Vermilion — Phyllis A. Whitney

From the very beginning, for Lindsay Phillips, there was the memory of that terrible cane with the dragon's head-threatening horror, torment, death. And always there was Vermilion whispering in Lindsay's ear: "Go! You must go to Arizona. Everything you want is waiting for you there."
Lindsay hadn't listened to Vermilion for years, but now she couldn't shut out her voice.
She knew very well what waited for her in the country of the red rocks. Her father's murderer was there, as well as the dragon cane. And Rick lived there too. Rick, with whom she'd been in love at seventeen, and who had married her older half sister, Sybil. Nothing but risk awaited her in the Southwest - and possible forbidden love - but this time she musn't listen to Vermilion.
In Sedona there is an immediate clash with her sister, and Lindsay must try to understand Rick's unhappiness and the trap in which they are both caught. But first the dark questions must be answered. About her own mysterious heritage; about her father's death. She must discover which of her new acquaintances moves behind a mask, and she must find answers that may be concealed in the awful place of the red cliffs.
What she does not expect is that Vermilion will be there too, trying to take over her life, even saving her from harm on occasion - yet always to be feared until the final reckoning.