by Deanna Jewel
God, but he was beautiful.
Taima?
A new sense of foreboding surrounded her, like whenever she awoke from dreaming of the warrior. The familiar blue eyes that met hers immediately weakened her knees. Shoulder length dark hair framed his bronze features…the same eyes, the same cheek bones...the jaw line. Even the same tiny scar high on his cheek like Taima’s.
Kate blinked, unable to believe the resemblance. The sensations from her dream enveloped her. Her heart raced. Her breath caught in her lungs. Struggling to breathe, she touched her chest. If she didn’t sit down soon, it would be too late. She continued to stare at the man, so much like the warrior from her dream.
Then she saw it...the emeralds sparkling back at her as the sun hit the stones in the ring that hung at his throat.
“Oh my God,” she whispered, feeling her knees begin to buckle.
The man quickly stepped forward to catch her before she hit the floor. Kate gratefully accepted his help, but when he lifted her in his arms, she tried to object.
“Please . . .” His arms were strong and his hand warm against her bare thigh.
Ignoring her plea, he said, “You aren’t in any shape to be out of bed just yet. Smoke heard you moving, so I thought I should come to check.” He looked at her and smiled. “I’m Brandon Wakiza. Do you remember?”
Recognition set in. The same man she’d seen in the Mercantile Store in Dubois! The same man who’d shown her the petroglyphs in Whiskey Basin! Mesmerized by the voice that sounded too much like Taima’s, Kate placed her arm around his shoulder for support and stared at the stranger. No words came from her throat though many questions went through her mind. She could only listen to his soothing words as he carried her to the other side of the bed where he placed her near the center.
After pulling the feather comforter over her, he sat on the bed, leaned over her, and placed a hand on the mattress.
Nearly lost in the blue of his eyes, she missed the question he had asked. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
He smiled warmly. “You’ve been here for three days. I’ve had a doctor look you over, but didn’t know who else to call for you regarding friends or relatives.”
Tucking the comforter beneath her arms, she avoided his gaze and looked at the white shadow stripped pattern covering the comforter. “I’m out here alone on vacation from Pennsylvania. My name is Kate Bradach.”
“Do you remember going to the petroglyphs in Whiskey Basin?”
Surprised, she met his gaze. “Yes, I do, but . . .”
“Somehow you hit your head on a huge boulder. It must have been quite a bump to keep you out for so long.”
She touched the bump on her head, but the ring at his throat held her attention. As she stared at it, she remembered Taima’s dying words to Kelee, echoing in her mind--Pass this to your sons, and they, to their sons, until Kate reclaims it.
Kate shook her head. “It just can’t be.”
Brandon continued to watch her closely. “Is something wrong? What do you mean it can’t be?”
Kate could hardly get the words out, but she had to know. “Where did you get that ring?”
Brandon touched the ring at his throat and searched her eyes for a long time. For a moment, it seemed he might recognize her, though it was impossible. They had never met before the time he’d shown her the petroglyphs.
Then suddenly his eyes widened and he whispered, “It can’t be.”
Kate drew her eyebrows together. “What can’t be?” she asked, becoming more confused.
He looked at her hair, her face, her mouth. “This ring has been passed through my family for several generations.” Brandon paused before continuing. He narrowed his eyes, his gaze holding fast to hers. “Why do you ask about this ring?”
A sense of loss tugged at Kate’s heart. She contemplated an answer. Not wanting to sound foolish, she changed her mind and glanced out the window at the snow-peaked mountains. “Never mind. It can’t possibly be.”
Warm fingers beneath her chin slowly turned her face back to his, but she kept her lashes lowered. His touch affected her more than she wanted him to know, and if she met his gaze, he would surely see.
“Kate, look at me.”
How many times had Taima said those exact words to her? Desperately missing him, a tear spilled down her cheek, like a silky caress. She reluctantly met Brandon’s gaze as more tears pooled in her eyes.
“What can’t possibly be?” he asked. “You must tell me,” he insisted, desperation edging his voice.
When he touched her chin and gazed deep into her eyes, Kate could have sworn Taima sat before her. Brandon’s mannerisms were too similar, and her heart ached for what could never be.
He tenderly wiped away a tear with his thumb, the way Taima would have, making it even harder for her to speak. The memories were too painful. She inhaled deeply, holding his gaze. “I used to have a ring exactly like that. What I’m going to say sounds ridiculous, yet I know in my heart it wasn’t a dream. I gave that ring to my husband, Taima, to wear around his neck.”
Her heartbeat thudded in the silence following her admission.
Kate waited, almost afraid of Brandon’s pending reaction. A muscle twitched in his jaw.
To her surprise, he reached up and untied the leather strip that held the ring. The same strip that Taima had worn.
He pulled the ring from the leather and scrutinized it, then looked at her. “There’s an inscription inside.”
Kate’s anticipation took her breath. She knew her parents had inscribed the inside of her ring. She couldn’t possibly hope the ring was the same one Taima had told Kelee to pass down. This man was a stranger to her, although too familiar, yet he held the key to unlock her confusion.
Brandon took her hand to slip on the ring, and the heated touch of his fingers sent a tremor up her arm. She tried to pull away, but he held tight to her hand and he still held the ring, not yet pushing it onto her finger.
She met his gaze wide-eyed. He’d felt it, too. The slight shrug of his shoulder proved it.
The pressure on her hand increased as he continued to hold on. “It is you, isn’t it? I have found you at last,” he said, his voice almost a whisper.
Kate tried to calm the excitement fluttering in her stomach like butterflies. To hope he could be Taima was impossible.
“What do you mean?”
He hesitated, as though in thought. “For many years, I have had a vision of a woman who looks exactly like you. This vision is like a dream. I’ve had it once a month, once a week, sometimes once or twice in the same week.” Brandon caressed her cheek. “Your face has become so much a part of my life. My grandfather told me that his grandfather spoke of a story many times, of Taima giving this ring to his son to pass on until YOU came to claim it. When I recognized you in town that day, I had to bring you here, to find out who you are and why you are here.”
Kate only shook her head in disbelief, yet somehow knew Brandon spoke the truth of his ancestors. Dare she tell him what had happened? She hardly believed it herself. Time travel thus far was myth, nothing more.
Reaching up, touching the scar high on his cheek, she said, “Taima had a scar in the same spot. You are so much like him...it scares me.”
“I promise, I won’t hurt you...or scare you.”
She drew back her hand, but hesitated before continuing. “I have also had a dream that’s haunted me for many years, of a warrior mounted on his horse before snow-peaked mountains. I had to come out west in search of those mountains...in search of answers. There was a lake nearby. Whenever I’d awake from this dream, it was as though I sensed the warrior had stood in my room, disappearing just before I woke up.” Kate fidgeted with the edge of the comforter. “It all sounds so silly, but with you this close, I feel that same nearness, almost like it was you in my dream.”
Brandon raised her face again. “Perhaps it was. I prayed that I’d find you each time I had my vision. I’d go into town with the hope
that one of the tourists would be you.”
Her pulse nearly raced out of control at his warm touch. “I did see you in the Mercantile Store. If I’ve been here for three days, then I saw you three days ago. I sensed something about you, but you never turned around.”
“You mean when I picked up the package? I did sense something. I should have paid more attention to it.” Brandon held up the ring. “This matches your eyes, you know.”
She smiled. “Taima used to tell me that.”
He lifted her hand and easily slipped the ring onto her finger. Kate held out her hand and admired it. Her ring. It had to be hers. Quickly removing it, she peered at the inside and read the inscription her parents had put there. Shocked and elated at the same time, she looked at Brandon.
He gazed at her for a moment, looking deep into her eyes and she into his. Leaning closer, he brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. “I think we have both lived before, though many would think us crazy. But I believe in fate...we were meant to be together. Our meeting is no accident.”
Chills crept up her spine. As if on cue, the radio played an appropriate song by Tracy Byrd. She listened to the familiar words, which made more sense now than she ever thought they could.
“The Great Spirit does take care of the stars...and our fate in finding each other. I have searched for you too long, Kate,” he said, their lips mere inches apart.
His musky scent assailed her. “If you are the one I have searched for, I have so many questions,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.
“I think in due time, we will both find the answers we seek,” then he drew her in for a kiss, a kiss that held all the familiar love and passion she thought she’d lost forever.
To kiss a stranger shouldn’t happen, but was he a stranger really? His warmth and tenderness embraced her soul and she knew she had finally found the man of her dreams.
To Be Continued...
Watch for Brandon & Kate's Story
in a future book.
Other books by this author:
No Turning Back
England, 1778 – Historical Romance
Unleash Your Inner Strength
A motivational book for positive thinking
Whispers at Ghost Point
Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Deanna also invites you to visit her websites:
http://deannajewel.com
http://deannajewel.blogspot.com
Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Other books by this author: