Fated Memories (27 page)

“
Now, Miss Jessie,” Tom said, as though speaking to a small child, “this ain’t no business of yours. The best thing you can do is get on up to the house where you belong.”

“
You’re not the owner of this ranch, Tom! My father will hear ‘bout this, then we’ll see how smug you all are!” She turned on her heel to leave.

“
Do not tell your father about this, Miss Jessie. These men are letting me know my place.”

“
Well, did you all hear that?” Jake snickered, looking around him. “This boy learns fast!”

“
What the hell’s goin’ on here?” Eathen breathed, coming around the side of the bunkhouse.

Before anyone could speak, Jessie told him, “Some of your so-called men, think they can treat this man any way they want. You already know ‘bout his beatin’.”

“
All right, Jessie.” Eathen took her by the shoulders, turned her in the direction of the house, “this don’t concern you. Get up to the house and start helpin’ Hattie like you’re suppose to.”

“
It takes a big man to beat up on a person when you have twenty men helpin’ you, Tom,” Jessie fumed, straining to see around Eathen. “You big chicken shit!” she yelled out before stomping off towards the house.

“
I’m gonna leave it up to you, Two Spirits,” Eathen stood, thumbs hooked into the pockets of his jeans. “What do you want done ‘bout this?”

“
Nothing. I do not want trouble. I need the job you have given me. I just want to get on with my work.”

“
Jake, Tom,” Eathen looked at the two men standing before him, “I’m gonna hold the two of you responsible for his well-bein’. If anything else happens to him, you’re outta here.” He saw the snickers disappear from their faces. “Is that understood?”

“
Oh hell, Mister Eathen. We’s just havin’ a little fun,” Jake said in his and Tom’s defense. “We didn’t hurt the son-of-a bitch! Too bad,” Jake drawled a slight grin on his face.

“
You heard me, Jake. One more incident and you’re off this ranch.”

“
I hear you, Mister Eathen,” Jake replied, all humor gone now from his voice. “It won’t happen again.”

“
It better not! Now get back to work!” Eathen ordered. “All of you!”

For a long moment, Eathen stood looking at the young Indian while he went about his duties as if nothing had happened. “Hold up there, Two Spirits.” Eathen walked towards him. “I wanna talk to you.”

Two Spirits wrapped the lead rope around a post, giving Eathen his full attention.

“
That was mighty damn decent of you just now. They worked you over pretty good.” Eathen turned Two Spirits’ face from side to side. “Why don’t you want anything done?”

“
I did not come here to start trouble.” He resisted the urge to touch the spot on his chin that Eathen’s examining hand had started up throbbing again. “I knew the other men would not accept me, but I believe if I show them I am not afraid of them, they will leave me alone to do my work. That is all I ask.”

“
Sounds fair enough to me.” Eathen nodded. “But I meant what I said.” He fixed the other man with a serious look. “I won’t tolerate any trouble here. If they bother you again, let me know and I’ll do somethin’ ‘bout it.”

“
Thank you, Mr. Thornton,” Two Spirits told him, his voice filled with conviction. “But I think I can handle any trouble from now on.”

“
It’s your ass,” Eathen shrugged his shoulders, walking away.

Standing out of the way, Jessie watched the man who held her heart in the palm of his hand and she felt herself tremble with anger at the other men. She wanted so much, right at that moment, to go to him and tell him how proud she felt. But she knew she didn’t dare. Instead, she walked over to her father as he leaned against the fence watching Two Spirits go about his work.

“
What are you still doin’ down here?” He glanced over at her. “I thought I sent you to the house.”

“
I just felt like bein’ outside for a while.” She lifted a booted foot onto the fence to boost herself up. “Besides, all they’re doin’ is sittin’ at the table drinkin’ coffee and gabbin’.”

“
You shouldn’t have involved yourself in this problem with the Indian. If you do it again,” he told her, his voice going stern,” I’ll restrict you from comin’ out here. This is man’s business, Jessie, not yours.”

She pulled a tall weed growing beside the fence. “Jake and the others think just because he’s an Indian they can push him around. He can work circles around all of them.”

“
Just like your mother. Always takin’ up for the underdog.” He ruffled her dark hair.

“
Somebody has to,” she whispered.

Chapter Sixteen

The sun topped the horizon as Jessie rode down the dirt path leading away from the ranch. The trouble awaiting her, if her father found out about her hasty trip, pushed to the back of her mind. She could not allow herself to think about “what-ifs”. Now she must focus on her mission. She would find out all she could about the man she loved and the family he risked his life to help. The idea she could be causing him more trouble than he already had never entered her mind as she continued on her way towards the reservation.

She had risen early, before anyone else in the household stirred. It would take her most of the day to reach her destination and she knew she would have to start home early if she hoped to be back before dark. As she rode, Jessie recalled a day many years ago when her father had taken her with him on one of his many trips to the Browning Indian Reservation. Her heart had gone out to the people living there. They seemed so sad. The young men waited to grow older, while the older men waited to die.

She had asked her father why the Indians needed to be on a reservation. His answer had left her wanting to know more. He said the reason they had to be on a reservation was so the United States Government could take care of them. In her innocence, she had asked another question for which he had no answer. Who had taken care of them all those years before they came to live on the Browning Indian Reservation?

A feeling of shame came over her as she thought about all her years of growing up in Montana and her feelings about the Blackfeet. She had believed, like most of her neighbors, they were dirty beggars; a race of people who had to be fed and clothed at the white man’s expense.

The face of Two Spirits crept into her mind. The handsome Blackfeet she had given her heart to could not be thought of as dirty or a beggar, but a man who risked being beaten and maybe even killed to feed his family. She wondered if there might be others of his people who felt like he did. Just wanting to survive in a world fraught with hatred and prejudice. The thoughts turned themselves over and over in her mind as she rode on, covering the many miles between the ranch and the reservation.

The terrain looked much like that surrounding the ranch, flat with some pine, but no mountains. Up ahead she could see the many teepees and off to one side sat a large wooden building with smaller buildings a little further on. As she rode onto the reservation, everyone turned to stare at her, their dark brown faces filled with questions. Halting an old man as he walked close beside her, she asked him in a quiet voice:

“
Where can I find the mother of Two Spirits?”

Without a word, he pointed to a lodge a short distance ahead of them.

“
Thank you,” she told him, kneeing her horse forward. At the lodge, she dismounted before she lost her nerve and turned back. A small brown dog barked and ran at her, nipping at her feet each time she tried to go forward. Finally a woman, who seemed to Jessie to be in her early forties, came outside. At the sight of a white girl standing in front of her, she stood still.

“
I need to talk to you,” Jessie said.

Without taking her eyes from the girl, the woman picked up a small stone, throwing it at the barking dog. As the dog ran off, the woman motioned Jessie inside and offered her a place to sit.

“
Why have you come here?” she asked. “Has something happened to my son, Two Spirits?”

“
Oh, no!” Jessie shook her head. “No! Your son is fine. I’m Jessie Thornton. Two Spirits works on my father’s ranch. He has told me many nice things about you and your daughter. So much in fact, I wanted to meet you. That’s why I’m here.”

Something in the girl’s voice did not ring true. With real fear building inside her, the woman asked, “Why would a white girl ride all the way here to meet me?”

For some reason, all the words Jessie had planned on saying would not come forth. Instead, all she could do was stare in silence at the woman sitting across from her, as panic gained strength inside her mind.

“
Has my son offended you in some way?” She rose to her feet.

“
No. Please.” Jessie stood, taking the woman’s hands in hers. “Your son has done nothing for you to be ashamed of. Neither of us has.”

At Jessie’s words, the older woman snatched her hands free. “Tell me you do not feel love for my son!” she breathed.

“
Please don’t judge us until you hear what I have to say,” Jessie tried to reason with the frightened woman.

Two Spirits’ mother hugged her body close, rocking back and forth. “I knew something bad would happen if he left the reservation. I tried to talk him out of leaving. Why have you done this to my son?”

“
Your son and I love each other.” Jessie stepped back. “We ain’t done anything wrong.”

“
Leave me. You are not welcome here. You bring danger to my son and his people!” She threw back the lodge flap. Once outside, she turned on Jessie, shouting at her and shaking her small fist. “Leave! Do not come back!”

“
Yes, I’ll go,” Jessie told her, backing away. “I didn’t mean to upset you.” She wasted no time in mounting her horse. “I just wanted to meet the mother of the man I love.”

“
Do not come back,” the woman screamed after her, as Jessie continued to ride out of the camp, unaware that people rushed from their dwellings to see what had happened.

As Two Spirit’s mother stood there watching the girl ride away, she could feel hot tears sliding down her face. “You will bring death to my son and his people!” she murmured, over and over until someone came and, taking her by the hand, led her back to her lodge.

Even after she rode out of sight of the frightened woman, Jessie could still hear her screaming out her fear.

“
Oh God,” she moaned aloud, kneeing her horse into an all out run. “I should never have come here. I’ve made everything worse. Two Spirits will never speak to me again.” Then another more frightening thought entered her mind. What if her father heard about the scene she had created? He would be livid! He already said what he would do if any man ever put his hands on her. If he knew about Two Spirits and her, there was no telling what he could be capable of. “Oh why does there have to be so much prejudice in the world?” At the sound of a rider coming up at a fast pace behind her, Jessie glanced back over her shoulder. She saw a middle-aged Indian man riding towards her.

“
Please wait,” he called out to her. “I do not mean you any harm. I want to talk with you.” As Jessie slowed her horse to a walk, the man rode up beside her, a serious look covering his handsome face.

“
I heard what happened between you and Aleah, Two Spirit’s mother. She is very upset. She has much love for her son.”

“
Who are you?” Jessie asked gazing at him. He was tall and lean, but not frail, and his bare arms were taut with muscle. The leather vest he wore reminded her of the one Two Spirits always wore. His face, although starting to line, remained firm across high cheekbones. She examined his profile, noting his straight nose. He wore his long dark hair, streaked with gray, hanging straight with just a headband holding it in place. His jeans, though worn, showed no signs of being tattered, and she found herself staring in envy at his beaded, knee-high moccasins.

“
My name is Pehta,” he said, drawing her attention back to his face. “Two Spirits is like a son to me. I knew his father, Standing Elk, very well.”

“
I’m Jessie Thornton. My father owns the ranch Two Spirits is working on.” Afraid to ask, yet more afraid not to, she plunged ahead. “Did Aleah tell you what we talked about?”

“
She did not have to. Anyone with ears to hear knows of the relationship between you and her son. This brings much sadness to her heart, for she fears for his life. With good reason too, I might add.”

“
I shouldn’t have gone to talk to her.” She urged her horse into a faster pace. “Now Two Spirits will be even more leery of being with me.”

“
How are the other hands treating him?” Pehta moved up along side of her.

“
Not very well, I’m afraid.” She chanced a quick glance in his direction. “They make fun of him because he’s Indian, and yesterday some of them beat him up pretty bad.”

With a deep sigh, he shook his head. “I feared that would happen. I tried to talk him into staying on the reservation, but he would not listen. He is very strong-willed.”

“
I’m afraid for him, Pehta. If word gets back to my father about us, I don’t know what he’ll do.”

“
Then you must tell him to go, Jessie.” His black eyes pleaded with her. “His life is in your hands now. You do not want to see him hurt.”

“
No. I love him too much for that,” she whispered, then looked over at him. “Two Spirits has talked to you about me.”