Sharon Sala - Rider on Fire & When You Call My Name - Rider on Fire / When You Call My Name

Frustrated by thoughts that just kept going in circles, she began to focus on the beauty of the mountain, instead. Pine and cedar trees grew in great abundance, as well as knobby-barked blackjack trees—a cousin of the oak. Every so often she would see a bird fly out from among the branches of a tree and then disappear into another.

She thought of what it would be like to live up here, so far away from the conveniences of city living. One would have to be very secure to live so alone. Then it occurred to her that she lived in a city among thousands and was as alone as anyone could be. It was an eye-opening realization to know that it wasn’t where you lived, but how you lived, that made lonely people.

Obviously, Franklin Blue Cat was alone, but if he was as secure within himself as Adam, she doubted that he was very lonely.

Just when she thought they would never arrive at their destination, Adam began to slow down, then came to a complete stop.

Sonora was forced to stop daydreaming and focus on the immediate. Up to now, the road had been blacktop, but she saw that at the fork it became dirt. She realized she was about to eat dust.

When Adam leaned his head out of the window and waved her over, it became apparent he was concerned with the same thing.

“If you follow me too closely, you will be covered in dust.”

She flipped up the visor on the helmet so that she could more easily be heard. “I’ll manage,” she said.

“Still, if you want to lay back a little, I thought I’d tell you where we’re going so that you don’t miss a turn.”

Sonora thought about it and decided that a serial killer probably wouldn’t give her a chance to get away like this. His offer went a long way toward easing her already suspicious mind.

“Yeah, okay, I see your point,” she said.

“Good,” Adam said, then pointed to the left. “Four miles down this way, you’ll come to another fork in the road. Take the right fork, which goes up the mountain, and follow it. Franklin’s home is at the end of the road. You’ll see a couple of signs along the way that say Blue Cat Sculptures.”

Sonora frowned. “Really? Does he sell arts and crafts from his home or something?”

“No.” Then he grinned. “I think there are a few more surprises in store for you. Your father is world renowned for his carvings.”

“The bird,” Sonora muttered.

Adam frowned. “I’m sorry, what did you say?” he asked.

“Oh, nothing,” she said. “Let’s go. I need to get this over with. I don’t want to have to find my way off this mountain in the dark.”

Adam’s frown deepened. “There is no need for that to happen,” he said. “Your father will welcome you.”

“How could he when he didn’t know I existed?”

Adam eyed the woman, accepting her defensiveness as understandable, yet wondering how much of the spiritual world of the Kiowa she would be able to accept.

“It is your father’s story to tell,” Adam said. “So, are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” she muttered, and waited for him to drive away. As soon as he’d gone about a half mile down the road, she revved up the engine and followed.

* * *

Franklin was sitting on the porch when he heard the sound of a car coming up the road. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for people to come unannounced, but he wasn’t in the mood to cater to strangers. Still, his good manners bade him to deal with it, just as he was dealing with the leukemia ravaging his body.

When the truck appeared at the curve in the road, he breathed a sign of relief. It was Adam. He was always welcome.

Franklin stood, then lifted his arm in a greeting as Adam pulled up to the yard and stopped. He was partway off the steps when he realized that someone had been following Adam’s truck.

Stifling a frown, he took a deep breath and put on his game face. When he saw that it was a rider on a motorcycle, he paused politely.

“Adam, it’s good to see you,” Franklin said, and then pointed down the road with his chin. “He with you?”

Adam stifled a smile, and then nodded.

Franklin sighed. “This has not been a good day.”

Adam put a hand on his old friend’s arm. “I’m sorry to hear that, old friend, but I have good news. That’s about to change.”

Franklin flinched. The eagle had warned him a change was coming. Was it already here?

The rider pulled up beside Adam’s truck and then parked. It was when he started to dismount that Franklin realized the he was a she. Even in black leather, the body was definitely feminine.

He glanced at Adam, but Adam only smiled at him, then shrugged as if to say wait and see. Franklin sighed. These days, he was not so good at waiting for anything.

The rider leaned slightly forward as she took off the helmet, and as she lifted her head, a long, black sweep of hair fanned out, then fell loosely down the back of her neck. Even though she had yet to face him, Franklin felt an odd sense of familiarity.

“Adam?”

“Just wait,” Adam said.

In that moment, Sonora Jordan turned, and for the second time today, found herself face-to-face with the other man from her dreams.

“This is too weird,” she muttered, and refused to let herself be overwhelmed by the fact that this man claimed he was her father.

Franklin was shaking. He couldn’t quit staring at her face.

“Who are you?” he asked.

Sonora looked at Adam, then frowned. “I thought you said he knew I was coming.”

Adam decided it was time for him to intervene. “Franklin, the Old Ones have delivered what you asked for. This is Sonora Jordan. She’s an agent with the DEA.”

Sonora frowned. “What Old Ones? What are you talking about?” She backed up and laid her hand on the storage compartment behind the seat of the Harley. It made her feel safer to be close to the gun. “Is this some trick Garcia has pulled to get me alone, because I warn you, if it is, I won’t—”

“No. No,” Franklin whispered. “It’s no trick. It’s a miracle. I asked Adam to find my child. And you have come.”

Sonora looked at Adam. “I don’t get it. You didn’t find me. I found you.”

“Actually, it was neither,” Adam said. “The Old Ones found you. They are the ones who have guided your path. They are the ones who have brought you to this place.”

“What are you talking about? Who are these Old Ones you keep talking about?”

Franklin waved her question away as he took her by the hand.

“Forgive me, but I just had to touch you. You are so beautiful. My heart is full of joy.”

“Look,” Sonora said. “I appreciate your kindness, but how can you be certain that—”

“Come into my house. I’ll prove it to you,” Franklin said, and then turned and strode to the porch and up the steps without waiting to see if she was behind him.

Sonora glared at Adam. “I’m not falling for all this ghost and spirit crap.”

“Suit yourself,” he said. “But consider this…how else did you come to be in this place?”

She flashed on the hallucinations and dreams she’d been having and glared even harder.

“My boss told me to get lost for a while. That’s how. I’ve got one man already on my back trying to kill me. So if you’re in mind of doing anything similar, you need to get in line.”

Adam froze. His voice deepened as his eyes went cold. “You are in danger?”

“Oh, Lord… I don’t know…. Yes, probably. At least enough that my boss told me to leave Phoenix.”

“Come, come,” Franklin called from the doorway. “You must see to believe.”

Sonora gave Adam one last warning glance. “Just don’t mess with me, okay?”

Adam didn’t answer.

Sonora exhaled angrily, took her gun out of the compartment and put it in the back waistband of her pants, beneath her leather vest, then stomped into the house.