Books by Linda Conrad

by Conrad, Linda

  But as he looked at her, she saw the wetness ringing his gentle eyes, while tiny teardrops still clung to his lashes. He stared at her with such tenderness in his gaze that it nearly brought tears to her own eyes. But she never cried.

  “I’m fine,” she said as she lifted herself off his lap. “Uh, better than fine. But I think we’d better go inside the house. I don’t imagine anyone is around, but I’d hate for a patient to drive up while we were out here like this.”

  He helped to steady her before he stood and straightened his clothes. She looked around a second, located her T-shirt and quickly pulled it over her head. Coming out here in just a nightshirt had been a really stupid move.

  And thank God she’d made it. No matter what pain might follow, she never would’ve wanted to miss this…this swing dance with a perfect lover.

  Suddenly taking her hand, Ben forced her to stand still and focus on his face. “I don’t know how much more time I might have before I’m totally and irrevocably blind,” he began gently. “And I’m not sure what my life will become when that happens. But until then, stay with me. Be one with me. Help me through the long nights as you have helped me through the darkening days.”

  Oh, hell. There was no hope at all for her now.

  Pain be damned. No woman in her right mind would turn down an offer like that.

  Obviously, she was not in her right mind or she wouldn’t have let this whole relationship get started in the first place.

  “Yes,” she said and reached up to touch his cheek. “Yes, I’ll stay with you. Be with you. You only have to make room in your life and in your bed, and I’m there.”

  Now and for always, she whispered silently in her head. As long as you will have me.

  16

  T he Raven sat back in his chair and threw his glasses on the desk. His gut was telling him things had gone out of control. The danger seemed to be closing in from all sides.

  Someone was meddling in the Navajo Wolf’s deal with the pharmaceutical company. Just that fact alone might be enough to put the Raven’s life on the line.

  No one messed in the affairs of the Wolf.

  The Raven was initially surprised at how casual the Wolf had been about the news of the Brotherhood’s attack against them at Tocito Wash. And the ultimate loss of his lieutenant, the Vulture, hadn’t seemed to faze him at all.

  The Brotherhood was strong. The Skinwalkers were all well aware that they were formidable foes.

  One of the reasons the Wolf hadn’t been more furious over their most recent defeat was that he’d learned the Vulture had held out against the Brotherhood until death. That fact alone pacified him.

  But the information the Raven had just received had put a sharp prickle down his spine. Questions were being raised about his faked research, and he’d sent feelers out to find out who was making the inquiries.

  He had originally assumed it would be a scientist from a competing laboratory who was trying to undermine their chances of getting the grant. But a name had just popped up on his computer screen that would likely mean his life could be measured in mere hours from now until his final demise.

  Dr. Victoria Sommer. The bilagáana woman doctor whom he’d thought he controlled.

  She was supposed to be impotent. Out of touch up at Ben Wauneka’s remote clinic, and fumbling her way through learning the Navajo language and some alternative cures. Or so he’d assumed.

  Apparently he’d been wrong.

  The Raven needed more information, and he needed it fast. How had she stumbled across their scam? More importantly, who had she talked to and what had she told them? Just what the hell did she know?

  Did she know anything about Skinwalkers? Or was she simply meddling in Navajo affairs because she was a do-gooder, a busybody?

  He scrambled back to his computer and tried to think. Who could he call on to get information without the Wolf finding out?

  Everything was about to come crashing down around him. Would it all be caused by a blond doctor who didn’t recognize her place?

  He cursed her with an ancient chant and let his fingers fly across the keyboard. Someone out there in cyberspace had to come to his aid. And they’d better come fast. If the Wolf got wind of this first, it would be all over for both the Raven and the useless Anglo doctor.

  She’d been sleeping in his bed for close to a week and Ben had never been so happy. But his gut instinct told him their time together would be measured in days, not weeks or months as he might’ve preferred.

  He sat in the shade on his new swing and watched Tory gliding across the garden. She bent to caress the plants and it reminded him of her patting the faces of both an old woman who was dying all alone and a chubby-cheeked child with poison oak who wasn’t sleeping due to the scratching.

  The patients seemed to love her. And she loved them in return.

  Of course, the plants in his garden loved her, too. They were thriving and strong under her care. She’d learned so much from the Plant Tender.

  But no miracle would be able to hold back his disease. He knew the truth now. Days and days had gone by when he saw nothing at all. More and more of those days it seemed than the ones like today, during which he could see a little daylight.

  When the end of his sight came for good, he would have to give up his practice entirely. No one came to a crystal gazer who could not see.

  At that point, Tory would have to go. But go where? The Brotherhood still had not pinned down the so-called medicine dude from Raven Wash Clinic. So he couldn’t let her go back there. It would be too dangerous.

  Perhaps he should begin putting out feelers with other small clinics in Dinetah who might be interested in having a good doctor join their staff. The thought made him sigh. He knew it would be tough for any Navajo to accept a blond woman doctor—until they got to know her.

  Worse than worrying about where she would go, how could he learn to live with solitary nights once again? That might seem a little selfish. But damn it, he couldn’t stand the thought of never hearing her laugh, and never again feeling her warm skin as she cuddled up against him in the darkness.

  Ben sat for another hour, watching Tory work in the garden. He wanted to soak up enough memories of her to last him for a lifetime. She had on that funny straw hat Shirley had given her and the picture she made was unforgettable.

  Finally, the azure sky and the cotton-candy clouds gave way to dusk, which stole across the sky with its streaks of copper and smoke. It was time to go inside for the day. Inside to where the two of them could talk and laugh and be together through the long black of endless night.

  “It’s getting late,” Ben called out. “Time for us to start dinner.” He’d come to at least one decision. Tonight was the time to talk to her about his eyesight and how limited the choices would be when he lost it for good.

  Tory’s head came up and she smiled over at him. “Do you think there might be enough daylight for me to come back out later? I have two more transplants to put in.”

  “Probably not. Look around. The sunset is settling in over the Chuskas already.”

  “All right. Since you’re still seeing so well this afternoon, why don’t you go ahead? I’ll just zip in to your office and check my e-mail.”

  Something about the way she said that last sentence put a dagger of fear down his spine. He wasn’t sure what could be so wrong, but he knew the smell of danger and it had suddenly permeated the air around them like a thick fog.

  Rising from his chair, Ben stood on the balls of his feet, ready to run. Where was it coming from, this chilling feeling that everything had gone terribly wrong?

  “Wait,” he said and stopped her before she could enter the office. “Who would be sending you e-mail? Who do you expect to hear from? Your family?”

  Her eyebrows raised as though she was surprised he would question her. “Not family, no. I…uh…well, I’ve been trying to get a line on that phony research lab and I’ve recently been getting lots of information from my old p
rofessor. He’s supposed to be sending me a name and perhaps an address. Maybe he already has and it’s waiting for me.”

  She turned to go through the door but he stopped her again by laying a hand on her arm. “I can’t believe you did that. I thought we talked about this and decided it would be dangerous for you to keep digging for answers.”

  “You talked. But you didn’t say anything I hadn’t thought of, so I decided to give it a try. Nothing bad has happened to me.”

  He heard it then, a shrill cry so high-pitched he almost missed it. When he turned his head to look around, he spotted the coyote standing at the edge of the cedar forest—watching and waiting.

  Letting loose a slew of Navajo cuss words, Ben wrapped an arm around Tory’s waist and began dragging her toward the house. “Move,” he demanded. “Don’t run, but walk as fast as you can.”

  “What on earth is wrong with you? Why?”

  “See the coyote over there, Doctor?”

  She turned her head, and he heard her short, sharp gasp when she spotted the animal not more than fifty feet away.

  “He hasn’t come on any damned social call,” he grumbled with the irritation plain in his voice. “The coyote is here as a warning. You’re in danger.” Ben urged her to move faster.

  “What do you mean? I don’t understand.”

  “I’ll explain it as soon as we’re safely inside.” He picked up his speed and realized he was carrying her again. “In fact, we’ll have a nice long chat—about a lot of things.”

  He was running now, pushing past the garden plants and heading for the back door. Yeah. No matter what she thought about the things he would tell her, or even what she would think of him, Ben was done keeping her in the dark.

  She was going to hear everything. He was the only one who had a good reason to remain blind and in the dark.

  Tory was out of breath by the time the back door was safely locked behind them. But when she turned to check on Ben, she found him already on the cell phone to the Brotherhood.

  Gritting her teeth, she spun the other way and went into the kitchen to start dinner. Tory loved Ben Wauneka and had enormous respect for him as a doctor and as a much-needed medicine man for his People. But this Brotherhood thing was simply beyond her.

  A few minutes later he joined her at the sink. “The Brotherhood will be sending…someone…to stand guard over us tonight. But don’t worry, you won’t even know they’re around. They’ll stay outside. I believe we would’ve been okay in here anyway since the house has had a special Blessing Ceremony. But it’s better to be sure we’ll be safe.”

  “Outside? Someone I know will be outside all night?”

  Ben shook his head. “Not someone you know.”

  Sometimes the man said the most intriguing and infuriating things. And always right afterward he would clamp his mouth shut, making it perfectly clear that he would offer no explanation.

  Together they fixed themselves a light supper. The bulk of the preparation and eating was done in a tight web of silence.

  At last they were back at the sink, washing and drying their few dishes. Tory couldn’t stand it anymore.

  So many questions were bubbling around in her head. Why was she in such danger? Who would come after her for just asking questions and why was Ben so sure that somebody would? What was it about the coyote that had been so threatening? The wild animal had made no moves to come toward them and had simply stood and watched.

  But the first thing that came out of her mouth was the question that had been burning in her brain for weeks now. “Tell me about the Brotherhood,” she demanded all of a sudden. “What are their goals and mission? Just who are you guys—really?”

  Ben dried the last dish and started a pot of coffee. “Have a seat, Tory. It’s a long story, and you’re long overdue to hear it.”

  God, she hoped he wouldn’t try to lie to her about anything. So far, some of the things he’d said and some of things they’d been through seemed downright impossible. But she had always been positive he believed every word he’d uttered.

  It was all the things he had obviously left out, on purpose, that concerned her.

  “Do you remember when I told you there was a long history in Dinetah about the Skinwalkers? You need to hear those legends now.” Ben pulled out a chair and sat beside her at the kitchen table.

  “I already have. Your great-uncle Hastiin Lakai Begay told me the first part. And Shirley finished the rest of the story off for me one day. But what does any of that have to do with the Brotherhood?”

  Ben’s face cracked in a wry smile and answered her with a question of his own. “So what did you think about the legend?”

  “Shirley seems convinced that there’s a real Skinwalker alive and causing trouble on the rez today.” She shook her head and looked away from him, not able to meet his gaze. “But it’s just so out of the realm of the possible, that I can’t accept it.”

  Ben waited a few beats. “What aren’t you saying? I hear the possibilities in your voice.”

  “It’s nothing…” She shook her head again. “Well, some of the things that have happened around us have seemed rather unfathomable, I admit. But still…”

  She took a deep breath to get the words out in one fell swoop. “I’ve been dreaming—a lot—about a creature with yellow eyes and sharp fangs who’s chasing us. I know it isn’t a coyote or a mountain lion or any other real animal. Somehow, I just know it’s a wolf. The Navajo Wolf?”

  Ben took her hand with both of his, in a quick protective gesture. “How long have you been dreaming these things? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Tell you what? That a perfectly reasonable medical professional has nightmares sometimes?” She was already feeling rather foolish just mentioning it now.

  He dropped her hand and stood, turning his back to pour the coffee. “Do you trust me?” he asked without looking at her.

  “Yes…of course I do.” It was one of the few times in their conversation that one of them had simply answered without asking another question of their own.

  “Then listen to me with your heart.” He brought two mugs of black coffee to the table and sat back down. “Those of us who have been raised with the old Dine traditions know the Skinwalkers well. Too well. We also know that when we mention them to outsiders they will not believe because they have no empirical proof. So we refuse to talk about it.

  “For well over fifteen hundred years there has been at least one Navajo Wolf in every generation who has sought to terrorize the Dine,” he continued. “More recently, sometime over the last ten years or so, a new Navajo Wolf appeared in a drastically different form from most of them in the generations before him. No one knows who he is or where he came from, but he has organized an army of Navajo compatriots in many freakish personas. They use new communication and technology techniques, along with their superhuman strength, to keep much of Dinetah at their mercy.”

  Tory was trying not to hyperventilate. But she loved this man with everything she had. If he seriously believed what he was saying, she had to listen—and try to accept it.

  “You’re having trouble buying the whole idea, I know,” he said as if he could read her mind. “But hear me through.”

  She nodded, but grabbed hold of her coffee mug with both hands. The heat on her fingers and the familiar smell of the liquid caffeine had to be enough to keep her grounded.

  “About five years ago,” he went on, “Shirley Nez uncovered the truth of the Dine’s newest threat. I was the one she contacted first about it. I was in my last year of residency. But I had been spending every free moment back here taking medicine man training with several of our elders and learning plant remedies from Shirley and my great-grandmother.”

  He stopped to take a breath and then stared down, unseeing, into the still full coffee mug before him. Tory was absolutely positive that telling her this was costing him more than she would ever know.

  “Like you, I refused to believe. Until I saw one of them cha
nge over with my own eyes. Soon enough I realized the evil was spreading across Dinetah and pushing out past its boundaries. Shirley suggested that a few of us, mostly cousins from my clan, band together to secretly fight them off.”

  “The Brotherhood,” she whispered without thinking.

  He shot her a quick look before he went back to studying his coffee mug. “Yes. I’m not sure where or how she uncovered such things. But within a year, Shirley had found some old chants and a couple of sacred medicine man potions that are capable of holding the Skinwalkers at bay so we stand a chance of fighting them off.”

  “Really? Do they…” She choked on the words. But after swallowing back the disbelief, she tried again. “Do these chants and potions give superhuman strength to the Brotherhood, too?”

  Shaking his head, he grimaced but still refused to look at her. “I agree. It would be great if this were a comic book story. But it isn’t, Tory. It’s real life. My real life.”

  He sighed. “That cult those teenage athletes found so compelling is really a Skinwalker recruitment ploy. The enemy is using mind control. And a centuries-old white powder we haven’t been able to analyze that appears capable of either paralyzing a victim or turning one into a Skinwalker with repeated use.”

  Dazed at his words, she took a sip of coffee only to realize it had grown cold while he’d told his story.

  “Ben. That’s…that’s incredible. Are you sure that’s what’s really happening? Don’t you think it could possibly be some sort of mass hysteria?”

  “I only wish it was. The Brotherhood uncovered the fact that the plant thieves were being led by Skinwalkers. When we went to confront them last week, there was a skirmish between us. Unfortunately…”

  “What do you mean? Like a battle? You could’ve been hurt. Kody Long promised me you’d be okay.”

  “Shush, tigress,” he said and at long last looked at her again. “You see that I’m fine. Shirley’s ancient chants keep us safe enough. What I meant in telling you, was to let you know that I myself witnessed Coach Singleton turn himself into a vulture. We had no choice but to…”