Sunrise Canyon (New Americana 1)

Maybe he’d only imagined her sweet body spooned against his back, her arm cradling him as he eased into sleep. But no, he could feel the slight dampness her hair had left on the spare pillow. His angel had been real.

And he’d needed her. Lord, how he’d needed her—for reasons that had little to do with sex. Not that he would’ve complained if it had happened. But forget that—the chaste bedsheet between them had made her intent clear.

Lifting his head, he checked the luminous clock on the nightstand: 4:33. Not quite dawn. But he’d had a decent sleep and, except for a slight headache and the vague emptiness that tended to follow a bad spell, he felt calm and alert.

Last night he’d dreamed about Wendy—a murky sort of dream in which he’d seen her from a distance, walking away from him. He’d called to her, but she hadn’t even looked back. He’d been trying to run after her when he’d awakened to a dark room, with Kira spooned against his back. Still foggy, he’d nestled against her warmth and gone back to sleep.

No doubt Wendy would haunt his dreams for a long time to come. In a way, he would always love her, just as he would always mourn her. But the truth was finally sinking in. He had lost her long before the accident that took her life.

Raking a hand through his tangled hair, he sat up and swung his feet to the floor. Last night had changed some things—maybe a lot of things. He needed time to himself, to get his head on straight before he faced Kira again. For that, he’d need to get away to someplace peaceful, where he could be alone.

A glance through the window told him the rain had stopped. Hurrying now, he dressed in riding clothes and pulled on his socks and boots. Framed by jagged, broken glass, the empty hole that had been the TV screen was a mocking reminder of last night’s meltdown. Later today he would haul the set outside and pile it with the last of the junk from the shed, to be hauled to the landfill. He would do fine without TV until he could afford to buy a replacement.

Stars were fading above the mountains as he crossed the yard to the stable and unlocked the door. With the sky already dawning and his eyes accustomed to the darkness, Jake didn’t bother to turn on the light. He didn’t want to startle the horses or alert Kira that somebody was in the stable.

The place was fragrant with hay and the odor of fresh manure. Horses dozed or munched, a few of them raising their heads as he passed on his way to the stall at the farthest end.

Dynamite pricked his ears and nickered at Jake’s approach, as if the two of them were already friends.

“Good morning, old boy.” Jake reached over the stall gate and stroked the satiny neck. “How about you and me going for a ride this morning?”

He retrieved the saddle, pad and bridle from the tack room. Getting the gear on the horse was still awkward for him, but Dynamite was patient. The old horse stood quietly, giving Jak

e time to check the cinch and the leathers before easing into the saddle.

Jake had ridden once with Kira, but this was his first time alone. For the first few minutes, sitting on the tall, swaying animal made him nervous. But the feeling didn’t last. By the time they passed under the ranch gate, he was getting used to the easy motion.

“Just keep moving, boy.” Somehow it felt natural, talking to a horse. “You’re the teacher here, and I’m the classroom dunce. I’ve got a lot to learn, so thanks for putting up with me.”

Jake gave Dynamite his head, letting the horse pick his way along the familiar trail. The ground was wet, the air cool and fresh with last night’s rain. Above the mountains, the sky was brightening from deep onyx to mother-of-pearl. Soon sunrise would streak the clouds with the brief glory of rose, gold and amber, and the day would begin.

Overnight the rain had brought the desert to bursting life. The land was fresh, green and blooming. Saguaros and chollas glistened with diamond drops of moisture. Lupines, budding yesterday, were opening into bloom. Birds swooped low to drink from rain pools that would shrink and vanish with the heat of the sun.

Jake had not known peace since the war. What were his chances of finding it here, in this starkly beautiful place? He pondered the question as Dynamite took the right-hand trail, down the canyon.

As the trail wound downward, he could hear the waterfall—not the gentle, flowing sound he remembered from the other night with Kira, but a powerful hiss, as the runoff from the storm funneled down the canyon. Curious, he tethered the horse in the willows, as he’d done before, and made his way up the rocky trail and over the top.

The clearing—magical when he’d seen it by moonlight—was a different place this morning. The rushing water had scoured the canyon bottom, stripping away plants and silt. A gnarled, dead mesquite, roots and all, had been washed over the falls. Now it lay in the pond, its bare branches sticking above the brown water like groping fingers.

Jake stood at the edge of the flooded pond. Water roared over the rim of the falls in a muddy torrent that hid the rocks beneath. From the look of the canyon, there’d been even more water at the height of the storm, enough to do some heavy damage.

“It’s amazing how a place can change overnight, isn’t it?” Kira’s voice startled him. He hadn’t heard her come over the trail to stand beside him. Aside from some weariness about her eyes, she looked fresh and ready for the day. Jake struggled against the memory of her tender warmth in his bed. This would be the daytime Kira, he reminded himself. The driven, micromanaging woman who challenged him at every turn.

“You followed me?” Charm had never been his strong point.

“Guilty as charged. I saw you leave and wanted to make sure you were all right.”

“I’m fine. You don’t need to mother me, Kira.”

“Is that what you think I’m doing?”

He stayed silent for a long moment, watching the chocolate-brown water pour over the falls. “Thanks for last night,” he said. “You didn’t have to stay. I’d have been fine.”

“Maybe.” She watched a wren light on a branch of the drowned mesquite and flutter away. “What now?”

Was she asking about their relationship or his future at the ranch? Jake decided to address the safer, second choice.

“I’m feeling pretty good this morning—even thinking I might like to stay for a while—maybe work with the horses and see if I can lick this thing. If it doesn’t take, I can always change my mind.”