by HELEN HARDT
“Now take your hands off her!” He raised the shotgun.
“Papa, no!” Ella leaned back into Raven’s hard chest. “Y-You can’t. I love him!”
“What?” He let the gun falter slightly but then steadied his hand.
“Raven,” Ella said, her voice shaking, “I-I’ve never seen my father like this. I want you to go.”
“Not without you.” Raven’s body was stiff. Unwavering.
“If you love me—”
“If I love you, which I do, I will not leave you.”
“Please.” He had to listen. Had to go. She couldn’t bear the thought of her father hurting the man who was the other half of her soul.
“You heard her, redskin. Get the hell out of here before I blow your guts out the back of your head.” Her father took aim once more.
“Not without my wife.”
Ella couldn’t see Raven’s face, but she knew he spoke through clenched teeth.
“Your wife? Are you daft?”
“My wife.” Her lover’s deep voice cut through the night air in a feral rasp.
“I haven’t officiated at any wedding.” He nodded to Ella. “Come on, girl. Go to the house.”
“Only if you promise not to hurt him, Papa.”
“Tehila—”
“Shh. Raven, please.” She trembled against his solid frame. He was so steady. So sure. “Papa, I’ll come with you. Just please don’t hurt him.”
“Ella, you’re trying my patience.”
“Please.” Her heart thundered. Protect Raven, her body hummed. Nothing else mattered. “I’ll never ask you for another thing. Just let him go.”
“I go nowhere without my wife.” Again, his tone bit through the words with a primal rage. So different from the loving tone when he spoke to her.
“Raven,” Ella said, as she slid her fingers over his taut forearms holding her, “we’ll figure this out. But for now, please. Just go.”
He sighed against her hair, and the loose strands tickled her neck. “If it is what you wish.”
“Yes.” Ella swallowed as her eyes misted. “It’s what I wish.”
“Very well. But he will not keep me from you forever.”
Within seconds, Raven had disappeared into the thick woods. He made no sound. He was just gone. Only the musky, leathery scent of him remained. Ella inhaled, trying to trap the fragrance inside her to keep him with her.
“Ella.” Her father spoke sternly, steadily. He said nothing more as she followed him to the cabin.
* * *
Ella’s body thumped against her mother’s as the wagon wheels jostled along in the darkness. Naomi wrapped Ella in her arms, whispering soothing words as Ella sobbed. Her tummy clenched, her body trembled. Raven. She needed Raven.
“Shh, dear. Please.”
“Why, Mama? Why?”
“You know why.”
Ella hiccupped and wiped her nose on her mother’s shoulder. “No, I don’t.”
“He’s an Indian, Ella.”
“He’s the man I love,” she said, her voice hoarse and nasal from crying.
Naomi sighed, her breath stirring a few wisps of Ella’s hair. “I know.”
“M-Mama?”
Naomi grasped Ella’s shoulders and pushed her gently away. “We need to talk.” She cleared her throat. “How did you meet this Indian, Ella? And when?”
Ella closed her eyes. There was no point in lying to her mother. “A few days ago. He was injured by a bear and he sought refuge in the barn. I came across him while milking Sukie.”
“And?”
“And I helped him to the old soddy and cared for his injury, which luckily was not serious.”
“So you think you love him after only days?”
“I don’t think, Mama.” Love, sadness, loss—emotion so thick she thought she could cut it with a knife—threaded through her body. “I know. He is everything to me.”
“And he loves you?”
“Yes.”
“How can you be so sure, Ella?”
“Because he told me so. And because I feel it in the very marrow of my bones. Because he’s an honorable man. He wouldn’t lie to me.”
“You know so much of his honor after spending such little time with him?”
“Yes.”
“Lord above.” Naomi buried her head in her hands for a few second and then looked again at Ella. “Your father… He…” Her mother’s pretty face wrinkled with worry.
For her? For her father? Ella wasn’t certain. “What is it?”
“He wasn’t himself last night.”
“I know.” Ella nodded. “He used words I’ve never heard from his lips. And he threatened to kill Raven—that’s his name. I’ve never seen such rage from him. I never knew him to be a prejudiced man, Mama. But such hate emanated from him. It frightened me.”
“Ella, you were barely three when your brother was taken from us. There are things you don’t know. Your father…he wasn’t always a preacher.”
“He wasn’t?” Ella’s skin chilled. Why did she feel she was about to find out something about her father she didn’t want to know?
“No. He was—” Naomi inhaled sharply. “Well, you already know he’s nearly thirteen years older than I am.” She cleared her throat. “He was a bounty hunter when I met him.”
“A bounty hunter? Papa? Pious, peaceful Papa?” She gasped. Her belly churned. Though he hadn’t been all that pious and peaceful while he was holding Raven at gunpoint.
“Yes. But I won his heart and convinced him to give it up. So he bought a small farm, and your brother was born within a year of our marriage. Two years later, you arrived.”
“You and Papa never talk about David.”
“No. Your father issued an edict shortly after David was taken. We were never to mention him.”
“Why? How did you cope?”
“I threw myself into raising you. And your father turned to God.”
“So that’s when he became a preacher.”
“Yes. And it has served him well. He found peace in the Lord’s teachings and in helping others. But last night, when he saw you…”
Ella regarded her mother’s face. Such a beauty, she must have been. Still was. But her violet eyes—so like Ella’s own—were troubled. Ella trembled with the need to know the truth.
“But why, Mama? I know it must have been strange to see me with an Indian, but Papa has ministered to the Indians. He has ministered to the downtrodden. To the evil, even. Why, then, did he react so harshly?”
“It brought back memories for him, child. Memories long buried. You see, your brother was taken by Indians.”
Ella gasped and touched her fingers to her lips. Lips that had so recently kissed the man she loved. “Are you certain?”
“It is what your father believes,” Naomi said. “The night David was taken, a band of Lakota Sioux were in the area. We were traveling through Kansas, on the edge of Indian territory. David was gone when we awoke.”
“Then you don’t know for sure if the Indians took him.”
“No. But there was no reasoning with your father. He was convinced—is still convinced—that they took his son.”
“I’m sorry, but that’s nonsense. Without proof—”
“There are other reasons he hates Indians, Ella,” Naomi said softly.
“Why, then? Tell me. Help me understand why he treated Raven so.”
Naomi shook her head. “I cannot. It’s not my story to tell.”
“I suppose I can’t force you to speak to me. Clearly I’m just a child to you. But at least tell me this. If he has such valid reasons for hating Indians, how has he been able to minister to them all these years?”
“Indians were kind to him once. Kind to me. So your father moved forward. He learned forgiveness.”
“He wasn’t very forgiving this eve.”
“No.” Naomi shook her head. “Seeing you with an Indian brought losing David back to him.”
Ella nodded. �
�He said he wouldn’t lose another child to them. Now I know what he meant.”
“Yes. Seeing you in the arms of that Indian—”
“He’s not that Indian.” Ella whipped her hands to her hips. “His name is Silver Raven, and he is good, and kind, and gentle. And he happens to be the man I love.”
Naomi smiled. “All the fire I used to possess. I see myself in you, Ella. So many times I stood before my father, and before yours, hands on my hips, shooting daggers from my eyes. I admire your spirit.”
“My spirit? You have your own spirit,” Ella said. “What happened to it?”
She sighed. “Losing David took its toll on me as well. When you have a child of your own, you’ll understand.”
The look on her mother’s face was pure torment, and Ella felt it in the depths of her soul. She truly did not understand her father’s wrath, her father’s pain. But her mother did.
Naomi continued, “Have you thought this through? What it will mean to marry one who is not your own kind?”
“He’s a person. A man of honor. And he is definitely my kind.”
“He will take you away from us.”
“Any man would take me away from you. You can’t depend on me forever, Mama. I know I helped ease the pain of David’s disappearance. I’m sorry you lost him. I truly am. But that was fifteen years ago. Don’t I deserve happiness?”
“Of course you do.” Naomi smiled and pulled Ella into her embrace, kissing her softly on the cheek. “Your father and I, we’ve been selfish, trying to keep you with us. I would never deny you the happiness and love that he and I share. You deserve all that and more. I just never thought you’d find it with an Indian.”
“Did you think you’d find it with a bounty hunter?”
Naomi pulled away from her daughter and her face softened, and Ella knew her words had touched her mother.
“He will come for me.”
“Your father knows. That’s why we’re moving on in the middle of the night.”
“He’ll come for me anyway. He’ll find me. And if he doesn’t, I will go to him.”
Ella turned away from her mother and curled into the straw bedding. Silent tears fell from her cheeks as her father’s wagon took her farther and farther from the man she loved.
Chapter Eight
Ella awoke when the wagon jolted to a stop. She crawled to the end of the wagon and glanced out of the canvas cover. The orange rays of the sun peeked over the horizon.
“Naomi, Ella.” Her father’s gruff voice poked through the wagon cover. “The horses need a breather and a drink. Take care of your necessities.”
Naomi rustled behind Ella. “You heard your father,” she said. “Let’s take care of things.” Within a few minutes, Naomi had exited the wagon.
“Bobby,” Ella heard her mother say, “you’ve been awake for nearly twenty-four hours. You must rest. Why don’t you—”
“No.” Her father’s tone was soft, yet sharp. “Those redskins are born trackers. Our only chance is to keep one step ahead of them.”
“She says she loves him, Bobby.”
“She’s eighteen. What does she know of love?”
“Did those words really come out of your mouth?” Her mother’s tone dripped with acid. “I was barely nineteen when I married you, and I assure you, I was most definitely in love.”
“I wasn’t an Indian.”
“No. You weren’t. You were a bounty hunter and a fugitive. You had kidnapped me, remember? My parents weren’t thrilled, but I would have none of it. I fought for you, Bobby. I begged and pleaded with my father until he asked you not to leave me because he wanted my happiness. What makes you think Ella is any different?”
“Ella’s place is with her family.”
“How could you have forgotten what it feels like to be young and in love?” Her mother sniffed and her voice lowered. “You remember, don’t you, how we couldn’t keep our hands off each other, how we felt alive only when we were together?”
Ella warmed. This was a private conversation between her parents.
No. Not between her parents. Between a husband and wife. Yet she couldn’t stop listening.
Silence lingered as her mother paused. Then, “How we still feel, Bobby, when we let ourselves.”
More silence. In her mind’s eye, Ella pictured the look of resignation on her mother’s pretty but worn face. She heard only fragments of conversation after that. “Keep her… Own life… Indian…”
Then her father’s roar. “I will not give up another child to those heathens!”
Ella’s heart lurched, but she kept perfectly still.
Within a few moments, her mother’s head peeked into the wagon. “Come now, Ella. You can wash in the creek and I’ll fix us some bread and jam for breakfast. Papa says we will be off within the hour.”
Ella slumped her shoulders and crawled out of the wagon.
Her mother sat on a crate, lighting a fire over some stray twigs. “That way.”
She followed her mother’s gesture to a babbling creek about two hundred yards away. Her skin prickled. She didn’t know her father at all, really. In a mere day, he’d become a stranger to her. What had happened to the man who had tossed her in the air when she was a child? Who had laughed with her when she was happy, embraced her when she was sad? Her eyes misted with unshed tears.
Where was he now? This stranger who was her father. She looked over her shoulder. If he was gone, taking care of his morning ablutions, perhaps she could…
“Quickly, Ella.” His voice came from behind her. Had he appeared out of thin air? “We need to move on soon.”
She turned, nodded curtly to him, and then sat down at the creek bank and rubbed her hands and face with the sandy grit. A few birds chirped in the trees above, and the rustling of wildlife whispered across the morning air.
Yet quiet consumed Ella.
What was different? What was missing?
As she splashed the cool water over her face, she knew.
The drums had silenced.
* * *
“I have found her, Father. The mate of my spirit.”
Standing Elk’s eyes raked over Raven, and not for the first time, he felt as though his father could see inside his soul.
“Your brother told me. It is she who kept you from us the past days.”
“Yes.”
“Tell me then, Silver Raven, why is she not with you now?”
Raven took the plate of food his mother offered to him and nodded his thanks. He had walked during the night to return to his camp. His leg stung, his body was weary, but his mind raced. His heart cried for his mate. “Her father found us together last night. He threatened to kill me. She asked me to leave so he would not harm me.”
“And you did.”
“Yes. I would do anything she asked of me.”
Standing Elk’s lined face tightened, his black eyes burned. “And you plan to make this white woman your wife?”
“She is already my wife.”
The older man looked above Raven’s head. “I see.”
“Bear and I will go for her. Tonight.”
Standing Elk nodded, and Raven pursed his lips into a line. There was nothing more to be said.
* * *
Raven jumped onto Golden Feather and let go with his war cry, the shrill vibration tightening his vocal cords. Next to him, Bear echoed the call. They kicked their horses and galloped from the camp. A knife of possessive lust speared through Raven as he led Bear down the creek. The moon, now waning, shone above them lighting their path. His heart ached with emptiness. Soon she would be with him again.
When they reached Ella’s cabin, the hour of midnight had passed. They hobbled their horses near the soddy and walked quietly to the house.
“Keep watch,” Raven said in Lakota. “I will return with her.”
“Be careful, brother,” Bear said. “If what you say happened is true, this man will not let her go without a fight.”
Raven patt
ed the blade at his side. “I am ready for a fight if need be.”
Bear nodded, and Raven crept to the door of the cabin. As he had suspected, it was latched. He drew out his blade and cut through the wood. Moving with stealth, he entered a small sitting room. Another door led to a bedroom.
“Tehila?” he whispered.
The room was empty. He walked through the small room to another door that housed only a bedstead and bureau. He inhaled. Lavender. And wildflowers. The mere scent of her tightened his groin. Ella. This was Ella’s room.
But where was she?
He sat down on the bed and buried his face in the feather pillow. The concentration of her sweet aroma constricted his throat.
“Bear!”
Within seconds, his brother stood in the doorway.
“They are gone.” Raven’s heart thudded and his stomach threatened to empty. “Her father has taken her from me.”
“We’ll find her, Raven,” Bear said. “Together we can track anyone.”
Raven nodded and rose from the bed. He willed his bowels to settle. Had he ever felt such fear? In the face of the she-bear? During his warrior training?
No. The fear of losing his mate overpowered everything else. He had to find her.
“They did not take much with them. Perhaps they plan to return someday.”
Bear shook his head. “I don’t know, brother. Come, let’s look for the trail.”
Raven followed his brother out of the cabin and to the barn where Sukie had been let loose to graze. “They did not take their cow.”
Bear stalked around the barn, observing the earth under his feet. “Whoever took her knows how to cover his tracks. It will be difficult to pick up the trail.”
“Difficult? Her father is a preacher, Bear.”
“A preacher who knows how to make himself invisible.” Bear knelt to the ground and fingered the dirt.
“You don’t think—” Raven stopped, his mind a mass of emotion. Ella’s violet eyes, her cherry lips, her innocent kisses…
“What?”
A jolt brought Raven back. “What if someone else took her?” His heart pounded. “What if she’s in danger?”
