Clair Coulter is a linguistic for CommOptima, struggling to
support herself and her brother, while trying to find the
finances he desperately needs for a kidney transplant.
Judged first by her extraordinary beauty, and hurt by a
previous lover, she chooses to lead a celibate life.
Jack Hughes is the owner of the financially troubled Dark
Horse Ranch. Unwilling to share his secret and be judged as
a freak, he moved away from his promising high society life
and engagement. Jack has personal reasons for not wanting to
go to Medicine Valley, a secret buried so deep within his
subconscious that even he doesn't understand the
metaphysical change it had on him.
Clair agrees to take an assignment, backpacking into
Medicine Valley, rumored to be a mystical Native American
land. When she arrives at the ranch and from the first touch
of her leg by her boss, Tobias Benton, tells her that her
skills are not the only reason she was given the job. He
expects sexual restitution for his financial promise. He
desires her at a psychotic level, and using her brother's
ill health as leverage, he means to get his full money's
worth from her.
Jack isn't pleased about being anybody's tour guide into
Medicine Valley. He hasn't been there since he was thirteen
years old. Before he announces his decision, he finds Claire
in the barn with his ailing race horse and realizes she
isn't the usual debutant. She shares with him her special
ability. She feels an animal's emotional state and sees
images they project. Her uncanny reading has Jack worried.
If she touches him, will his secret be revealed, his second
nature? Whatever the outcome of this trip, she mustn't touch
him.
As Claire fends off her boss's advances, Jack and she
realize that more than just physical attraction lies between
each other. There is respect and a feeling of safety even as
her boss becomes more jealous and dangerous. Is this the
meaning of the mysterious tarot cards and the curse that has
already taken the life of her best friend?
Patricia Simpson does a wonderful job at blending nature,
mythology, and character into her novel THE DARK HORSE.
Reading it, I was finding myself surprised at the
unpredictable ways she used common events and still had them
be logical and suspenseful.
Claire Coulter's brother is dying. To Claire's
astonishment, her boss offers to pay for the the risky
operation that might save him. The catch? Claire must
accompany Tobias Benton on a search for the Fountain of Youth.
Despite believing Tobias is on a wild goose chase, Claire
agrees--she'll do anything to save her brother. The trip is
a disaster: Tobias doesn't just want Claire's company--he
wants Claire. But Claire is drawn to Jack, their mysterious
and sexy guide.
Although the strange and beautiful deck of tarot cards she's
carrying with her predicts a positive outcome, Claire
suspects everyone around her is hiding something.
Especially Simeon, an urbane older man who claims to be
studying snakes, but whose dark demeanor hints at a terrible
past.
Claire's psychic sensitivity alerts her that all is not what
it seems, but can she figure out who to trust before it's
too late?
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