Tumbleweed (21 page)

“The sign, the guys were just getting ready to hang it.” He watched intently for my reaction as the large wrought iron sign was hoisted into place over a massive archway. Tumbleweed Ranch.

If it was possible, I was certain my heart would burst with joy. I'd finally tumbled my way home.

Bonus: Excerpt from RING OF FIRE

by Heather Huffman

We are so glad you enjoyed TUMBLEWEED! Please take a look at the following sample from another great Heather Huffman book, RING OF FIRE. The setup:

When rare, violet-gray diamonds are discovered at Alexandra McAlister's clean-energy research site on a small South Pacific island, the reclusive scientist suddenly finds herself plagued by greedy gem hunters. To make matters worse, the island's government is threatening to revoke her permits so they can capitalize on the find.

Fresh from a confrontation with an annoyingly attractive government official, Alex happens upon a girl in danger. Instinct takes over and she rescues the girl, only to find out she is the island's princess, and the annoying official is her guardian, Daniel!

Alex finds herself thrust into a situation where she has to protect not only her life's work, but also her life itself and that of the precocious teenage princess she grows to love. Daniel appears to be their only chance at survival – if they can learn to get along. Undercover and acting the part of a loving family, they work to find out who is pursuing them and what it is they're after, only to realize their relationship may not be an act after all.

Find it at your favorite online retailer in all popular ebook formats! RING OF FIRE is also available in print or read it online for free at
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Chapter One

DIAMONDS MIGHT BE
a girl's best friend, but they'd come to be the bane of Alexandra McAlister's existence. Ever since the first violet gray rock made an appearance in her volcano, she'd been besieged by an endless stream of visitors, all wanting to stake their claim on the gems.

They seemed to grow more irritating as the days progressed. Whether that was due to their increased boldness or her decreased tolerance, she couldn't say.

Alex blew a stray hair off her forehead and slumped into a dingy brown leather chair. Her thighs stuck to it on the really hot days like this one, but the ease with which its plump cushions welcomed her slender frame made up for the unpleasant moment that would come when she peeled herself off it later.

Regardless, she was too worked up over the last interloper to be bothered by a minor irritation like sticky furniture. His stormy eyes still seared into her brain. Even now, her face flushed at the thought of the bullish set to his jaw.

She rubbed her temple, wishing a stiff drink would materialize. Her Nokia chirped and Alex groaned at the number on the screen. Instead of conjuring a libation, she'd manifested a corporate drone.

Alex ignored the phone. He didn't actually want to talk to her, only rail at her for lack of results. That could be accomplished just as easily via voicemail, she reasoned.

It could also be more easily dismissed via voicemail. Maybe that's why one of the newer grad students popped his head into the trailer two minutes later.

“Jones is on line two. He said he couldn't reach you on your cell.”

“Tell him I'm on my way to the site.”

“But you're right here.”

She dearly wanted to retort, “Very observant, Kansas,” but the most recent lecture from her boss on communication skills was still fresh in her mind, so she listened to the filter in her brain.

“By the time you get to the phone again, I will be on my way to the project site.” Alex mentally patted herself on the back. Chad would be proud.

To assure the young man of her intent, she peeled her thighs off the chair and swung her pack over her shoulders in one fluid motion.

“Should I tell him you'll call him?” the lanky youth hesitated at the door.

“Sure.” Alex showed the closest thing to mercy she could muster in her current frame of mind. Ten years of her life's work stood perilously on the brink of decimation because of a handful of exotic rocks.

She firmly reminded herself it wasn't this kid's fault. Maybe it wasn't fair to place him in between herself and corporate, but she couldn't make herself deal with any more strife at the moment.

She'd come to this island to harness the power of its volcano, not pander to greedy execs or chase off even greedier gem hunters. Especially ones who claimed to have the weight of the island's budding government behind them.

Alex fired her beat-up old Jeep to life, swearing under her breath when she realized the gas gauge was hovering over “E.” A quick search turned up two empty gas cans, so she tossed those in the Jeep and made her way to lone gas station in the island's only town.

Before heading off to a congressional energy forum back in the states, Chad had placed her in charge as the senior-ranking scientist. He'd also given her strict instructions not to chase off, berate, or otherwise torture those in her charge.

She might be better with volcanoes than people, but it never hurt to seize an opportunity for personal growth. That, and she'd rather be dragged naked over broken glass than let Chad down. More than being her boss, he was her friend and one of the few people in the
world who seemed to click with her. The list was a pretty short one—in fact, it pretty much included Chad and her older brother, Devon. And Devon was in Ecuador growing roses, so she rarely saw him.

It took a mile or two, but the combination of island scenery and solitude worked their magic, and she felt almost human again by the time she stood pumping gasoline into the tail end of her Jeep.

She closed her eyes briefly, letting the breeze caress her cheek. A tendril of coffee brown hair escaped its confines to lap at her neck.

Her toffee-colored eyes gazed down the road, not really registering the hustle of the street market. A rainbow of canvas tent tops, people milling in the street, and vendors hawking their wares all went unnoticed.

Without her bidding, her mind wandered to the latest man to show up on her doorstep trying to claim her mountain. The diamond cartels were scary, but she was pretty sure she could navigate that mess. The amateur treasure hunters were a joke.

But this one made her nervous. Daniel Martin started out charming enough, until it became apparent she wasn't inclined to stop her research for a pretty face. Then his boyish good looks hardened to granite, and he'd been quick to threaten revoking her permits.

Alex could just picture that conversation with Chad. “Great news—no one quit while you were gone. Unfortunately, we've been shut down because I'm incapable of handling a government stooge on an island so small it's barely a speck on the map.”

Their team had been working for years to find a viable alternative energy source that was both endlessly renewable and easier on the environment than coal, and they were so very close. The energy forum happening in Washington could help ensure adaptation of the new technology once it was perfected. Chad was older, wiser, and much more adept at diplomacy. It made sense that he be the one to go lobby his contacts in Washington to help hydrothermal energy gain traction.

Besides, if Alex went back to the U.S., her brother would rope her into taking his place at the next board meeting for the family
company. She'd successfully avoided those for several years. No reason to ruin a perfectly good track record now.

With a new dejected slump to her shoulders, she replaced the nozzle on the pump and went to pay for her gas. She paused at the door, watching a parade of dark sedans fly past.

Cars were rare on the island anyway, so these definitely stood out. Maybe it was the kind of car they were, or maybe it was the angry hulks inside them that set off the warning bells in Alex's head. As the dust on the road settled, Alex paid for her gas and a bottle of water.

She'd just finished loading the gas cans in the back of the Jeep when a lone figure caught her eye. Someone was running toward her. Fast. As the slender frame approached, Alex realized it was a young girl.

The grubby youth was close now—close enough for Alex to see the fear etched on her face. A dark sedan was closing in on the kid, leading Alex to guess its source.

Instinct led Alex to lift the tarp in the back of her Jeep. The girl paused for a breath, weighing her options before scampering into the cocoon Alex offered.

Any hope she harbored that the interaction went unnoticed was shattered when Alex pulled out of the gas station and the sedan hung a left with such force its right wheels nearly came off the ground. She shot forward; her pursuer straightened his course.

Alex glanced in her rearview mirror and saw a pair of frightened eyes peeking at her from under the tarp. She gave the best reassuring smile she could muster under the circumstances and jerked the wheel to the right. The Jeep's back end swung wide, but Alex pressed on, the lines of her face set in determination.

The sedans she'd seen earlier joined. She gave them little more than a passing thought, every fiber of her being focused on protecting this ragamuffin girl who couldn't be more than 12 years old.

Maybe the luxury of thought would have led her to wonder why three cars of henchmen would chase a child. But she didn't have that luxury and was currently being steered by the closest thing to motherly instinct she'd known in her 35 years on this planet.

Alex zigzagged up and down the narrow streets, wondering how she planned on losing these guys on an island the size of a postage stamp and wishing she'd ventured out more in the year she'd been there. Maybe then she'd have an inkling of where to go now.

Once free of the congested streets of the village, she rocketed towards the jungle, pushing the antiquated engine to its very limits. What she lacked in horsepower, she made up for in luck.

The foliage grew thick around the road; they'd reached the island's dense jungle. One of the many exotic birds that called Tuwanga home flew across the road a split second behind Alex's car. The first sedan swerved to miss the turkey-sized obstacle, and the ensuing chaos bought Alex the time she needed to slam on the brakes and jerk the frightened girl out of the car.

Any hesitation that slowed the young beauty's feet vanished when the third sedan freed itself from the fiery mess to resume pursuit.

Alex shoved the girl under a fallen log, flattening her own body against it to offer another layer of protection. She pulled out her pocket knife and flipped it open. The meager blade might be intended for utility, but she felt somehow safer with it drawn.

Wide-eyed, they watched a pair of boots trample past them. Alex tried to envision leaping on the hulk's back. She wasn't sure how that would pan out, exactly. After an excruciating suspended moment, the feet made their way to the road. It seemed to take forever for him to give up the search; Alex felt herself begin to breathe again as the purr of the sedan's engine faded into the distance.

She poked her head up, looking around to be sure they were alone. When she was fairly certain they were, she stood and brushed herself off before offering a hand to the young girl.

“My name's Alex.”

“Lani.”

“Nice to meet you, Lani. Don't suppose you have any idea why those men were chasing you.”

“No.” Lani shook her head, tears threatening for the first time as the adrenaline wore off. “My protector is away today on business.
Somehow they must have known. When they showed up at the palace, the maid smuggled me out the trash chute.”

“The palace?” Alex repeated, recognition dawning. The hapless youth was Aolani St. Claire, the only living heir to the Tuwanga throne. Her coronation was in less than two months, when Tuwanga regained its independence from the French.

The princess stood quietly, allowing Alex time to process.

“You said your protector was away on business. When do you think he'll be back?”

“He should be already.”

“Okay, then let's get you to the palace.” Alex moved in the direction of the Jeep. It had only just come into view when an explosion rocked them back on their heels. Alex instinctively wrapped herself around Lani. Both turned to watch in horror as flames lapped hungrily at their only means of transportation.

“Well crap,” Alex muttered. This was going to make returning the urchin-princess slightly more difficult.

Chapter Two

ALEX'S CLOTHES WERE
plastered to her skin. The hair that had escaped her ponytail now stuck firmly to her neck. This she could tolerate, but her unlikely ward had become downright surly, and that was becoming more than she could bear. They had walked for hours, and she felt no closer to the palace than when they started.

“The road is over there,” Lani reminded her for the third time in fifteen minutes.

“I know where the road is.” Alex gritted her teeth. Every fiber of her being wanted to verbally eviscerate the petulant princess. But when she turned to chastise her, the fear evident behind the pompous façade stilled Alex's tongue.

She closed her eyes and pictured herself diving cleanly into the ocean off her favorite bluff. It was a visualization trick her father had taught her years ago. Simple as it seemed, the ability to retreat into her mind had gotten her through more than one miserable situation.

Now, she could almost feel her body slicing through the cool, clear water. With her equilibrium restored, she opened her eyes and asked Lani, “What's your favorite thing in the whole world?”

“Why?” the girl eyed her warily.

“Because.”

“Horseback riding with Joey,” Lani answered just when Alex had given up on a reply.

“Close your eyes for a second. Picture yourself horseback riding with Joey. You're on your favorite horse. The breeze is bathing your face; you're laughing. Be there in your mind. Not sweating in the jungle.”

Lani looked skeptical.

“Really. It helps,” Alex promised.

Lani reluctantly closed her eyes, her expression softening as the doubt subsided and the image crystallized.

“You've got it now. Let that image carry you through. Once you learn to detach your mind from your current physical state, you'll be able to endure just about anything.”