Free Naked Edge by Pamela Clare Page B

approach.
    They were near the top now, the access road widening as it came to its end. And there up ahead she saw a familiar pickup truck, the driver's side door open.
    "Grandpa Red Crow is here."
    "He's the old guy who was pouring water for the inipi that night, right?"
    Kat nodded. "He's one of our most revered elders, a Hunkpapa Lakota medicine man from Rosebud. He wants me to invite you to tonight's inipi."
    "He's holding an inipi up here tonight?" The tone of Gabe's voice told her he didn't think this was a great idea.
    "Yes. Now that we know what happened, he says he sees no reason why we can't go on as we did before. Besides, he refuses to be driven off the land. He wanted me to invite you to join us. He thinks we might be left in peace if there's a ranger with us."
    "Oh, I see. He just wants me there for my badge--is that it?"
    Realizing what she'd said--or, rather, how she'd said it--Kat rushed to explain, afraid she'd hurt his feelings. "Oh, no! No! That's not what I meant. He--"
    A grin spread across Gabe's face, and Kat realized he was teasing her. "I'm honored by the invitation. Still, it might not be such a great idea to hold another ceremony here until the city clarifies its position on the land-use code."
    "Why should we wait when we have a right to be here?"
    The butte leveled out, the sweat lodge standing off to their left, a pile of firewood beside it, waiting to be split. Grandpa Red Crow's ax was there, but he wasn't.
    "Does he usually arrive this early?" Gabe asked, turning and glancing about them.
    Kat nodded, expecting to see Grandpa Red Crow any moment. "He cleans the lodge and splits wood for the fire chief to use."
    They stood there for a good fifteen minutes, debating whether it was wise to hold another inipi, but still Grandpa Red Crow did not appear. Kat began to worry about him. He wasn't a young man. If he'd twisted his ankle on the steep terrain or gotten sick...
    "Have you ever been to the top?" Gabe asked, looking up at the flat, rocky crown that formed the butte's summit.
    Kat shook her head. "It's almost always dark when I'm here."
    "Come on. The view is amazing."
    "I... I don't know if I should."
    His brows knitted together in a frown. "Is it against your beliefs to go up there?"
    "No. Nothing like that. It's just..." How was she going to explain this to a man who hung upside down from cliffs for fun? "Ever since I fell, I've had a bad fear of heights. I... I get dizzy and..." She willed herself to meet his gaze, expecting to see disappointment in his eyes, but finding understanding.
    "I'm not surprised. You took one hell of a fall. But that's a solid basalt dike. It's not going to disappear from beneath your feet." Then he looked straight into her eyes. "And I promise I won't let you fall."
    She followed him up the rocky, winding trail to the top, listening as he told her about the great surge of hot, volcanic rock that had created the butte, the wind picking up and tousling her hair as they neared the summit.
    And then she was there on the highest point of Mesa Butte, the four directions stretching out before her. The summit was flat. No plants. No trees. Nothing but an empty liquor bottle. She took one step forward--and regretted it.
    The dizziness hit her, making her head spin. Trying to shake the feeling, she drew air into her lungs, reminded herself that the rock beneath her boots was solid. But it didn't seem to help. Her stomach sank toward the ground, her knees turning to rubber, her lungs too constricted to draw breath.
    Gabe caught her around the waist and drew her up against the hard wall of his chest. "Easy, Kat. Open your eyes."
    She hadn't realized she'd closed them. She did as he'd asked and found herself looking up into his eyes.
    "Now breathe. Slowly. That's the way." After a moment he moved to the side, the view opening before her once more.
    "Don't--!" She grabbed for him.
    Warm fingers clasped hers. "I'm not going anywhere."
    Reassured by his presence, she looked at