White Owl by Veronica Blake Page A

worn out, and she was sore in places that she didn’t know could be sore. The fact that they had not slept one minute all night long was beginning to take its toll on her weary mind, too. She yawned and frowned when he laughed.
    “Are you sure you want me to come back tonight?” he teased. “Maybe I should let you rest for a day or two.”
    Rose tossed her tangled hair back over her shoulder. Her lower lip protruded like a spoiled child’s. “You promised.”
    White Owl shook his head in defeat. “You are a demanding woman. But I can’t deny you anything.” He kissed her forehead and then twirledher around toward the barn door and gave her a gentle shove. “Now, hurry before your father wakes up.”
    Rose sighed and glanced back over her shoulder, “You will be here tonight.” It was a command.
    “Do you want your father to shoot me?” White Owl motioned with a wave of his hand toward the door. She gave a resigned nod and started slowly toward the exit. As she reached the threshold, she looked back again.
    “I promise,” White Owl repeated.
    Leaving proved to be more difficult than Rose had imagined. What if something prevented him from coming back tonight? After the night they had just spent together, she was not sure she could survive another night unless she was in his arms.
    A loud bark caused Rose to stumble to a halt. She twirled around at the sound of the family dog’s sudden outburst.
    “Pepper!” she called out through gritted teeth. “Be quiet!”
    The black dog stood outside the barn door and stared inside. Rose shook her head in aggravation. Donavan’s dog barked at anything that moved and was pretty worthless as a watchdog, because sometimes he didn’t bark at all when he should. Earlier this year, they had coyotes sneak into the henhouse and kill half the flock and eat all the eggs. Pepper slept through the entire incident. Now, he glanced back at her, and then turned back toward the interior of the barn and growled.
    “Pepper, come!” Rose commanded.
    The dog turned toward her again and acted uncertain for a moment before his tail began to wave back and forth. He ran toward Rose as if he had forgotten all about whatever it was that held his attention in the barn just an instant earlier.
    She kneeled down and grabbed the dog by the long black fur around his neck so that he couldn’t get away as she stared at the barn. She was certain White Owl had already left through the back door, and now the building contained only the unbelievably passionate memories of the night they had shared in the loft.
    As she slowly made her way back into the quiet house, she could not wipe the smile off her face. Luckily, there was no one awake yet, and she continued to smile all the way in to her bedroom. It would be a long day, and she hoped tonight would be even longer.

Chapter Twelve
    “I am worried, my son.”
    “You do not need to be,” White Owl said. He looked away from his father as he led his horse from the corral.
    Beside Strong Elk stood White Owl’s brother, Two Feathers. A lopsided grin curled his mouth. “My brother has become an enemy lover,” he said.
    White Owl twirled around. He was a couple inches taller than Two Feathers, but the younger man stood up as straight as possible so that they were almost eye-to-eye. “She is not my enemy!” White Owl spat. He took a step toward his brother. “But you—”
    Strong Elk stepped in between his sons. “Stop!” His gaze moved first to White Owl, then to Two Feathers. “My sons will not fight because of a woman, no matter who it is.”
    For a moment the three men remained unmoving, until White Owl broke the uneasy confrontation. “You are right, my father. There will be no fighting. This woman is going to be with me forever.” He glanced at his brother, adding, “So everyone else will have to accept it.”
    Two Feathers narrowed his eyes and refused to back down until Strong Elk turned to confront him. “White Owl has a right to love