by Linda Ford
Kody lifted her from the saddle and eased her to her feet. When her legs buckled, he scooped her into his arms and headed for the door.
“I can walk.”
“No so good right now,”
“Put me down.” Her protest was limp. “I need to get my things.”
“I’ll get them.”
She didn’t want to be a bother. She knew how people resented it.
“Stop fighting and let someone do for you for a change.
She ceased her weak struggles. He didn’t sound annoyed at having to “do” for her. His arms tightened around her as he stepped over the threshold. He lowered her into a chair, pausing to murmur, “You saved my life. I guess that means I’m allowed to do things for you.”
She opened her eyes and stared at him.
He hovered at her side, making sure she wasn’t going to tip over, then slowly straightened, his dark gaze never leaving her face. She couldn’t break away from his look.
“I’ll get you something to drink and arrange for our accommodation.”
She hadn’t done anything to earn his favor except point a useless gun at two cowardly men and trust God to do the rest. But this appreciation, this attentive care to her needs, caught her off guard. The way it made her feel valued snuck right past her anger and fear, sidestepped the feeling she must make herself useful and settled down beside her heart like it meant to stay.
But it couldn’t be.
She rested her elbows on the table and held her chin in her upturned palms, and despite the sluggishness of her sleep-hungry brain, she faced the hard, undeniable truth. Kody said he knew who he was—a half-breed. And she knew well who she was—a charity case who must prove her worth to keep from being tossed out on her ear.
It had been much too easy for Harry to leave her behind. She’d been getting complacent. Not working as hard as she should. When she rejoined them she would work doubly hard to make sure she had a place to live.
Chapter Five
The following afternoon, Kody reined Sam in at the fork in the road. If he kept pushing they could reach Favor before nightfall.
He glanced down the narrower road. Four years ago he’d said his final goodbye to what lay down there, promising himself and others he would never return. But all his noble intentions were powerless to stop him from turning aside, away from town and in the wrong direction.
Charlotte followed meekly. He already noticed she automatically did as told. In fact, she practically leaped to comply with the barest suggestion and she seemed to think she had to help with every chore. This morning she’d insisted on saddling her own horse.
He laughed, remembering how the saddle kept rolling under the mare’s belly.
“What’s so funny?” she demanded.
“Just thinking.”
“Huh.” She sounded suspicious.
Could be because he often and unexpectedly laughed as he recalled some of her little exploits. Like chasing off those two scoundrels yesterday. Just recollecting that made him laugh again. Come to think of it, he’d laughed more in the past two days than in the past two years. Or longer. Only two days ago he’d settled low in his saddle, with nothing on his mind but getting to Canada. Now his whole life had turned around.
He sobered. The sooner he returned to his original plans, the better. But seeing as he’d come this far, he might as well take one more detour. Somewhere deep inside his brain, a mocking voice called, You’re only making excuses and mighty glad you are of them, too.
“You’re laughing at me again, I suppose.” She didn’t sound overjoyed.
Glad of the diversion from his unwanted thoughts, his grin returned. “I gotta admit it was a lot of fun watching you try and saddle that old thing you’re riding.”
“I could’ve figured it out myself if you’d given me a chance.”
He chuckled softly. “Thought you were anxious to get to Favor.”
“You know I am now I have no choice, but I only came along with you because you pushed me to.”
He snorted. What a stubborn woman. Several times she’d blamed him for making her leave that dried-out old house. “Don’t I recall you stomping off down the road ahead of me?”
“Only ’cause you made it plain you planned to be a pain in the neck if I tried to stay.”
He glanced over. She gave him a look full of balky defiance.
He laughed. “You and that mare make a good pair.”
She blinked with surprise and then narrowed her eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“That old mare picks her own pace and ain’t about to let anyone convince her to change it. Seems you do same.”
They plodded on. Sam had stopped trying to pick up the pace, accepting the mare’s slower one. Kody itched to ride faster. The sooner he delivered Charlotte to his parents, the sooner he would turn around and head north.
Yeah? So why are you riding down this trail?
Did God have a hand in bringing him back?
“You implying I’m slow?”
“No, ma’am, not in the least.” He restrained the laughter tickling his throat and turned to grin at her.
She gave him a look fit to slice bread. “You can stop staring now. I know you’re meaning I’m stubborn. But you’re wrong. I’m not stubborn. In fact, quite the opposite.”
He shook his head. “Can’t think what’s the opposite of stubborn. Compliant?”
“Submissive.” She spoke matter-of-factly. “Why are we riding this direction? I thought Favor lay down the other road.”
He’d wondered how long it would take her to voice an objection. Seemed she could only shake the compliant attitude when pushed and pushed hard. And going the wrong direction was a hard push.
“We’ll stay with friends of mine tonight. Safer than being on the road after dark. ’Course if not for that stubborn thing under you, we might have a chance of getting to Favor before nightfall. But…” He shrugged.
Charlotte patted the mare’s neck. “She’s faithful and gentle. Seems she should get a little credit for that.”
Kody wondered if she thought the same of herself. He didn’t know this Harry fellow and didn’t want to. Far as he was concerned any man who rode off and left his sister to manage on her own ranked lower than worm juice. They’d talked some as they rode. When he learned she was only eighteen, he teased her about being young.
Upon getting him to confess to being twenty-one, she laughed. “Indeed, you are so aged.”
He hadn’t told her he felt too old for his years and yet not wise enough. He held on to the hope Canada would give him the distance to deal with both problems.
His destination lay around the next bend in the road. He reined in his horse and lounged in the saddle as if he had nothing better to do than stare out at the rolling hills. Toward Favor they would enter the irrigated area, which made the town prosperous even in the drought. A dam built earlier in the century ensured good crops. “You can always find work in the hills,” people said, meaning both the irrigated flats and the hills surrounding the town, which supported a brick factory and a sugar-beet factory. Ranchers struggled a bit because of the low price for beef, but the hills with their copses of trees provided decent enough grazing.
“What are you waiting for?” Charlotte asked.
“Just looking around.”
She settled back, uttering not one word of complaint, which didn’t surprise him. She had not complained once about the discomforts of the trail even though she’d hardly been able to walk when they stopped for a noon break.
He supposed he should prepare her for what lay ahead. “My friends, who we’ll spend the night with, are Indians, the Eaglefeathers. They live on a reservation.”
She nodded. “Do they like it?”
He blinked. He’d expected protest, or hastily disguised shock. “Like what?”
“Living on the reservation.”
“They don’t have much choice.”
“No choice about living there, maybe. But
don’t they have a choice about whether or not they like it?”
He had the feeling she wasn’t just curious about his friends. More like exploring how other people dealt with events in their lives helped her find a way to deal with hers. And thinking that made him want to prod her. Force her to look at her own situation with both eyes wide-open, rather than through the filter of how others reacted.
“I think they have decided to make the best of it. Which doesn’t mean they are sitting around waiting for life to happen to them.”
He saw a flash of acknowledgment in her eyes and knew his words struck pay dirt.
“Is that what you think I’m doing? Sitting around waiting for something to happen?” Her soft words gave away little of her feelings, though he wondered if she could be as unaffected as she tried to appear. She hadn’t been quick enough to stop the little gasp of surprise when she realized what he meant.
“You were just sitting in that empty house.”
“I’m not anymore.”
“Nope. But I get the feeling you’re only planning to move the place where you sit and wait for Harry to invite you back into his family.”
She looked away, letting her gaze follow the distant hills. “Sometimes the alternatives aren’t too appealing.”
He thought of Lother and had to agree.
She clucked the old mare into slow-motion forward. “Let’s go.”
He hesitated. He should probably have said more about where they were going. But then, what could he say? Some things could not be shared. Or admitted. No one must know his secret.
He should call her back. Return to the main road. Forget this little side trip. But he could not deny himself the chance to see how things were. He knew they would be fine, but once he saw, he could ride north again with a clear conscience.
Finally he reined in Sam behind Charlotte and the plodding mare.
From this direction, they reached the Eaglefeather home before the other homes on the reservation.
The low shack looked weary and worn since he’d last seen it, the unpainted wood weathered to gray. One lone, spindly tree struggled to survive beside the house. Two boxes sat against one wall. Kody knew they served as stools. A skitter of dust crossed the bare yard. The yard would have been swept that morning, every morning, in fact. A fire pit glowed in the center of the yard. He shifted his gaze away from the meager living quarters, but what he saw farther along didn’t ease his sense that the Eaglefeathers, like many on reservations, struggled to eke out an existence. A thin horse stood in a tiny corral. A small garden struggled against the oppressive heat.
“Hello,” he called.
John ducked out of the low house and squinted into the light. “Kody, my friend. Long time no see.”
Kody dropped to the ground and crossed to grasp John’s forearm as they squeezed each other’s arms in greeting. John wore a faded red shirt and gray trousers, his hair braided much the same as Kody’s.
“My friend,” said Kody, “I have missed you.”
“And I you.”
And then Morning stepped from the house. She had dusky, flawless skin and wore a sandy-brown dress that would have been shapeless on another woman, but tied at her waist, it emphasized this woman’s willowy frame.
She rushed to Kody’s side. “It is good to see you.”
Kody’s gaze slipped past the pair to the open doorway. “Where is she?”
Morning turned and called softly. “Star, come and greet a friend.”
A dark-haired child appeared in the doorway.
Kody stared. “She’s grown.”
“She’s four years old now.” Morning’s voice held a touch of humor.
“She’s beautiful.” Kody couldn’t take his eyes off her.
Morning held out her hand and the child hobbled toward her.
Kody’s response was so sudden, so intense, it took his breath away. His gut twisted like he’d eaten something tainted. He took a step toward the child. John’s hand on his arm stopped him. He forced air into wooden lungs.
“Her foot.” He managed to grate the words past clenched teeth. He hadn’t seen her since she was a baby. Had never seen her try to walk.
“It has always been crooked,” John explained in low tones so the child wouldn’t hear. “We hoped it would get better when she started to walk. You can see it hasn’t.”
Kody had noticed when she was tiny that her foot curled but he figured it was normal and as she grew it would straighten.
Star reached Morning and took her hand. “Momma?”
Her sweet, innocent voice grabbed Kody by the throat. He should have thought about this more. But he would never have guessed how it affected him to see Star again.
“Star, this is our good friend, Kody Douglas. Say hello.”
“Hello, Mr. Kody Douglas.”
Kody knelt on rubbery knees, his heart ready to burst from his chest with emotions so totally unfamiliar and unexpected he had no idea how to contain them or tame them.
“Hello, Miss Star. I’m pleased to see you.” He touched her shoulder, let his hand linger for a moment, but as the ache inside him grew, he pulled his hand back and put two more inches between them. Immediately he changed his mind and leaned closer. This child had dark eyes, laced through and through with golden highlights. Unusual in an Indian. He supposed others noticed it, too.
“We knew you would return.” John’s voice pulled him back to reality.
He pushed to his feet. “I didn’t intend to.” He remembered Charlotte. She stood at the mare’s side, watching with narrowed eyes.
A tremor snaked across his skin. She couldn’t have guessed the truth. “This is Miss Charlotte Porter. I’m taking her to my folks.”
The Eaglefeathers welcomed Charlotte. John brought two chairs from the house and insisted they sit while he added bits of wood to the fire. Morning hustled about preparing something to eat. Charlotte followed Morning, begging to be allowed to help, until Morning gave her the job of frying bannock.
Star settled on the ground nearby, playing with a corncob doll.
“How are your folks?” John asked.
“Haven’t heard from them since I left.”
John and Morning exchanged looks.
“Have not seen them in some time.” John chased away a fly.
“Don’t they still come out here for Bible lessons?” His attention clung to the child, happily playing.
“Leland got sick. He could not come.”
Kody pulled his gaze to John. “Sick?” He couldn’t remember Pa ever being sick.
John shrugged. “Probably fine now.”
Morning and Charlotte passed around the simple food. The stew had no meat. Kody wondered what happened to the government’s promise to provide beef. He took a closer look around, noted how thin the material in John’s shirt was, the color faded to pink in many spots. Morning’s dress seemed to be crafted from material not meant for a garment. Even Star’s little dress showed signs of being rather worn.
Purple shadows filled the hollows. A golden sun hovered at the horizon.
“Another beautiful day gone.” John’s low voice filled with pleasure. “Another day of God’s goodness. And now we have the pleasure of Kody and Miss Charlotte’s company.”
Kody nodded, glad the drought and depression hadn’t affected his friend’s faith. Neither John nor Morning would presume to question Charlotte about how she and Kody met. And Charlotte didn’t seem about to explain. That left Kody and he sketched the details.
“God has a plan for you,” Morning said when he finished.
Charlotte looked startled.
Morning turned to Kody. “And you, too, my friend. He has brought you together for His purpose.”
Kody and Charlotte looked at each other. They met by accident, each of them compelled to change their plans because of the other. He figured neither saw it as a blessing. Charlotte flashed a quick smile filled with triumph, then ducked her head. Kody understood Morning’s simple faith echoed her
own.
He would not express his doubts to Morning. The good woman had been so hospitable. It would be downright rude to argue with her.
The sun flashed its last light in dying pinks, and then the sky turned the color of water where the fishing was best, then indigo. In a few minutes the only light came from the fire, closing them in. The best time for sharing secrets, admitting intimate details that remained hidden in the light of day.
Only, Kody didn’t intend to let any secrets pour forth.
At least not until Charlotte slept soundly out of earshot.
Morning rose gracefully. “Come, Miss Charlotte. I will show you where you can sleep.” She scooped up the drowsy Star and carried her inside.
Kody and John sat in companionable silence, listening to the rustle of the women and child preparing for bed. Kody waited until they grew quiet. He waited some longer, but knowing Charlotte must be exhausted after riding all day, he figured she’d fall asleep as soon as her bones settled.
He turned to John and spoke softly yet urgently. “How is she? Really. Do the others accept her?”
“Everyone knows she isn’t our child. And her eyes are light. They wonder who she is. They ask questions. But no one says anything bad.”
“No one has guessed she’s my child?”
“No one has said that’s what they think. I see them whispering behind their hands, though.”
“They must never know.”
John sat in silence for some time. Kody knew he had more to say on the subject. He could keep talking, trying to keep John from speaking his piece. It would be futile in the end. John would sit quietly, nonjudgmental, until Kody grew silent, then say what was on his mind. So Kody waited. Might as well get it over with.
“What do you have to hide?” John’s soft voice gave away nothing, but Kody knew his friend did not approve of his choice, although he would never come right out and say so.
“I don’t fit in the white world or the Indian one. I don’t want that for Star. I want her raised to belong here.”
“We love her as our own.”
That went without saying, so Kody didn’t bother responding. Instead, he asked, “What about her foot? Has a doctor looked at it?”
