Shadow of Time - Book 1: (Paranormal Romance) by Jen Minkman Page A

in the tent.”
    “Good luck,” Hannah mumbled as he got up and disappeared in the crowd to prepare for his ceremony. It was actually a relief he was gone. That way, she was able to catch her breath and try to convince herself it was no big deal that he didn’t like her like that.
    Nick sat down next to her. “Man, I love this place! The people here are so different than what I’m used to. They’re so friendly and unassuming.” He put away his notebook and pulled a camera from his bag. “I’m planning on filming Josh’s performance. You think he’ll mind?”
    “No, he won’t,” she replied flatly.
    Absently, Hannah looked around, suddenly spotting a tall, lanky Navajo guy waving at her. He started walking toward the group of visitors from St. Mary’s Port. Confused, she poked Emily.
    “Y ou know who that is?” she hissed.
    Emily looked up and followed her gaze. “That’s Yazzie! Don’t you recognize him?”
    Hannah batted her eyelids in astonis hment. Yazzie had always been a short and chubby guy before. Apparently, he’d finally had a growth spurt – she wouldn’t have recognized Josh’s cousin, who would take them to Rainbow Bridge on his boat tomorrow, if Emily hadn’t clued her in. She scrambled to her feet. “Hey, Yaz!” she waved.
    When Yazzie stood face to face with Hannah, he was at least four inches taller than her. “Hi, biligaana !” He embraced her in a warm hug. “You ready for the show?” He was wearing skinny dark-green jeans and a black t-shirt saying ‘Rez Litter’.
    Hannah couldn’t help giggling. Yazzie had always addressed her and Ben that way – biligaana meant ‘paleface’ in his own language.
    Yazzie tilted his head to the field surrounded by a large crowd of spectators. “I saved some standing-room for you guys. Follow me!”
    He elbowed his way through the multitude, everybody following him in single file. Just before they reached the fence bordering the rodeo ground, they hit an open spot , like Yazzie had promised them. Hannah looked aside and unexpectedly saw Josh’s father standing there. She’d have thought he was with his son in the tent, helping him prepare. Or maybe not. That was probably Sani’s job.
    “ Ya'at'eeh. Hello everybody,” he said, shaking hands with all of them. He kissed Hannah on the cheek. “It’s been a while. Good to see you again.” He smiled widely, and the crow’s feet around his eyes suddenly reminded her of Josh’s older face in her dream.
    A loud drumstroke interrupted their conversation. Everyone turned toward the field to watch the ceremony.
    Josh entered the rodeo grounds, wearing an amazing Diné outfit. His upper body was clad in a long-sleeved velvet blouse. His hair was wrapped up in a headband and tied into an eight-shaped bun, and he was wearing pants in a warm, red-brown color. Dangling from a chain around his neck was a stunning round pendant with inlaid turquoise stones. He was carrying a large drum in one hand, and a long, thin wooden beater in the other.
    The chatter died down, the crowd becoming silent. In that silence, Josh started to drum softly but intensely, singing at the same time. His voice rose above the beat of the drum. Hannah couldn’t help but marvel at him as he performed the traditional song with such ease that it seemed he’d been a hataalii for years. His voice sounded different from when he’d sung his own song. For a split second, it felt like a completely different person was standing there on the ceremonial field – as if Josh were someone else.
    Another , older man entered the field to do a hoop dance, accompanied by Josh’s singing. When the song was over and Josh and the hoop dancer trotted off the field, there was no applause, just a respectful silence. Slowly, the crowd started to murmur again, some of them dispersing to the bleachers lined up in a semi-circle around the rodeo grounds.
    Nick turned off his camera and gave the thumbs-up to Hannah. “Got it! Available on DVD