Between Two Worlds (18 page)

She wriggled under the intensity of his stare. “Well…yes. What
else would I be thinking about? Finding that bridge and crossing over is
foremost on my mind.”

He inhaled deeply and felt the muscle along his jaw line tighten.
His heart drummed inside his chest. “I’d hoped you thought about me for a
minute or two. The same way I thought about you when I went to bed last night.”

“Wha…?”

He interjected by wrapping his hand around her wrist. “That’s
right, Delaney. I went to bed wishing you were lying there beside me. That’s
all
I
could think of. My head’s been flooded with thoughts of you since
we met. My body ignites every time I’m near you. I’m a man burning with passion
for you. What have you to say to that?” He challenged her with his eyes—needing
her to understand what she meant to him.

Delaney opened her mouth to speak, but, for once, the words didn’t
come.

Gabriel placed his hands on the sides of her face and kissed her
before she could argue. He pried her lips open with his tongue, filling her
with his heat, his spark. She didn’t resist. She melted against his chest as he
folded her into his arms. Then he gently laid her down on the blanket and cradled
her smooth neck with one hand. As they kissed, his fingers stroked the curve of
her chin and trailed down the arch of her slender neck to find her collarbone.
She wrapped her arms around him, and the fervor between them quickly escalated from
jalapeno-hot to habanero-hot as he pressed his weight upon her.

Delaney moaned and returned his kisses with vigor.

When his tongue delved into her mouth, her body responded in a way
that let him know she liked what he was doing. She trembled under his touch and
pulled him deeper into her.

The whistle of a bird close by drew his attention. Their lips parted,
and he whispered, “Did you hear that?”

“No. I didn’t hear anything. Don’t stop, Gabriel.” Breathless,
Delaney laced her fingers around his neck and pulled his face back down. His
hands returned to moving over her body like a blind man reading Braille. His
fingers ran down her arms, brushed over her breasts through her blouse, and
skimmed her hips. All the while, the intensity of his desire grew.

Another whistle distracted him again. It didn’t sound like a bird,
which he’d initially thought it was. He stopped kissing her and sat up. “There
it was again. You didn’t hear that?”

She sighed, obviously annoyed that he’d interrupted their
passionate interlude. Her chest rose and fell rhythmically. “Hear what?” she
rasped.

His head pivoted when the sound of crunching rocks captured his
full attention. His hand flew to his side, realizing too late that his gun was
in the medical bag, which was still in the buggy. He jumped up and sprinted to
the carriage.

“Gabriel, what’s going on?”

He looked over his shoulder. Delaney had risen to her elbows,
looking dazed and confused.

Just as he snapped open the black bag, a man stepped out from
behind the mesquite tree where Lady Godiva was tied. Gabriel grabbed the .45
Colt and aimed.

“Don’t shoot,” the man said.

A heavy sigh of relief exploded from Gabriel’s mouth. He lowered
the gun. “It’s a good thing I’ve got a steady hand, my friend. You shouldn’t
sneak up on people that way.”

He Who Fights Bravely stood with his legs spread apart. His smooth
brown chest glistened with beads of sweat. “I ran long way. Wife needs help. Come.”

Gabriel noticed the Indian barely breathed hard. “Of course I’ll
come. We’ll be just a few minutes.” He nodded toward the blanket so He Who
Fights Bravely could see that he and Delaney had been in the middle of a
picnic. “We’ll pack up and be on our way.”

Delaney stood up, smoothed down her skirt and mussed hair, and sauntered
over to them. She’d not been able to hear their exchange from the blanket. A
smile tugged at her lips when she recognized the Pima.

“Hi! It’s nice to see you again. Where’s your donkey?”

“His wife is ill,” Gabriel said. “She’s with child. I’m sorry to
cut our picnic short, but they need my help.”

She immediately understood the urgency of the situation. “That’s
all right. There’s no need to apologize. Let’s hurry. I’ll help you pack up.”

Gabriel quickly put the leftovers into their containers and tossed
the plates back into the basket, while Delaney folded up the blanket on which
they’d been laying. She hopped into the buggy on her own as Gabriel untied Lady
Godiva and climbed in.

“Where did He Who Fights Bravely go?” she asked, glancing around.
The Indian was nowhere to be seen.

“I’m sure he’s headed back to the village already.”

“That man comes and goes like a phantom.”

Gabriel flicked the reins and yelled, “Yaw!” and Lady Godiva took
off at a fast trot.

Fourteen

A group of Pima children were the first to greet the couple as
they drove into the village. The black-haired, shirtless boys jogged beside the
buggy and called out to Gabriel, who waved and addressed a few of them by name.
The little girls wore deerskin dresses, and all the kids wore sheepskin sandals
on their feet.

Delaney smiled and waved, too. “How precious. They all know you.”

“Yes. I come here often. I consider He Who Fights Bravely to be
one of my best friends.”

“Really?” The news was a surprise. “I had no idea. You didn’t
mention it when I’d told you he and I met.”

“These people are very generous and hospitable. More so than some
of our townsfolk in Phoenix. The Pima welcomed me from the day I arrived.”

She peered around as Gabriel drove down the village thoroughfare.
The river rushed alongside the banks to the west of them. The homes sat one
next to the other, in rows on both sides of the road. He told her they were
called hogans. They were small, round, flat-topped shelters framed by poles and
covered with grass and mud. Near the center of the village stood a large
rectangular frame with only one wall. She pointed to it. “What happened to that
building? Was it destroyed in a raid?”

He shook his head. “That’s a ramada. It’s a community clubhouse of
sorts. The one side is built as a windbreak. They hold ceremonies and other
family and community activities there.”

She smiled and waved at the women sitting outside their hogans.
They were weaving baskets, cooking over flames, and polishing red and black
pottery. She noticed the older girls and all the grown women had lines tattooed
from their mouths to their chins, and many wore turquoise ear pendants. Some
women’s skirts appeared to be made of shredded bark and some, deerskin. A few
younger men milled around the village, but most, she noticed, were older men.
Their chests were all bare and loincloths covered their lower halves. All the
people had long flowing hair, like He Who Fights Bravely.

“Where are all the young men?” she asked. “I see mostly children
and elderly males.”

Gabriel halted Lady Godiva and laid down the reins. “I imagine
they’re out hunting right now. The men travel considerable distances to hunt
deer, sheep and rabbit. It’s also the time of year when they gather the fruit
from the saguaro. They pick saguaro pears and the women ferment the juice into
liquor to drink during ceremonies to bring rain.”

“This is all fascinating,” Delaney said, waving at the kids who
continued to run alongside the buggy. “I still can’t believe I’m in 1888
meeting Indians and living the life of a frontier woman.”

“It suits you.”

“You think?”

“I know.”

Their gazes fused. Delaney stared at Gabriel’s lips, desiring more
kisses.

“We’re here,” he announced, as he reached for his medical bag. He
nodded toward the hogan perched close to the edge of the babbling river. “This
is the home of He Who Fights Bravely and his wife.”

Three little children crouched on a mat outside the dwelling. They
played a game with pebbles and a small animal bone. The familiar gray donkey
stood in the shade of a cottonwood tree with its eyes closed.

He Who Fights Bravely stepped out of the squat hut and motioned
for the doctor to enter. “Hurry. Baby coming.”

Gabriel snatched up his bag and hopped off the buggy. “I’ll need
water for washing my hands,” he told the Indian, who disappeared back into the
hogan and stepped out a moment later carrying a large black pottery bowl in his
hands. Without a word, he jogged to the river and returned with the bowl full
of clear water. Gabriel reached inside the medical bag and foraged for a bar of
lye soap. Finding it, he doused his hands in the bowl and scrubbed up and then wiped
his hands dry with a small towel. He held them in the air like a surgeon would
and asked He Who Fights Bravely to carry the bag into the hogan for him.

“I’ll secure the horse and wait out here,” Delaney said. After
Gabriel nodded his appreciation, she stepped down from the carriage and tied
Lady Godiva to a nearby tree branch, mimicking what Gabriel had done at the
picnic spot. When she was sure Lady wouldn’t get loose, she approached the
children and struck up a conversation. If they were fearful about what was happening
to their mother inside, they didn’t show it. Delaney knelt on the ground so she
could be eyeball-to-eyeball with them. “Hello. Do you speak English?”

The boy bobbed his head.

“What game are you playing?”

“Five stones.” He was the spitting image of his father.

The two little girls sat cross-legged on either side of him. They
offered shy smiles and took turns tossing the bone in the air and snatching up
rocks from off the mat. It didn’t take long for Delaney to realize they were
playing Jacks.

“Do you mind if I watch?” she asked.

The boy shook his head and took his turn. When he grabbed four out
of the five rocks, the girls laughed and punched his arm, teasing him for
missing the last rock.

“What are your names?” Delaney asked.

“I’m Running Deer.” The boy hooked his thumb toward his sisters.
“That’s She Who Dreams. The little one is One Who Cries.”

The smallest child peered at Delaney through thick, dark
eyelashes, wrinkled her nose and giggled. Her demeanor didn’t seem to match her
name. All three were as brown as nuts, with hair as long and flowing as their
father’s.

“My name is Delaney.”

“You want to try?” The youngest girl, One Who Cries, offered the
animal bone to her.

“Okay.” She accepted the bone, tossed it in the air, and was able
to pick up only one rock. The kids all snickered good-naturedly. She Who Dreams
slapped her hand over her mouth to hide a wide grin.

“I guess I need some practice,” Delaney said with a laugh.

“Doctor need you.”

At hearing the deep commanding voice, she looked up from the game.
He Who Fights Bravely stood in the doorway of the hogan. His smooth, unlined
face was the epitome of courage, but she sensed a hint of apprehension behind
his chocolaty brown eyes. “Me?” she asked with uncertainty.

“Yes. Come now.”

“All right. Excuse me, children.” She scrambled to her feet and
followed him into the shadowy dark interior of the hut. Gabriel was on the
ground with his back to her, and the pregnant woman was squatting in front of
him on a rug.

His head pivoted when she entered. “Delaney, this baby’s arm is presenting
itself first. I need your help. Quickly.”

“Of course. What should I do?” She rushed forward, and her eyes
met those of the wife of He Who Fights Bravely. She was a young beauty with
jet-black hair and the same kind of mouth-to-chin tattoo that she’d seen on the
other village women. The young woman looked exhausted and scared. “What’s her
name?” Delaney asked.

“Dances With Wind.”

Delaney took her hand. “We’re going to help you, Dances With Wind.
You and your baby are going to be just fine.”

Gabriel’s expression was a mixed one of confidence and concern.
“We have to lie her down. I can’t deliver the baby with her squatting this
way.” He looked over his shoulder and spoke to He Who Fights Bravely. “You can
go outside and wait, my friend. We’ll take care of her.”

The Indian didn’t balk. He turned and ducked out the door.

“Help me get her on her back,” Gabriel ordered Delaney. “We haven’t
much time. We could lose them both if I don’t work fast. From what I can
gather, she’s suffered a long and painful labor.”

Dances With Wind shook her head vehemently when they tried to lay
her on the rug. Delaney placed her hand on the young woman’s back and spoke
firmly, but tenderly. “The doctor is going to help you. The baby is coming out wrong.
You must lie down now.”

Their gazes locked. When Delaney nodded, Dances With Wind nodded
back. She allowed them to lower her onto the rug. As she slipped down between
them, Delaney glanced around and reached for a hide that was nearby. Rolling it
into a pillow, she laid it under the woman’s head.

It was obvious she was in terrible pain. Even so, she didn’t utter
a sound. Delaney began to massage her shoulders, which seemed to instantly ease
and relax her. In fact, Dances With Wind closed her eyes and seemed to drift
off for a moment. When her head tipped to the side, Delaney felt the pulse in
her neck. “Gabriel! Her pulse is very weak. I think we’re losing her.”