Fawn Page 7

  Roth, who had remained silent throughout his wife's revelation, said proudly, "If anyone can develop this technology, it will be Rainey."

  CHAPTER 16:

  REVELATIONS

  Fawn and Zoe spent five days at the Childress Estate, and each day Fawn watched Zoe blossom. They spent time with Beth McGovern, the cook, who showed them how to bake plump, melt in your mouth, spicy oatmeal raisin cookies. They walked the grounds of the estate and swam in the pool.

  Two days before Fawn and Zoe's departure date, Stella and Hank, Rainey's mother and father, returned from one of Stella's missions in South America. The new grandparents immediately took to Zoe, and Fawn enjoyed watching the three of them dote on Davide. Davide's smiles and coos spread joy throughout the household. Enamored by the baby, Zoe often sat beside his bed and commented on the golden glow only she could see.

  On the night before their flight to Cortez, Fawn once again sat with Roth and Rainey in their private quarters sipping tea. The hour was late, but they wanted to prolong their goodbyes.

  Fawn sipped her iced raspberry tea. "Thank you for such a lovely time. Zoe has blossomed being here."

  Roth studied Fawn's face. "What is it you're not telling us?"

  Fawn glanced from Roth to Rainey and knew the time for revelation had come. "I didn't want to disturb the peacefulness of our visit, so I decided to wait to tell you some things about Zoe."

  "We're listening," said Rainey. "If there's anything we can do for that endearing child, we will."

  "Thank you. At one time I believed that only the Thirteen co-Princes knew about the prophesy of the Great Prince, but then you told me about the Bedouin tribe leader…"

  "Tahnoon," Roth supplied

  "Yes, Tahnoon. You said he told you about prophesy of a coming Prince."

  Roth nodded and questioned Fawn with his expression.

  "It seems the Prince is also known to Zoe."

  Rainey leaned forward. "How can that be?"

  Fawn lifted her shoulders in a questioning shrug. "As I've mentioned before in our phone conversations, she hears voices. When I received this assignment from the co-Princes, I was told that she is an Indigo child with special abilities. She can see auras and hear otherworldly voices. While we've been here, however, she hasn't heard any voices. This is unusual because she usually complains about them three or four times a week, and I think the reason she hasn't heard them, is because they originate from the Anasazi ruins near her home."

  Rainey looked shocked. "I guess I'm going to have to think more outside-the-box. That's wild."

  "I know. I've been working with her to ease her fear so she can understand what's being said. She used to freak out and shriek. Now, whenever she hears them, she comes to me and I help her through the ordeal. She's calmed down enough to hear what she calls the 'pretty' voice behind the frightening ones. She understands two words being said by the 'pretty' voice."

  Rainey asked, "What does this have to do with Davide?"

  Rainey inhaled and slowly released her breath. "It appears Zoe is getting her information about the Prince from the pretty voice."

  Rainey gasped. "Do you think the frightening voices know about him, too?"

  "I don't know. The first word Zoe hears from the pretty voice is, 'love', followed by words she can't understand, and then the word, 'Prince'."

  Roth held his wife's hand. "Is there more to this, Fawn?"

  Hesitantly, Fawn nodded.

  "Please tell us. We have to know."

  Fawned nodded. "One night while I was roaming with a herd of feral horses a single rider came upon the herd. The herd fled, but I remained. The rider approached me and said, 'There's something different about you'." After he galloped away, I shifted into a nighthawk and followed him to the Anasazi ruins, where I perched on a ledge and watched him. He went straight to the sipapu, the place representative of where the Anasazi believed the third world emerged into the fourth world."

  Rainey interjected, "If the voices are coming from the ruins, is he hearing them too?"

  "I don't know. After a while, all the night sounds became eerily quiet and the man looked toward my hiding place and shouted, 'You can't save her…or the Prince'." A tear slid down Fawn's cheek.

  A strangled cry erupted from Rainey.

  Using the intimate shapeling endearment reserved for his wife, Roth said, "We'll figure this out, Soiuer."

  CHAPTER 17:

  MIDNIGHT CONVERSATION

  Wade sat in a plastic chair in the small terminal waiting for the hopper flight from Denver to land. He'd missed his daughter and Fawn and their outrageous culinary exploits. He grinned, thinking of the cream filled crepes they'd attempted to create the day before leaving for Portland. He laughed aloud when he remembered the lumpy cream inside crepes the texture of shoe leather.

  Disembarking passengers began entering the terminal and Wade heard Zoe's voice. "Daddy!" She rushed toward him and his heart expanded. He squatted and hugged her, and her thin arms hugging him back felt wonderful. He glanced up at Fawn and felt an overwhelming desire to reach up and pull her into their hug.

  "Hello, Wade." She sounded breathless.

  "Welcome back, Fawn. How was your visit with your friends?"

  "We had a wonderful time."

  Zoe said with excitement, "Daddy, we saw the most beautiful baby. His name is Davide, and he's a prince."

  "Really, a prince?" Wade stood and reached for his daughter's backpack. "You can tell me all about him on the drive home."

  He glanced at Fawn. "Are you ready?"

  "Ready. Let's go home."

  Her innocent words struck a chord in Wade. Somehow they felt right. A wisp of hair had gotten stuck on her cheek that had the peek-a-boo dimple and he reached to smooth it behind her ear.

  ***

  Wade's touch on her cheek sent a coil of heat swirling inside Fawn's stomach. She fought the feeling. She didn't want to have intimate reactions to a human male. The joy she'd felt at seeing him and her response to his touch, did not make her happy.

  Late that night she slipped outside. Leaning against the gnarly oak, she couldn't decide whether she wanted to shift or just remain beside the tree. Staring into the pastures lit by a half moon hung above distant snow laden mountain caps, filled her with peace. She breathed the sweet air of fertile fields and listened to melodious crickets and toads vying for center stage.

  The back door opened and she glanced around the tree to see Wade walk to the fence line and reach into his pocket. She heard a scratchy sound and then a tiny flame of fire danced as he bent his head toward it. He must have seen her shape or sensed her presence, because he turned and said, "Fawn?"

  "Yes."

  "What are you doing out so late?"

  "I just wanted to enjoy the peace of the night."

  "Do you mind if I join you?"

  "Of course not."

  He walked toward the oak but stopped a few paces out. "I enjoy an occasional cheroot. Would you like me to put it out?"

  "No. Please enjoy it. It won't bother me."

  He covered the distance between them and also leaned against the trunk. He chuckled. "This tree and I have been friends for a long time."

  "I can understand that. It's magnificent, tall, strong, beautiful in a gnarly way."

  He repeated her words. "Beautiful in a gnarly way… I like that."

  She laughed. "Thank you."

  Wade cleared his throat. "I want to thank you for bringing such happiness to Zoe. She's become so carefree these past weeks. It reminds me of when…well…never mind."

  Summoning her courage, Fawn asked, "Can you tell me about her mother." She quickly added, "Of course, that's a personal question and you don't have to answer."

  The silence stretched so long that Fawn was afraid she'd offended him, but he finally said, "I don't mind answering. Kristal and I were high school friends. After graduation we went to separate universities and lost touch. I came back to the ranch after college and we ran into each other i
n town. She'd also returned home and opened a small store in Cortez. It was a metaphysical shop and the country folk, while not opposed to it, didn't exactly embrace it. But the store survived.

  "Anyway, we picked up our friendship again, and then, much to our surprise, fell in love. After Zoe was born…" he paused and chuckled. "It was Kristal's idea to name our daughter Zoe. I'd never heard of the name, but Kristal said it meant 'life' and I liked that. Anyway, after Zoe was born, Kristal worked part time and took Zoe to the shop with her. They were very close."

  Wade took a draw on his cheroot before continuing. "Kristal always told me that Zoe had special gifts, but whenever I asked what she meant, she'd just say, 'she's intuitive'."

  "What do you think she meant?"

  "At the time, I didn't give it much thought. Since Kristal's death, however, I've come to believe that Zoe has a gift for perceiving a person's character." He paused and stared at the moon, then turned to face her. "Here's an example. About a year ago, Zoe and I heard a car drive up and we walked onto the front porch. A young man stepped out of the car and Zoe made a horrible sound; like a cry of terror. She ran into the house and I followed. She grabbed my hand and said, 'Daddy, he's a bad man. He has bad colors. Make him go away.' Then she ran upstairs. About that time, the guy knocked on the door and I stepped outside to see what he wanted. He was asking for a job. He was polite and personable, but there was something shifty about his eyes I didn't like. He was almost too personable. I told him I wasn't hiring and he left. Anyway, long story short, he got a job at Mac's ranch, and from what I hear, he's become like Mac's own son. Rumors travel and it seems that the other hands don't like him at all, but anyone bad mouthing him ends up with their walking papers."

  "That's heavy, Wade. Was Zoe's mother intuitive?"

  "Kristal was always quiet and well-mannered, and yes, intuitive. She had a look of sadness, though, that I could never erase. She was given up for adoption at the age of four and grew up in foster homes. I asked her if she wanted to search for her birth parents, but she told me no. I don't know how much she remembered of them. She never talked about her early life, even though I tried to get her to open up. Her foster parents during high school were nice enough, but they had eight kids; four of their own and four fosters. Kristal once confided that she'd accidentally overheard them talking about how they wished they'd been given another child because she was so strange."

  Fawn gasped. "That's heartbreaking!"

  "Tell me about it. I loved her and tried to make her happy, but there was deep-seated sadness she could never shake. She always kept a part of herself from me."

  Fawn didn't expect him to say more, so she was surprised when he continued.

  "I was in the car accident that killed her. Zoe was too." He touched the scar on his jaw. "This is my physical souvenir. The others are emotional. Anyway, we were on the freeway driving back from Denver." He again inhaled on his cheroot and slowly released the smoke, as if biding his time before continuing. "A drunk driver clipped the back of our car and it rolled several times." He tossed the cheroot on the ground and twisted his boot heel on it. "I remember being penned in the car, unable to help Kristal or Zoe. All I could do was look at them. I didn't know if my little girl or wife was alive or dead. Then Krystal opened her eyes and looked at me, and, by God, this is the honest truth. She had the most awesome look on her face. She smiled and said, 'All my life, I've only seen the ugly colors. Zoe sees both. She'll be okay.' Then she got this faraway look and said, 'I finally see the beautiful colors. They've come for me.' After that, she died with an angelic smile."

  Fawn wiped a tear from her eyes.

  Wade had been watching her and gently placed his index finger under her chin, tilting her head until she could see moonlight reflected in his eyes. Another tear leaked. He touched it with his other finger. "I didn't mean to make you cry."

  More tears flowed and she leaned her head against his chest. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her and they offered comfort to each other in that simple embrace.

  CHAPTER 18:

  WILD RIDE

  Fawn bid Zoe goodbye when Mrs. Porter picked her up for piano lessons and watched from the porch as they drove away. It had been a week since their return from Portland and their daily routine had resumed. Thinking about the night Wade had opened up and shared things she knew he'd never told anyone made her heart expand, and their comforting embrace was never far from her mind. Since that night, she'd been invaded by uncharacteristic shyness whenever she was around him.

  Skipping down the front porch steps she circled to the back of the house with Sam at her heels and scanned the area for watching eyes. She stepped to the backside of the oak tree and shifted into a hawk. Flying toward the outer reaches of Wade's property she searched for the wild horses. Only a couple of hours earlier, while she and Zoe helped Pierre prepare breakfast for the men in the dorm kitchen, she had overheard the cowboys discussing the herd. Tate said he'd seen the horses getting a little too close to Mac's property and he'd driven them back. After hearing the concern in their voices, Fawn had decided to check on the horses herself.

  While scanning the area and drifting with the breeze, she congratulated herself on her decision to ask Pierre for culinary lessons. Since the night Wade had confided in her, she'd been plagued with an overwhelming desire to do something special for him, and since he was such a good sport about all the disastrous meals she and Zoe had forced his way, she'd wanted to surprise him with a delicious dinner. She'd toyed with the idea of asking Pierre for help before finally doing so, and hadn't regretted it in the least. Pierre was a wonderful man whose sense of humor kept everyone in high spirits.

  Fawn spotted the herd of feral horses and forgot about everything except her task at hand. She searched the area for cowboys and, seeing none, landed behind the cover of a large boulder. Shifting into the white mare, she lunged past the boulder and approached the herd. Her appearance did little to disturb the grazing horses as she mingled among them, slowly chomping her way to the black stallion. When she came within a few feet, he snorted and his ears pricked. However, it was not she who had caused his alert stance. Glancing in the direction of an approaching rider, she was relieved to see Wade. He circled the feral horses, coming up behind them, and drove them forward. She ran with the herd, enjoying the thrill of the forced run. Wade herded them farther inland and halted Misty when they reached safer pastures. Fawn stopped when Wade did and even though her mind urged her to continue with the herd, her emotions did not listen. She waited for Wade's approach. He walked Misty Morning toward her.

  "Well, I'll be damn. So you're the seventh horse. I don't know how you do it, but your tracks appear and disappear like a magician's trick. You sure are a beauty. How close are you going to let me come to you?" He stopped at twenty feet and hesitated only a moment before sliding off his horse. Slowly advancing, he left Misty to graze and walked to within ten feet.

  "Sheeze, I can't believe you're letting me get this close. You're not going to rear up and trample me are you?"

  Fawn snorted and shook her mane. He remained at ten feet. They stared at each other and then she approached him. The shocked expression on his face made her heart grin. When she stood directly in front of him, he hesitantly stretched his gloved hand to her neck. His touch sent shivers through her and he honed in on it.

  "You like me, don't you?"

  Fawn touched her snout to his forehead.

  "I can see you're a sweetheart." He rubbed her neck, again sending shivers throughout her body. He grinned and said, "This is incredible." He stepped back to gaze into her blue eyes and a strange look passed over his face. "Your eyes are the same color as Fawn's." A few seconds later he said, "Will you let me ride you?" He ran his hands down her neck all the way to her flank. She sidled closer. "So you like that?" he joked.

  In one swift movement he mounted her. The action caused such a rush to her senses that Fawn lifted her hooves high into the air and came down running. Wade laughed an
d leaned over her mane, grasping it and hanging on. She ran the length of the pasture and wanted to keep running forever. His weight felt so good; so right.

  Finally, returning to Misty she waited for him to dismount. He slipped from her back and she immediately galloped toward a copse of cottonwood trees.

  "Wait!" he shouted.

  She reached the covering of trees and turned once to stare at him. He was now riding Misty and following her. Darting into the covering of trees and foliage until she was hidden, she prayed, shifted, and soared again as a hawk. High above, she watched Wade follow her tracks until he reached the place she'd shifted. Dismounting he bent over the tracks and touched them. After watching him for a time she returned her attention to flying back to the ranch.

  ***

  Wade sat in the recreation room with his cowhands. At the house he'd eaten soggy lasagna with Fawn and Zoe and pretended he liked it. Zoe had offered him a second helping and he'd looked at Fawn for help, but her turquoise eyes had twinkled at his dilemma. Remembering the color set his heart racing.

  "Have any of you ever seen an all white mare running with the feral herd?" he asked to no one in particular.

  "Nope."

  "No."

  "Never."

  "Huh-uh. Why?"

  "Because I just saw one today and you're not going to believe this—she stopped running with the herd and waited for my approach. Then she let me ride her."

  "No way. Are you sure you weren't hallucinatin'?" asked Tate.

  Bud interjected as if he were reading from an encyclopedia, "Feral horses do not allow themselves to be ridden."

  Wade snorted. "I don't care if you believe me or not. I know what happened."

  Schmitt chuckled, "Now we got the boss seein' and ridin' ghost horses. What next?"