Once a Rebel by Sheri Whitefeather

first encounters with Lily. “She gave me an Apache amulet. It was years ago. Soon after she married Ryan.”
    â€œReally?” Susan turned to face him. “Why did she give it to you?”
    â€œBecause Ryan told her that I had Indian ancestry. Not Apache, though. Another tribe. Comanche. But she gave me the amulet anyway.”
    Susan seemed intrigued. “Where is it?”
    â€œIn storage with most of my other things. I’ve never worn it.” He stalled, tried to explain. “I’m not registered with the tribe or anything like that. It’s not something I can claim.” And the Native American bloodline had come from his mother’s side, something that didn’t sit well with him. “It’s so minuscule. You know, my great-great-great-somebody was Comanche. Lots of Americans have that kind of Indian blood. It was sweet of Lily to think of me, but I never understood why it mattered.”
    She tilted her head. “Maybe she was honoring your great-great-great-somebody. Maybe that mattered to her.”
    He pressed his palm against the window. “I should get the amulet out of storage and wear it for Lily.”
    When he dropped his hand, they both turned quiet. The wind had kicked up. He could hear it whistling through the trees, like ghosts leaping off branches, haunting the air. The weather had been strange. Mild one day, brisk the next. He wondered if he should build a fire to keep Susan warm.
    â€œAre you hungry?” he asked. “I can heat up a can of soup.”
    â€œI’m fine. Rosita made dinner. But you can eat if you want to.”
    â€œI’m fine, too. I was just offering you something.” Trying to make her comfortable, to give her the illusion of home. At this point he would do anything to make her feel safe. “I’m glad Ryan asked me to look after you. I’m glad you’re here.”
    â€œSo am I.”
    The wind made another chilling sound, and she stepped closer to him, letting him be her prince, the man he’d always wanted to be.
    â€œWhen the FBI interviewed me, I told them I was on the phone with you last night,” Ethan said.
    â€œI told them that, too. That I fell asleep.”
    â€œI didn’t sleep,” he admitted. “I was up all night, listening to you. Your breathing was so soft, so…” He let his words fade, realizing how romantic they sounded. “I wish I would have checked on you in person. When I took the phone outside, I counted thirteen stars in the sky. I wasn’t sure if that was a bad omen. I’m still wondering if it is.”
    â€œCan you imagine how I feel? Knowing that I slept through the kidnapping? I’ve been telling Ryan not to feel guilty. But what about me? I was in the house when Lily was taken.”
    â€œIt’s not your fault that you didn’t wake up.”
    â€œI know. But it still hurts.”
    Giving in to the need to hold her, he took her in his arms. She heaved a battered sigh, clinging to him like a lifeline, burying her face against his shirt.
    He stroked her hair, letting the silkiness slip throughhis fingers. She lifted her head, and their faces were only inches apart. All he had to do was lower his mouth to kiss her.
    But he didn’t. He couldn’t. Not after the promise he’d made to Ryan. The older man hadn’t arranged this as a sexual interlude. It was more than that. Something deeper. Stronger. Something that went beyond an affair.
    A bit nervous, Ethan wondered if Ryan hoped that they would fall in love, if he actually thought they were headed in that direction.
    He let go of Susan, then glanced at his dusty straw hat, the subtle reminder of who he was. Forever didn’t exist, not for a veterinarian from Texas and a psychologist from California. Country boys and city girls didn’t mesh, at least not for very long. His parents were proof of that.
    An affair, he decided, would be a heck of a lot