Blue Thunder (26 page)

“Come, Licks Too Much,” Blue Moon called
over her father’s broad shoulder. “And bring Little Licks Too
Much.”

Melissa followed behind, thanking God for
sparing her daughter. Laughing Tree and the chief joined her to
give moral support.

“Do not become over wrought, Moon Glow,”
said Laughing Tree. “Apaches always live in danger. You must be
strong.” She nodded woodenly. Laughing Tree meant well but she
could never survive losing a child.

Melissa was only three months along in her
pregnancy when a small band of White Mountain Indians from a
neighboring village staggered, limped, or were carried into their
camp. She was told that they had been attacked by white men who had
discovered silver on their tribal lands. She was sick seeing the
red men were more dead than alive; one woman carried a dead infant
in her arms. When she passed out from a bullet in her side, Melissa
took the dead baby from the mother. She removed the bloody blanket,
discovering the tiny skull was crushed; it took

all her strength not to vomit. She rewrapped
the infant and wept, thinking about Blue Moon and the pain this
poor woman had gone through. She spent many days nursing the
wounded and taught Weeping Bird how to remove bullets, clean the
wounded with spirits, and stitch.

One young brave who had taken a bullet in
the leg and shoulder was in bad condition; he had lost a lot of
blood. It was a miracle he made it to their camp and Melissa spent
much of her time with him. He was young, about her age, and she
knew he wanted to live; he was a fighter.

He ran a fever and had to be restrained like
Star Gazer. When he finally opened his eyes, she knew he would
survive. She was relieved when he asked for water and told her his
name was Hawk Nose. Two other braves and a child died.

She was tired of death.

Hawk Nose told her that he had fought hard
and bravely when the white men attacked his small village. Having
witnessed his mother and father being cut down in front of him made
him wild with outrage and he fought his parent’s slayers. Someone
shot him in the shoulder and he

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fell to the ground, lying quietly for a
moment. Dazed, he raised his head. Renewed rage gave him the
strength to run after the same man he fought before. Taking his
knife from its sheath, he drove the blade into the back of his
parent’s murderer. Before he could pull the knife free, he heard
another explosion and pain ripped through his leg. The world went
black.

“You must rest, my wife,” Blue Thunder
ordered her one night when she lay exhausted in his arms. “It is
not good for our child that you work so hard. What you do for my
brother gives me much pride and love, but you must remember the
baby growing in womb.”

Melissa grew to care for the wounded warrior
but her feelings were those of a good

friend. The two spent time talking, learning
about each other’s race. Her husband didn’t like the idea of them
spending so much time together but Melissa assured him that Hawk
Nose needed a friend and their talks took his mind off the
pain.

A council decided that Blue Thunder would go
to the destroyed village to track the attackers and kill them and
to stop their brutal rampage. Star Gazer and Weeping Bird left with
her husband along with many braves. They were gone over a week and
she worried about them. She missed her husband although Hawk Nose
tried his best to take her mind off her worries.

One afternoon, after her chores, Melissa
decided to take a swim in the pond. She knew she should wait until
the women bathed, being warmed many times by Blue Thunder not to
swim alone. Safety in numbers, he reminded her so often. But she
wanted some time to herself to think, and she would make it a quick
trip.

Licks Too Much trailed behind her. “Stay
with Moon Glow,” she ordered him back to the wickiup. At the pond,
she stripped, feeling her slightly swollen stomach, proud of the
fact that she wasn’t too heavy for four months. She sighed,
touching her tender breasts, thinking of Blue Thunder’s gentle
touch. Her thoughts of him sent tremors up her spine and her
nipples hardened. “Please hurry home, I miss you so much” she
whispered aloud.

After her bath she stood in the sun,
drinking in the warm rays on her cool flesh. Closing her eyes, she
soaked up the wonderful feeling that spread over her body. So
absorbed was she in her daydreaming, she didn’t realize that the
sun was gone and a shadow fell across her face. When she opened her
eyes, she nearly leaped back into the water. She never suspected
for a moment she was being watched.

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“Hawk Nose,” she gasped, “What are you ...?”
She tried to cover her nakedness with her hands as she felt heat
from the roots of her hair to her toes. “Please, go away. This
isn’t right for you to be here!” she snapped furiously. Although
they were friends, a fear of dread caused her to shiver. Now she
was sorry she made the canine go back.

“You are so beautiful, Moon Glow.” He stated
when he put his hand out to touch her face but she backed into the
water. “Get out of here!” she screamed. But the brave merely lifted
his shoulders indifferently and bent over to retrieve her dress. He
handed it to her and she snatched it quickly, angered that he
should spy on her. Why did he come here? Would their friendship
ever be the same? She no longer was comfortable in his presence and
it pained her that he had to ruin it by this unforgivable act.

After Melissa donned her dress, she quickly
scooted ahead of the brave but she only took a few steps when she
was grabbed and thrown roughly to the ground. She screamed, fearing
he was about to rape her. Dazed for a moment, with her face in the
dirt, she lay still with panic. There was no movement around her.
Did he leave? Feeling a little relief, she quickly rolled over onto
her backside. Her heart stopped; Hawk Nose was standing over her.
He grabbed her arm and lifted her to her feet. Her legs trembled
but she managed to pull away from his grip. He looked hurt and
confused by her actions but she didn’t care.

“Don’t touch me!” she snarled, wiping the
dust of her dress.

“I am sorry if I hurt you but it was
necessary to push you.”

Melissa shook her head, puzzled by his
remark.

“Look,” he pointed to something in the
path.

She couldn’t make it out at first but when
she took a closer look, the sight made her gasp and clutch her
stomach. Lying there was a rattle snake with its head cut off. The
brave’s knife had killed it. Completely forgetting his rudeness at
the lake, Melissa now owed him her life and the life of her unborn
child. She inhaled deeply and said, “Thank you,” then placed a
chaste kiss on his cheek although she was still annoyed by his
uncalled for presence. It had to be forgotten, her humiliation was
nothing compared to the alternative.

“A life for a life,” he replied, and then
guided her safely back to camp.

166

THIRTY-TWO

Fully recovered Hawk Nose had grown fond of
the white woman who saved his life. He had followed her to the lake
and watched from behind a bush. Black birds dotted the sky in the
distance and the fire ball overhead warmed the earth. He watched
Moon Glow strip and wade into the water; she was so beautiful that
his breath caught in his throat. After she bathed she slowly walked
out of the water and the sun made the droplets on her light skin
glisten, giving her the appearance of a goddess. His manhood
swelled in awe of her. He was sorry he had made her angry, but now
as he had touched his cheek where Moon Glow placed her innocent
kiss, it left a mark on his heart forever.

Days passed since then and there was no sign
of Blue Thunder and his party. Moon Glow said she was glad for Hawk
Nose, Laughing Tree and her daughter. They took her mind off her
husband’s long absence. Every evening he and Moon Glow would sit by
the pond with Blue Moon to talk. To a stranger’s eyes they looked
like a happy family, and this was the feeling he wanted; more and
more he thought of them as his family. The though of his parent’s
murder was being replaced by the woman and her daughter. As days
passed, he no longer remembered Blue Thunder or the others; he was
in love with the golden-haired beauty. When Moon Glow began to show
in her fifth month, Hawk Nose assumed the child was his. Some
nights he fantasized about her lying next to him on his mat. There
were occasion when reality set in and he remembered that she was
Blue Thunder’s wife. When he saw her again, his mind slipped back
into another world

causing him to believe she was only his.
Soon his lonely nights made him think that the big brave was gone
and the party would not return. He would have to care for her now,
but he had to take her away from here. A devious plan formed in his
mind.

Melissa was worried and had a nagging
suspicion that her husband might have been killed. Dasodaha and
Laughing Tree were also greatly concerned. Had the party of braves
ridden

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into an ambush? She began to rely on Hawk
Nose more and more for firewood, small game, and companionship. At
night she’d lay awake yearning for her husband; she could never
love anyone as she loved Blue Thunder. She was told that dark
smudges appeared below her light eyes and she was losing weight
instead of gaining. Each passing day Dasodaha said he was growing
more concerned about her and she would tell him that she was fine.
She knew she was a terrible liar.

“Moon Glow!” her father-in-law called from
outside the wickiup. “I would like to speak with you.” She placed
her daughter on the floor and stood. She had been reciting nursery
rhymes to keep her mind off Blue Thunder, but she had failed. She
wiped the wetness from her cheeks and greeted the chief warmly.

Dasodaha entered and sat next to his
grandchild. Placing the girl on his lap, he said, “Blue Thunder is
alive. I feel it here,” he pounded his chest. “You must believe.
Once before I listened to foolish words of my son’s death but did
not feel the loss in my heart. This time, I know better, he lives.
You must remember the child you are carrying and daughter, Little
Blue Moon. Your husband would not like it if his wife was not brave
and lost the baby.”

Melissa nodded but she was not convinced
that Blue Thunder was alive. If only she could feel it in her
heart, but she was numb inside. She continued to go about her
chores barely hearing the lectures by Laughing Tree or the soothing
words of Hawk Nose. Days blurred by. Blue Moon begged for her
loving arms and laughter but she was ignored. Melissa knew her
young child couldn’t understand what was happening to her
mother.

Laughing Tree took sympathy on the little
girl and offered to care for her. “You have two babies to think
about,” she scolded her one day. “You must come out of this trance
to take care of yourself and daughter and attend to the health of
your spirit. I will take the child.”

Wearily, she listened without really hearing
and Laughing Tree picked up Blue Moon. “I hate to be cruel to
mother of child, but Moon Glow must come to her senses. I will pray
to the gods or surely you lose baby. I cannot fault you for love
for nephew but white woman was so strong for others, why lose hope
for herself so easily?”

Melissa knew the older Indian woman was
right; she had to pull herself together. But she hated the fact
that she was so helpless and wanted to do something. Sitting and
waiting was driving her crazy. And so, she decided to take matters
into her own hands.

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The weather became too cool to sit by the
pond at night. Almost five months along now, the child moved in her
stomach giving her a mixed sensation. She believed she carried a
son and her heart broke thinking that her husband might never know.
The wind picked up outside the wickiup and she shivered but not
from the cool air. She wondered how the camp would survive with the
little rations that were left. Blue Thunder had told her how bad
some winters could get and most of the braves were gone. Who would
provide food for the village? Even Dasodaha returned the other day
with only a few small animals. She didn’t want to stay to watch the
people she had come to love starve. If she left, the food Blue
Thunder had put away would be enough to feed Blue Moon and Laughing
Tree. She had to chance finding her husband, for she might starve
along with her daughter if she stayed.

“Hawk Nose,” she said when the brave come to
her dwelling, “I want to leave the village to look for Blue
Thunder.”

Hawk Nose brows furrowed in thought.

Why would she want to look
for a man he hoped was no longer alive?
A
man whose face was now a blur to him?
But
because Moon Glow wanted to leave, she had played perfectly into
his hands. He had planned to take her away soon, even if he had to
tie her to a pony. Now she would come willingly but he would not
look for her husband. With the knowledge of where his village once
stood, he’d take her in the opposite direction. He knew she trusted
in him; there was no reason not to.

“We must leave before dawn. I don’t want
Dasodaha to stop us,” she whispered in case anyone was nearby.

Hawk Nose nodded and hid the wicked grin. He
assumed that Moon Glow saw a good

friend helping her in her time of need.
Being Apache, he could survive in zero temperature with very little
clothes but not the white woman so he packed her a blanket and a
fur robe telling her to bring supplies to hold them for awhile, but
she said there was little to spare and they would have to make due
with berries and what he could kill.

They rode quietly into the cold night and
Hawk Nose knew Moon Glow’s heart was heavy with guilt for taking
two horses and leaving her daughter. She had almost changed her
mind when she had mentioned that fact to him. But he convinced her
that the child would be all