Black Raven's Pride

by Aimée Thurlo

  Eden knew that Nick had forgotten the birthmark, but she was certain that he’d remember it, if he saw the photo. Then, her secret would be out, whether she was ready or not.

  As the men started coming back, Annie closed the book quickly. “These are mostly baby pictures. They won’t do us much good.”

  From the look on Annie’s face, Eden knew for sure that the secret she’d guarded was no longer strictly her own. But, for her own reasons, Annie had chosen not to say anything. Puzzled, but undeniably grateful, she let the matter drop.

  “I think I better take Chris home. He’s tired,” Eden said, “and so am I. It’s been a very long day.”

  “I’ll drive you back,” Nick said.

  After saying goodbye to Annie and Jake, they walked outside to Nick’s Jeep. “I wish you’d move to the ranch. You’d be completely safe here. One of the arguments against you is that you’re claiming land here and you’re half-white. But, if you stayed at Black Raven Ranch, no one would have anything to say.”

  “I can’t do that, Nick. What you’re offering me is only a temporary solution, but I won’t leave my home. I have a right to stay there.”

  He nodded once, as if he’d expected that to be her answer. “What about the farmhouse? We never did get there to search because of what happened with Torres.” He paused then added, “We should go back soon, but we’ll have to make sure we do it without telling anyone.”

  Eden clearly sensed his hesitancy. “What’s bothering you, Nick? Are you afraid that someone else will come after me if it ever gets out that I’m actually searching for the artifacts?”

  “There is that,” he conceded. “But what’s worrying me goes beyond that, too. Have you ever considered the possibility that the people who set up your mother are probably dead by now, but that their descendants aren’t, and they’ll be the ones to pay?”

  She started to speak, then fell silent, thinking about it a bit longer. “They’ll have to go through what I did, I suppose,” she said at last. “I don’t like it, Nick, but I’ve paid for this long enough already, and I want to spare my son all the years of pain.”

  “You’re right to pursue it, Eden.” Nick took a deep breath, then let it out again. “We have to see this through to the end. The truth has been hidden for too many years.”

  They rode in silence to her home. When they arrived, Nick took Chris, carrying him for Eden. But, as they reached the door, Chris began to get restless and she took him back.

  Nick drew her and the baby she held against her chest, toward him, then dipped his head to kiss her.

  “No.” Eden moved away from him suddenly. “What we’re feeling right now—relief, excitement, the aftermath of fear, isn’t enough reason for us to throw common sense aside.”

  “I want you badly, Eden,” Nick said, his voice a raw whisper. “But you’re wrong about the rest. I’m not after a few hours of passion. I’ll help you find the truth about your past, but until that’s said and done, I won’t pursue something that may not be mine to keep.” He touched Christopher’s face lightly. “He deserves more than that from both of us.”

  Eden knew she should let it go, but the fire in his eyes was mesmerizing. “It’s all or nothing from now on,” she said, her voice unsteady. “Is that what you’re saying?”

  “Yes. I want everything you can give me, everything I can coax you to surrender, and then more. I want all that, because if the day comes when we make love, that’s exactly what I’ll be giving you.”

  Without another word, he turned and walked back to his Jeep. Eden’s hands were shaking as she opened the door and went inside.

  She stood at the window and watched the red taillights until they disappeared from view. Sometimes it felt as if their entire lives had been lived in preparation for what was happening now. “We’ll each do what we have to, my love,” she said, knowing he’d never hear, “and in the end that may be what rips us apart. May the gods be kind to us both.”

  IT WAS SHORTLY after nine the following morning when Eden heard a knock at her door. She went to answer it, determined not to ask him inside if it was Nick. No woman could ever hope to endure the temptation this Black Raven posed forever. She’d thought of little else but him all night, lying awake, staring at the ceiling.

  When she opened the door, she found Annie standing there. Eden just stared at her, uncertain if she should be relieved or alarmed.

  “May I come in?” Annie asked.

  “Oh, of course! I’m sorry. It’s just…”

  “You’re surprised to see me, and you want to know what I’m doing here. Or, more importantly, you’re wondering if I plan to tell anyone your secret,” Annie said, finishing Eden’s unspoken thoughts.

  “I know it must have been a shock for you, Annie,” Eden admitted. “But I’m glad you didn’t say anything.”

  “I needed time to think things through. Now that I’m here, I’m not sure how to say what I came to tell you,” Annie admitted after a pause.

  Eden’s heart flew to her throat. “Just tell me straight out,” she said, afraid that Annie had already told Jake, and it would only be a matter of hours before Nick also learned the truth.

  “I know that Chris is Nick’s son, Eden, but I just can’t imagine why you haven’t told him. He deserves to know.”

  “I’ve wanted to tell him many times, but there was always a reason for keeping quiet. When I met Nick in Arizona, when Chris was conceived, Nick was very sure he didn’t want anything to do with a family—his own or anyone else’s. He also swore never to come back to the pueblo, and I knew I had to return.”

  “But all that’s changed now, Eden. The proof is that you’re both here.”

  “I’ve tried to tell him, Annie, but it’s not easy for me. I want to protect Chris. That’s more important to me than anything else, and I haven’t been able to get past my own memories of what it was like to grow up with a dad who was in law enforcement.”

  “But he has to know. It’s his right,” Annie insisted gently.

  Eden paused then added, “But it’s more than that. I need to clear my family’s name first. By searching for the missing artifacts and the real thieves, something I intend to do now even more intensely than I have been, I’m taking a huge risk. Although it’s possible that the real thief or thieves are long dead, I suspect their families will go to great lengths to keep the disgrace that has shrouded my family from tainting theirs. Anything can happen. Unless I can prove my parents’ innocence, it’s possible I’ll be framed in some way just like they were, or create even more trouble for myself somehow. I could lose this battle, and if I do, Christopher and I will be banned from the pueblo forever. I don’t want Nick to get caught up in that. I can start a new life with my son, but Nick’s life is here. He’s proud of being a Black Raven. I don’t want to pull him into my world—one filled with dishonor and shame.”

  “But, Eden, you have no way of knowing who the real thief’s family is. They may not care, or even be a part of this pueblo anymore.”

  “In the letter I was given along with my grandmother’s personal property, she said that the person behind the frame might have been a man nicknamed Tall Shadow.”

  Annie inhaled sharply. “That can’t be true. That was a nickname a few of the old-timers gave Paul because he was a man of great influence.”

  Eden stared at Annie, now at a loss for words. Nick had never mentioned that, yet he’d helped her knowing about his father’s possible involvement and what it could cost him. Now she understood what he’d meant when he’d spoken of not reaching for something he couldn’t keep. If he and his family lost everything, Nick would have gone on alone, never asking her to share his exile from the pueblo or his shame. She’d tried to protect him by doing the same thing.

  “Paul wasn’t guilty,” Annie repeated. “And Nick knows it. He’s trying to find the truth for our sakes as well as for yours.”

  Eden nodded. “I think you’re right.” Nick’s determination to find the truth undoubtedly
matched her own because he would never believe his father was involved, no more than she’d accepted her parents’ guilt.

  “Annie, do you understand what this means? It’s even more important now that Nick not know Chris is his son. If by clearing my parents I end up inadvertently implicating his father, I’ll be the one who ruins the Black Ravens. You know what will happen, Annie. The tribe will put sanctions in place and not allow Paul’s family to occupy land here at all. Jake and Nick will be ruined, and Black Raven Ranch will be lost. And he’ll hate me for it—me and Christopher. His own son.”

  Annie nodded slowly, the terrible impact of what was happening dawning over her. “All right. I’ll keep your secret for a while longer, Eden, but talk to Nick about Tall Shadow. I knew Paul, probably better than most people. Even in the old days, Paul Black Raven lived by his own code of honor and there’s no way anyone will ever convince me that he was capable of something like that.” Annie stood up. “Tell Nick what you know and talk it over with him. He’s helped you all along, though he knew what it could cost him. He deserves this much from you,” Annie finished.

  “All right. I’ll talk to him.”

  Annie handed Eden the close-up photo of Jake and Nick when they were babies. “In the meantime, you better keep this,” she said.

  “Thanks.”

  Annie stood and walked to the phone. Picking up the receiver, she held it out to Eden. “Call Nick now, before you change your mind.”

  Eden did as she asked, and when Nick answered the phone, she asked him to come by, her heart heavy.

  “Are you all right?” Nick asked, as if he’d sensed something was wrong.

  “I’m not sure if anything will ever be all right again.”

  NICK ARRIVED only a few minutes after Annie had left. He stood at the doorway, wearing his uniform, and gazed down on her. “What’s going on? You sounded really upset on the phone.”

  Eden showed him in, but before sitting down, Nick stopped to pick up Christopher and give him a kiss.

  Eden watched her son and his father, her chest tight. They belonged together, but the more she wished it were so the more obstacles got in their way.

  “We have to talk,” she said. Eden blurted out what Annie had told her about Paul Black Raven, hardly stopping for a breath. “Nick, why didn’t you tell me you knew who Tall Shadow was?”

  He said nothing for several moments, weighing his answer carefully. “I wanted to help you, Eden. I…care what happens to you. Besides, I’m a cop, and it’s my job to get at the truth.”

  “Nick, don’t you see that by helping me clear my parents, you could end up ruining your own family? We can’t work together now. I’m not even sure I want to find the truth anymore. This whole thing scares me witless. I never counted on this. I have no desire to hurt you, Jake or Annie. You spoke of the cost before. Well, this is the one price I’m not willing to pay.”

  “After coming this far, you can’t back off and neither can I,” he said firmly.

  His strong tone surprised her, and she looked up quickly. “I don’t understand.”

  “All this time you’ve said that you knew your parents were framed. To you, there was no other explanation possible. It’s the same for me. I spent many years thinking that my father was nothing to me, but after his death I learned more about the man than I ever did when he was alive. My father was many things, but he wouldn’t have destroyed a family in this way. I know with everything in me that my father isn’t guilty. He’s been framed too, and I’ll do what it takes to get to the truth.”

  “But the letter—”

  “I believe your grandmother was told that my father was involved, and that she believed those stories. But I’m also convinced that she was being misled. Someone wanted to make sure your grandmother didn’t take up the investigation. My father was a powerful man and not many people went up against him. I believe the real thieves started the rumor to intimidate and control her.”

  “If you’re wrong…”

  “I’m not. This isn’t just an emotional response, or loyalty. I’m basing my belief on my knowledge of my father, just as you are on your knowledge of your parents.”

  She couldn’t fault him for that. She took a deep breath, then continued. “Okay. We’ll keep digging. But I want you to keep something in mind. We don’t necessarily have to make everything we learn public. If we find evidence that won’t serve justice, we’ll keep it to ourselves,” Eden said. She was capable of many things, but not destroying her child’s father, or hurting other innocent people.

  He shook his head. “That’s not the way I work, but let’s cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, we’ll work from the standpoint of what we believe—that this isn’t an either/or situation. That there’s a third answer, the truth.”

  “Nick, I don’t know…”

  “I do. And by the way, I need your help. I have to go on duty later today, so we won’t have time to search the farmhouse. That building is in poor shape and we’ll have to go slow. I don’t want portions of it falling in on us. What I thought we could do instead was check out the photos Martin told us about at the special collections section of the university library. I have a feeling we’ll be able to find quite a bit of information there, but it’s been a long time since I did any research at a university. I have a feeling you can cut my time there by at least half.”

  “I’ll have to ask Mrs. Chino if she can baby-sit. At least it’s Saturday, and she doesn’t have the daycare kids.”

  Nick grinned. “I saw her on the way here, and stopped and asked her. She should be over in a few minutes.”

  “That sure of me, are you?” she said with a wry smile.

  “When it comes to this, yes,” he answered somberly.

  They were underway less than ten minutes later. They drove south through Santa Fe, then on toward Albuquerque. Though her heart still felt like a rock inside her, she tried hard to keep her tone light.

  They arrived at the large university campus in Albuquerque over forty-five minutes later. Finding a parking spot was nearly impossible, and they had a long walk across campus before reaching the library.

  Once there, they realized that recent renovations had only made the facility more confusing. Finally after ten minutes of going up and down stairs, and from east wing to west, they were sequestered in a large, windowless room lined with ceiling-high metal bookshelves. The entire area was ventilated by one small ceiling fan and a trace of air-conditioning that came from a tiny vent in the ceiling thirty feet away.

  Yet, despite the musty air and stifling temperature in the room, Eden still had to struggle with a different kind of heat as she sat next to Nick. Eden could feel his hard thigh next to hers and as their eyes met, she had to suppress a wistful sigh.

  With a struggle, they shifted their chairs a little farther apart, though the space between the bookshelves didn’t allow them much maneuvering room. Trying to pretend that neither was bothered by their proximity, they got down to work and began searching through volumes of books that were as old as the artifacts themselves.

  An hour passed and they made progress, finding sketches of the missing artifacts in an old anthropology manual that had been handwritten by a professor in the early 1900s. Unfortunately, the sketches were too crude to give them any real visual images, although the descriptions were far more detailed than any they’d found so far.

  Eden stood and stretched slowly. Catching a glimpse of Nick out of the corner of her eye, she saw his gaze searing over her, taking in every curve with undisguised hunger.

  She was suddenly aware of everything about him. Prickles danced along her skin as they looked at each other for one endless moment. Each could sense the other’s needs, yet neither spoke of it.

  Too unsettled to sit down, she began to walk around the room, feigning great interest in everything and anything, except him. As she passed the row of bookshelves that blocked their view of the rest of the room by acting as a divider, she suddenly froze in midstep.
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  Noiselessly, she returned to their table. “You won’t believe who’s here,” she whispered. “I just saw Patrick Korman. He’s researching, just like us, from the looks of it. But why would a bookkeeper find that necessary?”

  “Good question.” He stood up quietly. “Did he see you?”

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  “Good. We may yet be able to turn this trip into something more than a marginal waste of time. Did you happen to notice what he was reading?”

  “No. I couldn’t tell from where I was standing.”

  Hearing a chair being pushed back noisily, they exchanged a quick glance. “I’m going to follow him out,” Nick whispered.

  “I’ll go with you.”

  He shook his head. “I’ll have a better chance of not getting spotted if I’m alone. Try to find out what he was reading instead.”

  She waited, then after hearing the door open and close twice, came out into the aisle and walked to where Patrick had been working. The books on the shelf next to the small table were tomes on Tewa religious practices, but there was no telling which of the books Patrick had been studying or, more importantly, why.

  She rapidly searched through all the books, looking for a sign that would indicate which one he’d been studying so intently. Then, as she leafed through the pages, she saw the remainder of a small notepad he’d left behind. There was an impression on the top sheet, so she used a pencil from her purse and rubbed the side of the point on the paper, hoping the indentations would show clearly enough to give her an idea what he’d written down. What she uncovered was a sketch of the missing Tsave Yoh mask, taken from a description in that text.

  It was better than anything she’d seen so far. The mask was conical in shape and tiny slits were cut for the eyes. The facial features were simple but a bit intimidating.

  Now she knew what he’d been doing. But Patrick would have been about twelve years old at the time of the theft. It was unlikely that he’d been involved in any way. His interest in the relics puzzled her.