The Splendour Falls by Unknown, Rosemary Clement-Moore Read Free Book Online

from her head, her plumed tail held saucily over her back – then did exactly what I’d told her not to.
    I sighed. This was not going to win us points with Paula.
    In addition to being on the big end of the breed standard for a long-haired Chihuahua, Gigi tipped the scales on what dog books euphemistically call an ‘independent personality’. As long as I had a treat in my hand, she was reasonably well behaved. But other times she was six and a half pounds of fluffy you-and-what-army.
    She pranced purposefully towards a path that ledthrough the trees, away from the concrete picnic tables, the asphalt circle, and Cousin Paula’s soccer mom wagon.
    â€˜Gigi! Come back here.’ The very expensive trainer that Mom had hired said that I had to be the pack leader, but it was hard to feel like an alpha dog when most days I didn’t even feel like getting out of bed.
    At my command, Gigi did pause – just long enough to pull back her lips in a tongue-lolling smile before she dashed down the path and out of sight.
    Paula called to me as I followed Gigi, and I heard the car door open, then close. Ignoring both, I stalked after the dog in my bare feet.
    A sign with an arrow indicated we were headed to the ‘Indian Mound’. Great. My dog was going to desecrate an ancient burial ground within an hour of our arrival in the state.
    My feet weren’t as calloused as they once were, but the grass trail was well beaten down. It led to a large clearing, ringed by tall pine trees that cast long shadows in the setting sun. I’m not sure what I expected an Indian Mound to look like, but I was unprepared for the house-sized knoll of grass-covered earth in front of me.
    Instead of a dome shape, like a pitcher’s mound, it was squared off, with steeply sloped sides going up twenty feet or more, ending in a flat top, like a miniature version of the pyramids I’d seen on a vacation in Cancún.
    What a bizarre thing. On the far corner was a placard, possibly explaining the site, but as curious as I was, I was even more interested in collecting my dog,who sat halfway up the slope of the mound, waiting expectantly for me to climb and get her.
    With a sigh, I did just that, figuring that if this was some kind of sacred ground, it was better to defile it with my bare feet than with anything Gigi might leave behind. Rather than risk the steep rise with my weak leg, I crawled up on my hands and knees. Gigi started to dance back out of my grasp, but I lunged and caught her. I landed face-first in the grass, but at least I had the laughing dog in my hands.
    I knew, as soon as I pushed myself upright, that I had an audience. There was nothing weird or magical about it. Just that there must be some unfair universal law that applied to handsome guys coming along just as you face-plant in the dirt.
    Sure enough, when I rolled over, Rhys stood at ground level, holding my shoes and looking very entertained. ‘That was by far the most graceful belly flop I’ve ever seen.’
    Nice. Not even the accent made that go down any easier. On the whole, I preferred his calling me princess to his laughing at me.
    â€˜Thank you.’ I feigned composure, holding Gigi in one hand while I brushed at the grass stains on my T-shirt with the other. ‘I’ve had years of training.’
    â€˜I can tell.’ He held up my red leather flats. ‘Paula sent me.’
    â€˜Of course.’ I untangled Gigi’s leash from where I’d draped it around my neck, and clipped it to her harness. ‘My cousin has a real steel-magnolia thing going on, I’ve noticed.’
    Rhys climbed a few steps up the slope, to mylevel, his eyes making a sweeping inspection. ‘Are you feeling better? You’ve got some colour back in your cheeks.’
    Falling on my face will do that, not to mention that quick but close examination that I felt like the warmth of a spotlight. But I let his assumption stand.