, too. Fact is , the media attention hurt everyone on the rez . Whatever was said or written about me reflected on the rest of the tribe. In some ways it was worse for them than for me. At least I knew I was innocent."
    "I was thinking about you not her. Just when you needed her support, she cut out. Why aren't you more bitter ?"
    "I was, for a long time, but I don't think about her much anymore."
    A small sign with an arrow pointing left came into view. Zan looked at her side view mirror, then made the turn. "Seems like you had a right to expect she'd stand by you."
    "Yeah, well, it's one thing to be pilloried by an unfeeling system that demands loyalty without returning the favor. It's another to be deserted by someone who's supposed to love and care about you." He groaned inwardly. "Does that sound like self-pity?"
    "Not coming from you. Besides, your feelings are your feelings, and no one has the right to belittle them." She gave him a teasing smile that warmed him in a way he hadn't felt in too long. "Not even a big strong Marine like you."
    He found it easy to talk to this woman. Despite their differences, she had the ability to appreciate how he felt, one of the many qualities his ex-wife had lacked. He grinned. And she had a better sense of humor.
    The car bumped along the pitted road that bisected the reservation. Looking for Thunder Butte, he watched table-top formations rise above the prairie. Far in the distance he spotted the faint shape of the place where the Great Spirit had defined his future, promising he would walk at the head of his people and lead them into the next century.
    In preparing him for the vision quest, his Grandfather had cautioned that to run from a prophecy could bring disaster. But Stormwalker didn't believe in divine intervention, either to punish or to bless. He'd chosen a life beyond the reservation and right or wrong, would continue to make his own choices. Any disasters that resulted would be of his making. Another curve obscured the landmark. He would have to go up there again. Soon.
    Zan parked in front of Stormwalker's house and turned to him. "You've lost your father, your marriage, your career and reputation. This situation has cost you just about everything."
    "That's why it's important for you to get at the truth."
    "No matter what it is?"
    Like two long-time