Canyon Shadows Read Online Free PDF

ranching lands to the south took precedence over keeping the remote canyon that the Graves River ran through about thirty miles away unspoiled. The dam would be completed. The canyon would fill, providing new recreational opportunities as a side benefit. Present and future agricultural and livestock water needs would be assured. Animals living in the canyon would have to find another place to live. Some trees and plants would be buried under tens of thousands of gallons of water.
    “You thought I might be one of those who’ve been fighting the project?” she asked.
    “I didn’t know.”
    “I’m not, believe me. Truth is, I’ve been too busy to form an opinion. I figured the courts knew what they were doing.”
    He shrugged, the movement emphasizing his shoulders’ width, not that she needed the reminder. “Not everyone agrees with you.”
    “So I understand. There have been some pretty inflammatory letters to the editor.”
    “That there have. I just needed you to know what you’re getting involved with. You came highly recommended. I—”
    “Highly recommended?” She had to laugh. “I’m the only person in this part of the state training dogs for security and defense for the public.”
    “Just the same, my inquiries led me to believe you could provide me with exactly what I need. In other words, without you supplying the product, I’d be SOL.”
    “Nevertheless, you thought it might jeopardize our business relationship if I knew what you’re doing?”
    He straightened. “I wish you hadn’t put it that way. I felt it was important to learn where you stand on the issue.”
    She shrugged, glad that the conversation had returned her to the land of reality. “For the record, I don’t have much of an opinion about the dam one way or the other except that ranchers and farmers have to have water. The way I look at it, the courts are all about law. They’ll sort things out. Besides, the truth is, I’ve been so busy since I bought the property and started my business last year that I’ve hardly had time to come up for air. And before that, well, I haven’t been back in the county for long.”
    The moment she admitted that, she wished she could make the words disappear. One thing she didn’t want to get into today, or ever, was where she’d been and why she’d decided to put down roots here after fleeing in the middle of the night with her mother all those years ago. The past was buried, thank goodness.
    “In other words, you have no objections to seeing the dam completed?”
    “None. My uncle works for the county planning department. He says it’ll be good for the immediate area because of the recreational opportunities. You have my approval.”
    That elicited a smile from him she felt all the way to her toes but mostly settled in another part of her anatomy. So much for shrugging off his impact. Was it just her need for sex or was he the sexiest man she’d been near in, what, forever? Hell, maybe this was her new and improved way of dealing with stress. “And since you do, can I assume that we’ll be doing business together?” she came up with. “Of course, there’s the matter of what I owe you, given what you did for Ona.”
    “You don’t owe me anything. Helping her, and you, are the highlights of my day.”
    Silence stretched out. For the first time since his initial call there was nothing they absolutely had to talk about, no crises to deal with. The tension that had clung to her from the moment she’d heard that first shot eased out of her. With an inner sigh, she relegated the shooting to something she’d try to make sense of later. Suddenly she wanted to ask a million questions about Maco’s personal life, like what had growing up on a cattle ranch been like, why was he no longer there, where did he presently call home, and was a woman waiting for him. Like, what did he think of rainy nights and summer sunrises? Like, did he know about the itches she wished he’d scratch?
    Ona