Darien stood beside Erik. They stared at the tattered tapestry as a scene began to take shape.
A young couple, young Erik born and loved. The young father killed in a freak accident, the mother clinging to her child as she lay dying, her body wasting away.
Erik stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest. "We are first cousins," he said gruffly. "Our fathers were brothers."
Darien nodded, placing a hand on Erik's shoulder. "At least now you know the truth."
Erik heaved a deep sigh. "All the years I cursed my father and he never abandoned my mother and I after all. It is strange to finally know the truth."
He studied the mountains. "Iliana and I have talked about building our own home," he mused. "When you left, I sold all our holdings and put everything of value into gold bars." He lifted a brow, looked at Darien. "We must dig it up."
Darien stared at him as if he'd gone mad. "And how do you propose to gain access to your gold?" he demanded. "There is an abundance of state land hereabouts and you cannot dig on state land."
"The old crypt."
"On the steep hillside behind the old property?"
Erik nodded. Darien began to laugh.
"We can sneak in at night and smuggle it out," Erik said. "Just like old times."
"No doubt the owner will shoot you."
Erik sat back and laced his fingers behind his head. "It will not be the first time I have been shot at, as well you know."
"Times have changed and there will be no shooting." Darien put his feet up on a wooden stool and leaned back. "Elise made me promise not to do anything that I'd get shot at."
"Then I shall see to it on my own," Erik said.
Darien clapped him on the shoulder. "No worries. Elise and I bought the old homestead property at tax auction just recently."
Erik sent Darien sprawling to the ground. "That's for stringing me along. Let's go," he said.
Darien started laughing. "Why the rush?"
But Erik was already hurrying across the yard.
"Wait -- I'll come with you."
"Erik." Iliana stood in the doorway of the house, then stepped outside onto the deck. William rushed out ahead of her and fell to his knees. He laughed, then using his mother's leg, pulled himself to his feet. Iliana, dressed in modern dress, her dark hair about her shoulders, took his breath away. "Are you off somewhere?" she asked.
Erik came back to her, putting an arm around her shoulders. "We are off to dig up buried treasure."
Her eyes began to gleam with excitement. "Buried treasure sounds like fun. I'm coming along."
Elise came out of the house and looked at the two brothers suspiciously. Due any day to have the twins, she nevertheless still looked fresh and bright.
"Darien, what buried treasure?" Elise asked. "This isn't anything to do with the Hellhound, is it?"
"No. It seems my brother buried his treasure --"
"Ours," said Erik.
"-- on the old property. We're going to dig it up."
"Who is the Hellhound?" Iliana asked, bemused.
Elise turned to her, a mischievous smile about her mouth. "Come and sit, Lily, and I'll tell you all about the Hellhound."
The End
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Deception Excerpt
Romantic Short by Grace Brannigan
Katharine Garner pulled the door open slowly and looked up and down the hallway, her mind shaken by doubt and fear.
She blinked rapidly, trying to clear the moisture from her eyes. The hall appeared empty. Closing the door carefully behind her, she gripped the doorknob as the floor moved. No, not the floor. Dizzy.
Katharine heard footsteps. She turned clumsily, the length of her silk and lace dress tangling around her legs.
“Katharine!” Someone cried out.
Katharine flattened herself against the wall, lifting a hand to guard her face.
“Dear God, Katharine.”
Katharine dropped her hand. She squinted her eyes. “Sacha?” She croaked.
“He hit you...” Her new friend Sacha put an arm around her and Katharine suddenly felt safe. “I'll get your things,” Sacha said urgently.
“No, wait,” Katharine managed. She lifted her hands and pulled hard on the diamond solitaire encircling her finger. The ring came free. Katharine gripped the small circlet in her palm until the stone cut into her flesh.
She opened her hand and let the ring slide off her palm. The ring made a small, hollow sound as it hit the old wood floor, then it fell between the slats and disappeared. “I've made a terrible mistake, Sacha,” Katharine said thickly. “Please get me out of here.”
Without any questions, Sacha turned her around.
Katharine leaned on Sacha, her body shaking. She felt frail. She had never felt this way in her life. She was only twenty-one.
Once and Always Excerpt
Memory could be gentle. At other times it left scars.
Anna Barlow had read those words this morning and somehow they felt like a reflection of her life. She stared out over her ranch's fields now, trying to shake off the cobwebs of old memories.
Newly warmed earth and northeast temperatures collided, creating ground vapor as the sun fought its way through heavy clouds. She shivered, brushing at the cool morning mist that settled in her hair. Her mare stood unmoving beneath her, her nostrils blowing gently from their run. Anna patted Spirit's neck, wishing she could forget she was barely hanging onto the ranch. . . her home.
Every tree, stick and grain of dirt of the Double B Ranch belonged to her. The barns and dilapidated fences . . . the makeshift corral. She couldn't walk away from her only real home. Her grandfather Martin Barlow had brought her here at the age of fourteen. Now, everyone she'd ever loved was gone. Martin. Tyler.
Restlessly, Anna nudged her gray mare toward a well-worn dirt path that led down to the barns and house.
She'd survived worse. Somehow, she'd get through this too. Anna touched her right cheek and curled her fingers against the scarred flesh, her fingers tracing the faint ridges almost absentmindedly. Her face had once been her biggest asset. Now it brought her only anger and at times self pity. She hated feeling sorry for herself, but God Almighty she was only human.
Giving in to a reckless edge of emotion, Anna urged her mare into a bone-jarring trot down the hillside. When they reached level ground, the spring wind tore against her as they loped across open pasture. She inhaled the clean air into her lungs, reveling in the familiar thunder of hooves beneath her. Gradually, the sting of failure lessened. Self-absorbed and prideful these last two years, she'd allowed the fire that ruined her face to take over her life.
She had to live with her mistakes, but somehow she'd find a way out of this mess.
Echoes from the Past Excerpt
Christie Jenkins once again counted the bills in her pocket. Seventeen dollars. The gnawing hunger in her stomach attested to the fact that she hadn't had a decent meal in two days.
Shading her eyes against the bright sun, she let her duffel bag slide to the cracked pavement and stared at the royal blue sign beside the road, at the beginning of a long, curved driveway.
Winding Creek Farms, Emerson, Kentucky
The same address as her sister Judith's letter. Christie stuffed the crumpled bills back in her pocket and looked up the curved driveway lined with dusky pink Dogwood trees. Various barns and sheds sat at the top of the drive where gently rolling hills and ribbons of white fence seemed to go on forever. Horses grazed lazily in fenced paddocks and a short distance from the barns stood a house, the midnight blue roof and cupolas lending it a fairytale look. Pure heaven. The sharp nag of pain in Christie's gut cut such thoughts short. Given the events of this year, she was certain there was no heaven on earth.
As she reached for her bag
Christie suddenly noticed a movement in the tall grass beside the driveway. A child of about eight or nine, creeping on her hands and knees, pushed her way through the grass. Long blond ponytails fell across her pink shirt. When the child's feet cleared the grass, Christie smiled to see that red cowgirl boots peeked beneath denim overalls.
"Here, Albert." The child's voice was coaxing. "Come on, now."
That's when Christie noticed the small gray kitten near the driveway's edge. A sudden swipe of the little girl's hand as she tried to grab the kitten sent the animal darting out onto the dirt driveway. With the unpredictability of cats, it just as quickly stopped in the middle of the driveway and hunched its back upward. Cautious again, the child slowly rose to her feet to follow the kitten.
Christie heard a new sound and noticed a large hay truck pull away from one of the barns and start down the driveway. The child didn't seem aware of the vehicle as she continued to coax the kitten toward her.
"Hey!" Christie waved her arm at the child.
The little girl stopped abruptly and looked toward Christie, her eyes wide with alarm.
"Get out of there!" Christie called. The hay-laden truck sounded like it was slowing down, but it didn't stop moving toward them. The little girl finally looked at the truck, staying almost frozen in the driveway. Afraid, Christie raced toward the little girl.
Heartstealer Excerpt
Jacie's stomach churned as she stared at the ground two thousand feet below. What insanity made her put herself through this punishment -- just to prove she wasn't washed up as a stunt woman?
"Just do it," she muttered. "You've done it thousands of times before. Get your foot out the door and jump."
Automatically, she ran her fingers over her knee support and then the pull ring on her parachute harness. Lastly, she braced the toes of her boots against the door lip.
She had to jump. Skydiving was her life. It had always defined who she was; a member of her family's business, Aerial Antics. Her brother Con would pull her off this job if he thought she wasn't ready. She couldn't go home with her tail between her legs. Her family would try to put her back in cotton wool. Again.
How long did she have to pay for one dumb mistake -- two -- if she counted the one she'd made thinking Brad loved her.
With a low growl of impatience, she stepped out and an updraft pulled her up and away from the plane. As she plunged downward, a flashback to her parachuting accident thirteen months ago at Angel Falls came dangerously close. She could see again that mountainous ledge of rock, nothing but water and uninhabited jungle below her, the glorious release as she began her freefall, and then her parachute failure. . ..
Her chute opened. Years of training took over and the tightness eased inside her chest. Of course she could do this, she'd been jumping far too long to stop now.
As the ground drew closer she pulled the shroud lines of her chute, spilling air to control her landing.
Clustered dots took on the shapes of people. A lone figure with a cowboy hat stood apart from the rest. An imp of mischief surfaced in Jacie. She'd alter her landing slightly and land near the guy with the cowboy hat.
As her feet touched solid earth a gust of wind lifted and pulled her forward, past the camera crews, past the gathered crowd. She caught a glimpse of surprised faces and then she came to a dead stop as her body lightly impacted with another. She had a fleeting impression of a hat flying through the air and they both fell to the ground in a tangle of arms, legs and billowing parachute.
Arms closed around her and held tight. She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her forehead into a hard chest. Spicy cologne tantalized her nostrils.
When the rest of her senses kicked in she was amazed to find she lay straddled atop a very male body. Hard chest and long, long legs. The cowboy.
"I guess I came a tad too close to my mark," she managed, barely suppressing her laughter. His arms were like hard bands around her back. She stayed unmoving against a soft shirt, her nose pressed into a dusting of nose-tickling hair. Scents mingled. Horse and leather, that subtle touch of man.
The flapping of her parachute forced her to stop thinking about the body beneath her. She opened her eyes. Her blue and purple chute swept upward, then gently settled to cover them in a cocoon.
"Can I help you, ma'am?" drawled a deep, amused voice in her ear. The hard body beneath her had a sexy-as-all-get out voice to go with it.
Wishing on a Rodeo Moon Excerpt
Someday, that bull would kill someone. Tye Jenkins just knew it. She straddled the top rail of the bull chute as old Hit Man moved restlessly from side to side.
Tye let her gaze roam the rodeo yard. Her heart jumped like a young colt on a brisk morning as she stared, transfixed, at a dark-haired man. Jake Miller. He stood close by, a cocky look of assurance on his lean face. He was a head taller than most of the men around him, a stranger in business clothes among mud-spattered cowboys. His suit looked expensive, not the most common attire down by the pens. She had never before seen him dressed like that, yet he carried it off with nonchalance and elegance. He stood, feet planted on ground churned up by countless boots and three days of rain, his dark head bare to the falling mist. Tye didn't try to stop the smile spreading across her face. Only Jake could pull off a suit at a rodeo in the drizzling rain.
She hadn't seen or heard from Jake in ten years, not since that terrible night she'd left. He'd showed up now, the night she planned to remember for the rest of her life -- the night she'd make the rodeo finals. With the bittersweet knowledge of the past firmly in her mind, Tye sensed it was fitting Jake should be here to see her triumph.
Even knowing she was short on time before her ride, she continued to stare at Jake. Why was he here? What was that expression in his face -- a mixture of pain and want? Tye wiped the mist from her eyes, knowing she was wrong. She drew a deep breath.
He had changed, matured, yet something in his eyes remained the same. How long had she loved that strong face with its wide cheekbones, no-nonsense jaw touched by the faintest shadow of beard and deep-set eyes of the lightest blue? Her seventeenth summer she had loved him with a young woman's vibrancy. They'd spent endless time together, planning, talking, dreaming. Back then, Tye had thought Jake could do no wrong.
She drew a deep breath and looked around. Why was he here? It wasn't to see her! He was already drawing attention: she could see some of the girls nudging each other. Her throat dry, Tye drew a deep breath and then pressed her lips together. There were a lot of handsome faces like Jake's, but he had a presence. He always had. Jake was special, that's why she had loved him so much, until she had walked away.
"Tye Jenkins!"
Hearing her call, Tye stood up against the metal bars, gripping the top rail tightly. As she did so the bull in the chute hopped sideways, rattling the metal gates.
Adrenaline pumping, Tye jerked her gloves on, her gaze sweeping the yard, oblivious to everything until her glance lit once more on Jake. He was still there. Seeing him broke her concentration, brought in a flood of memory. Live, intense heat struck Tye and she closed her eyes tightly for a brief moment in exasperation. She had gotten over him. Anyone with a lick of sense knew ten years was a long time to pine over any man.
Faeries Lost Series
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