“Colby?“
“Hmmm?“ His arm tightened around her shoulders as he emitted a huge yawn.
“It’s getting late. Won’t be long until the sun sets. Maybe we should start back.“
“We’ll wait a little while longer. I want to show you something.“
“The falls at sunset?“ Diana sat up and picked up her shirt. The heat of the day was fading rapidly. “You said something about the water turning the color of blood. To be perfectly truthful, it doesn’t sound all that terrific.“
“You’ll see. Where’s that damned dog of yours?“ Colby sat up and reached for his jeans.
Diana’s glance got caught for a moment as she watched the smooth play of muscles under his skin. The strength in him was captivating. She had responded to it with more passion than she’d ever experienced. Colby saw her lingering look, and started to grin with lazy, come-hither sensuality. Diana quickly shifted her gaze to the woods, searching for her dog.
“Specter? Here, boy. Where are you? Specter? Over here, boy.“
A soft, answering whine came from the trees. Diana smiled as the animal materialized from the woods. He appeared decidedly reproving. “Look at him. He probably wonders if we’re finished acting like a couple of humans.“
Colby chuckled. “I think we embarrassed him.“
“I wouldn’t be surprised. Specter has a great sense of dignity.“
“Unlike you when you’re going up in flames in my arms.“ Colby gave her a lingering kiss. “But it was good, lady.
And I have a feeling it’s going to get better and better.“ He got to his feet and tugged her up beside him. “Hurry up and get dressed. That sun will be in just the right position in another minute or two.“
He helped her with the buttons of her shirt, and then she stepped quickly into her jeans and running shoes.
“Here we go. This is the best place to see the effect.“ Colby led her quickly to an outcropping of granite that gave a clear view of the thundering water. The mist boiled up into the air and settled lightly on Diana’s tangled hair.
She looked down as the fading sun began to paint the sky. “It’s beautiful,“ she said in surprise, as first the mist and then the cascading water turned a vivid gold. “I thought it would be red.“
“Watch.“ Colby leaned forward intently, one foot braced on a chunk of rock.
Diana glanced at him curiously, wondering at his fascination. “You must have seen this hundreds of times.“
“I used to come up here nearly every evening during the summer months when I was a kid.“ He didn’t look at her.
His whole attention was on the waterfall. “There. It’s happening. See it? Like blood pouring out of the mountain.“
Diana felt a distinct chill down her spine as she obeyed him and turned her gaze back to the falls. “My God, you’re right,“ she whispered. “It’s unbelievable.“
“It’s the blood of a dying warrior.“
She wanted to ask him what he meant, but now wasn’t the time. She stared in amazement, as fascinated as Colby was. The gold mist gradually shaded to orange and then to deep scarlet red. The effect lasted only a moment or two, and then the sun disappeared behind the mountains. The waterfall returned to its normal silver and white. Diana and Colby stood in silence for a moment. Then Colby reached out to hook an arm around her shoulders.
“Interesting, isn’t it?“ he asked a little too casually.
“It’s weird,“ Diana retorted with feeling.
Colby laughed softly. “Yeah. Weird. Did I tell you there’s a cave behind the falls? You can’t see it because of the water, but if you know your way around down there, you can get to it.“
“A cave?“
“Chained Lady Cave.“
Diana leaned down to pick up the remnants of their picnic lunch. “How did the falls and the cave get that name?
Chained Lady. It’s strange.“
“It’s from an old legend.“ Colby folded the blanket and started to lead the way down the steep path to where the Jeep was parked.
“An Indian legend?“
He shook his head. “The Indians told it to the first settlers in the area, but they always swore the legend had nothing to do with their tribe. They claimed there was another race here before them. A fierce warrior people who had long since vanished.“
“And the legend dates from that time?“
“Right.“
“Tell me the story.“ Pebbles clattered under her feet as Diana hurried to keep up with him. She was suddenly keen to hear the tale of Chained Lady Falls.
“The way I heard it when I was a kid was that the warriors who inhabited this area had a habit of acquiring their wives through the time-honored procedure of kidnapping them.“
“They sound like a typical bunch of male chauvinists.“
“Don’t look at me like that,“ Colby said with a sardonic glance over his shoulder. “I haven’t kidnapped a woman in years. At any rate, it seems that one of the greatest of the clan’s warriors decided he deserved the best. He wanted a woman who could give him a strong son. He hunted far and wide before he made his selection. Then he swooped down and grabbed the young lady one day while she was out picking berries. He carried her home and proudly installed her in his bed. But he’d made a slight miscalculation.“
“The lady didn’t like being kidnapped and carried away from her home and family?“
“She took strong exception to the whole situation. Under normal circumstances, her feelings on the subject would have been disregarded by all concerned. But in her case, her new husband couldn’t totally overlook her opinion because she came from a very unusual clan. One in which the women were warriors. Not only that, but the females of the clan had learned how to control their reproductive cycles.“
“Aha. In other words, she knew something about birth control and she refused to get pregnant. Good for her.“
“Wait until you hear the end of the story before you start applauding.“
Diana frowned at his back. “Is it going to have a happy ending?“
“No, it’s not. Listen well, my sweet, and learn that female stubbornness doesn’t pay off in the long run.“
“Spoken like a modern-day chauvinist warrior type,“ Diana muttered.
Colby ignored her. “When several months of nightly effort on the part of our valiant warrior did not pay off, he finally realized his new bride was deliberately sabotaging his big plans to produce a mighty son and heir.“