Vanished in the Mountains by Tanya Stowe

Author:Tanya Stowe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-11-08T00:20:26+00:00

SEVEN

Austin motioned Dulcie to wait while he checked outside. Sure enough, the old woman stood on the other side of the fence, her dog seated beside her.

“Come on. It’s safe.”

Dulcie scrambled out of the cramped space and they moved down the passage into the opening. Austin had to help Dulcie over the fence, a sure sign of her cold, numb state. When they reached the older woman, she shook her head. “You should not go to the ancient ones’ houses where you will freeze. Why did you not come back to me when those two left?”

“How did you know they were following us?” Dulcie’s teeth chattered when she spoke.

Bea clicked her tongue. “Those two...they sounded like a team of horses galloping down the trail, arguing and carrying on. I waited a long time after they left to come find you.”

“We didn’t want them to bother you, ma’am. They may be noisy but they’re dangerous.”

“Yes, I heard the gunshot. Fools.” The vigorous shaking of her head showed even in the shadowy light of the moon. “Come on. I made you some Navajo tea. It will help.”

They climbed the trail, the older woman moving ahead of both them. Their bodies and limbs were sluggish from the cold. When they entered the hogan, a battery-operated lamp sat on the table, casting a white glow over the single room. The cast-iron stove in the middle of the hogan radiated heat. Austin’s face and fingers immediately tingled. He couldn’t imagine how Dulcie was feeling. Bea handed her a heavy Navajo blanket and pushed a chair from the table closer to the stove.

“Sit. Both of you, sit.”

Austin helped Dulcie tug the blanket around her as Bea poured a mug of tea. Dulcie wrapped cold fingers around the steaming cup and sniffed the liquid.

“What is it?”

Austin pulled another chair close to her and sat down. “An herbal tea made from a local plant. It’s called greenthread. Go ahead and drink. It’s full of antioxidants and good for you.”

“I don’t care how good it is for me. It’s warm.” She flashed him a little smile. Her dark eyebrows rose in an expressive gesture and her long curls bounced against her cheeks. Although she’d just spent four hours in the freezing winter temperatures, she looked wonderful. He couldn’t turn away from her brown-eyed gaze or her peach-colored lips as she sipped the tea. Thankfully, Bea handed him a blanket and a mug.

He drank his tea and let the heat from the fire sink in. His harsh words echoed through his mind. He felt bad about what he’d said to Dulcie, almost accused her of being weak and useless. She’d probed a painful wound and he’d lashed out...unthinking. It was cruel and he regretted it. But she seemed to handle it better than he did. She was over it by the time he’d returned and even spun it back on him with truths he couldn’t deny.

Was she right? Did they have many things in common, like a need to save

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