Chapter One
Belara Fuller walked out of the greenhouse into the noon-
day heat. Pensively， she gazed across the shimmering des-
ert countryside that surrounded her nursery. Rows of native
southwest plants， ranging from yuccas to mesquite flour-
ished in the harsh environment. Inside， their delicate off-
spring required more controlled conditions.
The rocky alluvial plain of the Sacramento Mountains
where her property lay seemed covered in shades of gray
and sand. The native grasses were withered and short. It
had been a dry year. Livestock had gone hungry trying to
graze in areas parched by the three-digit summer tempera-
tures. Some ranchers had been forced to truck in hay all the
aYefrom ..Al. amosa， Colorado， just to keep their animals
~ Wildlife had suffered， too， competing for a food
supply badly diminished by a four-year drought. Without
ram， the Circle of Life was interrupted and all suffered. Her
mother s brother would have said that Water Sprinkler， the
rain bringer and water carrier of the gods， had been slack-
hag off on the job.
thBelara.se!eeted a potted claret cup cactus for her home，
en neaaeo straight for her pickup. Out in the country， this
was a girl s best friend. Forget diamonds， the light blue，
four-wheel drive Chevy took her wherever she wanted to go.
And it even had personality. It groaned when she over-
loaded it， and purred when she played her favorite country
and western music tapes. Her mechanic had even corn-
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