Youngblood’s Family Curse

By Debra Ross

Two cousins grow up as carefree children on the reservation. But they grow apart as adults—one with self-disappointment, the other with satisfying success. Anger from one toward the other’s happiness in life turns hatred into murder. One will die, one will live. But both will lose something precious.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Sep 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781645367994

Debra Ross

Debra Ross was born and raised in Cherokee County, SC. Her lifelong study of her Cherokee heritage has inspired her to write her romantic manuscripts. She has been an author for 35 years, but she put her publishing dreams on hold to raise her five children. Now that her children are grown, she is devoting her spare time to her books.

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About the Author

Debra Ross was born and raised in Cherokee County, SC. Her lifelong study of her Cherokee heritage has inspired her to write her romantic manuscripts. She has been an author for 35 years, but she put her publishing dreams on hold to raise her five children. Now that her children are grown, she is devoting her spare time to her books.

Dedication

For G.V., my dad and true Cherokee hero. Thank you for your belief in me. I miss you.

Copyright Information ©

Debra Ross (2021)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Ordering Information

Quantity sales: Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data

Ross, Debra

Youngblood’s Family Curse

ISBN 9781643785059 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781643785066 (Hardback)

ISBN 9781645367994 (ePub e-book)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020922045

www.austinmacauley.com/us

First Published (2021)

Austin Macauley Publishers LLC

40 Wall Street, 33rd Floor, Suite 3302

New York, NY 10005

USA

[e-mail]

[phone]

Prologue

You stupid! Think I work hard to make profit so you can give food to begging brats? Shaking with anger, he turned and slammed the door on the gawking staff.

It was only one little girl, Toby. She was hungry. Please, don’t be angry. Amanda’s voice was low and begging.

One little girl? Little girl has a family who is begging now! He was getting angrier by the minute, and his slanted eyes were narrowing threateningly, Don’t know why I married you! You are totally useless!

You married me for a green card. She didn’t mean to say those words, but his anger was getting really out of hand lately, Please, don’t make me rethink this sham of a marriage. Those words, though kept to a low decibel, caused him to exit the office angrily without another word.

Sitting in silence, she asked herself how much more verbal abuse she could take. When she married him a year ago, she thought he loved her. But found out, on their honeymoon, that he had only married her to stay in America. And now she felt totally stuck.

Misses? You all right? Sui Lin, one of the cooks at the restaurant, tentatively stepped into the room.

I’m fine. Amanda stood up slowly and forced herself not to cry.

He should not do that to you. You are a nice lady. He is always yelling. Sui Lin looked into her lovely face with a sigh.

He’s not a bad man, Sui Lin. I shouldn’t have given away the food. He’s told me many times before not to. She reached up and smoothed a shaky hand over her hair. His yelling was bad enough, but the humiliation of him doing it in front of the staff was more than she could stand.

You are a good lady. Little girl is starving. Parents are poor. You are good, Sui Lin saw the way her chin went up and knew it would do no good to argue with her.

Sui Lin, you’re a good friend and I thank you, but I think we’d better get back to work now. She didn’t need to remind Sui Lin what would happen if Toby caught them talking instead of working. The petite Chinese woman nodded and walked back out to the kitchen.

Amanda tried to hurry and get out front before the lunch crowd arrived. Toby was very proud of his investment in buying the restaurant and he expected her to play hostess with a smile.

Five minutes later, she was standing by the cashier when the first customer arrived. She smiled a little self-consciously when a familiar face came through the door and looked at her with sad, hazel-colored eyes.

Amanda, how are you? Dr. Davis, Ed to his friends, slowly shook his graying head as he looked into her lovely eyes and pale face.

I’m fine. Just a bad start to the day. She smiled as she tried to make light of the situation.

Audibly, he cleared his throat and nodded. He overlooked a lot concerning her husband’s behavior, but it was getting harder to do nothing.

Will you be dining alone, Ed? She looked past him to a tall man who had just entered and was quietly standing behind the doctor.

No, actually, today I have a friend with me. I told him so much about your food that he insisted I bring him to try it. Ed motioned to the man who had captured her attention and who, he noticed with amusement, was captured by the sight of her as well.

Table for two, then? This way. She walked ahead to seat them near the kitchen.

Thanks, Amanda dear. Ed smiled as he gently squeezed her hand.

I’ll send Suzy over to take your order. She smiled at him and shyly glanced at the stranger. Then, she turned and walked quickly into the kitchen to get Suzy, Ed’s favorite waitress.

What shook her up? Ed’s friend’s voice was low, as he looked at him and waited, I could see she was shaking slightly.

He had been startled by her appearance when he walked in after parking his truck. She was absolutely the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. Delicate elfin features with red/gold hair, pulled back from her face and hanging down to her waist like a velvet cloud. And when she looked at him, he saw two big, blue eyes that held a lot of unhappiness.

Well, Ben, let’s just say her husband gets very angry when she doesn’t do what he thinks she should. Ed cleared his throat and tried to keep his voice low, as he glanced around the room.

He hits her? Watching her walk from the kitchen back to the front desk, he was confused.

Not hitting that I’m aware, but always yelling. Sometimes all night. Sneaking another peak at the other customers, he kept his voice low, I know this because I live next door.

What could she possibly do to deserve that kind of treatment?

She’s an angel, poor thing. I don’t know about today, but the last few times, it was because she didn’t clean the house properly and didn’t have his supper ready. Looking up, he followed the line of Ben’s attention and saw Amanda behind the desk. Turning back to Ben, he leaned a little closer to whisper, And if you don’t want to give him another reason, please don’t let him catch you staring at her.

Quickly, he looked into Ed’s face, "Are you saying he would be upset with her because I was looking at her?" That fact startled him. She was a beautiful woman and men were going to look if they had eyes in their heads.

Yep. Ed quickly changed the subject as the waitress arrived to take their order, Suzy, my love. How’s your husband?

Glancing up, Ben caught Amanda looking at him. When he held her gaze and smiled, she returned the smile and quickly looked down. Suddenly, the sound of Ed’s voice got his attention.

Ben, what would you like? Ed smiled as Ben focused on him again.

Oh. Ben looked down at the menu and then up at the small Chinese girl smiling and waiting to take his order, I’ll have the beef with broccoli, pork fried rice, and an eggroll, please.

You want fried wonton with that? Suzy smiled at the handsome man sitting opposite Mr. Ed. He was very broad-shouldered and firm-looking. Good mating material.

Yes, please. And sweet tea with lemon. Ben returned the flirtatious smile she was giving him. When she walked off, he looked at Ed’s grinning face and said, What?

You’re quite the ladies’ man, my lad. Ed shook his head as he laughed.

Yeah, but unfortunately, most of them are like her. Jail bait. He laughed with Ed as he quickly cast another glance in the direction of the cash register. Or married, he thought.

He grew up on the Reservation, but lived in Gaffney all of his adult life. Having passed this small restaurant many times, he’d never felt the urge to stop and eat here before. But today, when Ed was telling him about it being under new ownership, something in his gut was telling him to try it.

Amanda smiled down at the papers in her hands, as her ears caught the sound of his deep throaty laugh. She just knew it would sound like that. He hadn’t said anything to her yet, but he seemed like the type to have a deep, sensual voice. Every now and then, she’d slide a glance in his direction from under her lashes and get supreme satisfaction from what she saw.

He was a very virile and handsome man, with short dark hair that looked silky as it waved back from his clean-shaven face with only a small wave falling on his forehead. But it was his dark, deep eyes that took her breath away. Looking into them, she felt like she could get lost in their shadows forever.

Ben cast glances at her all during their meal. Once, he saw a tall Chinese man with dark, slicked-back hair in a business suit talking to her and when she seemed to cringe, he guessed that was her husband.

After their meal, Ed walked up to the counter to pay with Ben right behind him. He complimented Amanda on the meal while he pocketed his change and invited her over for dinner one night.

You have a very nice restaurant, ma’am. When she raised her big blue eyes to him, Ben felt flutters of emotions he had promised himself would never exist again.

Thank you. She took his money and lowered her eyes. Looking up again, she smiled into his dark orbs as she gave him his change, And please come back again. It was the same line she used with every customer, but this time, it was from the heart.

Thank you. He reached out and as her fingers touched his hand, a spark of electricity flew between them that jolted their hands. He smiled as she let out a small giggle. What a lovely sound, and her face looked so innocent when she laughed.

Static electricity. I’m so sorry about that. She tried to stifle her amusement, but the handsome face of the stranger, with his mouth holding an expression of humor, made her feel suddenly giddy. But the next sound squashed her feeling quickly.

Amanda, just cash out, don’t flirt, Toby had walked up to find his wife and a stranger smiling into each other’s eyes and he felt his temper flare.

I’m sorry. Dropping her eyes, she stepped back a little from the counter. She didn’t see the hard look that came into the stranger’s dark eyes or the way his body tensed as he shifted his narrowed gaze to Toby.

She wasn’t flirting, sir. She was just being polite when I complimented the food. Ben had to call on all his reserves to control his temper when the asshole had spoken to her in that manner.

So glad you enjoyed food, but wife is not on menu. Toby sneered at him as he placed his arm around her shoulders in a gesture of ownership.

She drew in a sharp breath and didn’t dare look up. How could Toby say such a thing? She felt the warmth creep up her cheeks.

Ben took a step toward him, only to be stopped by Ed’s hand on his arm. He looked at his friend and saw the warning expression on his face. Without another word, Ben walked quickly out the door.

Ed glared at Toby’s satisfied smirk for a minute, and then he turned and followed Ben outside.

You did the right thing. I know you wanted to throttle him, but if you had, he would’ve made it worse for her.

Ben stopped at the truck and turned to look at the sad face of his friend, Okay, I’ll admit that for a moment, I wanted to kick the shit out of him. But then, my brain took over, and I realized that would be a bad move in front of an audience. Smiling, he watched his friend chuckle before he continued, So, tell me.

Tell you what? That he’s an asshole? I’m pretty confident you saw that for yourself. Ed snickered, but the stern look he was getting calmed his humor.

Doc, I might be a half-breed savage, but I’m not an idiot. I saw her for the first time and her actions don’t show incompetence or snobbishness. Running his hand through his hair, Ben tried to put it in better words, I mean, she was definitely scared of the asshole when he came near her. I just want you to explain why.

Ed took a breath and then started his sad story, They moved in next door shortly after they were married last year. Nancy and I liked her immediately. She’s such an honest and sweet thing. He’s a different story. We started hearing yelling and breaking things every night. He paused as he looked at his feet.

Why didn’t you call the police? Ben kept his voice low and even. He had almost decided to stay out of this mess, but his curiosity was keeping him rooted to the spot.

We did once, but she collaborated his story that she knocked the china cabinet over. Fear, I guess. And besides, we’re talking about the local police, remember? A person can get away with murder here and they would call it a suicide. Believe me, I know, I’m a doctor. Smiling, he tried again to lighten the conversation with humor. But as he looked at Ben’s stern face, he knew it wasn’t working.

Anyway, after that, he wouldn’t let her come over to visit anymore. But after he would leave her at night, she would creep over to see us and visit for a while.

Leave her? Where did he go? Looking at Ed’s face, he had a sick feeling he already knew the answer.

The local Kitty Kat Club, probably. Not sure, but it became a nightly thing. After he had an outburst, he would disappear for hours and she would come over for coffee and conversation. Sometimes, he’d be gone all night. Ed cleared his throat as he shifted uneasily.

Well, judging by your inability to stand still, just how bad did it get? Focusing on the trees in front of him, he waited with his arms crossed over his chest. His brain kept screaming that it was a bad idea to find out so much about this pretty little stranger.

Well, he broke just about every piece of furniture and china. The screaming got so bad that I had headaches. But it’s always him. She never raises her voice where we’d know she was even there. Then one night, after he left, she brought her puppy over for me to look at. I know I’m not a vet, but I couldn’t tell her no.

She has a puppy? Smiling, Ben could see her with a small puppy like the one he’d grown up with on the Reservation.

Had. Ed saw that got his attention, It was wheezing and in obvious pain. Poor little thing didn’t last twenty minutes once she got it there. She said Toby had kicked it across the room in a rage. Even being ready for it, he still jumped at the sound of Ben’s exclamation.

Bastard! Pushing off from the truck, he walked determinedly toward the restaurant again. His blood was pumping so loud that it was all he could hear in his ears.

Ed moved to calm him down, but Ben halted in front of the truck and started pacing.

He paced back and forth as he ran his hands through his hair and tried to control his breathing. He was trying to understand the whole situation but it was impossible. Animals were part of his heritage. He was raised to respect everything in nature, Why did he do that?

He was angry because she wasn’t pregnant yet. When Ben just shook his head, Ed continued, Toby wants a big family and he felt like Amanda gave all her love to the puppy instead of him.

After all the anger issues, why doesn’t she leave him? Does she love him that much?

Actually, no. She loved that little Pekinese pup more and she only had him for a month. When Ben closed his eyes, Ed became more serious, You see, after they were married, she found out he married her to stay in the country. But because of her upbringing, she couldn’t forsake her vows. And he told her if she ever tried to divorce him, he would kill her. In his country, he would have been allowed to do just that.

Well, the asshole isn’t in his country now. He’s in mine and that shit isn’t condoned here. Walking over to the driver’s side of his truck, he leaned against it as he asked, Why did you bring me here, Ed? She’s married and in a bad situation, but there’s nothing I can do.

Well, I was hoping if you saw her and knew how bad it was, you would help him disappear. When Ben turned his glare