Books by Linda Conrad

by Conrad, Linda

  As a matter of fact, she had thought of it. Sighing, she shrugged a shoulder and blinked her eyes to stem the growing tears.

  “But he’s just a baby,” she whispered.

  Michael stood silently, arms dropped at his sides and watched her struggle with both her gut instincts and her maternal sixth sense. Finally, she gave in to what she knew was inevitable.

  “I suppose you’re right.” Lexie turned her face, hiding her gaze from Michael’s concerned stare. “Will I have to stay away from him for very long, do you think?”

  Michael reached out and pulled her closer. “I know how hard this is for you. But you’re being very strong.”

  Lexie dropped her head against his chest. She didn’t feel strong. She felt all weak and wobbly. But the safety she felt here, in the warmth and circle of Michael arms, gave her the strength she needed to stay on her feet.

  “Don’t worry so much,” he whispered against her hair. “My mother will make sure Jack is well cared for and happy. And I promise you can either see him or call him every day.”

  Michael’s heartbeat picked up speed right then, and a new tension seemed to run from him to her, heading down her spine to her core. She didn’t understand why she’d suddenly started noticing how small she felt standing there beside him. Or why it had just dawned on her that his big, really big shoulders felt as if they sheltered her from any potential evil.

  But those big arms and bigger shoulders were also deviling her with out-of-place sensual sensations. Whatever forces between them had caused a change in the air were also beginning to make her feel itchy and hot.

  He cleared his throat, took her gently by the shoulders and held her an arm’s length away. “Any time you want to change the plan, just say the word. It would kill me and my family to lose you two now we’ve just found you. But when you decide to take Jack and leave the reservation, I’ll gladly give you the money to help you on your way.”

  He was being too damned nice. She couldn’t stand it. She would leave someday. But not yet.

  “I…” She had to clear her own raspy throat and also take a step back. “What if Jack is scared or doesn’t want to be separated from me? He’s never been on his own before.”

  “Let’s hear what Jack has to say after he meets his cousins and sees where he’ll be staying.”

  “Really, Mommy? I get to spend the night with Emily and Teddy? And all their horses and ponies? All by myself?” Jack looked a little too excited at the prospect of getting away from Mommy for a while.

  Her son was growing up, trying to find his path to independence. That was good, wasn’t it? The way things were supposed to be in a child’s development.

  But her heart took a big dip at the thought of her baby not needing her anymore. Her first impulse was to bait him into saying he would miss her terribly and would rather she stayed close.

  Instead, Lexie took a deep breath and forced a smile. There really was little choice.

  “You’ll have a terrific time,” she told him as her eyes began to cloud over. “And your grandmother and grandfather will be here, too. It’ll be like a big party.”

  “Okay.” Jack pulled away from her and turned, ready to run to find his cousins again.

  She hooked his arm and spun him back, planting a big kiss on his lips. “You be good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Jack used his sleeve to wipe her kiss from his mouth, but nodded at her. “Okay, Mommy. I’ll be good.”

  She wanted to grab him up and keep a hold on him forever. But she let him go.

  “See you,” he called over his shoulder as he pounded down the hall toward his cousins’ bedrooms.

  “Yeah,” she whispered past the sob building in her throat. “I love you, baby. And I’ll see you soon.”

  Lexie had managed to do the right thing. The only thing she could.

  5

  T he Skinwalker who could change from his human form and become the Burrowing Owl entered his boss’s office. Trying to hide his true feelings, the Owl prepared himself to answer to the ridiculous and sick witch-man—his boss, the Navajo Wolf.

  The Owl wished he and his allies were ready to overthrow the Wolf and take charge of the Skinwalkers. But he soothed his ruffled feathers with the knowledge it would not be too long. A few more months at the most and his forces would be in place and prepared to go. The armies loyal to the Wolf were dwindling. The forces loyal to him were growing.

  “I demand to know your progress on obtaining the map,” the Wolf growled.

  The Owl wasn’t terribly concerned about locating the Wolf’s map. However, he would continue going through the motions to keep the Wolf from guessing his true intentions. When he did find the map, the priceless relic was going to be his , not the Wolf’s. But by then the Wolf wouldn’t need it anyway. The dead seldom cared about maps or parchments.

  The Owl felt it would be beneficial to his cause if he could confuse the Wolf by giving him a lame excuse. “The Brotherhood professor, Michael Ayze, has not returned from his leave of absence. He’s been unreachable.”

  “I told you to stay with him,” the Wolf argued with a snarl. “You’re reputed to be almost as smart as he is. Use your intelligence to learn what he’s up to.”

  The Owl clenched his teeth and kept a calm demeanor. “I have one of your best men, the Bear, watching him—as close by as he dares. But it seems your brilliant Professor Ayze has a new diversion. An Anglo woman has recently arrived in Navajoland, and apparently she has become the new object of his entire focus.”

  The Wolf looked perplexed. His watery eyes lost some of their evil luster.

  Finally, the Wolf muttered, “Nonsense. That enemy brainiac has always been centered and single-minded. I know his type. He’s determined to best the Skinwalkers through intelligence alone.”

  The Wolf laughed at the idea of anyone beating him with mere brain power. “Stay with our friend Professor Ayze. Have your men get closer to him and be ready. He will either find the map or go straight for the parchments very soon now. When he does, I want whatever he finds. And then I want him dead.”

  “But the woman—”

  The Wolf gave a weak wave of his hand. “If he spends too long absorbed with the female, get rid of her. Nothing can be allowed to stand in the way.”

  Michael chanced a glance toward Alexis, who was sitting in the front passenger seat of his truck. “You okay?”

  It was late, but they were only driving the ten-mile stretch between his sister’s house and his own. Since they’d started out a few minutes ago, Michael had been secretly listening for the Skinwalker buzz—just in case. So far, all was quiet.

  Heaving a big sigh, Alexis said, “Yeah. I’ve been sitting here reminding myself that if I’d had enough money to get a job at home, I would’ve had to enroll Jack in day care or preschool so I could go to work. So leaving him with his cousins and grandparents seems like a much better option for both of us.”

  “A very intelligent thought.”

  He heard her wry laugh through the darkness. “Right. I’m a genius.” She fidgeted in her seat. “I suppose it’s not having him with me at night that’s getting me down the most. He’s never been tucked in to bed by anyone else.”

  “Alexis, let me…” He raised his hand to pat her on the shoulder, but withdrew it before he made contact.

  He knew she was hurting and he wanted desperately to take her in his arms for comfort. But it had been difficult enough just sitting beside her like this. Michael wished he had the nerve and inner strength left at the moment to touch her as a friend would. But he didn’t. Couldn’t.

  “Please call me Lexie, ” she broke in, saving him from finishing a sentence that should never have been started. “Alexis seems so formal. Now that we’re going to be working together I think we should try to be comfortable with each other.”

  Comfortable. Not a word or concept he would’ve chosen. “All right. If you wish.” The two of them must be crazy to attempt anything like this.

 
“But don’t call me Lex, please. That’s the nickname Dan used, and I always hated it.”

  Michael could think of several endearing names he would like to call her. But calling such an elegant and feminine woman Lex would never have entered his mind.

  “One of our old Dine traditions requires us to refrain from using a person’s given name when speaking directly to them and when speaking about them to others,” he told her. “The idea is that doing so diminishes their power. Most traditional People are given nicknames as children or they go by their relationship names. Like daughter or son .”

  Lexie looked interested in this discussion of tradition. “You mean something like me not calling Louise by her given name and calling her Mother instead?”

  “Yes, exactly. Perhaps I’ll try to come up with another nickname for you.” Whenever he could actually think clearly again.

  They rode in silence the rest of the way to his house. After he helped her inside with the few things he’d salvaged from her car and the clothes and shoes Naomi had given her, he showed her around his place.

  Lexie kept her mouth shut and just nodded while Michael pointed out where the bedrooms and bathroom were located. She wasn’t sure what to say to him that wouldn’t bring her more trouble. So she just memorized the room layouts and prepared herself to be a good assistant.

  When they peeked into what he’d called his office, she saw more books than had been in the public library back in Louisiana. “Wow. Lots of books on your shelves. Have you read them all?”

  She didn’t want to mention the dozens of messy files stacked on his desk, on the floor and beside the chair. They were in contrast to the rest of the house which seemed spotless. He must really need an assistant.

  Michael smiled at her, and once more she was struck by his high brow and the sharp cheekbones. Here was an intelligent man with a strong chin and penetrating eyes—and one very uncharacteristic messy streak.

  But even with the single bad habit, Michael was much stronger in both body and mind than his brother ever had been. She let her gaze drop to his wide, full mouth, and all her senses snapped to attention, captured totally by the sight of sensual lips and a crooked, masculine smile. He didn’t remind her of her late husband at all. Not even one little bit.

  Lexie suddenly felt more tired than she’d ever been and turned away from the sight of him. There had been too many emotions and sensations for her mind to endure in the last twenty-four hours. And in her weakened condition she had no intention of remaining this close to a compelling temptation in the form of one sexy-as-hell brother-in-law who was now her boss. It was all she could do to be civil and not turn tail and run for her life.

  “Most of the books in here are for study,” he told her with a smile in his voice. “But currently I have a home computer hooked to the Internet by satellite, and I use the books less for reference.”

  “Reference for what?” she asked around a yawn she’d barely managed to conceal.

  “Anthropology projects. You’ll find out all about it tomorrow when we get started. But for tonight, I think you’d better get some sleep. It looks like you can barely stand on your own two feet anymore.”

  “I’m not—” She interrupted herself with a full fledged and embarrassing yawn.

  “Shall I carry you to bed?” There were coppery edges to his words, as if he’d deliberately said them with a double meaning.

  Oh man, the images his words conjured up almost undid her resolve to stay away from him. “No, thanks.” Her own words came out much more raspy and tentative than she’d meant.

  He lifted his eyebrows and pursed his lips as if he wondered what had made her voice so sketchy. But the twinkle in his eyes let her know he hadn’t missed a thing.

  “I remember where the guest bedroom is,” she hurriedly added. “I’ll just show myself there right now if it’s all the same to you.”

  “Fine. Sleep well. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Lexie dashed out of the room without another word. Making her way down the hall, she tried to get a grip on her senses.

  Michael Ayze was her brother-in-law, her host for a few days, and as of tomorrow he would be her boss. Why was he also the absolutely sexiest man she had ever met?

  The sound of his low, sensual voice was making her drool. The extraordinary sight of his eyes flaming whenever he looked in her direction left her weak in the knees.

  Yet the man couldn’t be more out of bounds. She had plenty of problems without adding the complications of having an affair with Michael. As a single mother, a woman in desperate need of a job and longing for a loving family for her child, she needed to keep her cool. It was bad enough that she felt totally out of her element on the reservation and was apparently sliding headfirst into weird paranormal quicksand.

  So how was she ever going to live through working beside him?

  After a couple of hours of tossing and turning and not being able to get Lexie out of his mind, Michael rolled out of bed and went to sit alone on his back deck. For as long as he could remember, he’d been enamored with the way the stars always seemed to cocoon his traditional world on a clear night in Dinetah.

  Most traditional Navajos stayed inside after dark. But not him. There was nothing that gave him more peace than watching the night skies and listening to the critters who populated the darkness.

  Noncloudy nights in late summer and early fall were the best times to experience the ancient blanket of the cosmos. The air was clear, the constellations in crisp relief against a velvet sky.

  Tonight the planets and supernovas were especially spectacular as they inched across the skies. Even so, he had barely noticed them. His mind had been lost in the stars appearing in a pair of gentle hazel eyes.

  Propping up his feet on the wooden railing, Michael wanted to use his normal scientific analysis in an effort to figure out what was causing him to lose concentration. There must be some valid reason why nothing but Lexie made any sense to him tonight.

  He came to the conclusion that maybe his body had been reacting to Lexie with such a testosterone rush for one simple and completely natural reason—because it’d been such a damned long time since he’d had any woman. Thinking back, he realized he’d been living through at least a couple of years of celibacy. What with the Skinwalker war and the Brotherhood’s original vow of celibacy, and more recently his consuming anthropology work, time had flown by and he hadn’t really noticed. Until now.

  No wonder he was feeling horny as hell around a woman as sensual as Lexie. Such a thing would be natural for any male.

  Natural maybe, but not something he intended to indulge in now. Time to put a stop to thinking with the wrong body part. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

  Now if only he could convince his rebellious body to go along with his mind. She wasn’t stupid. She would easily guess what was happening with him the minute she caught a glimpse of the constant rock hardness lurking behind his jeans’ zipper. Dammit.

  The first hint of predawn light captured his attention just then, and made him remember he was supposed to be thinking of more important considerations than the natural release of his urges. Nothing was going to happen between him and Lexie. A relationship made up of anything more than friendship or boss-employee loyalty was not a possibility.

  Besides that, years ago he’d come to the conclusion that sex for sex’s sake was not for him. When he held a woman close, it was because they both wanted to be there, in a lasting relationship. Love, respect and loyalty were the things which made a coupling the most satisfying.

  And none of those things was going to happen between him and Lexie. Well, except for the loyalty maybe. But she wouldn’t be staying on the reservation once she had the money to leave. And he belonged here and had vowed never to walk away from his homeland again. Love and respect would probably take years to develop between two people as different as they were.

  So, he might as well suck up some desperately needed resolve and get over wanting her. It was
time to return to his own reality and quit dreaming about long silky legs, high perky breasts and a tight sassy butt. He was old enough and wise enough to know better. Or at least he tried to tell himself he was.

  At the moment what Michael really needed to concentrate on was getting a handle on Lexie’s ghost sightings. She’d said such things had never happened to her before she arrived on the reservation, despite the fact her mother had talked to ghosts when she’d been alive. If that was true, then why here?

  Were the Skinwalkers somehow using her to get to him? Maybe they foresaw a way to slow down the Brotherhood through her—the same way they had used women in the past.

  Michael shook his head. The idea didn’t have much merit when it came to Lexie. He couldn’t imagine what the Skinwalkers would want with an Anglo woman who had no money and no power. Michael also believed he was too smart to allow anything to stand in the way of ridding Dinetah of their current Skinwalker scourge. At least, not for long.

  So, why had the Skinwalker ghost appeared to her?

  Dammit. He needed some advice here. Things weren’t making sense. This seemed to be a problem beyond his capabilities to solve alone, which didn’t happen too often. Maybe he was too close to the subject. But he knew where he could go to get help.

  Returning to the kitchen, he retrieved his cell phone. Michael felt grateful for being part of the Brotherhood, as he had innumerable times in the past. They were always ready with advice and help. And man, did he need them this time.

  Lexie rolled over and found sunlight streaming through the window. Jack? She sat straight up in bed and had a meltdown. It wasn’t until she had jumped out of bed and looked around that she remembered the reason Jack hadn’t awoken her at his usual early hour. She was in Michael’s spare bedroom, and Jack was spending the night with his Navajo relatives. He was fine.

  Collapsing back on the side of the bed, she tried to catch her breath and quiet her nerves. For the first time in four years, someone else was taking care of Jack’s needs. She had to be able to handle it.