Love's Dream Song by Sandra Leesmith Read Free Book Online

were here, she could easily handle the prejudice. Her brothers, natural sons born after the O’Neills had adopted her, had often been protective, especially of her adoptive status. She could use their company now, she thought, as Jess grasped her arm and lightly tugged her to a stop. She turned around to face him.
    “You sound like you’ve run into it more than once. Is that why you hang around the reservation? Is claiming to be part Indian too much to take elsewhere?” Concern showed in his dark eyes.
    “I told you before that most of my life I didn’t even know I was part Indian. The specifics of blood are not important.” Autumn shook her arm free of his sturdy grasp. “No matter where you go, there’s always someone who will set you apart as being different.”
    Age-old hurts arose—hurts she didn’t want to think about or acknowledge. She clenched her fists and tamped them down. Dismayed at her own reaction more than Riker’s attack, she continued her retreat to the ruins. Jess grasped her shoulders, preventing her from doing so.
    “Are you all right?”
    Did he really care? Her defenses rose until she looked into his eyes. Something in the silver-gray depths urged her to relax. Hints of friendship and caring that she’d seen before—months ago—flickered across his face. Slowly he released his grip, his fingers trailing down her arms as he did so. The light brush almost made her stiffen, but she saw sincerity in his expression.
    “My brothers and I spent our childhood in several different countries. People in every country hated us because we were Americans.” The irony of it made her smile. “Many hated me because I was white . I wonder what Riker would say to that?”
    His slight smile invited her to relax her guard. It was the first time in months she’d seen it directed at her. She straightened her shoulders, determined not weaken in front of him.
    “I got so tired of the prejudice I wanted to stop being Autumn, the American , and just be Autumn who’s here in the world.”
    Memories surfaced, and for a moment, she stared past him at the towering canyon walls. When she glanced back, his hand was poised, hesitating near her hair, before he let it fall to his side.
    “Funny, isn’t it?” she murmured.
    “What’s that?” His voice was oddly low.
    “I say something profound like that, yet here I am fighting to win a place in the hearts of the clan. Strange that I need that identity.”
    His brow furrowed slightly. “Why do you need them? You have a family who cares for you. It’s not like you were deprived. In fact, you were much better off where you were. You probably wouldn’t have even lived here. The infant mortality rate is high on the reservation.”
    “I think every child who is adopted wants to know his or her real family—why she was given away.”
    “It isn’t always because you weren’t wanted.”
    “Isn’t it?” She searched his expression, trying to determine if he really cared or was just caught by pity.
    “There are many reasons people do what they do.”
    Several thoughts came to mind, but now was not the time to reflect on them. Some required digging in musty corners that she wasn’t prepared to touch, and she wasn’t about to expose them to the ridicule of a man who could hurt her. She shrugged. “Who knows? I’m sure you don’t care.”
    “Try me.”
    Sincerity sounded in the gravelly tones, but she had the feeling he was as surprised by it as she. For a moment she was tempted to ask him why. That answer would lead to more questions, such as, why did he treat her with such disdain when they’d had a beautiful relationship growing between them?
    She wasn’t in the mood to discuss it. Nor was it the time or place.
    “Look, I need to check on a few things for Dr. Davidson,” she stepped away from him. “I have to get back to work.”
    He searched her expression. For clues to her feelings, she supposed. She kept her features wooden. He stepped back, the