T'on Ma (12 page)

"Oh, Pa. This is Christina," Nathan introduced her.

"Nice to meet you, Christina," Joshua said.

"You wouldn't have any food, would you?" Christina asked. They all laughed at her request, but the three of them looked hopefully at Joshua.

"Just so happens, I've got a little something." Walking to the saddlebag on his horse, he pulled out some venison jerky and passed it around. "You'll have to chew on it a while, but it's good."

Lana walked over to the fire and put more water in the pot to heat up. When that was done, she put her jerky into the water, making a weak broth.

"For Centas Yi," she explained. "He needs food worse than all of us right now." Waiting until it cooled, she knelt beside him and lifted his head.

"Centas Yi? Can you hear me?" When he slowly opened his eyes, she said, "You need to drink this. It will make you strong." Holding the cup to his mouth, she watched as he took a few sips. He lay his head back down, too exhausted to eat any more.

The sun had set and the temperature cooled off. Lying beside Two Hawks, as she had done for so many nights, Lana put her arm carefully across his back.

"Lana? What are you doing?" Joshua asked, shocked.

"Keeping him warm," she replied. "We've slept this way many times now. So have Nathan and Christina. It's how we stayed alive."

"No. He can have my blanket. You and Christina can keep warm together tonight." Joshua tried not to show his dismay.

Lana shook her head. "He'll need me in the night. I'm going to stay right here."

"She can be as stubborn as Ma when she wants to," Nathan said. "Just leave her be, Pa. It'll be all right."

"Well, at least Christina can have my blanket and you and I will share yours."

"Yes, sir." Nathan said with disappointment. In the middle of this nightmare, sleeping next to her had been the highpoint of his existence.

Lana got up and down all night, bringing Two Hawks more broth, or water, or a cloth to wipe his fevered head. He slept fitfully, but at least he slept.

At daybreak, Liam came up the hill. "How is he doing?" He nodded toward Two Hawks.

"I don't know. He's sleeping, but he has a fever. The wound doesn't look infected, though," Lana informed him.

"Well, that's something," Liam said.

"We'll need to get word to his family somehow. I don't know if they've moved to their winter camp yet or not."

"If you didn't seem them on your way here, then they probably haven't yet," Liam reasoned.

"Can you send someone?" Lana asked.

"Not without starting a small war."

"I should go," Nathan volunteered. "They know me."

"That sounds good," Liam nodded.

"Can we make a travois for him and meet them? It would save time," Lana said.

"I suppose we could do that," Liam agreed. He wanted to get the Kiowa off his hands as soon as he could and get back to the fort.

The soldiers soon had a rough travois constructed from salt cedars found by a creek. The slow, painful journey began, Lana walking beside Two Hawks every step of the way. Nathan had already left to find the Kiowa village.

By midafternoon on their second day of travel, four riders approached them. One of them was Nathan. The other three were Many Deer, Crying Fox and a Kiowa that none of the Coopers recognized, though he looked like a medicine man.

When the troops stopped, the medicine man, Tall Moon, walked over to the travois and lifted the blanket off Two Hawks. After he inspected the wound's treatment, he nodded once and replaced the blanket. Then he knelt beside Two Hawks and talked to him for a moment. Walking back to the other two Kiowa, he announced that Two Hawks was well enough to continue home.

Many Deer approached his son, touching his shoulder.
"It is good to see you again."

"You, too, Father."

"We will wait here for the others. They will be here tomorrow, and then we'll go to our winter camp."

"All right. I want Water Woman to come with me."

Many Deer lifted his head to look at the young woman while he considered this request.

"No!" Nathan interjected, understanding enough Kiowa to object.

"What?" Joshua asked, standing beside his son.

"Centas Yi wants Lana to move to their winter camp with him," Nathan explained.

"Absolutely not!" Joshua added his protest.

"But he needs me," Lana argued.

"Your
family
needs you. Your mother is beside herself with worry over you. His family will take care of him. Much better than you ever could. They know what do to for him. What do you know about living in a tipi during the winter?"

She sighed heavily, knowing that she didn't have the strength to continue this argument. "All right, Pa. All right," she conceded. Shaking her head at Many Deer, she said a few apologetic words in Kiowa. He nodded, feeling relieved at the decision.

Lana leaned down close to Two Hawks' face.
"You go home now,"
she whispered in Kiowa.
"And I go home with them,"
she pointed to Nathan.
"You get better."

He reached for her hand, squeezing it.
"Please, don't leave me now."

With tears in her eyes, she shook her head.
"I have to. But I'll see you in the spring, won't I?"

"Yes."
He smiled reluctantly. She started to stand up, but he stopped her. "Kiss?" he asked in English.

"Of course. Kiss." She leaned forward and kissed him with great tenderness and emotion.
"I love you, Two Hawks,"
she said in Kiowa.
"You are my man."

"And you are my heart. I will see you in the spring,"
he told her as she stood up.
"Watch for me."

"I will."
Turning quickly, she walked over to her horse, not wanting Two Hawks to see her cry.

At first, Liam had watched the whole transaction with disinterest. But when Lana kissed Two Hawks, he became angry and disgusted. In his worldview, as with a lot of the western settlers, to be an "Indian lover" was unacceptable. A "squaw man" was beneath contempt. For a woman of European descent to be romantically involved with a Native American put her beyond acceptance. Her family considered her dead, a social pariah. Even women who had been rescued from capture found re-entry into society extremely difficult because the prejudice of the time ran so deeply.

"I thought you said your family just
traded
with the Kiowa," Liam said to Joshua during the kiss. When he didn't get a response, he looked into Joshua's eyes and saw the same expression of disgusted worry in them that he had.

Liam was extremely glad when his troops, the Coopers and Christina left the Kiowa to cover what distance they could before sundown. As they made their way back to the Coopers' homestead, Liam kept thinking about the kiss he'd witnessed between Two Hawks and Lana. It upset him deeply.

At first, he thought he was only upset because she was white and Two Hawks Kiowa. But, as miles and time passed, Liam realized that he was also jealous. That beautiful young woman should be kissing
him
, should be worried about
his
well being, should be in
his
arms. He kept watching her as they traveled. He'd never felt such a strong attraction to anyone before - not like this. And he was unwilling to walk away without trying to reach her, to make her see reason.

By the end of the second day, the Coopers and the cavalry rode into the Coopers' yard. Paul and Jake raced out of the house, whooping and hollering at the sight of their sister, brother and father. May stepped out of the door, smiling so hard that her face hurt.

"Goodness, let me look at you," she said, holding Lana by her shoulders. "You look too thin." With that, she burst into tears and pulled her daughter close.

"Oh, Ma. I'm all right. Really." Lana hugged her mother tightly and patted her back. "I want you to meet someone." She stepped back and introduced Christina.

"She was taken by the Apache, too," Lana explained. Christina walked over to greet May and was surprised to be pulled into a tight hug herself.

"You poor thing," May exclaimed. "Come into the house this instant. Paul, fill the buckets and keep them coming. We've got two baths to take."

"Make that four," Joshua frowned. "I stink to high heaven and I'm the best smelling one here."

Nathan rolled his eyes at that, but was in no position to argue. Liam laughed guiltily, and then, excusing himself, went with his sergeant to get the troops set up by the river for the night, and to find a bath of his own.

May set up a large washtub in her bedroom. After the first two buckets of water were heated, Christina had the honor of taking the first bath. When she had finished, her black, grimy water was thrown out and fresh brought in for Lana. Soon, the two wet-headed, clean young women were sitting on the edge of May's bed, wrapped in blankets, and drinking hot coffee.

"This is heaven," Christina sighed.

"As soon as you're done with that," May informed them, "you'll need to sit in the other room while the men get cleaned up."

"Yes'm." Lana gulped the rest of her coffee and stood up. "Goodness knows they need it, too." Reaching for Christina's hand, she suggested, "Let's dry our hair by the fire."

They were perched on chairs, their long hair turned toward the fire, when Nathan came in. "Oh, my," he grinned, "Look at you. Those blankets fit you so well."

"Ha. Ha." Christina smirked.
"Very
amusing."

"Get in there," Lana pointed to her parents' room. "You stink."

A lump suddenly appeared in his throat when he looked at his sister and the beautiful Christina, laughing and happy. They were safe now; he had helped save them. Nathan quickly ducked in the bedroom, too tired to fight his emotions and unwilling for anyone to see.

Once baths had been taken and everyone eaten supper, the three brothers went into their room to sleep. They had barely settled in before they heard loud female voices.

"No, you!" the boys heard through their door. It sounded like Lana and Christina arguing. Nathan frowned, wondering, after all they'd been through, what the two women had found to fight about.

"No. It's
your
bed.
You
sleep in it!" Christina retaliated.

"But you're our guest. I insist. Besides, I'm so used to sleeping on the ground now, I'd probably be uncomfortable."

"Like I wouldn't?" Christina argued.

Nathan pulled a long straw out of the broom perched in the corner of their room. Snapping it into two unequal lengths, he held them out to his younger brothers.

"Short straw gives up their bed," he announced.

"What?" Paul looked alarmed.

"There's no debate," Nathan warned him. "You don't know what those two went through. The least you can do is give them a comfortable sleep tonight."

"Oh, all right," Jake sighed. He carefully studied the straws in Nathan's hand and, finally making a decision, pulled one out. "This one." Paul drew the other one and held it against Jake's. Jake moaned at the sight of his short straw.

"Come on, Paul," Nathan stood up. "Help me carry the bed in there."

The two brothers made it through the doorway with the bed, apparently just in time. Lana and Christina seemed to be on the verge of real anger, neither willing to give in to the other.

"Here you go," Nathan grinned as they set the bed against the wall. "Compliments of Jake."

"I couldn't," Christina started to protest.

"Oh, yes you could." Nate stopped any further protest by kissing her quickly. Paul blushed at this unexpected turn of events, while May and Joshua exchanged questioning glances.

"Thank you, Jake," Christina called so that Jake could hear her from his room.

"Yeah, sure." Jake didn't sound too happy.

"Goodnight, you two," Nathan said. "See you in the morning." With that, he turned Paul around by his shoulders, and pushed him toward their room.

Liam joined them for breakfast the next morning, before the Army's planned departure, anxious to see how Lana was doing. Over the meal, May finally learned some of the story. Paul and Jake couldn't believe their sister had killed Apaches with a gun, and that Christina had actually killed one with a knife.

After hearing Christina's plight, May reached across the table, taking her hand. "Don't you worry about it. You'll stay here with us."

"Won't it be too crowded?" Christina asked.

"We'll make room," Joshua told her. "Simple as that."

"Then, I'd love to," Christina smiled brightly. Glancing quickly at Nathan, her heart leapt when she saw how pleased he looked.

"Do you have any relatives at all?" Liam asked. "Is there someone you could write to?"

"I have an aunt in Pennsylvania, my father's sister. I should write to her, I guess."

"If you'll do that before my men and I leave, I'll carry the letter to Ft. Worth and it can be mailed from there."

"That is very thoughtful," Christina said. "I'll see to it right after breakfast."

During breakfast, Lana felt herself becoming detached, withdrawn somehow. Perhaps she was just too tired from her ordeal. She only caught snippets of conversation around her. Maybe she needed a walk. Excusing herself, she grabbed a shawl and headed out the door, the egg basket in her hand.

True to her word, once breakfast was cleared away, Christina wrote her letter. While waiting for it, Liam walked outside to find Lana. She stood by the chicken coop, staring blankly into the horizon.

"I'd like to talk with you before I leave," he told her.

"Sure," she said disinterestedly, not looking at him. "Talk."

"I want you to know how relieved I am that everything turned out all right."

"Well, almost everything," she frowned. "I worried about Centas Yi all last night."

"I'm sure he's fine." Liam took her hand. "I mean I'm glad that
you're
all right. When I heard you'd been captured, my heart almost stopped beating."