Black Raven's Pride

He slipped off next, and stood right by her. Seeing her face clearly for the first time, he sucked in his breath. After years of wondering if this moment would ever come, he was finally face to face with the girl who’d claimed his heart so many years ago—and, later, the only woman who’d ever walked out on him.

She looked up at him, and seeing the bandanna that covered his face, reached up tentatively. “I’d like to see who I’m thanking,” she said, her trembling voice betraying her uncertainty.

“You know who I am, Eden. Just as I knew, deep down, who you were from the moment you were back in my arms.” He covered her hand with his as she pulled the bandanna down.

Her eyes shimmered with excitement and desire as she saw his face. Following an instinct he couldn’t deny, Nick pulled her against him and, in a heartbeat, covered her mouth with his own.

His kiss was harsh, demanding everything she’d ever denied him. He’d expected her to resist and maybe slap his face, but her surrender was sweet and filled with passion. Her body softened against his, and her gentle sighs ripped him apart. Shock waves spiraled down his body.

Nick knew he was playing with fire. He should have let Eden go right then, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. She’d been a part of his dreams, of his heart, from the very first day he’d laid eyes on her.

His arms tightened around her. She was as beautiful and as sensual as he remembered. Passion rocked him to the core. The love they’d shared had always been like this—fierce and wild.

She moaned and the soft sound, so familiar to him, took him back to the last night they’d spent together. He’d loved her then in every way a man could love a woman, and she’d given herself completely to him in return. But the next morning she was gone, without even a goodbye.

Nick eased his hold on her, then stepped back. The memory of Eden’s betrayal still felt like a knife to his gut. As he gazed down at her, and saw the passion that still burned in her eyes, he felt himself drowning in the amber depths, despite his efforts to resist her.

“Of all the people I could have run into, I never expected…” Her shaky words trailed off.

“You’re welcome, Eden,” he said gruffly.

“I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful. I really appreciate what you did, Nick. I’m just…surprised.”

Nick led Bravo through the gate and waited as Eden shut it behind them. “What was that all about out there?” he asked, leading Bravo toward the stalls.

Eden didn’t meet his gaze, or answer right away. At long last, as if finally making up her mind, she spoke. “I really appreciated your help tonight, but I’ll handle things on my own from here on. Don’t worry about it.”

He searched her face for answers, but drew a blank. The only thing he could see there were echoes of the fear that had gripped her.

“Don’t shut me out,” he said quietly. “You’re in trouble, and it looks to me like you’re in over your head.”

“It’s my problem, Nick, not yours,” she said firmly.

Her polite brush-off stung and he grew stone-cold. Eden had betrayed him once, tearing his heart out in the process. That was not something any Black Raven forgot or forgave easily. But he wouldn’t back off. “I’m not asking you as an old friend. I’m a deputy now,” he added.

Surprise, then a coldness he couldn’t miss flashed in her eyes, and her expression became suddenly guarded. “Somebody has been letting me know since I returned two weeks ago that I’m not welcome here. But what happened tonight won’t happen again. I’ll be more careful from now on. I’d been visiting Lena Ortiz, a friend of my family’s, and stayed too late. I won’t let time slip away from me that way again. The driver of the truck played a lot rougher than I expected. My guess is that the guy who chased me tonight is probably the same one who has been sending me unsigned notes telling me to get off pueblo land. I don’t think he would have run me over. I just got scared and panicked, so he chased me.”

He studied her expression pensively. “Give me the notes. Let me see if I can track down the sender.”

“I didn’t keep them. But having you get involved isn’t going to change anything, Nick. As I’m sure you know, there are many people who oppose anyone of mixed blood claiming a place on pueblo land. My father was Tewa, but my mother was Anglo, and that makes my return home something that many haven’t exactly welcomed. I realize it’s not really a racial thing. They’re just trying to insure that the whites don’t take away the land our tribe has left, one concession at a time. And they’re willing to fight to preserve the little they’ve got. I understand it because in my heart, I am Tewa.” Eden checked her watch. “Oh, I’m really late now! I’ve got to get home. We’ll talk another time, okay?”

“Let me give you a ride.”

She hesitated, emotions flashing across her face at lightning speed. More intrigued than ever, he continued to press her.

“What’s the problem? You’re in a hurry and I’m offering you a ride. And, this time, we can take my four-wheel drive instead of Bravo. That’s my old Jeep parked by the stables.”

She gave him a thin smile. “Sorry. I’m still jumpy. The truth is I really would appreciate a lift,” Eden said, at last.

“What’s your hurry tonight? What are you so late for?”

She hesitated for several moments, then reluctantly answered him. “I left my son with a sitter, and she warned me that she had to leave at seven. It’s almost eight now.”

“Your…son?” His jaw clenched as he struggled to control his emotions. Surely it couldn’t be… “How old is he?”

“Six months,” she said, after a beat.

Nick stared at her. “Is it…am I…” he said, his voice a blur of sound.

“The father?” She shook her head. “There was another man in my life after I met you in Arizona. But let’s not talk about this now. That’s all ancient history.”

Dawning came then, a slow realization that left him numb. “So that’s why you ran out on me?” His voice sounded hard and bitter, even to his own ears. “No, never mind. You don’t have to answer that. It’s clear enough.”

A coldness unlike anything he’d ever felt filled him, numbing him from any more pain. Her betrayal had been absolute—more so than he’d ever dreamed—and it became the last nail in the coffin of their ill-fated love affair.

“Let me put Bravo away,” he said tonelessly, gesturing to the stables. “Then we’ll get going.”

They removed the horse’s tack and placed him in his stall. While she brushed the stallion down, Nick filled the feeder with hay and made sure he had fresh water.

“Are you home to stay?” he asked. No matter what had happened between them, he was a cop and it was his job to maintain law and order on the pueblo. The fact was it was his duty to find out what was going on, and he would honor that.

“I accepted a temporary teaching position so I’ll be around for a while at least. But I’ve got to tell you, you’re the last person I expected to see here at the pueblo,” she said. Then slowly added, “And now, to find out you’ve become a tribal cop… You’re certainly one for surprises.”

“Why do you say that? It’s not that much of a leap, really. I’ve always known that I was meant to work with people. I couldn’t run a job placement center here like I did in Arizona since the tribe now has an agency that takes care of that. But that left me at loose ends. My father’s will stipulated that in order for any of us to inherit, we’d all have to live at the ranch for one year, so I had to stay. But ranching full-time just wasn’t for me. Then I found out that one of Captain Mora’s two deputies was about to quit and that the department was searching for a replacement.”

“The police department here is very small. The loss of one man can be a crisis.”

He nodded. “Our entire police force consists of Captain Mora, two deputies and a civilian dispatcher. I figured I could be of use to the tribe, so I applied for the second deputy’s job and was lucky enough to get it.” He glanced over at her. Somehow, he had to make Eden see him as a cop who could help her, not just as a former lover. It was the only way she’d ever confide in him and finding out what trouble was hovering on the pueblo was his first priority. “This job really gets under your skin. It’s the best thing that ever happened to me. But you know a little about what it means to be a cop. Your father was an officer for the Bureau of Indian Affairs.”

“A cop’s family views his job in a very different light, Nick,” Eden answered, her voice taut. “What I remember most is my dad’s long absences and the way he was totally dedicated to his job. He almost never made it home for my birthdays or most holidays. It was hardest on my mom, though. She spent most of her life worrying about him. Being a cop may be a great job, but not for a man’s family.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “Well, I’ve got no plans to marry. The bachelor life suits me.”

She didn’t comment. “How are you and Jake getting along trying to run a ranch together? You two never used to agree on anything.”

“Jake and I will never see eye to eye on a lot of things,” he answered, “but we’re working it out.” He paused, studying her expression. “But let’s get back to what’s going on in your life, Eden. People have the right to their opinions, and they’re not required to like the fact that you’re now living here. But no one has the right to threaten you physically, or harass you. It looks like you’re caught up in something that might be too big for you to handle alone. You’re a mother now and have other responsibilities to take into account. Let me do my job as a cop and help you out.”

She hesitated, then forced a smile. “What happened out there won’t happen again. I’m sure of it.”

“I don’t believe that any more than you do.”

“Don’t put yourself in the middle of this, Nick. It’ll only make things tougher for me,” she said. “I’ve always taken care of myself and I know what I have to do. I’ll handle it.”

“I’m sorry, Eden, but I can’t let this go. This trouble is taking place on pueblo land, and that’s my turf.”

As he pulled up in front of her adobe home, she mumbled a quick goodbye, let herself out, and began walking up to the door.

Nick knew he hadn’t been invited, but he parked the Jeep and decided to go inside with her. He had a job to do, and, as long as she was at the pueblo, it was his duty to help her fight whoever was trying to drive her off.