Native Silver (6 page)

Shawnee looked at the boys, surprised at how
different they looked now. All the arrogant aggression had evaporated. A few of them probably had fathers who worked on Rancho Verde. They knew who David was, and they respected him. Each one was murmuring apologetic phrases, eyes filled with
wary unease.

David’s smile made him look as magnanimous as
a Roman Emperor allowing a gladiator his life.

“Everyone makes a mistake now and then.” He
smiled again. “But never the same one twice. Right,
boys?” He winked at Shawnee, then turned and
went back to the Corvette he’d obviously driven up
in and waited for her to give him car service. But
when she came to his window, he waved away her
gratitude. “Just let me know if they bother you
again,” he told her cheerfully. “And bring me the biggest hamburger you’ve got. I’m starved.”

That was all. He barely looked at her, not really interested. But her angry feelings toward him and his family were a little more difficult to
justify after that.

She glanced at him now, wondering how many other girls he’d rescued from similar problems. Probably thousands, she thought with self-scorn. Why should
she be special, after all? He did seem to have some basic decency, but she wasn’t going to let herself like him. She couldn’t do that.

“He’s just another man,” she told herself sternly,
picking her fork back up and forcing a merry laugh at a joke Lisa had just told, though she didn’t have a clue as to what her sister had said.
 

Just another man. Two arms, two legs,
one face. A very handsome face, but there were a
lot of those around. No need to let him frighten
you. Be brave. Look him in the eye and show him
how little you really care.

Maybe if she said something brilliant. Forget
brilliant, maybe if she said anything at all. Suddenly
she realized she hadn’t uttered a word since they’d
all sat down to eat. Clearing her throat, she tried
desperately to think of a quelling remark to show
how unruffled she was by the masculine presence
beside her.

“It’s been awfully hot, hasn’t it?” she said lamely
at last. “I mean
...
I don’t remember it being so hot
in July in the old days.”

Wonderful. Better to have stayed quiet than to come up with something so insipid.

“There’s a perfect cure for that,” David drawled teasingly.
“A nice, cool swim will make you forget
all
about the heat. You ought to try it.”

That hit much too near the quick, and Shawnee tur
ned towards Lisa for help, but to her horror, Lisa’s memory had been jogged.

“Oh Shawnee,” she gurgled, delighted with what
she’d just thought of, “do you remember? You used
to sneak on to Rancho Verde to swim in one of their
streams when you were a teenager.” She waved aside the ferocious face Shawnee was making, trying to warn her off. “Don’t be silly, I’m sure
David isn’t going to press charges for trespassing at
this late date.”

She turned back towards their guest. “David, she
used to ride off, thinking none of us knew where she was going, and I got furious with her for not telling anyone. So one time I followed, and found
her—” she giggled conspiratorially, “swimming absolutely buff naked, in one of your streams.”
 

The memory became clearer and she frowned thought
fully. “As I remember, Shawnee, you looked so
peaceful there, I was ashamed of myself for following you, so I left without saying a word.” She shook her head, her eyes dreamy. “So long ago,” she murmured regretfully.

Shawnee sat like a statue, unable to move,
fiercely trying to will the color that was flooding her cheeks back into retreat. If only she could slide away under the table and pretend all this had never
happened. It took all her courage to grit her teeth and make a show of bravado.

She didn’t dare look into David’s eyes, but she
could feel him looking at her.
 

“So you’re a Carrington,”
he whispered for only her to hear as Lisa and Brad began to bicker about something interesting only to them. “I should have known.”

“I knew who you were right away,” she whispered back. “But I guess it’s different for rich people like your family.”

His eyebrow rose quizzically, as though she’d said something he didn’t get at all. “Listen,
if I’d known it was
a habit with you I’d have camped out on the banks of that swimming hole long ago.”
 

“Thanks for the warning,” she flashed back, but it
didn’t daunt him.

“Any time you feel like repeating that adven
ture,” he said loud enough for all to hear, “feel free.”
He grinned. “You’re welcome on Rancho Verde anytime.”

“But this time, bring your swimsuit,” joked Brad,
unconscious of how his jest cut.

“Spoilsport,” answered David, and Lisa and Brad
laughed. Shawnee couldn’t bring herself to make
even a phony smile.

That did it for the conversational turn. Much better to remain absolutely mute than to risk starting up another sequence like that. Shawnee concentrated on her meal, eating automatically, not
even noticing how delicious the meal was--
green peppers filled with tangy cheese, smothered
in salsa and garnished with guacamole.

She hoped Lisa wasn’t planning a dessert. Once everyone had eaten their fill, she would think of
some excuse to make a quick getaway, and then . . .

But the next thing she knew she’d been offered as
a tour guide to Lisa’s rose garden.

Lisa was famous throughout the valley for her roses. Though she threatened every day to hire a
maid and a cook and even, on some of her wilder moments, a butler, she’d never once suggested they
might hire a gardener. The garden was her palette and she was
a master artist when it came to arrang
ing color and texture upon it.

Shawnee walked ahead of David, leading him
through the white gate into the rose garden. “These
beauties are Lisa’s hybrid teas,” she said in a tour-guide voice, gesturing towards the neat rows laid
out like the spokes of a wheel around a little white
gazebo. “And these are the miniatures she special
izes in. She’s developed a few new varieties of her
own, you know, and won prizes . . .”

“Lovely.” His voice was low and much closer than
she’d expected, and when she whirled, she found
herself turning right into his arms. “I’ve always
liked roses,” he went on, holding her loosely to his
chest, as though he always talked to women that way. “But I’ve got to admit, I’d rather look at you.”

She hadn’t expected him to be quite this direct, but she felt she could cope. He only needed to be
reminded that there could never be anything between the two of them.

“Look all you want,” she told him, calmly but
firmly pushing him away with two hands flattened on his chest. “But do it
from a distance.”

“A distance!”
 

She began walking quickly through
the maze of rose bushes, and he followed right behind, stopping her when he slipped one hand
beneath her heavy hair and curled it about the back
of her neck. “We’ve gone beyond that, don’t you think?” His eyes were laughing and she couldn’t seem to pull her gaze away. “After all we’ve been
through together, I think we can safely claim to have advanced at least to this.”

She knew he was going to kiss her, so why was
it that she couldn’t force herself to pull away again?

Instead, she watched, mesmerized, while his hand
tightened on her neck and his face came down
towards hers. His lips were smooth and cool,
moving across hers in a sensation that would have made a cat purr. She closed her eyes, blocking out
all thought, leaving room only for a small slice of
enchantment.

This wasn’t so bad. It was nice and relaxing and
not the least bit threatening. She let herself enjoy
it, leaning a little closer towards him. Just a second longer and she would make him stop. Just a second
longer . . .

When his lips opened without warning, it startled
her, and she parted her own without thinking,
letting him enter, and suddenly the kiss was no
longer cool and unthreatening. Suddenly she could
feel the heat that stirred within, the flames flicker
ing at her with a hint of the hunger that waited
below, just barely restrained, and she gasped, pulling away convulsively, truly shocked by how quickly the danger had showed itself.

For just a moment, she was dizzy, but she also
determined that he wouldn’t see how truly he’d disturbed her.
 

“You may have advanced to that,” she managed to croak out, “but I haven’t.” She
turned and started walking through the roses again, stepping quickly. “Have you seen enough flowers? Would you like to
go back to the house?”

“Not yet.” He came along behind her. “I don’t think I’m going to be ready to go in until you promise to have dinner with me.”

She stopped and glared up at him. “You’ve got to be crazy,” she said raggedly. “You’re a Santiago and I’m a Carrington. You know how impossible it is.”

He stood with his legs spread wide, his thumbs
hooked into his pockets. “You know, I had a feeling you were going to say something like that.”

She tried to laugh but the sound that came out was slightly rasping. “It doesn’t take a
master of perception to see the facts the way they
are.”

He raised his dark eyebrows. “Maybe. But facts
often
look very different to different people.”

She shook her head stubbornly. “Facts are facts.”

His narrowed eyes held a speculative gleam. “
You hate the Santiagos, right?”

That sounded harsh, and yet it was true. Her chin rose with more defiance than she really felt at the moment. “Yes. With just cause.”

He nodded slowly. “It might interest you to know
that I had no idea you Carringtons felt that way until very recently.”

She found that very hard to believe. How could he not have felt the animosity that had been brewing
right along his borders all these years? “Give me a break,” she replied.

“And I still don’t understand it,” he went on as
though she hadn’t said a thing. “I wish you’d fill me
in on just what the beef is.”

Now she knew he was either joking or playing her for a fool. She whirled and stared up at him. “Don’t you know anything about the
history of your own family?”

His dark eyes were level and candid. “I thought I
did,” he said softly. “Maybe I was wrong.”

She gazed at him, surprised to realize she
believed him. He really didn’t know.

“Will you explain it all to me?”

She nodded slowly, and he glanced back towards the house. “But not right now. How about tonight?”
He grinned, his dark eyes making lazy surveys of her attributes. “Over dinner?”

Over dinner. Was that really her nodding and saying, “All right,” and “Five o’clock would be fine”? It seemed to be.
 

“And you can fill me in on all the details,” he said as they started back towards the house. “You can explain to me why your sister Lisa seems to like me just fine, while you and your grandfather give me looks that might leave gashing wounds in the hide of a lesser man.”

“My grandfather?” She stopped again. “When did you see him?”

He hesitated, looking wary, then decided to go ahead and tell her. “I’m sure he’s told you about the arrangements for the land he’s been living on. I was the one who came over to tell him about the changes a few weeks ago.”

“Arrangements?” Shawnee’s blood ran cold. “Changes? What are you talking about? What’s happening to the land?’

He looked at her curiously. “The lease is up. Surely you knew that.”

“Lease?” Her voice came out like a nail across sandpaper and a wave of nausea swept through her. “My grandfather owns that land.”

He shook his head slowly, his eyes veiled and unreadable. “I’m afraid you’re wrong about that. When my father bought the ranch from Jim Carrington, he allowed him a twenty-acre tract to live on, rent free, for forty years, thinking that would give him more than enough time to find another place to live.” He shrugged lightly. “The forty years are up. My father signed contracts before he died for an access road to our southern acres. It’s going right through that land. It’s been in the works for a long time. The state is taking over. Surveying will soon begin.”

She couldn’t breathe. There had to be some sort of mistake. Either that, or this was all a cruel joke. “I don’t believe you,”
she whispered, swaying slightly.
 

He reached
out as though to steady her, but she flinched away from his touch. “It can’t be true.”

His face blurred before her. “Look,” he said quietly, “let’s discuss this at dinner. I wouldn’t have brought it up at all but I thought you knew.”

Something about the calm certainty of his voice told her it was all too true. Even the land her grandfather had clung to all these years was about to be taken from him. She couldn’t bear to think of