A Promise of Thunder

Storm into his arms and offer the comfort of his strength. She felt so small, so warm and soft, that he groaned in response to the unaccustomed surge of compassion he felt for this small, helpless female. The last woman he’d felt that kind of protectiveness toward was Summer Sky. And this woman was nothing like Summer Sky.
    At first Storm allowed the small intimacy as Grady clumsily patted her shoulder, forgetting for a moment everything but the need to vent her grief over Buddy’s death. Then, slowly, she became aware of the carefully controlled power of the arms holding her and of the hard strength of the body pressing against hers. This man felt nothing like Buddy. The feeling ofGrady’s huge body enveloping her was so foreign that for a moment she could neither move or speak.
    “Are you all right?” Grady asked quietly.
    The sound of that low, intense voice was the catalyst that brought Storm abruptly back to sanity. Realizing she was accepting comfort from a man she should despise, she dragged herself from his arms, standing back and staring at him as if he were the devil himself.
    “Don’t touch me!”
    A dull red stained Grady’s neck. “I’m sorry.” It startled him to hear himself apologizing again.
    “Good-bye, Mr. Stryker.” Deliberately she turned her back on him.
    But Grady was not ready to leave. “What will you do now?”
    “That’s none of your business.”
    “I’m making it my business. You’ve accused me of causing your husband’s death so I’m accepting responsibility for your welfare. Do you need money to return to your family?”
    Storm whirled to face him, and Grady was mesmerized by the swirling mass of blond hair that settled around her like a gleaming veil of gold. She was the most provocative woman he had ever encountered, and the most contrary. Summer Sky had never offered a harsh word or argument of any kind in all the years they had known one another.
    “Very well, since you asked I’ll tell you exactly what I’m going to do. I intend to participatein the land rush. I’m going to be right there at the starting line when the signal is given, racing with the rest of the homesteaders to claim a piece of land for myself.”
    Her voice was fervent, passionate, intense with defiant determination. Vaguely, Grady wondered what it would be like to be the recipient of all that passion and intensity. Then, abruptly, the meaning of her words sunk in.
    “You’re what!”
    “You heard me, I’m going to claim the land Buddy and I had staked out for ourselves.”
    “You’re a woman.” His voice was incredulous. “A woman clings to her man. She doesn’t set out to accomplish things women have no business attempting.”
    “In case you hadn’t noticed, I have no man. No one, do you hear me, no one, will stop Storm Kennedy from taking part in the land rush three days from now. Certainly not some half-breed gunslinger.”
    Grady heard nothing past the name Storm had inadvertently supplied him.
    Storm.
    It was as if a sign had been given to him by Wakantanka. His vivid blue eyes grew distant as he recalled that fateful day atop the mountain, when he had sought his vision and Grandfather spoke to him.
    “The peace you seek will come with the Storm. Until you meet and conquer the Storm your spirit will know no rest. Always remember that Thunder is the harbinger of Storm,but Thunder can only exist in the bosom of Storm’s soul.”
    Grady’s face turned white beneath the bronze of his tan, and he stared at Storm as if his life had just been blown to hell.

Chapter Two
     
    “What are you staring at?”
    It was a struggle to drag his thoughts away from the prophecy and concentrate on what Storm was saying. “Don’t you know how dangerous it is for a woman to participate in a land rush? In town you’re treated with respect because of your fair sex, but once you join the men at the starting line it will be every man, woman, and child for himself. With one hundred thousand participants, there can’t possibly be enough land to go around.”
    “Why should it matter to you? I’m willing to take the risk and that’s all that counts. It’s what Buddy wanted, and now it’s what I want. When the shot announces the start of the run I’ll be in line, Mr. Stryker.”
    “And should you succeed, you won’t be ableto hold on to your land,” Grady snorted derisively. “You’re only a woman.”
    “And you’re a pigheaded, opinionated, half-breed savage,” Storm returned