T'on Ma (14 page)

"Maybe when they're all asleep, we can untie these ropes and make a run for it."

"And run where? Do you know which way to run? Can you outrun horses?"

Gretchen burst into fresh tears at the hopelessness of their plight. Two Hawks walked over to the two women, standing over them.

"Be quiet," he said in English, to their amazement, "or he will kill you." He nodded over his shoulder at Dark Fist.

"Can you help us?" Gretchen pleaded. "Please. Let us go."

"No!" Walking away, he pulled a blanket down from his horse and, finding a place out of the wind, lay down and went to sleep.

The next day, the party followed the creek south. They saw a Mexican woman carrying a large basket as she walked away from the creek and up a hill. Behind her, a young girl, about thirteen, stood next to a basket of wet laundry. She wrung out the last of it before joining her mother. Before she knew what was happening, she had a rope thrown around her neck and a hand clamped painfully across her mouth.

Her mother made it all the way back to their small house before she noticed that Carmen wasn't with her. Going back to the creek, she discovered the basket of laundry, several horse tracks, but no daughter. Screaming her alarm, she ran to the house for her husband. But it was too late.

The raiding party rode well past dark. When they finally made camp, Two Hawks approached Dark Fist. "You have your three captives. I no longer owe you anything."

"Not quite," Dark Fist shook his head. "You have to help me get them to my village."

Two Hawks nodded once, his steely glare matching that of Dark Fist's.

Lieutenant O'Connell had been put on special detail to escort a political dignitary to San Antonio. He had hoped to spend time close to the Cooper homestead, but orders were orders. Having arrived in San Antonio with his dignitary safe and unharmed, he and his men were given a few days leave before they had to return to Ft. Worth.

On the evening of his third day there, he received a report that a band of Apache was raiding in the area and taking women captives. He and his troops were ordered to retrieve the women. Liam frowned, afraid that he knew who the Apaches were. The next morning, they hurried toward the last place the raiders had been seen.

After two days of riding, an advance scout raced back to the troops, telling the lieutenant that the raiding band had been seen. There were three captive women, all on horseback, and the Apache had Kiowa with them. At Liam's order, the rescue party broke into a gallop.

Laughing Turtle looked over his shoulder and saw the double columns of blue uniforms approaching. At his shout, the raiders urged their horses into a hard gallop, their hooves thundering across the frozen earth, their breaths in steaming clouds. The Army gave chase and slowly gained ground.

Liam unholstered his gun, ready to shoot at the first opportunity. As they got closer, he squinted, looking hard at Two Hawks, not sure if he recognized him or not. Liam fired at the hostiles and ordered his troops to do the same. At the sound of the guns, Two Hawks turned to look over his shoulder. Catching Liam's eye, the two men glared at each other in startled recognition.

Before the soldiers could reach the raiders, though, an Apache camp rose into view on the horizon. Several warriors swarmed toward their horse herd, getting ready to mount a counterattack. Severely outnumbered, Liam gave the order to cease the pursuit. Frustrated and angry, he watched the raiders thunder away toward safety.

After reaching his village, Dark Fist ordered that the captives be imprisoned in a lodge, a guard set. Then he looked for the Kiowa, calling them to his tipi.

"Here," he said, tossing each Kiowa a rifle. "I know this wasn't part of the agreement, but you earned it."

Taking the gun, Two Hawks only nodded. Once Crying Fox and Laughing Turtle had received their rifles, the three mounted their horses and headed toward home. With his debt paid, Two Hawks saw no reason to stay any longer with Dark Fist than he had to.

Dark Fist waited a few days before setting out for the border. When his band arrived, several days later, he had them wait on the outskirts of a small village while he rode ahead. He returned shortly with a stranger.

The stranger was round with dirty, black hair and a thick moustache. His shirt had originally been white, but now had stained to a dull gray with brown streaks down it. His pants had been mended several times. His yellow teeth chewed on the end of a cigar and he reeked of liquor and an unwashed body.

"So,
amigo,
what do you have for me this time?" Miguel asked.

Dark Fist led the three women out by the ropes around their necks.

"Oh ho!" Miguel exclaimed.
"Tres señoritas. Muy bien!"

He walked over to Carmen and lifted her face with his stubby, tobacco-stained fingers. "She's young. This is good."

Nodding once, he then turned his attention to Lisa. She crossed herself and began silently praying. "It won't do you no good," he laughed. "But pray if you want to." He turned her face to the left and then the right. "She's kind of skinny, but I'll take her, too."

Stepping over to Gretchen, he broke into a wide grin. "Ah. A blonde. This is very good." He nodded approvingly. Grabbing her ample breasts with both hands, he laughed at her embarrassment and discomfort. "Get used to it,
chica."

"Rifles," Dark Fist demanded. "Many rifles." He jerked the ropes, pulling the women back.

"Sí.
Wait here." Miguel started to walk away, but Dark Fist joined him. He had learned long ago never to turn his back on Miguel.

Within the hour, the women were in the back of Miguel's cantina, safely stashed away until their journey to Mexico City and a life of slavery began. In exchange, a cache of rifles sat on the ground at the raiding party's camp.

Life at the Cooper homestead had fallen into a routine now that Christina settled in. With her arrival, Joshua had planned to add an extra room onto the back of the house for the two girls. However, watching Nathan watch Christina, Joshua decided he should plan ahead and build two extra rooms: one for Lana and the other for the newlyweds, if it came to that.

Lana enjoyed having a new 'sister' who was close to her own age. Neither had ever been to a proper dance and were aching for the chance. They'd never been to a quilting bee, or a church picnic, so the two young women talked and dreamed and planned all types of things together.

Even though difficult, Nathan managed to find time alone with Christina. He would wait until the girls went to gather eggs and then make an excuse to go outside. After a few minutes, he would pull Christina into a horse stall in the barn. Lana could hear the giggling and cooing and soft voices, even though she tried not to listen. Watching them together made her miss Two Hawks even more.

She missed his kisses and lying beside him at night, wrapped in his arms. No matter how bleak their situation had gotten, his eyes still lit up when he looked at her. How was he doing, she wondered. Was he thinking of her? Did he miss her as much as she did him?

Shaking her head at the futility of these questions, she turned to finish gathering the eggs, but it didn't help her melancholy. Nothing she did to keep busy helped - not sewing or quilting or doing daily chores. She had difficulty keeping her spirits up in the small, crowded house.

Late one afternoon, just before sunset, Lana snuck away to the barn for a little privacy. Paul and Jake were in a restless mood and tore up the house as they wrestled with each other. Their shrieks of laughter got on her nerves.

She walked up to one of the horses and, picking up a brush, began grooming the animal. Her mind filled with thoughts of Two Hawks and her heart filled with loneliness for him. Before she could stop them, tears flowed down her face as she gave in to her sadness.

"Hey, sis." Nathan's voice startled her.

"Oh, Nathan. I didn't hear you come in." She brushed the horse more briskly as she refused to face her brother. Walking up behind her, he took the brush from her hand and turned her around.

"What is it? You've been so sad. Even when you're smiling, you're sad."

Her bottom lip began quivering again as she looked into his eyes. "I miss him so much," she finally whispered. "So very much." She didn't have to say who.

"I'm sorry." Nathan murmured. "I know how you feel about him. I know how he feels about you."

"You do?" She was surprised at that.

"Sure. How do you think I learned Kiowa so well? I was dying to know what he said."

"And what did he say?"

"That he loves you."

Searching his eyes to see if there was more, she finally looked away at his silence. "I know. I feel it, even now."

"Lana," Nathan's tone changed. "You've got to know this isn't good. He expects you to give up everything you know, give up your family, and live as a Kiowa squaw. Did you know that?"

"Yes. He's asked me to live with his people."

"And what did you tell him?"

"That I'd think about it. But I was captured shortly after that and everything changed. Since then, I've realized that I want to be with him, no matter what."

"Lana, be careful. 'No matter what' covers a lot of territory. No matter that it kills Ma or breaks Pa's heart? No matter that you turning Kiowa means you never get to see us again?"

"Why wouldn't I still see you?" she asked, truly puzzled.

"Lana, the Kiowa travel all the time. They have summer camp and winter camp and follow the buffalo. You'd never be in one place very long. And do you want to shame your family like that? You know what people think."

"I don't care what people think!" she said stubbornly.

"All right, Lana. All right. But before you do anything rash, talk to Pa. Please." When she wouldn't answer, Nathan shrugged his shoulders and walked back to the house, worried.

One cold, bright winter afternoon, a knock on their door announced a visitor. Paul opened it and grinned as he stepped back to allow their guest to enter. "Liam! Come in!"

Liam stepped through, greeting everyone as he walked to the fire to warm himself. "Hello, Cooper family."

Joshua emerged from his bedroom and shook Liam's hand. "This is a welcome surprise. Sit down and tell us what brings you all the way out here."

May poured the two men coffee.

"I came with some mail," Liam announced as he sat down. Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out a well-worn envelope. "I believe this is yours." He made a point of presenting it to Christina.

"It's from my aunt!" she exclaimed as she hurriedly opened it and read out loud.

My dear Christina, I am extremely sorry to hear of the loss of your family. These times of sorrow must not be easy for you. I am glad to hear you have found such a wonderful family to live with. My brother always was foolhardy and I warned him against moving to the wild, lawless frontier. But he would not listen and has, unfortunately, paid the ultimate price. It's too bad that his wife and son also had to pay it.

You are aware, I am sure, of my limited means in supporting myself. I would offer you a place to live here with me, but simply cannot do so, economics being what they are. You are a very bright and talented young woman and I'm sure you will be able to make your way through this life with some measure of success.

Best Regards,
Lydia Perkins

Christina stared at the letter for a moment and then carefully folded it. She hadn't known what to expect from her one remaining relative, but certainly not this. Slowly standing up from the table, she laid a hand on Liam's shoulder.

"Thank you for bringing this all the way out here," she said quietly. Without waiting for his remark, she picked up her coat and walked outside, Nathan following closely behind her.

When he caught up to her, he took her hand and led her to the barn. "Come here, honey," he said as he held her once they were inside. "Don't cry. Please don't. Everything is going to be just fine."

"How can you be so sure?" she asked, with tears in her eyes. "Aunt Lydia doesn't want to hear from me again. I could tell from the sound of her letter. I've got no one. Absolutely no one."

"No one?" Nathan countered. "Then who am I?"

"Oh, you know what I mean. Family. I've got no family."

"You would if I was your husband. Then you'd have more family than you could shake a stick at."

"Funny." She rolled her eyes, thinking he was joking. But his kiss that followed told her otherwise.

"Please, Christina. You've got to know by now that I love you. Marry me."

"Oh, Nathan," she sounded unsure. "Marry you? Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Where would we live? There's no room in that little house."

"Why do you think Pa and my brothers and I have been working on two new rooms? One of them is for us. Pa hasn't said exactly, but I know."

Nathan watched her as she considered this new information. "Then, this summer, we can build our own place close by," he added. "How about that? Will you marry me? Will you?"

Christina wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled up at him. "Yes, Nathan Cooper. I will be more than happy to marry you and be your wife."

"That's what I wanted to hear." He leaned down and kissed her with deep emotion.

"Nathan!" his father barked at the barn door.

"It's all right, Pa," Nathan turned Christina around and put his arm around her shoulders. "She just said she'd marry me!"

"Oh. Oh." Joshua's eyes lit up at the news. "Well, you'd better get in there and tell your ma before too much more time passes. News like this just won't wait."

"Yes, sir." The happy couple walked back into the house. Their faces told the news before their words did, but May waited for them anyway.

"This is wonderful!" May gushed as she hugged first Christina and then Nathan. "A wedding! We'll have to celebrate tonight. Of course, Liam, I hope you can stay for a few days before you have to go back." She turned to study the larder, wondering what they should have.