Tallchief by Dinah McCall

Author:Dinah McCall [McCall, Dinah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary, Fiction, Romance, General
ISBN: 0061084441
Google: KryYzlOiY5AC
Amazon: B000PDZG6K
Publisher: HarperCollins e-books
Published: 1997-01-02T05:00:00+00:00

Eleven

For Kathleen, going back to Comanche was like reentering a bad dream. The closer they got, the more rapid her heartbeat. An odd, misplaced sense of panic had her on the edge of the seat, as if by coming back, she might unearth the demons that had originally stolen her away.

The trip was difficult for Morgan as well. It was a reminder of murdered innocence, of having been thrust into a lifetime of grieving within the space of mere seconds.

“Oh, God, Morgan, this is harder than I’d imagined.”

He pulled her close, giving her a quick, reassuring hug.

“Grandmother had a saying: ‘Anything that comes easy is not worth the salt it took to cure it.’ I was never sure if she was talking about the prairie chickens I used to hunt or some monumental crisis.” He grinned. “I’m inclined to believe she purposefully left her words of wisdom broad enough to cover any given situation.”

Kathleen leaned her head against his shoulder in thoughtful silence, watching as the minuscule town of Comanche suddenly appeared out of the darkness.

“It hasn’t grown much, has it?” she asked, eyeing the single row of lights down the main street and the few scattered throughout the small residential part of town.

Morgan shook his head. “I’d venture to guess it’s dwindling, not spreading. Not enough industry to keep the young people here, and not much chance of one coming to change it. It’s just another small Oklahoma town trying not to blow off the map—but it’s home.”

Kathleen heard a rare and unexpected tenderness in Morgan’s voice. Sentiment from the hard man that he’d become seemed out of character. She glanced up at him in the darkness, wishing she could read what was in his mind. And then she set the wish aside and began searching the silent and darkened rows of buildings for familiar landmarks. Few remained. So many changes had come and gone within the last sixteen years, it only stood to reason that Comanche, Oklahoma, would be affected by time, as well.

Morgan suddenly pulled into a curb in front of a small café and parked. The dim yellow glow of the streetlight under which they’d parked was driving a small swarm of June bugs into a frenzy. High above the street, they alternately circled and dived at the burning bulb, tiny kamikazes bent on self-destruction. Without hesitation, he took Kathleen by the hand, pulling her across the seat and out of the door on the driver’s side.

“Let’s walk awhile, okay?”

Her eyes were wide and fixed upon the gentleness in his voice as he held her fast against the night.

“Giving the ghosts time to slip up on us?”

He sighed and leaned down, grazing her lips with a kiss. “To hell with ghosts, Kathleen.” He took her hand and pressed it near the center of his chest where his heartbeat thumped with vital regularity. “This is what matters. You. Me. We’re real. We’re here. Ghosts are nothing but old memories.”

Before she could answer, a police car turned a

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