“Why were you at Damon’s, Runner?” he said. “What would you have to say to Damon Stout? He is not a friend to sit and smoke with.”
“Hardly,” Runner said, chuckling low. He reached over and gave his brother a pat on his shoulder. “And if not for one thing that happened at the Stout ranch, I would have seen this, for the most part, as a waste of your brother’s time.”
“What could happen there that was good?” Thunder Hawk scoffed. “Anything to do with that man has to be deceitful.”
Runner’s smile faded, not wanting to think on any possible deceits that might be attached to Stephanie. He wanted her to be separate from any dealings with Adam and Damon. Yet he knew why she was in Arizona Territory, and that, in itself, was a deceit to the Navaho.
Not wanting to think about it anymore this evening, much less talk about it, Runner again gave his brother a pat on the shoulder. “Enough talk tonight,” he said. “You need to have some rest. You have to think about having a clear mind when you attend school.”
“School,” Thunder Hawk said in a hiss. “I hate school.”
“If you would allow yourself, you could find your studies interesting,” Runner said. He sank his heels into the flanks of his horse, urging it into a gentle lope. He looked over at Thunder Hawk, riding alongside him.
“Little brother, do you not enjoy learning about geography, and how it is in other countries?” he said. “I found it fascinating. Imagine being on a huge ship in a wide body of water headed for the place called England. Do you not think that it would be interesting to see how they treat their Indians? To see if they steal their land and kill their buffalo? In my studies, the teacher did not reveal these things to me.”
“You are a dreamer,” Thunder Hawk scolded. “Mother placed too many ‘dream catchers’ on your bed when you were a child.”
Runner gave Thunder Hawk a frustrated, annoyed look, then galloped hard away from him.
Dreams. What did his younger brother know about dreams? He did not even know yet how to accept the reality of life!
As the moon spilled in through the open window beside her bed in the private car, Stephanie tossed and turned, pulling the satin sheet one way, and then the other. First she would lie in one position, and then another.
His kiss. His arms. How on earth was she expected to go to sleep while remembering being with Runner so vividly?
Shaking her hair back from her shoulders, Stephanie sat up in her bed and sighed. “I just can’t go to sleep,” she groaned.
Stepping lightly from the bed onto a plushly thick carpet, she slid her feet into slippers and slipped into a silk robe. Tying it at the waist, she moved sleepily toward her darkroom. She would busy her hands by putting her photographic equipment into various satchels. She would tire herself out so much that she would have to go to sleep. It was important to get her needed rest. She and Adam would be on their horses for many hours tomorrow. She wanted to get as many photographs of the scenery as possible before someone attempted to stop her.
It did seem, though, that she would not get the chance to photograph the Navaho, unless she was deceptive. And she did not like the thought of sneaking around doing anything that might displease not only the Navaho as a whole but Runner. After being held by him, and melting in his arms as he kissed her, she did not want anything to stand in the way of their loving one another.
“Yes, love,” she whispered, feeling as though she were floating on air at the thought of being with Runner again. “I am truly in love. For the first time in my life I am—”
“Sis?”
Adam’s voice outside her car door made Stephanie stop with a start and lose her train of thought. She tightened the sash at her waist and drew her long, lean fingers through her hair to straighten it, then went out to the door and opened it.
“I’m having a hell of a time sleeping,” Adam growled, brushing past her. “There’s so much to do. I just can’t turn my brain off.” He turned to her as she closed the door behind them, the moon’s soft glow the only light in the room. He smiled mischievously over at Stephanie. “And you? I don’t think I have to ask what has kept you awake.”
Stephanie struck a match and lit a kerosene lamp, turning the wick up high enough to spray its faint light around her private car. She shook the match out and dropped it in an ashtray, then sank down into a soft, cushioned chair.
“Taking photographs tomorrow, Adam,” she said, pulling her feet up beneath her. “That’s why I couldn’t sleep.” She ignored his obvious reference to what he knew had transpired between her and Runner only a few hours ago. “It’s the first time I’ve tried to take my camera among Indians. It worries me.”
“Aw, you’re worrying about nothing,” Adam said, slouching into a chair opposite her. “Leave it up to Runner. Because of his attraction to you, he’ll make sure you can do as you damn please.”
“I would rather you didn’t discuss Runner’s feelings toward me with me, or anyone else for that matter,” Stephanie said stiffly. “But I do thank you for coming to my defense tonight. Damon Stout is a rogue. How can you associate yourself with him for any reason? I bet if you would look long enough you would find that he has had scrapes with the law. Adam, I see it in his eyes. He is a man with no feelings. He is surely a criminal of some sort.”
“You asked me not to discuss Runner with you,” Adam said, glowering over at her. “Well, then, sis, I ask the same of you as far as Damon Stout is concerned. My association with him is purely one of business. Once I’m done here, I’ll not bother with him anymore.”
Stephanie leaned forward. She questioned Adam with her eyes, then leaned back again, knowing that he would not say any more about business affairs with Damon were she to pursue the matter.
Perhaps she was better off not knowing. She feared that whatever Adam’s association with Damon might be, they would not be in the best interests of the Navaho. She would never forget how coldly Runner and Damon had treated one another.
Perhaps it best to stay out of those situations. She had enough to worry about, herself, with her own problems at hand.
“Sis, even though you told me not to discuss Runner with you, I’ve got to ask,” Adam said, giving her a guarded look. “Is there a strong attraction between the two of you?”
“Adam, please,” Stephanie said, standing quickly. She went into her darkroom and lit a lamp. She stiffened when Adam came after her and held a satchel open, so that she could place plates inside it.
“Stephanie, since there is obviously already something going on between you and Runner, play up to him,” Adam said, his jaw tight as he watched for her reaction. “Get him on my side. I need Runner, Stephanie. If I’m to expect no trouble from the Navaho, I need Runner’s alliance.”
Stephanie turned angry eyes to Adam. She placed her hands on her hips and spoke up into his face. “Now, you listen here, Adam,” she warned. “Just keep your suggestions to yourself. Especially those concerning Runner. You know I’m not the sort to play those types of games with men.”
“Aw, sis, this is different,” Adam said, setting the satchel of plates aside. “Come on. For me? For your brother? You know how important this project is to me. I want to have this town worse than anything else I’ve wanted in my entire life. With your help, it could happen much more easily and quickly.”
“I’ll have no part in your schemes,” Stephanie said, brusquely brushing past him. She left the darkroom and stepped to a window. She looked at the shadowed mountains in the distance, wondering where Runner was and if he was also having trouble sleeping. She had felt the need and hunger in his kiss. She knew without a doubt that he was falling in love with her. She would not take any risks that might turn his feelings into loathing.
Adam placed his hands on her waist and turned her around to face him. “Stephanie, I’ve never asked for much from you,” he said thickly. “But this time, I’ve got to. You’ve got to do whatever you can to get Runner on my side. Do you hear? Anything.”
St
ephanie’s lips quavered as she stared up at her stepbrother. “You would even have me seduce him if it comes to that, Adam, to draw him into your schemes?” she said, her voice breaking. “You truly want me to do even that?”
“Well, yes, if you believe that is what it would take to achieve my goals,” Adam said. He jumped and gasped when Stephanie slapped him across the face.
“How could you, Adam?” Stephanie said. She glared up at him, her fists doubled at her sides. “Now listen well to what I have to say, for it is the last time I shall say it. If you see me with Runner, and should I be showing affection for him in any way, it will only be because I want to be with him because I have true feelings for him. I won’t be with him because of a brother who is blinded by greed.”
Adam’s eyes narrowed as he gingerly stroked his stinging cheek. “Dear, sweet sister,” he ground out between clenched teeth, “you are as blinded by greed as much as I. You have come a long way to make money by taking photographs, haven’t you? You knew that the Indians would not want you here, yet you came anyway. Because of money, Stephanie. That’s why you’re here. Nothing else.”
Stephanie paled and took a step away from him. She was shaken by what he had just said, knowing that, in part, it was true.
“Touché, brother,” she said flatly, then walked away, her chin held high.
The money that she had expected to make had sounded good to her. But now, after meeting Runner . . . ?
Money was no longer the entire fascination of being in Arizona Territory. She had to find a way of balancing her love of photography with the love and passion of the handsome “White Indian.”
Money came last, now, in her list of priorities.
Chapter 9
Guard her, by your truthful words,
Pure from courtship’s flatteries.
—ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING
Adam at her side, Stephanie stood on a sandstone ledge, gazing out onto a land fed by roistering small streams of delicious, cold water. The vast, empty sky was a cornflower blue directly above, which darkened gradually to a deep, rich turquoise before it finally met the distant mountain peaks.
The morning had been long, but the length of time had been scarcely noticed by Stephanie as she had so excitedly taken photographs. She had become enamored by everything about this lovely land. She could see why the Navaho did not want to lose their rights to the land. Wanting to be as one with the land could become an addiction. She felt the bond already, and she had only been there a very short time.
“Don’t you think we’d better call it a day if you want to stop by the Navaho village?” Adam said, tipping his wide-brimmed hat back from his brow. He smiled and wiped a smudge of dirt from his sister’s face. “Or do you think we should first take a bath in that stream?”
“No, no bath required.” Stephanie laughed, handing her camera to Adam. She folded up her tripod. “A hair brushing and a spray of perfume is all I need and I’ll feel refreshed enough.”
She went to the pack mule that was being used to transport her equipment. “I’m anxious to get to the Navaho village,” she tossed over her shoulder. She cast a look at the canopy of blue above, then at the sun, which had drifted from its midpoint. “I’d like to get back to the train before dark,” she added.
“Whatever you say, sis,” Adam said. He took quick steps toward the pack mule. He secured the camera case in a saddlebag, then took the tripod and tied it to the side of the mule and covered it with a leather drop cloth.
He folded his arms across his chest and gave Stephanie a soft smile as she took a bottle of perfume from the saddlebag on the other side of the mule and gave her shirt a spray. He then watched as she brushed her hair in long strokes, making it glisten in the sunlight.
He was glad that he and Stephanie had made up their differences today, while traveling together. And it would be no problem keeping their relationship this pleasant. He had already said enough about Runner to her. She needed no more reminding about his old friend who was now Navaho in Adam’s eyes, instead of white.
When she had suggested that they swing by the Navaho village, to meet Sage’s family, Adam realized that she mainly wanted to go there to get a chance to see Runner again. It took no damn crystal ball to figure that out. Making herself smell especially good, and taking such effort with her hair, was proof of that.
Adam had quickly agreed to her suggestion. He would play up to the whole Navaho nation, if that became necessary, to sway opinion his way so that the town bearing his name could be built without interference. Somehow, he would soon have the whole damn Navaho tribe eating out of his hands.
“I’m ready to go now,” Stephanie said, mounting her horse.
Adam gave her a mock salute and swung himself into his own saddle. They turned their steeds in the direction of the Navaho village. Their bridles jangled. Their horses pranced in a light canter, heads high, obedient to the reins.
When silence fell between Stephanie and Adam, he was keenly aware of it and did not attempt talking to her. One glance told him that she was deep in thought, and he felt confident with whom her thoughts lay: Runner.
He looked at her carefully, as if for the first time. She wore a faded calico shirt tucked into her divided riding skirt. The dark riding skirt was snug about her lithe hips and swung above her ankles, which were covered by undecorated high-heeled riding boots. The sleeves of her shirt were rolled above her elbows and the neck was unbuttoned, the cleavage of her breasts just barely visible.
But she looked no less lovely than if she wore a low-swept, satin ball gown. It did not take fancy clothes to bring out her loveliness. It was all natural, from her pretty nose and rosy lips to her slim and shapely legs. He admired her as all men did, but without passion. Although no blood kin to him, she was his sister, in every way.
Should he have had a true sister, surely their bond could not have been as true as the bond felt between Stephanie and himself.
“Adam,” Stephanie said, suddenly looking over at him. “Please try and behave yourself at the Navaho village. Will you please watch what you say?”
Adam was taken aback. His contented feelings of only moments ago were as quickly shattered. “Sis, if you’re going to monitor my every word while I am with the Navaho, I think it best that we return to the train instead of going to their village,” he said, his eyes cold as he glared at her. “Lord, Stephanie, sometimes I think you don’t want my dreams to come true.”
“It’s not that, Adam,” she said, her eyes wavering when she saw how quickly she had angered him. “I just wish there were other ways to make them happen.”
“Other than making friends with the Navaho?” he snapped back. “That’s what I’m going to do today, Stephanie: make friends. Is that wrong?”
“Not if that was your only motive,” Stephanie said. She looked ahead and got her first glimpse of hogans a short distance away.
She cast Adam another quick glance. “For me, Adam?” she softly pleaded. “Please don’t say or do anything we both might regret.”
Adam wiped a sweaty palm on his dark trousers. “I wouldn’t ever purposely do anything to hurt you,” he said. “That’s all I can promise you. I would think that would be enough.”
He scowled at her for a moment longer, then jerked around and stared ahead, silent. He wished now that he had said a flat no to her when she had begged to come with him to Arizona Territory. She could prove to be more of a nuisance than a companion. Yet if she had not been there, he felt that he would have already been at a deadlock with the Navaho.
Adam felt unnerved when they rode into the outskirts of the village, dogs yapping at their heels and people turning to watch. He ignored these people. He was looking straight ahead. His spine stiffened when he saw Sage and Runner step from one of the larger hogans of the village. A lovely woman came quickly to Sage’s side, who Adam recognized as Leonida.
Her appearance gave him cause to relax somewhat. He could still feel the warmth of her smile those many years
ago, and the sincere hugs that she had given him. Especially when the day came for him to leave the Navaho’s stronghold, to return to life as he had known it before being taken captive by Sage and his warriors.
He looked over at Sage. Adam had forgiven him long ago for having taken captives from the stagecoach. While living among the Navaho that short time, with Sage as their leader, he admired the man and the reason behind his decision to take captives. Sage’s life had been filled with many injustices.
Adam had to confess to himself that it made him a bit nervous to try and swindle Sage into more injustices, yet he would not, for the world, change what he had started, and would fight for it to the end.
Even if that fight was with Sage.
Tense from the audience of Navaho, Stephanie glued her hands to the reins and sat straight and unmoving in the saddle. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Navaho women sitting outside in the shade of their hogans. They had momentarily stopped carding and spinning their wool to stare at her and Adam.
Her gaze also took in the flocks of sheep and goats that were corraled behind each Navaho dwelling. A garden of corn and other vegetables was squared off on a small plot of ground a short distance from the corral. From her studies of the Navaho, before coming to Arizona Territory, she had learned that their four sacred plants were corn, squash, beans, and tobacco.
She shifted her gaze and saw that the doors of all of the hogans opened to the east side. She remembered reading that the Navaho constructed their dwellings in this fashion so that they could welcome the morning sun and receive good blessings. An old Navaho house-blessing hymn that she had read came to mind: “Beauty extends from the fireside of my hogan. Beauty radiates from it in every direction.”
Stephanie looked ahead. Her heart leapt and her knees grew weak with desire as her eyes met and held with Runner’s, where he stood with his parents outside a large hogan.
Wild Desire Page 7
