our southern acres. It’s going right through that land. It’s been in the works for a long time. The state is taking over. Surveying will soon begin.”
She couldn’t breathe. There had to be some sort of mistake. Either that, or this was all a cruel joke. “I don’t believe you,” she whispered, swaying slightly.
He reached out as though to steady her, but she flinched away from his touch. “It can’t be true.”
His face blurred before her. “Look,” he said quietly, “let’s discuss this at dinner. I wouldn’t have brought it up at all but I thought you knew.”
Something about the calm certainty of his voice told her it was all too true. Even the land her grandfather had clung to all these years was about to be taken from him. She couldn’t bear to think of
Why hadn’t he told her? Did he believe it himself? She had to get back to him. David called to her, but she didn’t really hear him. She stumbled towards her car, parked alongside the house.
She heard Lisa call David’s name, but she didn’t look back to see what was happening. Instead, she swung into the Camaro and fumbled under the seat to find where she’d hidden the extra key, then she was off, roaring down the dirt road, heading home.
David watched her go, ignoring Lisa’s call from the house. For some reason, Shawnee Carrington had taken hold of his imagination in a way women seldom did. She was beautiful and she was absolutely a sensual tug at his libido—how could it be any other way after the sensational introduction they’d had at the stream? But he knew a lot of beautiful women. None had ever touched his heart in a way that could shake up his life.
And she wasn’t going to, either. He knew that. Still, something about her seemed to reach in and grab hold of his peace of mind in a way none of the others ever did. Every word, every look she gave him, hit him in the gut, in the core of his emotional response.
She got to him. And he wanted her. That was part of it. The aching need to have her was building inside him. He wanted her in a way he hadn’t wanted a woman since high school, when he was first learning and experimenting with sensuality and the male response. She was under his skin now. He wasn’t going to be able to ignore what she did to him.
And at the same time, he knew he was going to have to make a few moves that were going to hurt her. He didn’t see any way he could avoid it. Things had been set in motion years ago and there was no way he could change them.
Was she going to hate him and his family even more? Probably.
He turned and headed toward the house. Maybe this wasn’t going to be such a boring summer after all.
CHAPTER FOUR
MEETING THE ANCESTORS
At first Shawnee was sure she never wanted to see David Santiago again as long as she lived. She’d been right in the first place—he was the enemy, and she should have known better than to let him get to her the way he had.
Granpa Jim was asleep when she got home, and she felt a wild need for comfort of some sort, so she made her way out to the stable to see Miki.
“Hello, old boy,” she murmured. Grooming her horse was one of her favorite activities. While she worked she could let her mind fly free, and at the same time, have the company of her closest friend. “We’ve got our work cut out for us, Miki. Things look bad.”
She stroked his silky neck, feeling a wave of affection for the big animal. He was so beautiful and so responsive. He was what she’d been living for lately. What would she do without him?
“But we can do it, you and I.” She leaned against his comforting strength, trying to hold back tears, fighting back that helpless feeling of despair. “We can do it,” she whispered as her vision blurred and her voice choked, “because we have to.”
Granpa Jim woke a short time later and she spent the rest of the afternoon—with very little success —trying to get Granpa Jim to return from the greener pastures