page57 (1/2)

Sienna’s head was spinning If she’d drea the canyon and the surrounding land forever wild?

And yet—and yet, such a thing was feasible Lawyers and scholars were always turning up old documents

But she couldn’t have dreamed Jesse He had been so real His kisses His smile His love

Tears rose in her eyes She dug in her pocket for a tissue, found none and wiped her arm across her face

“Hey,” Jack said, “nice!”

She blinked “What?”

“Never noticed that before” She looked at him blankly “The bracelet Must be a few hundred years old Didja get it in Bozeman?”

Sienna looked at the beautiful bracelet that encircled her wrist Horsehair Sterling silver Pipestone

“Jesse,” she whispered

Her heart filled with joy What had happened had been real—but it was over She had lost Jesse, she would never lie in his arain

Burying her face in her hands, she began to weep

“What?” Jack said, but she didn’t even try to answer

After a while, they all walked away Trauma, she heard one of them say Stress

Let them think what they wished There was no possible way to explain what had happened…

Or to explain her broken heart

Time slipped past

It didn’t rush backward or gallop relentlessly forward No holes sed Jesse up Ti, and so did he

He spent days searching the canyon, thefor Sienna, even though he damned well kneouldn’t find her

So more powerful than any enemy he’d ever encountered This was an enemy he could not see, could not describe, could not touch

Could not defeat

The realization half-killed him