Westward Dreams

by Linda Bridey

  Greetings were called to Owl and he answered in kind. Several children came to run alongside their horses and touched Hannah’s legs. She smiled down at their adorable little faces. Owl rode over to where there were many horses and dismounted. Hannah stopped her horse and slid off before Owl reached her.

  “Very good,” he said.

  “That’s the easy part,” Hannah said with a smile.

  “Come, Black Fox’s tipi over here,” Owl said.

  As they neared a large tipi, two boys ran over to Owl and pointed at Hannah. They were apparently asking who she was.

  Owl said, “Hannah, this Raven and White Deer, Black Fox and Wind Spirit’s boys.”

  Hannah said, “Hau.” This was the Lakota word for “hello”.

  Owl gave her a surprised glance. “You remember.”

  The boys repeated it back to her. Raven said, “You’re pretty,” in English.

  “Thank you. You are very handsome,” she said.

  “Are you Uncle Owl’s lady?” he asked.

  Hannah blushed, but said, “Yes, I am.”

  Owl felt immense pride that she considered herself so, but told himself not to get carried away. Dean’s sound advice came back to him and he tried to take heed.

  Raven took her hand and said, “Come on. Father wants to meet you.”

  “He does?” Hannah said.

  Raven laughed. “Why else are you here?”

  Owl said, “Raven, behave.” His words were softened by a smile, Hannah noticed.

  Raven giggled as they neared his tipi.

  “Get your father,” Owl said to Raven.

  The boy disappeared into the tipi and then came back out followed by a Lakota man who was several inches taller than Owl. Hannah felt like a dwarf compared to him and couldn’t help the fear that threaded its way through her body. He and Owl grasped arms and then Black Fox looked down at her.

  Hannah dropped her eyes for a moment and then lifted her gaze again. Black Fox scrutinized her with kind eyes. He noted the light brown color of her eyes and the pretty shape of her face. She cut a womanly figure and he smiled when he saw she wore jeans. Warrior Woman wore them, too. He liked Sammi very much and wondered how she was.

  She smiled back at him and Owl said, “Black Fox, this Hannah.”

  “Welcome, Hannah,” Black Fox said.

  “Hau,” she said.

  Black Fox’s smile grew and he said it back to her. “I think Owl is teaching you well,” he said.

  “I’m trying to learn,” she said. “I’m very pleased to meet you.”

  “Likewise,” Black Fox responded. “Come sit.”

  Hannah sat where he indicated and Owl sat next to her. Their knees touched and Hannah was glad for the contact. Black Fox folded his long frame down to sit cross-legged and he said, “Owl says you are a medicine woman.”

  “Yes. We call it a nurse,” Hannah said.

  “Ah, I believe Silver Ghost has mentioned that before,” he said.

  Hannah smiled. “I can’t wait to meet him. He’ll be my boss when he gets back. I’ll miss Doc, though.”

  Black Fox nodded. “Doc has helped us many times. We are good friends. Why did you move here?”

  His abrupt question reminded her of Owl. He often switched subjects quickly. “I was a mail-order-bride but it didn’t work out. The man I came to meet lied about everything and there’s no way I would ever marry someone like that.”

  Black Fox frowned. “He tricked you?”

  “Yes.”

  Black Fox smiled. “It seems like his loss is my brother’s gain.”

  Hannah laughed and Owl smiled. “You are right, brother,” he said.

  Another Indian walked over and sat down. His expression was very stern and he eyed Hannah a little suspiciously. She remembered the name of Owl’s other brother and said, “Hau, He Who Runs.”

  He Who Runs’ face registered surprise and his brothers laughed.

  Black Fox said, “She must have heard that you always look grumpy.”

  He Who Runs shot him a dark look and then said, “Hau, Hannah. Welcome. Do not listen to them.”

  Suddenly a gray blur invaded the group and Hannah screamed at the abrupt appearance of the huge, hairy animal. Owl put a reassuring hand on her leg and spoke sharply to it. It dropped to the ground and rolled over.

  Owl said, “It’s ok. Just Roscoe, Silver Ghost’s wolf-dog.”

  Hannah said, “Wolf-dog?”

  Black Fox said, “Yes. Don’t be afraid. He is a good dog.”

  Owl let the dog get up and Roscoe crept over to Black Fox who ruffled the dog’s ears. Roscoe promptly jumped on him. The chief laughed and pushed the dog away. Roscoe’s bushy tail swept the ground and kicked up dust. He made his way around the circle and came to Hannah. He sat down in front of her. Hannah wasn’t sure what to do, but Roscoe was. He raised a large forepaw and held it out to her.

  Hannah smiled, gingerly took the paw and shook it. Roscoe panted happily and then gave her a big slurp on her cheek. Hannah laughed and began petting him. His fur was incredibly soft and she buried her hands in it. Roscoe flopped to the ground and showed her his belly as an invitation to scratch it. She did while Owl watched her with a smile on his face.

  Black Fox could see how much Owl cared for her. He hadn’t seen that kind of emotion in his younger brother’s eyes since he’d been married to Blue Star. That Owl should feel that way after almost a decade meant that there was something special about Hannah and Black Fox decided that she should be befriended by his tribe.

  Then Roscoe jumped up and ran off to find the children and Hannah turned her attention back to the men. A pregnant woman came walking over to the camp site carrying a water skin. She sat it down and looked at Hannah.

  Black Fox said, “Hannah, this is my wife, Wind Spirit. This is Owl’s friend.”

  Wind Spirit smiled and said, “Welcome, Hannah. That is a pretty name.”

  “Thank you,” Hannah said.

  Wind Spirit knelt by Black Fox and started a fire in the center of the circle in which they sat. Hannah noticed that none of the men moved to help her and remembered what Owl had told her about the roles of each sex. She didn’t know if it was proper for her to offer to help, so she refrained from saying anything.

  Owl saw her confusion and had a hard time not smiling. He could imagine that she was expecting them to help Wind Spirit, but he would never dream of insulting Wind Spirit by doing so. He remembered how hard it had been for Claire to get used to that. She and Marcus had argued about it several times before she finally understood that she was not to interfere.

  He bumped her knee a little with his and she looked up at him. Owl gave her a tiny shake of his head and she nodded back the same way. He Who Runs saw this and approved of Owl teaching Hannah their customs. Hannah noticed movement behind Black Fox and saw a white, brunette in an Indian dress sneaking up behind him.

  Black Fox said, “Hello, Fawn.”

  Claire cursed and they all laughed. She embraced Black Fox from behind and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

  “I have missed you, brother,” she said and squeezed him tight.

  Black Fox laughed, “And I you, sister. Are you well?”

  Emotion overcame Claire and she just nodded. She missed Marcus so much and having his other family close again touched that nerve a little. Yet it was also a balm to her. Tears stung her eyes and Black Fox drew her around to sit beside him. He put an arm around her and held her against his side.

  “It has been hard to be apart from him so long,” he said. “I know how you feel.”

  Claire sniffed and tried to stop crying. “I’ll be so happy to see him. I can’t wait for him to graduate and come back home again. Then he’ll be home for good,” she said. Black Fox’s presence was comforting to her and she was able to compose herself. “Sorry about that.”

  Black Fox shook her a little. “It’s fine. Do not worry, Fawn. How is our doctor?”

  “He’s homesick, but he’s really
enjoyed his classes and other work, too,” she looked across the circle and saw Hannah. “Oh, hello, Hannah. I didn’t mean to be so rude. I just got caught up missing Marcus.”

  “It’s ok. I understand, Claire,” Hannah said with a smile. “How’s Aiyana?”

  “She’s feeling much better and I’m sure she will be here very shortly to see her uncles,” Claire said.

  He Who Runs reached over and grasped Claire’s arm and pulled her over to him and hugged her. She laughed the whole time and resisted him. It was a game they always played whenever they saw each other. She would pretend to ignore him and see how long it took for him to grab her. It usually wasn’t very long.

  “Were you not going to greet your other brother?” He Who Runs asked and started to tickle Claire.

  “Yes! Yes! Stop! Stop!” Claire yelled.

  He Who Runs released her while he laughed.

  Hannah watched them in fascination. That the warrior who had looked so serious had such a playful side was remarkable to her. Black Fox grunted as Aiyana pounced on him from behind. Like her father, she had a knack for sneaking up on people. It irritated Claire that she couldn’t master the art, but her five-year-old daughter had.

  The beautiful child began chattering a mile a minute at the chief and he laughed as he told her to slow down so he could understand her. Owl laughed when she blew a raspberry against her uncle’s cheek. Then she gave He Who Runs the same treatment.

  Soon a whole bunch of children descended on them and things became chaotic. Whereas white children were sometimes scolded for boisterous behavior, the Lakota children were played with and then gently guided to grow calmer. Then they all ran away again and the adults smiled as they watched them go.

  Hannah looked at Owl and saw the wistful expression on his face as he followed their progress. She could almost feel his pain and wished she could help him in some way. If they hadn’t been around so many other people, she would have taken his hand and said something comforting but she didn’t feel that it would appropriate at the moment.

  Wind Spirit rose and began mixing various ingredients for stew. She put them into a deer hide cooking container and added water. Hannah watched all of this with great interest. Wind Spirit put the soup on to cook and then sat back again. Owl was pleased that Hannah was curious about such things.

  Owl stood up and said, “Come with me,” to Hannah.

  Hannah followed Owl and said, “Where are we going?”

  “I show you my tipi,” he said.

  She was looking forward to seeing his home. She’d never been in a tipi before.

  Owl said, “This one is mine.”

  There were various symbols painted on the outside and she wondered what they meant. Owl opened the flap and motioned her through. Hannah looked around at everything. A colorful sleeping pallet lay on the floor and various hide containers lined one side of the circular tipi wall. A bow and a quiver of arrows sat along another section. She hadn’t thought about Owl using weapons until she saw them.

  It suddenly occurred to her that he must have ridden along on raids and she wondered if he’d ever killed anyone. It was hard to equate the Owl she knew with a man who could be violent. Of course, she didn’t know him all that well yet, but she felt completely safe with him.

  Owl let her absorb it all and sat down. He tried to gauge her reaction but was having trouble reading her. Hannah sat down by him and said, “This is fascinating. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  Owl smiled. “They do not have these in city.”

  “No, they don’t. I like it,” she said.

  “Really?”

  She gave him a sidelong glance and said, “Yes, really.”

  “Good. My brothers like you. Wind Spirit, too. Raven thinks you are pretty,” Owl said.

  “He’s so cute. All of the children are. I’m so glad they like me. I was worried,” Hannah said.

  “I know. Told you would be ok,” Owl said.

  Hannah got quiet. She didn’t know how to ask her question without seeming forward. Owl wondered at her silence but didn’t push. Judging by the expression on her face, she was going through some kind of internal struggle.

  Then she looked at him and asked, “Owl, why are you showing me all of this? Why did you want me to meet your family?”

  Owl thought about how he was going to answer that. “You important to me. You should know about me. See how I live.”

  She smiled. “You’re important to me, too. I’m not sure how that happened so quickly.”

  He shrugged. “Does time matter? It same for Sammi and me. We were friends quick. Not quite same thing.”

  Hannah said, “I don’t know. We’re taught to take things slowly and really know someone before getting serious.”

  Owl pondered that for a moment. He was in a dilemma. How could he assure her of anything when he had questions of his own? His conversation with Dean came back to him. He knew Dean was right about Hannah not going with them over the winter and if they were to ever marry, he wouldn’t want to be away from her for that long. And if they had children, there would be no way he would separate them from either parent.

  Then there was the problem of where they would live in the winter. She wasn’t going to live in a tipi over the cold months and he hated houses. Black Fox was right; it was complicated. He didn’t have answers at the moment. All he knew was that he thought about her the whole time they were apart and was so happy when he saw her again.

  He said, “I see what you mean. We take it slow, ok?”

  Hannah smiled and said, “Ok, but not too slow.”

  She rose up on her knees and kissed him. Owl was swift to respond. He slid his hands around her waist and pressed her closer. She buried her fingers in his hair. It was so soft and fascinated her. She’d never been around a man who had long hair like Owl’s and she had wondered what it felt like when she’d first met him.

  Owl wanted her with an intensity he’d never felt before. She was soft and warm and smelled like some kind of flower. Her hands left his hair and ran down over his chest and reveled in his hard muscles under her palms. His hands roamed her back and Owl groaned when she caressed his sides.

  Suddenly he grabbed her hands and broke off the kiss. Looking in her eyes he said, “Look, I don’t know what’s going to happen with us. I can’t make promises, but I know that you drive me crazy and I haven’t felt this way in so long and I’m scared to feel this way and I’m scared not to. That doesn’t make sense, but that’s how I feel.”

  Hannah was looking at him in confusion and he realized that he’d been speaking in Lakota. He started laughing because he hadn’t known it. She had him so stirred up that he couldn’t think straight.

  Hannah smiled at him uncertainly and he said, “Sorry. Forgot to speak English. You drive me crazy. So much to say, but do not know how.”

  She nodded. “I think we feel the same way.”

  “Be right back,” he said and ran out of the tipi.

  He ran through camp until he found Claire at the tipi she shared with Marcus.

  “Can you please come with me?” he said in Lakota. Claire was now fluent in the language and he needed help.

  “Sure, Owl.”

  “Thanks. I need you to translate for me and please not tell anyone, even your husband. If this wasn’t so important I wouldn’t involve anyone, but it’s necessary. I’ve got to work harder on my English because it’s going to be a while until she understands Lakota well enough. I’ve got a head start on her.”

  “You’re talking about Hannah?” Claire asked.

  “Yes. I know I can trust you,” Owl said as they ducked into the tipi. He didn’t want to be disturbed so he went back outside and placed two sticks crossed over each other on the ground in front of his tipi so everyone would know to leave them alone.

  Hannah saw Claire and was confused.

  Claire smiled at her and said, “Owl wants me to translate for him. So you just look at him and try to forget I’m here. Marcus
and I do this a lot for the tribe. I won’t tell a soul anything that’s said here, ok?”

  Hannah wanted to know what he wanted to say to her and knew this was the best way for that to happen. “Ok.” She didn’t look at Claire anymore. Hannah gave Owl her full attention.

  He took a deep breath and let it out. “I once told Sammi that there are people you come across in life that you make an instant connection with. Like I told you, Sammi and I connected that way, but not romantically. It was like somewhere in the past, we had been family and had found each other again. There’s no other way to explain it.”

  “I feel that way with you. We’re so different, but it doesn’t matter to me. I can’t predict the future. I was trying to tell you that it wouldn’t be fair for me to make promises.” Owl smiled and continued, “Ever since the day I caught you and kept you from falling in the mud, I kept thinking about you. It’s crazy how much I care about you already. You asked me why I’m showing all this to you and that’s why. I want you to know everything about me and bringing you here is the best way to do that.”

  “I’m sure you’re sort of scared and so am I. I don’t want to get hurt, but I don’t want to pass up something that could be wonderful and lasting. Most of all, though, I want to make you happy and I would never intentionally hurt you,” Owl said.

  Hannah said, “I thought I was the crazy one. I kept telling myself that I was because I felt that connection you’re talking about, but I thought it was one-sided. I am scared, but I took a risk in coming here and I’m willing to take more risks where you’re concerned. You do make me happy and I don’t want to hurt you, either. Nobody knows what the future holds, but we can figure it out together.”

  Claire finished translating and saw from the way they were looking at each other that she was no longer needed. She quietly left the tipi and neither one of them noticed.