Sky Dancer wiped tears from her eyes, then turned her horse back in the direction from whence she had come. What had just happened seemed so unreal. Surely she would wake up and discover that she had been experiencing a nightmare. How could one gain the world in one evening, only to lose it all the next day?
She looked over her shoulder at Thunder Hawk as he was led farther and farther away into the sun, then lifted her chin and reached deeply inside herself to find the courage to ride onward. She must get help for her husband: Sage, or perhaps even Thunder Hawk’s brother, Runner. They were the answer. They would rescue her husband.
With this, hope blossomed within her and she sent her horse into a canter. She felt strangely alone. Never had she been this totally alone. Her father had never allowed it. She felt vulnerable not only without an escort but also with no weapons for protection.
She gazed heavenward and whispered a prayer to the Great Unseen Power and asked that she would not be the next Navaho victim of evil white men.
When she felt something like a hand softly brushing her cheek, she felt as though her prayer had been answered. She said another quiet prayer to the Great Unseen Power.
“Please bring my husband back to me soon,” she said with a sob in her throat.
Chapter 29
The heart that has truly loved,
Never forgets.
—THOMAS MOORE
Still seeing the burning railroad cars in her mind’s eye, still stunned by the devastation, and fearing who might be blamed, Stephanie was glad to finally be back at her private car.
She wheeled her horse to a stop, puzzled. When she had left the wreckage, Adam had still been there, loudly voicing his opinion as to who might be responsible. Yet there his horse was, tethered to the hitching rail.
Stephanie’s gaze slid over to the other horse standing next to Adam’s, wondering who it belonged to.
And how did Adam get there before her?
Loud laughter wafting from Adam’s car, through a window that was partially up, drew Stephanie’s attention. She gazed up at the window and saw the silhouette of two men inside the car, seemingly oblivious of her arrival. She slowly slipped from her saddle and crept beneath Adam’s window, her insides coiling even more tightly when she recognized Damon’s voice as he began talking to Adam about the train wreck.
The more she listened, the more she felt ill, clear to the core of herself. She leaned closer, her hands tightening into fists at her sides as she heard them laughing about how they had duped the Navaho—about the sabotage.
“Adam, everything went off without a snag,” she heard Damon say. “It was easy setting the dynamite beneath the train and blowing it up without being seen.
“It’s going to be fun watching the Navaho try to squirm out of this one,” he continued. “It seems like I’ve waited a lifetime to see them get what’s coming to them. They’re all a worthless lot. Sheepherders are the lowest form of man on earth. Their damn sheep eat up all the grass, leaving nothing for cattle.”
“Count it,” Adam said. “See if I’ve counted it right. A thousand. Isn’t that what we agreed to? Will that be enough for the risk you took blowing up the train?”
“Wasn’t no risk at all,” Damon said, guffawing. “It was sheer pleasure. Perhaps even better than beddin’ a woman. No need in countin’ the money, Adam. I trust you.”
“Count it anyway,” Adam said, his voice bland. “I don’t want you coming back later saying I shortchanged you.”
“Friends don’t shortchange friends,” Damon said. “Now I guess I’d best be goin’. It wouldn’t do for anyone to see us together right now. They might focus attention on us, instead of the Navaho.”
“I tried my damndest to get the sheriff to go and arrest Thunder Hawk,” Adam said. “But he didn’t seem to listen to reason. Who’s to say who he will narrow in on at the Navaho reservation? As far as I’m concerned, he can take the whole damn bunch of them. Hah! Some friends they turned out to be. Sage, especially. He seemed to dislike me the minute he laid eyes on me the day Stephanie and I arrived on the train.”
“Where is Stephanie?” Damon asked guardedly. “We’ve got to make sure she never finds out who dynamited the train. I would wager that she’d side with the Navaho against you.”
“Stephanie?” Adam said, rubbing his chin in thought. He then grew pale. “Damn it, Damon. She left the scene of the accident before me. I took the shortcut you showed me. But she should’ve been here by now.”
“I’d best go, then,” Damon said, lifting a wide-brimmed Stetson hat onto his head.
Adam walked him to the door and gazed cautiously outside, then went on to the horses with him. “Guess she’s been sidetracked. I wonder what’s keeping her?” Adam said, nervously raking his fingers through his hair as he peered into the distance.
“Don’t worry about her,” Damon said, swinging himself into his saddle. “As long as she don’t know nothin’ about our plans, what can she do?”
“Yeah, what can she do?” Adam echoed. He waved good-bye to Damon, then sauntered back into his private car. He was unaware of the pack mule that Stephanie had taken to the other side of the cars and left there with her photography equipment until she returned, after she warned the Navaho about the schemes of her brother and Damon.
Feeling victorious over the Navaho, Adam went to his liquor cabinet and poured himself a shot of whiskey. He held the glass in the air. “To Sage, Runner, and the whole damn tribe of Navaho,” he said, in a mock toast.
He chuckled and gulped the whiskey down, then poured himself another, and another.
Stephanie rode hard across the land, still stunned by what she had heard. She had cast her loyalties to Adam aside the minute she had heard what he had told Runner about her having used him for selfish purposes. It hadn’t taken her long to decide what she must do today. She wouldn’t allow the Navaho to take the blame for what her brother and Damon Stout had done.
And she must make haste to do everything possible to right the wrongs done to the Navaho. She knew very well that the white man’s law with the Indians could be hasty and harsh.
Finally, she reached the Navaho village and drew a tight rein in front of Runner’s hogan. Her entrance into the village being anything but quiet, Sage came hurriedly from his hogan just as he saw Stephanie rush inside Runner’s. He could tell that something was wrong, so he followed her inside and listened as she told Runner what had happened, and what she had heard her brother and Damon laughing about.
Sage stepped forward and placed a hand on Stephanie’s shoulder, causing her to turn around with a start. “You say that Adam paid Damon to blow up the train, then cast blame on my people?” Sage said, anger swelling within him.
“Yes, and while I was there, at the wreckage, I heard my stepbrother even try to cast the full blame on Thunder Hawk,” she said, her eyes looking into Sage’s. “I’m sorry, Sage. I wish I could have known what he was planning. I would have done everything possible to stop him.”
Runner took up his rifle and brushed past them.
Sage grabbed him by the wrist. “Where do you go in such haste, my son?” he said, his jaw tight.
“To kill Adam,” Runner hissed.
“That is not the way to deal with men like him,” Sage said, dropping his hand to his side.
Stephanie rushed up to Runner. “No, please don’t do anything hasty,” she pleaded. “The authorities will take care of Adam and Damon once they are told the truth. Let us all ride to Fort Defiance together. I will tell the authorities at once what I saw and heard. They will arrest Adam and Damon. The courts will then decide what is to become of them.”
Runner’s eyes widened and his heart pounded within his chest. Was this truly real? Was Stephanie saying that she would go against her stepbrother, on behalf of the Navaho? Did this not prove that he had been wrong to have believed anything Adam had said about Stephanie being a part of a plan to dupe Runner? If she had such fierce devotion to Adam, why then would she be t
here now, in Runner’s hogan, ready to defend the Navaho?
“You would do this for my people?” Runner asked.
“Yes, for the Navaho, but especially for you, Runner,” Stephanie said, her voice breaking. “Darling, don’t you see? I would do anything for you. Even condemn my stepbrother in the eyes of the law. Doesn’t that prove enough to you that you have been wrong to believe Adam over me?”
Runner drew her into his embrace. “I was wrong. Can you forgive my ignorance? I apologize for ever having doubted your sincerity and love for me.”
“Yes, I forgive you,” Stephanie said, tears warm on her cheeks. “How could I not when I love you so much?”
She cuddled close as he tilted her lips to his. A blissful joy spread through Stephanie to know that she had her man, and his love, back again.
She smiled to herself when she thought of Adam, and how he would be shocked to see that his schemes had backfired in more ways than one. He had brought Stephanie and Runner together again, and their bond would be even stronger. And soon he would have lost everything, while she and the Navaho would have gained everything, especially the respect of those who realized they were victims again of greedy white men, who would do anything to rid the land of the Navaho.
“We must leave for Fort Defiance now,” Sage said, interrupting Runner and Stephanie’s kiss.
As Stephanie eased from Runner’s arms and gazed up at Sage, he could not help but smile down at her, for he did see that she was someone who genuinely cared for the People. As his Leonida had done, he could see that Stephanie could fit into the life of the Navaho. Stephanie’s love for Runner was genuine enough to give her the courage and strength to adapt to a new life, a new people. He saw that, in part, she had already adapted.
They went outside together, and as they waited for Runner and Sage to get their horses, Stephanie explained everything to Leonida—about the wreckage, who were going to be blamed, and about Adam’s deceit.
“Long ago, when I knew Adam’s mother, I saw how she taught him strict morals,” Leonida said. She looked into the distance, as though reliving those days of long ago, when she had been among those that had been taken as Sage’s captives. “I grew to know Sally and Adam much better when we were brought together as captives in Sage’s stronghold. Adam and Runner were best friends. Adam knew right from wrong. It seems as though he has forgotten his mother’s teachings.”
“Sally will be very disappointed in Adam once she discovers the truth about him,” Stephanie said. She turned with a start when she heard the approach of a horse.
She shielded her eyes with a hand. “Who is that, Leonida?” she murmured. “It’s a young woman. She’s riding alone. And she’s arriving quickly, as though she has cause to be upset.”
Leonida also shielded her eyes from the bright rays of the sun. She gasped and blanched. “Lord,” she said, her voice drawn. “It’s Sky Dancer.” She swallowed hard as fear gripped at her heart. “But where is Thunder Hawk?”
A warning shot through Stephanie. She recalled Adam trying to cast the full blame on Thunder Hawk. The last she had heard, the sheriff had scoffed at believing that Thunder Hawk would do such a thing. But what if the sheriff had thought further about it and, wanting someone, anyone, to blame, had decided to come after Thunder Hawk?
The thought sickened her.
Sky Dancer’s horse slid into a trembling halt. Sage and Runner hurried over from the corral and helped her from the saddle.
“My brother, Sky Dancer,” Runner asked, “why is he not with you? Why are you not in school with him? And why do you carry such worry in your eyes?”
Sky Dancer began crying. She nervously clasped and unclasped her hands behind her. “The white lawmen came and arrested Thunder Hawk while we were on our way to school,” she said, looking frantically at Runner and then to Sage. “They said that he blew up a train.” Her voice grew in pitch. “What train? We knew of no train! We were in your hogan all night.”
She turned to Sage and clutched his arm. “Go to the fort and tell them that Thunder Hawk is not guilty of the crime!” she cried. “I fear for him. You know that the white men will treat him cruelly. Please go for him. They would not listen to me when I told them that he was with me all night.”
Stephanie looked guardedly from Sage to Runner. She could see that they were both livid with anger. She feared this sort of anger. If they rode into Fort Defiance, demanding the release of Thunder Hawk, they might even be arrested themselves. And not only for causing a disturbance by trying to set Thunder Hawk free, but for being accessories to the crime themselves.
“We will go for Thunder Hawk now,” Sage said, swinging himself into his saddle. “Come, Runner. Let us round up many of our braves. The white pony soldiers will see our power in the number of our arrival. They will set my son free, or else.”
Stephanie stepped between Sage and Runner’s horses. “No, you mustn’t do this,” she cried, “I know that you want to get Thunder Hawk out of jail. But please, don’t do it in this way. Your anger is too great now to talk with the authorities. And you know that you don’t want an out-and-out war with the soldiers. Let me go and speak for you. I will make all wrongs right.”
“I am not a child who turns his eyes away from responsibilities,” Sage grumbled. “My son is my responsibility. I will go for him. Now.”
Stephanie went as far as to grab Sage’s reins away from him. She lifted her chin boldly and received his glare without so much as budging. “Listen to me, Sage,” she said. “After thinking through all of this more carefully, I feel it is best that I go to the fort alone. If you are with me when I go and denounce my brother, they will not believe me. They will think that I have been coerced by you to do this. I must not look at all like I am aligned with the Navaho in order for them to believe me. I want them to see me as a sister who cannot hide the ugly secrets of her brother from the authorities.”
Sage gave Stephanie another lingering stare, then he looked over at Runner and nodded.
Together they dismounted and went and put their heads together to discuss the problem at hand.
Stephanie scarcely breathed as she awaited their decision. Ever so gently, she dropped Sage’s reins. She had spoke her mind. If he didn’t agree, there was nothing else she could do but to wait and see if a war broke out between the Navaho and the soldiers at Fort Defiance.
Thinking about Adam, and his responsibility for all of this, made an ache circle Stephanie’s heart, and made her ashamed of ever having been a part of Adam’s dreams.
They had turned into nightmares. Ugly, black nightmares.
Leonida patted Stephanie on the arm. “What you just offered to do for our people is admirable,” she murmured. “Especially for my son. I doubt Thunder Hawk could last long behind bars. It was hard enough for him to sit confined at a desk in a schoolroom. To be incarcerated for even one night would be devastating for my son.”
Sky Dancer went to Leonida and threw herself into her arms, sobbing. “Someone has got to do something soon,” she cried, clinging. “Poor Thunder Hawk. My poor husband.”
Leonida could see the puzzlement in Stephanie’s eyes when she heard Sky Dancer refer to Thunder Hawk as her husband.
“Stephanie, Thunder Hawk has taken a wife,” she said softly. “This is my darling daughter-in-law, Sky Dancer.”
Stephanie’s lips parted, but before she could respond, Sage and Runner came back to them, their eyes grim.
Runner turned to Stephanie. “Go. Speak the truth to the white pony soldiers,” he said. “Father and I will follow soon after to make sure that what you have said has been believed, and to give Thunder Hawk a safe escort back to our village.”
Stephanie smiled up at him. “Thank you for giving me this chance,” she said. She gave him a hug, looked from one to the other, then mounted her horse and rode away.
When Sage and Runner mounted their horses and rode off in another direction, Leonida’s eyebrows rose. She was not certain of the plans that had been made
between father and son, but she did suspect that they would not be going to the fort any time soon. There was surely something else that needed tending first.
But what? she wondered to herself.
Chapter 30
O, who but can recall the eve they met
To breathe, in some green walk,
Their first young vow?
—CHARLES SWAIN
Filled with a breathless daring, Stephanie rode up to Fort Defiance and entered its gate. She ignored the stares of the soldiers as she drew a tight rein before the main headquarters, in the back of which building were the holding cells for those prisoners awaiting transfer to the main jail in Gallup.
Gathering courage from the love she felt for Runner, and now also for his people, Stephanie stopped only long enough to look up at the great adobe building with its immense thick walls and deep, barred windows. Knowing the importance of achieving her goal, a shiver ran through her. It also made an empty feeling at the pit of her stomach to realize that Adam was responsible for all of this, and that she was being forced to turn her back on him.
She thought back to the last several years, when she had shared so much with her stepbrother. Their feelings for one another had been so genuine. Only when he had become driven to have that which seemed impossible, wanting to immortalize himself by establishing a town and having it named after him, had she seen their mutual understanding of one another begin to crumble. Yes, she wanted a dream, herself, but she had never thought it would be at the expense of others.
Now she understood that even her dream was wrong. At this moment, she knew that she would not be able to send back any photographs to Wichita. She wanted no part in bringing more tourists to this land that should belong solely to the Navaho.
With those thoughts, Stephanie went on inside the building.
No one made any attempts to stop her, for she was a mere woman, no threat to anyone. Even the derringer strapped to her waist caused no apprehension on the soldiers’ parts. They all smiled at her flirtatiously.
Wild Desire Page 27
