Page 2 of Fire And Ice

She walked over to the man she had noticed first, the one with the dark hair and grey eyes. Staring at him she asked, “Has anyone else been here asking about your mountain?”

He frowned then glanced at the other two men. “Why would you ask that?”

“It’s important, I need to know, has anyone else been around here?” She growled.

They all sat up straighter when they heard the growl in her voice.

Amira swallowed hard and shrugged.

“Actually, there was somebody out here just yesterday in fact,” one of the other men spoke up. “He was like you just staring at the mountain for a few minutes. Then he seemed to be looking around the ground for something. I have no idea what he was looking for but it sure seemed important to him to find it.” Shaking his head he demanded, “Just what is it about that damn hunk of rock that has everybody and his brother coming looking for it?”

Amira stared at him for a moment then asked, “Did he leave anything anywhere around the mountain?”

“Like what?” he asked as he frowned.

Amira shook her head. “I don’t know. That’s why I asked.”

“No, he didn’t leave anything that I found. Like I said, he seemed to be looking for something, maybe a marker or something.” He shrugged his wide shoulders. “But after I chased him off, I really didn’t look that hard. He didn’t belong here anymore than you do.”

Amira wanted to snarl at him that he might own the land but this was her mountain. Although she knew she couldn’t do that. She knew she had been born here, then her father found her and had stolen her away within days of her birth. He just took her, leaving her mother behind.

She went back to her horse and swung up into the saddle. She glared at the three men and said, “I’ll be back.”

The one who’d told her about the other person who’d come to here shook his head. “No you won’t. This is private land and you don’t live here.”

She looked over at the man who had given her that odd feeling before. His grey eyes followed her every move.

The other one hissed his displeasure, as she seemed to be dismissing him. He revved his engine, hoping to unseat her.

Nothing happened, as the horse remained steady.

Amira scoffed at his attempt as she threw back her head and laughed. Then she swung her horse around and galloped away.

Chapter One

Amira met her friends about a mile away from the mountain and when she reined in, she looked at them and announced, “I found it. I found the place where I was born.”

Kinsen smiled and nodded. “That’s good then. We can begin to repair the damage your father did when he took you away from your mother.”

Amira shook her head. “My mother is long dead and her people abandoned the mountain. I heard her call but it was faint and the men who live there now told me they have been there for ten years and the people who did live there just walked away a while before that.”

Jacks snorted. “I’m surprised you heard the call then. Ten years is a long time.”

Amira hung her head. “All my life, I’ve heard my mother’s voice in my head. My father couldn’t stand that. He kept me away from the rest of his people because he didn’t want his lies about my birth known. He knew what they would do to him. My dad hates me and my grandfather hates me. I was told over and over again that I was a child that never should have been born. But my father wouldn’t let me go. It was only when he died did my grandfather finally release me. He told me then to find my own people because I wasn’t welcome anymore. Well, I didn’t ask to be born to a loser like Milo Wicks and I never asked him to take me away from my mother. But I’m home now.”

The three men all stood there and listened as they shook their heads.

Amira felt tears well in her eyes but she refused to let them fall. Tears were a waste of time and she was stronger than her father had ever thought. She now looked at the three men with her. When she’d been kicked out, they had come with her. Her grandfather had told her not to come back but she hadn’t been to blame for the sins of her father. “But we might have someone else to contend with,” Amira warned them. “The biker group that lives here told me someone else had been here yesterday and was looking for the mountain too.”

“Did they say who it was?” Kinsen asked sharply.

Amira looked at him and slowly shook her head. “No they didn’t.” Then she studied the three of them. “Why? What do you guys know about this place that I don’t?”

Kinsen glanced at Trent and Jacks then shook his head. There was more to her story and it was time she was told. “Before your father died, he and your grandfather got into a fight. His secrets about you were told and your grandfather wasn’t happy. It’s true he never liked you but he never imagined his son would have done what he did, he completely blindsided your mom, leaving her behind when she told him about you and then he came back to steal you from your people. When your dad died, your grandfather decided to try and right the wrong your dad did. He set you free and told you to find your own people but he never knew where they were. He was hoping the shaman blood in your veins would lead you home. And it did, only your people aren’t here.”

“But my mother is,” Amira stated with certainty. “I may not have gotten any feeling from my father or his family but I got enough from her, even after her death. I’m staying. You can go back if you want but I’m staying.”

“Then you need to know the entire story.” Jacks snarled. Looking over at Kinsen he said, “You tell her or I will.”

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