“Just what?” he implored.
“You don’t impress me as the kind of guy who does surprises.”
He teasingly swept a hand to his chest. “I take offense to that.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it in a bad way.
“In my line of work, it doesn’t pay to be very impulsive and carefree. I guess that bleeds over to my personal life.”
“You shouldn’t be anyone other than who you are.”
“Obviously I should since I’m being categorized as boring.”
“That is not what I said.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I countered, “If that’s the truth then you should call me boring too because there’s no one I would rather be with than you.”
The look that flashed in Rev’s eyes almost made me regret my words. It was a mixture of both acknowledgment and longing. My chest rose and fell with harsh breaths as I rode the waves of my inner turmoil. Did I want Rev to feel something deep for me? Did I want to feel something deep for him? He was so very different from any man I’d ever known, least of all dated. But regardless of the differences, I was attracted to him—both physically and emotionally. With his good looks, gentle soul, and protective streak, who wouldn’t be?
But surely I was jumping to conclusions and letting my imagination get the best of me. Both in and out of his world, Revwas a catch. He couldn’t possibly want someone like me. It was impossible for me to forget how the experience with Mendoza had tarnished me. And even if he did feel like I did, he deserved better.
In an effort to change the subject, Rev motioned around us. “Two hundred years ago, all this land belonged to the Cherokees. Within the acres and acres of land, there was a sought after place where tribe members from all over the Southeast often made a pilgrimage.”
“What was so special about it?” I asked, as we ducked under some low lying
tree limbs.
“It was said to be a place of healing waters.”
My brows shot up in surprise. “There’s a lake out here?”
He opened his mouth and then closed it. Then with a sheepish grin, he replied, “You’ll have to wait and see.”
I couldn’t help laughing. “You’re terrible.”
“I’m pretty terrible at surprises. I’ve practically given it all away.” With a teasing wink, Rev added, “Of course, you do seem to be a very gifted manipulator.”
“Hey now,” I said, before playfully jabbing him in the ribs. As we started up a slight hill, Rev reached out and took my arm to help guide me. “How do you know so much about the Cherokees?” I asked him.
“My great-grandmother was full-blooded. She and her parents hid out in the mountains to escape removal by the government. She passed on to my grandmother her knowledge.”
After studying his profile, I said, “I can tell you have some Native American in you.”
“Seriously?”
I nodded. Reaching out, I ran my thumb across one of his cheekbones. “These are high, which is one of the characteristic traits.”
“Is that so?” he questioned, in a low voice.
“Yes.” Breaking his stare, I gazed down his body. “Of course, your height certainly breaks with the similarities.”
When my stare remained on his body, Rev cleared his throat almost painfully. “Come on. We’re almost there.”
Unable to speak, I merely nodded and followed him. I silently berated myself for staring at his body like I had. What was I thinking? What had he thought I was thinking? Once again, I was totally clueless on how to think and act in the new life I found myself in.
After reaching a tight thicket of trees, we pushed on through to step out into a wide clearing. Waist high, green grass swayed back and forth like ocean waves. It ran as far as the eye could see until it ended at the bank of a stream.
“They called this place tohi a-ma.”
“What does it mean?”
