Wild Desire

by Cassie Edwards

  Self-conscious, she turned her eyes away from him and looked over at Sage. She recoiled somewhat when she saw his sour expression. She knew then that she and Adam were not welcome.

  Swallowing hard, she turned her gaze only a short ways, finding the tall and stately woman beside Sage smiling at her. Her eyes were warm, which proved that she indeed welcomed those who were coming today to pay a short visit.

  Leonida, Stephanie thought to herself. That must be Leonida.

  Stephanie’s gaze swept over Leonida. She was a beautiful woman of an imposing presence, her wealth of golden hair flowing across her shoulders. She wore a lovely velveteen skirt and blouse, and a lacy apron over the skirt. The apron proved that Leonida had not entirely let go of her white past just because she was married to Sage.

  Stephanie looked slowly over at Runner again. She had hoped that by now he would have come to her to welcome her; instead he remained with his parents even after Stephanie and Adam drew rein close by, the pack mule behind them.

  Leonida was the first to step forward. She went to Adam, and when he dismounted, she swept him quickly into her arms. “Adam,” she said, hugging him tightly. “I need no introductions. You have not changed all that much.”

  He returned the hug, hope rising within him that she might be more willing to help him than anyone.

  Leonida stepped away from him and held his hands. “Yes, there is some change,” she said, laughing softly. “You are no longer an adorable little boy. You are grown now, and very handsome.”

  “Mature is more like it,” Adam said, chuckling.

  “Come inside and tell me about yourself and your mother,” Leonida said, ignoring her husband’s unpleasant glance. She looked over at Stephanie, then went to her. “You must be Adam’s sister. Runner told me all about you.”

  Stephanie blushed as she cast Runner a soft smile, then moved into Leonida’s embrace. She found it comforting, especially now that she could tell that Adam had a fight on his hands as far as Sage was concerned. Sage had yet to smile, or make any effort to welcome her and Adam to his village.

  Nor had Runner.

  Yet it was in Runner’s eyes how he felt. Stephanie knew that she would be welcome anywhere as long as he was there.

  Leonida swung away from Stephanie. “Come inside and sit by the fire,” she said, lifting the hem of her skirt. “The air is cool today.”

  She went to Sage and took his hand, their eyes meeting. When she smiled up at him, he was, as always, unable to resist her and went with her inside the hogan with everyone else.

  Adam walked beside Stephanie. His heart did a strange sort of flip-flop when he discovered someone sitting beside the fireplace on a Navaho blanket, her sewing resting on her lap.

  Adam smiled awkwardly when Pure Blossom turned her face up to him and gazed raptly at him. A magical connection linked them at first glance.

  He swept his eyes over her in silent admiration. She was slight and fragile and ever so beautiful with wide, dark eyes. Her luxurious black hair flowed smoothly over her shoulders, the ends resting on the floor of the hogan.

  She wore a blue velveteen blouse and a skirt of bright calico. A beautiful thick string of coral hung around her neck. Just scarcely exposed beneath the long hem of her skirt were moccasins adorned with silver buttons.

  Stephanie smiled a thank you as Leonida took her arm and led her over to the fireplace, offering her a comfortable, cushioned hand-hewn chair. She eased into the chair and, as she looked around her, found the interior of the hogan hardly any different from the cabins of other settlers.

  The log walls were mellow with flickering light from the great rock and clay fireplace. A stew pot hung over the coals on an iron arm in the fireplace. More food simmered on a huge, black cookstove. The aroma of cabbage and beans wafted through the air from the pots. A pot of coffee sat on the edge of the hearth.

  Stephanie could see that at least two more rooms led from the main living quarters and surmised those were bedrooms. She had to wonder if one of those bedrooms belonged to Runner but doubted it. He seemed too independent to sleep under the same roof as his parents.

  She smiled at Runner as he eased into a chair not that far from her. She melted when he returned her smile, even though somewhat guardedly.

  Her gaze was quickly drawn to Sage.

  “You have come without proper invitation to my hogan?” he said, breaking the strained silence as he sat down in a leather chair on the far side of the fireplace. Adam had sat on the same blanket on the floor with Pure Blossom.

  “You know how badly I wanted to see Leonida,” Adam said. He accepted a cup of coffee Leonida handed to him. “And I was anxious to meet the rest of your family.” He looked over at Pure Blossom. “And this is your daughter?”

  “Yes, this is Pure Blossom,” Leonida said, placing a hand on her daughter’s thin shoulder. “Pure Blossom, you’ve heard me speak of Adam. Darling, this is he.”

  Pure Blossom extended a slender hand to Adam. “Yaa-eh-t-eeh, hello and welcome. It is good to meet you,” she said, her voice so soft it sounded hardly more than a breath of wind.

  Adam’s hands tremored as he circled his fingers around hers. “It is nice to make your acquaintance, also,” he said.

  So quickly taken with her, he felt awkward in her presence. He held her hand for only a moment, then slid it away and gripped the saucer and took another sip of coffee from the cup. Yet his eyes were still on Pure Blossom.

  Hers were drawn away when her mother spoke to her.

  “And, Pure Blossom, this is Stephanie,” Leonida said, nodding and smiling over to Stephanie.

  Pure Blossom and Stephanie smiled cordially at one another.

  “Our son, Thunder Hawk, attends school each day,” Stephanie said. She settled down at the foot of Sage’s chair and rested an elbow on one of his knees. “I’m sorry he wasn’t here to meet you. But in time, you will make his acquaintance.”

  “Leonida, they have not come solely to make acquaintances,” Sage said dryly. “Adam, Runner did not get the opportunity to question you yet about this private spur that is planned to reach Fort Defiance. You tell us now. What are your connections with this new railroad line? Why is it being laid except for purposes of exploiting my people?”

  Adam was momentarily at a loss for words. He had not expected to be thrown into such troubled waters so soon. In fact, he had not planned to get into this discussion at all today with Sage. He had yet to get Runner alone first, to encourage him to be his ally. He cursed the very idea now of having come to the village today.

  Yet would it be any different tomorrow, or the day after? he despaired to himself.

  He now realized that it wouldn’t be. He had to face the music today, and perhaps it was best to get it over with, after all.

  Runner eased to his feet and loomed over Adam, his eyes narrowing at him. At this moment, Stephanie was the farthest thing from his mind. Her brother, Runner’s boyhood friend, was the main concern now. Runner doubted that Adam had any answers that would please him, or his father. Too much pointed to Adam being guilty of having come to Arizona Territory for all of the wrong reasons.

  “I truly came today only out of friendship,” Adam said. He set his cup and saucer aside and slowly rose to his feet. He edged away from Runner and went and stood behind Stephanie. “But if you insist, I do have things that need to be said.”

  “Continue,” Sage said, nodding.

  Runner folded his arms across his chest. “But be warned that you best carefully guard what you say,” he said. “The private spur. It is yours, is it not?” He ignored Stephanie’s steady gaze and that his sister was showing too much interest in Adam. He gave Adam a steady, unnerving stare, as though daring him to continue.

  “In part, yes,” Adam stammered.

  “Either it is, or it isn’t,” Runner said stiffly. “Which is it?”

  “If you put it that way, it belongs entirely to the Santa Fe Railroad,” Adam said, his jaw tightening.

&n
bsp; “Then explain your connections to the railroad,” Runner said, taking a step closer to Adam. “Stephanie once referred to the private spur being yours. Explain how it can be yours one day, and it is not the next?”

  “It’s too complicated to explain in detail,” Adam said. He shuffled his feet nervously when all eyes became intent on him. “To make it short, the spur is being built at my request, but at the expense of the Santa Fe Railroad.”

  “And why would they agree to such an exorbitant, wasteful expense?” Runner prodded.

  Sage allowed his son to continue with the questions, since he was succeeding at putting Adam at a disadvantage. He smiled smugly as Adam noticeably became more uneasy.

  “If you must know,” Adam said tightly, “the private spur will go past Fort Defiance and farther still into Navaho land, for the development of a town for tourists. This town would be run by me. It would bear my name.”

  “That cannot be allowed to happen,” Sage said, unable to keep quiet. He stood to his full height, towering over Adam. “The Santa Fe Railroad right-of-way closes off further Navaho advance.”

  “Sage, you know that a series of presidential executive orders have added expanse after expanse of land to the Navaho Treaty Reservation,” Adam defended. “I will go further to say that it seems to me that you are too greedy with this land.”

  Sage was fighting to control his anger. He glared at Adam. “The reservation is not all good pasture land,” he grumbled. “There are great barren stretches far from water.”

  “Yes, I am sure that is true,” Adam said. He purposely softened his tone, afraid to anger Sage too much. He did not want to have to watch his back every time he rode away from the safe confines of his train. “But there are countless new horizons that still exist for not only the Navaho but the white man. Surely you can feel it. Whenever you hear the whistle of a train you should be proud. There is room for everyone’s expansion.”

  “The black iron fiend has already brought a new evil to this land,” Sage grumbled. “The Navaho never had much to do with liquor before the train brought drunken white men to our land. The new railroad towns have saloons. The men who frequent them are tough, hard drinkers. These men offer alcohol to our innocent youth. They become shameful in the eyes of their people when they come staggering into town, stinking and drunk.”

  “In moderation, alcohol doesn’t hurt anyone,” Adam defended.

  “It is a new, cheap way to happiness and security,” Sage said somberly. “Those Navaho who have become discouraged in life are those who are lured into drinking the firewater. The train will bring more and more liquor to our young men. The trains are worthless. I can never approve.”

  “Sage, locomotives are a national obsession,” Adam said. “It is only natural that there are differing views of their value.”

  “I also do not approve of a town that will scar our beloved land and bring more saloons to our land,” Sage stated. “Our native culture holds the earth as sacred and inviolate. It is not to be torn up, but to be lived in, in a state of grace and harmony with the beneficent power emanating from the rhythm of nature.”

  “Sage? Runner? Please listen to reason,” Adam pleaded. “The railroad is a vehicle in the quest for a sense of belonging to this vast country,” he said slowly. “The railway is the artery of the nation’s life. As it will become to the Navaho nation. My town? It will be a place for white people to come and see your people as they are. They will soon see that you are wrongly labeled ‘savage.’”

  Stephanie was quiet. She became more tense as the debate wore on. She looked up at Runner and flinched at the bitter expression on his face, then grimaced when she looked over at Sage. She felt surrounded by hate. Her brother may have just ruined all chances of her ever becoming closer to Runner.

  Not wanting anyone to see the shine of tears in her eyes, she lowered them.

  “Adam, you have said enough,” Sage said, angrily folding his arms across his chest. “I will hear no more talk of railroads or towns that will bear your name.” He stomped out of the hogan. After him went Adam.

  Stephanie scarcely breathed. She feared that Adam and Sage might come to blows outside the hogan. Instead, she heard a horse galloping away, leaving an eerie silence in its wake.

  Runner went to the door of the hogan and peered outside. “Adam is gone,” he said over his shoulder. “Father is now sitting among the elders.”

  Stephanie scrambled to her feet and went to Runner. She placed a gentle hand on his arm. “I’m sorry about my brother’s behavior,” she said, not only stunned by how heatedly Adam had dared to argue with Sage and Runner, but his having left her behind.

  “Your brother speaks hastily and with no respect for those of his past,” Runner said. He turned to Stephanie. “But none of this is your fault. You will not be blamed for your brother’s rudeness.”

  “But still, I guess I’d better go,” Stephanie murmured. “I think I have overstayed my welcome.”

  Leonida went to Stephanie. “My dear, stay as long as you wish,” she said. “Would you stay for supper? That would please me so much.”

  Stephanie smiled awkwardly over at Runner, then into Leonida’s warm eyes. “I can think of someone who would not enjoy seeing me share supper with you,” she said. “But thank you, anyhow.”

  “I shall escort you home,” Runner said, already ushering her outside by her elbow. “It is not safe for women to ride alone so far.”

  She caught him glancing down at her firearm, then smiled up at him. “As you see, I am prepared for being alone,” she said, laughing softly.

  “Yet still, it never hurts to have a man at your side,” Runner said.

  She stiffened when she looked over at her pack mule and the camera equipment secured on its back. She was afraid that Runner would ask about it. She couldn’t chance angering the Navaho any more today with talk of cameras, especially Runner.

  She was glad when he didn’t seem to notice, his interest drawn to his horse as a young lad brought it to them.

  “I accept your offer,” Stephanie said. She mounted her horse, thrilled at the thought of being with him, away from the traumas of moments ago. She was glad that he did not cast blame on her for Adam’s behavior.

  Perhaps, she and Runner could be closer because of it. He seemed to feel protective of her, possibly to the extent of even wanting to protect her from her own brother.

  Again she stiffened when Runner looked at the mule as he swung himself into his saddle. She breathed out a deep sigh of relief when he said nothing, instead nodded for her to follow as he sank his heels into the flanks of the stallion and rode away.

  Remembering Adam’s handsomeness, Pure Blossom stood at the hogan door. He was the first man that had caused her to feel like a woman, and he was a man that she feared. He did not seem the sort to be true friends to the Navaho, or to his word. For certain, he was not a man to whom she could trust her feelings and heart.

  Trying to forget him, she walked away, toward her own private hogan.

  Leonida watched her daughter. She had seen Pure Blossom’s behavior while Adam had been there. Pure Blossom had not been able to take her eyes off the man.

  Leonida sighed and went back inside her hogan and began making flatbread from wheat flour, sickened over today’s turn of events. Hardly ever did she see her husband so adamant about anything, or as bitter.

  She feared what was going to transpire these next few weeks due to his inability to accept changes to his homeland. But she knew that he would soon realize he had no choice but to again accept what he could not control, as he had learned to accept being forced onto a reservation all those years ago and so many other injustices that had been forced upon him and his people.

  She saw these changes as never-ending. She knew that Sage also saw this, and feared that could make him grow old before his time.

  Feeling so utterly helpless to do anything in her husband’s defense, tears splashed from Leonida’s eyes. She suddenly felt old, herself. So v
ery, very old.

  Chapter 10

  Fly not yet—’t is just the hour

  When pleasure, like the midnight flower,

  That scorns the eye of vulgar light,

  Begins to bloom for sons of night,

  And maids who love the moon!

  —THOMAS MOORE

  Stephanie savored the last light of the fading sun as her horse clattered along beside Runner’s into a narrow, shale-strewn floor of a box canyon, its one entrance almost clogged by a rubble of boulders. She was in awe of the unbelievable beauty that surrounded her. She drew a tight rein, Runner soon following her lead.

  “I do understand why your people are against the railroad,” she said, turning to him. “Truly I do. Undisturbed, this land is so beautiful . . . so serene. I can imagine how you must feel when you hear the screaming of the train as the whistle echoes across the virgin land of your people.”

  “Yes, I see in your eyes that you have an understanding most white people don’t have,” Runner said. He edged his horse closer to hers. “It is evident that you and Adam do not share the same blood. You are nothing at all like him.”

  “Since our parents married, we have shared much in our lifetime,” Stephanie said. Her pulse raced at the mere closeness of Runner. “We have shared excitement about many things. I was even excited for him and his plans for this private railroad spur and the town that he has dreamed of since he was twelve.”

  “He remembered the land as it was when he was here as a captive of my father.” Runner scowled. “Its seduction began even then.”

  “I imagine so,” Stephanie said, nodding.

  Runner motioned with a hand toward a bluff that was only a short ride away. “Come,” he urged softly. “Share a place with me where I have come often to watch the moon replace the sun in the sky. It is a place of quiet. It is a place that shows off the wonders of this land.”

  “I would love to see it,” Stephanie said, her heart racing. She felt as though there wasn’t, nor ever could be, any animosity between them. It did not seem at all like he held her responsible for anything that Adam was planning.