Wind Rider (34 page)

“Don’t worry,” Zach said, patting her shoulder awkwardly. “Pack your things. I’ll take you
to the farm. Abby is looking forward to meet
ing you.”

Hannah looked down at the drab brown dress
she wore and wrinkled her nose. “There’s nothing to pack. Except for one or two personal items I brought from Ireland, everything I own is on my back.”

“Get them,” Zach directed. “We’ll stop by the general store and buy you something decent to wear; then well be on our way/’

“Mr. Mercer.. .”

“Zach.”

“Zach, I don’t know how to thank you.”

Zach’s expression softened, and Hannah
thought him almost as handsome as Ryder.
No wonder Ryder’s sister had fallen in love
with him. “You owe me nothing. You don’t
remember, but I witnessed firsthand how
Harley abused you. Neither Abby nor I have
forgotten that day. What I am about to do gives
me great pleasure.”

Hannah watched in stunned silence as Zach
found a sulfur match in his pocket, struck
it against the rough surface of a nearby
table, and set fire to the indenture docu
ment. He held it between two fingers as
it burned down to a tiny square of paper.
Then he let it flutter to the floor to burn
itself out.

“As of this moment, you’re free, Hannah McLin. But I hope you’ll be our guest at the
farm until you decide what you want to do with
your life.”

Too grateful to speak, Hannah burst into tears.

Stripped to breechclout and moccasins, Ryder knelt on a ledge near the crest of a tree-
covered hill, facing east. He had been fasting,
praying, and chanting for three days, ever since
he had left Hannah at the inn. His life no longer
as simple as it once had been, he had gone into
seclusion, hoping for a sign from the Great Spir
it. He had offered tobacco and pollen. He had
offered his blood three times, but still no sign came. Was it because the Great Spirit wanted
him to find the answers within his own heart?
he wondered despondently. Should he go back to the People where he had been happy, as Hannah had suggested? Or should he try to fashion himself after the whites he’d always
held in contempt? Should he go back and fight
for Hannah’s love? Or leave her to her lover?
He’d never run from anything in his life; should
he do so now?

His mind wandered from his chanting and
he found himself repeating one word over and over.
Hannah. Hannah. Hannah.
Was she all
right? Was she with her lover now? Was that
why she’d wanted him to leave? It wasn’t dif
ficult to imagine why Hannah preferred the
blue coat to him. The blue coat could give
her things he could not. The blue coat knew
who he was, while he, Ryder, couldn’t decide whether he was white or Indian. He was both
and he was neither. He was a curiosity to be
pitied. He had tried to be white, but his own
kind had rejected him. They had confined him in a room with bars and would have left him there for the remainder of his days.

Raising his eyes to the brilliant sun, Ryder
stared at the blazing ball until a blinding white
light exploded in his brain. And he waited for a
sign. “Tell me,
Heammawihio
,” he cried aloud,
nearly desperate now for a vision, “tell me what to do.”

Silence. Thick and portentous.

Suddenly the sun seemed to rip apart, send
ing fiery balls flying to earth. Girding himself, Ryder did not evade the blazing onslaught. His senses told him that something of great impor
tance was about to be revealed to him. When one of the fiery balls hurtled directly toward
him he stared unflinchingly into the luminous white-hot center. As it hovered before his eyes,
a vision took shape within its core.

Hannah. She was standing slightly to the
right. He stared intently as a faint image began
to form behind her. Lieutenant Gilmore. As
Gilmore stepped forward to stand beside her,
she recoiled in terror. Ryder didn’t understand.
Why was Hannah so frightened of her lover?
Slowly the image faded, replaced by the faces
of Abby and her husband Zach. Abby seemed
to be looking directly at him, her expression
one of strong disapproval. Even Zach appeared
annoyed with him.

“Why are you displeased?” Ryder cried out.

The vision receded. The fireballs danced away
to merge with the sun. Ryder closed his eyes.
When he opened them he could not see. Staring
into the sun so long had blinded him.

Hannah liked Abby from the moment of their
first meeting. Except for her blond hair, she
was like Ryder in many ways. They both had those distinctive silver-gray eyes that looked
deeply into one’s soul. Obviously Abby and Zach were devoted to one another, and their
five-month-old son was an adorable replica of
his father. Both Abby and Zach made her wel
come, treating her as if she were truly Ryder’s beloved wife. They had given her a pleasant
room in the sprawling home that had once
been a small cabin.

In the two days she’d been with the Mercers
Hannah had tried to be as helpful as possible.
She was greatly appreciative of Zach’s kindness
toward her. He didn’t have to get involved in her life, but he had done so willingly. He had even destroyed her articles of indenture, giving
her the freedom she’d only dreamed about since
her arrival in America.

“What can I do to help?” Hannah asked as
she walked into the large kitchen where Abby
was preparing the evening meal.

Abby turned and smiled at her, and once
again Hannah was struck by the serene beau
ty of Ryder’s sister. According to Ryder, Abby
hadn’t always been so serene. She and Zach
had been at odds a great deal of the time before
they realized they loved one another. If only she could look forward to the same happy life
Abby and Zach now shared. But Hannah knew
she’d probably never enjoy that kind of happi
ness with Ryder. More than likely, she’d never see Ryder again.

“You can peel potatoes and carrots, if you’d
like,” Abby replied. “Zach wants to hire a cook,
but I really don’t mind cooking. Although with
a baby to care for, it is becoming a chore to
have meals on the table on time.”

“As long as I’m here, I’ll be glad to help in any
way I can,” Hannah offered. “But I can’t impose
on you forever.” Suddenly, an idea occurred to her, one that solved both their problems. “I’d
be glad to hire on as your cook, or work in
any capacity you’d like. In addition to room
and board, I’d only require a small salary. I’m
hoping to save enough money to send for some
of my brothers and sisters.”

Abby stared at her, aghast. “But Hannah, you’re my sister-in-law and our guest. I couldn’t ask you to become a servant to the family.”

“You know as well as I that my marriage to
Ryder isn’t legal in white society. Besides, by now Ryder is with Red Cloud. I doubt I’ll ever see him again.”

“That’s not true, Hannah. Ryder promised
Zach he’d come to see me and his nephew,
and I refuse to believe he’d lie about something
so important to me. I am disappointed in him for staying away so long, but I truly believe he’ll show up one day soon. I know Ryder. He
thinks of himself as Cheyenne. When he joined
with you it was for life. And, according to Zach,
Ryder cares for you deeply.”

“He might have once,” Hannah admitted sad
ly. “But I killed those feelings when I told him
Lieutenant Gilmore and I were lovers.”

Abby looked startled.

“I had to, Abby!” Hannah cried. “It was for
his own good.”

“It’s not true, is it?”

“No! Of course not. Trent has evidence
against Ryder. He threatened to return Ryder
to prison if I didn’t. .. didn’t...”

“I see,” Abby said, wishing she could get her
hands on the despicable Gilmore. “I’m sure Ryder realizes the truth.”

“If he did, he would be here now, instead of
God-only-knows where. Now he’ll never know
the truth.”

After her talk with Hannah Abby turned to Zach for help. “I know something terrible has happened to Ryder. Please, Zach, find him for me. You know how close we are. My heart tells
me that something is desperately wrong.”

“Perhaps you’re right, sweetheart,” Zach con
curred. “I don’t think Ryder would return to Powder River country without coming first to
see you and our son. But I don’t think I’ll find
him in Denver. He’s unaccustomed to cities. I
might have to travel to the Black Hills to find
him, but rest assured I’ll do my best to bring him home.”

The only way Ryder could tell in which direc
tion he rode was by the warmth of the sun on his face. He rode west; he was of no use to the People now that he was blind, and could not
return to them. He had no idea if his afflic
tion was permanent, but he sincerely believed that the Great Spirit had struck him blind for
abandoning Hannah when she needed him.

Perhaps the blue coat was her lover and perhaps he wasn’t, but Hannah was still his
wife, and he had left her unprotected. Pride
had made him insensitive to her feelings, and against his better judgment he’d believed that nonsense about her being Gilmore’s lover. In
his vision he had seen her anguish and felt the
bitter weight of his sister’s disappointment.

As long as he was blind, he was no good to
anyone. Hannah was better off with the blue
coat, he decided. After making peace with
his family he’d travel by himself deep into
the mountains and commune with the earth
and the sun and the heavens until the Great
Spirit saw fit to lift the burden of blindness from him. His sense of direction, even though
he was blind, was acute. He was aware as never
before of his surroundings. Each sound told a
story all its own. Attuned as he was to Mother Earth, Grandfather Sun, and the sky above, Ryder felt at one with the elements. He felt
confident the Great Spirit would guide him.

Zach rode east toward the Black Hills. He
hadn’t realized the almost impossible task
he’d set for himself until the immense prairie stretched out before him. After two days of
steady riding he missed Abby and his son terribly and almost turned back. Only his
promise to Abby, and the fragile hope visible
in Hannah’s green eyes, kept him going. He was
riding along a ridge now, where he could look
down into the valley below. He was so stunned
to see another rider crossing the desolate valley
that he stopped and stared hard at the tiny dot
gradually growing larger at it approached.

Squinting against the brilliant glare of the
sun bouncing off the hills, Zach grew more and
more convinced that the rider was his brother-
in-law. What puzzled Zach was the dejected
droop of Ryder’s shoulders, the way his head remained bowed, as if Ryder was unaware or uncaring of where he was going. Zach knew
Ryder to be an alert, watchful man, yet noth
ing in his manner gave the slightest indication
of alertness. Snapping the reins, Zach guided
his mount down the hill to intercept the man
whom he now felt certain was Ryder.

Ryder’s keen ears picked up the sound of
Zach’s horse and he stiffened, his hand resting
on his knife. He might not be able to see, but
he was fully capable of defending himself if
the need arose. His body tense, he reined in his
pony and waited for the rider to approach.

Zach felt a surge of relief when he noted that
Ryder appeared healthy and unharmed. It also
pleased him that Ryder was riding west, toward
the farm. He halted beside Ryder. “Thank God I found you.”

“Who is it?”

Zach sent Ryder a curious look. “It’s Zach;
are you blind? Abby was worried about you and.. .” Suddenly he saw the blank look in Ryder’s eyes and the way he looked past him
as if
...
His heart thundered against his chest
as he realized the horrible truth. “My God, you
are ...”