Black Raven's Pride

Like star-crossed lovers destined to keep meeting, Eden was back in his life again. But, this time, it was different. Eden, the woman he’d loved, was gone for good. In her place was this stranger who was bringing trouble to the land he was sworn to protect.

Chapter Two

Eden knew Nick Black Raven was right behind her as she stepped up to the front door. She could sense him as clearly as she could the wind that swept her long chestnut hair across her face. She’d never wanted to bring Nick here. It was too hard to be with him. There were too many memories. Every time she looked at him, her heart remembered the only man who had ever made her blood sing. But he was not for her.

She could still remember every detail of their last night together. She’d loved him with all her heart, but afterward, as he’d held her, he’d bared his soul to her. What she’d seen there had made it clear that they couldn’t have a future together. A fierce agony had gripped her as he’d shattered her dreams one by one with each word he spoke.

He’d asked her to stay with him, but he’d never spoken of marriage. He’d told her that they’d make a life together, away from the pueblo, and never set foot on Tewa land again. They’d make a home in Arizona, just the two of them. Kids would never be a part of the picture. As far as he was concerned, the world didn’t need more children.

His vision of their future had been so different from hers! The knowledge had broken her heart and she’d realized then that she’d allowed things to go too far. The inescapable truth had been that she’d sworn to return to the pueblo to clear her parents’ name. She had hoped he’d go with her, but knew suddenly that it would never be. And then to learn that he never wanted children to become a part of his life… The prospect had chilled her soul.

Although she’d loved Nick, she’d realized that what they each needed to be happy went beyond their ability to make compromises. Although it was clear that circumstances had now brought him home to stay, it was just as evident from his earlier reference about his bachelor lifestyle that he hadn’t changed his mind about that part.

As it had been in the past, fate brought them together but continued to put obstacles in their way. To make matters even worse, Nick was now a cop. As the daughter of a man in law enforcement, she knew the high emotional cost that would carry for anyone close to him. Childhood memories made her hand tremble as she grasped the door and stepped inside.

Suddenly her son, Christopher, let out a delighted cry. The dark-haired baby crawled toward her from across the room, leaving his activity blanket behind in a heap. Her heart melted. “Come here, little guy. Did you miss me?” She scooped Chris up and held him against her, shutting out Mrs. Chino’s scowl for a few moments longer.

“You’re very late, Eden. I told you I was expected at my daughter’s, so you had to be back by seven, not eight forty-five. I almost left and took Christopher with me.”

“It was entirely my fault, Mrs. Chino.” Nick stepped around Eden and gave Mrs. Chino a mischievous grin that could have melted a dozen women’s hearts. “The weather was lousy and we were only trying to get out of the rain. Isn’t that what you were always telling us to do when Jake and I were kids?”

She smiled back at him, her anger vanishing in an instant. “I did do that, didn’t I? I’m surprised you remember!”

“How could I forget? Remember that big storm in October of 1985 that broke all those branches off the cottonwoods around the Plaza?”

In a matter of seconds, Nick had her talking about old times. By the time the elderly lady left, Eden was amazed to see Mrs. Chino was in a better mood than she’d been in days.

Eden sighed softly as she stood at the window, watching Nick walk the sitter down the street toward her house. Nick had a way about him. As far back as she could remember, he’d always had at least half of the women in the pueblo madly in love with him. But the time she remembered most was when he’d only had eyes for her.

A delicious warmth spiraled through her as her thoughts drifted back to those days. Suddenly aware of what she was doing, she squelched that sentimental memory. Their time had come and gone, though destiny still toyed with them.

She remembered what she’d told Nick earlier tonight about her baby when he’d pressed her. She hadn’t lied. There had been another man in her life after she’d left Nick—the child he’d fathered, their son Christopher.

Nick came back inside after having shown Mrs. Chino to her own door. Moving with purpose, he strode across the room toward her, all masculine power and confidence.

Eden’s heart was racing as she cradled Christopher closer in her arms, bracing herself for what she had to do. Nick was only a part of her past. All he represented to her now was another complication she’d have to deal with. Christopher and Nick would eventually have to know each other as father and son but, first, she wanted to make sure Nick would welcome that news. Everything she knew about him told him he would not.

For now, the best thing she could do was concentrate on what she’d come home to do. She had returned to clear her family’s name and that had to remain her first priority.

“Thank you for bringing me home, Nick, but I don’t want to keep you,” she said. Placing the squirming baby down on his special blanket, she started toward the door.

“So this is Christopher,” Nick said, ignoring her hint. Picking the baby up off the floor, he went to the couch. To Eden’s surprise, Christopher didn’t let out the usual ear-piercing shriek he was famous for when a stranger held him.

Nick raised the baby up, holding him in a standing position on his lap. “What a great kid! And, hey, I think he likes me.”

“Don’t be too flattered. He’s not picky. He also loves eating lipstick and crawling backwards down the hall.”

Nick looked up at her and smiled warmly, shaking his head. “Well, you certainly won’t win Miss Congeniality tonight.”

Forcing herself not to even crack a smile, she stared at him coldly. “I hate to be a poor hostess, but I’ve got to put my son to bed.”

“Let me help you. Then we can talk,” Nick said, refusing to be put off.

Her chest constricted. This had been a favorite fantasy of hers—one she’d harbored in the deepest recesses of her heart.

“I’ll take care of it,” she said.

Eden tried not to look Nick in the eye as she silently took Christopher from him and started down the hall. Thankfully, Mrs. Chino had already bathed Christopher and he was in his pajamas. Giving her son a kiss on the forehead, she laid him gently in his crib and watched him for a moment. Christopher was her miracle, the only thing life had brought her that held nothing but good.

As she turned away, she noticed that Nick had followed her and was now standing just an arm’s length behind, watching the baby.

“You’re a lucky woman,” he said, following her out of the room. “That’s one special little boy.”

His words of praise only made her more nervous. Nick and Christopher had responded to each other in a way that had taken her by surprise. And that served to remind her of the need to be cautious.

“You’ve made a good life for yourself, Eden.” He brushed her face with his hand. His work-hardened palm made a shiver course through her. His body was all steel and muscle but, as it always had been, what made her melt inside was his gentleness.

Forcing her feelings aside, she walked to the door. “You have to go now, Nick. You don’t belong here. You’re not part of my life anymore.” Eden could see the impact her words had on him.

His eyes became hooded, his expression cold. “I know you want me to keep my nose out of your business, but any trouble that touches this pueblo is my business. If someone is trying to drive you out of town, I need to know. So, whether you like it or not, that makes you my business.”

Eden watched him from the living room window as he strode away. The attraction she felt for him was as strong as ever and that spelled big trouble. She’d have to protect herself or heartbreak would be sure to follow.

NICK DROVE AWAY, heading across country, pushing the Jeep through the worst terrain around. The rocky ground, full of risk and uncertainty, suited his mood.

Finding Eden after all this time had thrown him one heck of a curve ball. Not that his life had ever been simple. After his father had kicked Jake and him out of their home the day after high school graduation, nothing had ever come easy. His father’s brutal attempt to force their transition from boys into men had taught him many hard lessons. Never Count On Anything and Never Trust Anyone had become his motto. He’d learned all about hopelessness and fear back then, and what it could do to the human soul.

In time, he’d made a life for himself away from the pueblo, and had achieved a measure of success. He’d proven to himself and everyone else that he didn’t need his father’s support to make it in the world.

Yet, even though he’d thought he’d left his old life behind him forever, it eventually had called him back. After his father’s murder, he’d been forced to return to the pueblo. At first, it had been the last place he’d wanted to be, but things had changed over the last few months. He served a purpose here now, and he was exactly where he belonged. Nick knew he was home for good.

Moments later, he pulled up to the tribal police station, parked and went inside. The small, former residence was equipped only with the bare necessities. Crime had never really been much of a problem on the pueblo. For the most part, a San Esteban cop needed to know how to lead a wayward horse out of the road, or write a speeding ticket far more than he needed to know how to shoot. Of course, he’d had the required courses in self-defense and weapons, but it had only been a formality as far as he was concerned.

As he came in, Nick waved at Angelina, the civilian dispatcher. The desk against the wall that he shared with Deputy Torres was unoccupied at the moment. Torres was out on patrol somewhere. Walking to the back of the room, he knocked on Captain Mora’s open door. The man looked up, leaned back in his creaky old office chair, and waved him in.

Captain Daniel Mora was built like a safe—short, stocky, and nearly impossible to break. People often compared him to a pit bull because he had a reputation for never backing off once he was on the trail of a criminal. “What brings you here, Nick? You’re off duty tonight.”

“There’s a problem,” he said, then sitting across from Mora’s desk, related what had just occurred with Eden and the man in the pickup.

“You say she won’t file a complaint?”

“That’s right. She chalked it up to one of our tribe trying to scare her. She’s also been getting some unsigned notes demanding she move off the pueblo, but apparently she tossed them out. I told her that nobody had a right to make any threats, but in spite of what happened tonight, she doesn’t think she’s in any danger.”

“Was she in danger this evening?”

“I sure saw it that way. The person chasing her in that pickup wasn’t kidding around. He could have easily run her over, or caused her to injure herself.”

“Did you get a plate or an ID?”