Westward Dreams (19 page)

He and Squirrel finished taking care of the mother and child.  He whispered his goodbye to the two women and kissed the baby before crawling out of the tipi and ducking back into the woods. 

              Spirits ran high at the Watering Hole that afternoon.  Joe made a speech about justice prevailing and how proud he was that it had been mainly an orderly affair since there had been good cooperation by all parties.  Then he and Jamie sang while Luke played fiddle and Wendell played piano.  The beer and whiskey flowed and there was a lot of dancing. 

Towards evening, Owl took Tessa aside.

“Thank you for speaking for me.  I feel that it was your words that made people vote not guilty.  I owe you my life and I’ll forever be in your debt,” Owl told her.

Tessa smiled at him.  “It was my pleasure.  I only spoke the truth, Owl.  I would trust you with my children anytime.”  Then she hugged him.  “You’re a good man.”

“Thank you,” he said as he hugged her back. 

Dean came over and said, “Are you trying to move in on my wife?”

Owl laughed.  “No. Nothing to worry about there.”

“You’re lucky,” Dean joked.  “Your job is waiting for you.  Will I see you in a couple of days?”

Owl nodded.  “Yes.  I’ll be there,” he said.

He and Dean shook hands.  Owl said to Hannah, “I need to go tell my family that I’m fine and that it’s all over.  I’ll see you at your house in a while, ok?”

Hannah nodded.  “Yes.  I’ll be there.”

He kissed her and left. 

Owl hadn’t a horse so he ran to the village.  It felt good to stretch his legs after being confined in the jail cell for so long.  His hair whipped behind him as his long legs carried him along at full speed.  He reached camp and headed straight for Black Fox’s tipi.  Wind Spirit sat outside with a baby in a cradleboard which was propped up against the tipi so she could keep an eye on her.

Owl smiled.  “Greetings, sister,” Owl said as he stopped before the tipi.

Wind Spirit gave a cry of joy and rose slowly to greet him.  Owl gently embraced her.

“Congratulations,” Owl said.  “How are you?”

Wind Spirit said, “I’m fine.  Sore and tired, but good.  Come meet your niece.”

Owl took the baby out of the cradleboard and held her in his arms.  He smiled down at her.  “Does she have a name yet?”

“No.  We have not figured out something that we like yet,” Wind Spirit said

“You will,” Owl said as he kissed the little one and put her back in the cradleboard.  “She’s beautiful.”

“Yes.  Thanks to someone who came to help,” she whispered.

Owl smiled.  “Ah, I see.  Where is our chief?”

“He and He Who Runs are with the council.  There is much arguing, Owl.”

Owl frowned.  “This is all because of me.  I’ll go talk to them.”

At the council lodge, Owl scratched on the door for admittance.  He Who Runs popped his head out and then hurried from the lodge to embrace Owl.  The two brothers laughed and soon Black Fox and the council members joined him.  There was a joyous reunion with their brother and it seemed like the tension was broken for a little while.

Then Owl grew serious.  “I am angry with you all.”

White Horse said, “Why do you say this?”

“Because you have turned your backs on one of our own over something that was my fault alone.  He and his other family have been very kind to us and now you have greatly offended them.  I am ashamed,” Owl said.  His dark gaze touched on each council member.  “We should ask for their forgiveness and welcome them back, if they will come.”

Owl’s statements ignited more heated debate and they filed back into the council lodge to discuss the issue.  Owl wasn’t on the council, but he joined them anyway.  He felt that he should speak on Marcus’ behalf.

The arguing grew heated until Black Fox yelled, “Enough!”  He thought about how Marcus had risked his life to help Wind Spirit with the birth of their little girl.  Black Fox would no longer tolerate any more bigotry against his brother or family.  “It is apparent that we are not all going to agree on this and that it will turn us against one another.  It pains me greatly to have to do this, but I think it would be best for those who do not want Silver Ghost our white friends and family to come here anymore to leave and make your own tribe.  Those who still want to associate with them can stay.  I have spoken on the matter and as chief I have the right to decide such a thing.”

Stunned silence followed Black Fox’s statement.  All looked at Black Fox’s fierce expression of reproach and knew that he was completely serious.

Red Bear said, “Are you sure you want to take a chance on who will stay and who will go?  You may not be left with very many people.”

Black Fox gave Red Bear a challenging stare.  He was a formidable presence and Red Bear looked away a little.  “Then so be it.  It is better to be true to what I believe is right than to give in to criticism.  Let the people do what they must.  We will make the announcement immediately.  Hear this, from this moment on, Silver Ghost and all the rest are allowed to come to the village and will not be harmed.”

Red Bear and several of the other council members left the lodge.  White Horse said, “Chief, I think you have chosen wisely.  Your grandfather would be proud.”

“Thank you, White Horse.  Your support is appreciated.  Let us go make the announcement,” Black Fox said and exited the lodge.

Of the one hundred twelve Lakota men and women in Black Fox’s tribe, thirty-eight decided to leave.  Some families were broken up by this because not all of the members agreed.  It caused much grief, but staying would cause even more strife and possible violence.  They began packing right away and planned to leave in the morning.

Black Fox was saddened to see some of his own family and friends go, but it was for the best.  The chief distracted himself from his grief by holding his new daughter and playing with their sons.  Owl said that he would go tell Marcus what had transpired before he went on to Hannah’s house.

              Hannah waited anxiously for Owl to come to her.  She’d prepared a meal for them in celebration and the scents of chicken and blueberry pie wafted through the house.  With the trial behind them, Hannah was excited about the future.  When the verdict had been read and she’d heard not guilty, she could have fainted with relief.  She hadn’t been able to help crying in Owl’s arms afterwards.

              As Owl approached Hannah’s house, delicious aromas reached him and his stomach growled.  Before he went inside, he stopped and looked at the pretty little house.  He smiled as he remembered how afraid of houses he used to be.  While Sammi and Joe’s houses still made him uneasy, he found that Hannah’s house didn’t do that to him.

              Suddenly he wondered what it would be like living there.  Waking up every morning with Hannah and going to bed with her every night certainly appealed to him.  Just being with her every moment possible would be wonderful.  He’d told Hannah that he didn’t know what the future held and he still wasn’t quite sure.  His shoulder was doing better, but it was untested concerning shooting bow and arrow and other combat moves. 

              The uncertainty of whether he would leave in the fall rose again and Owl grew very frustrated.  Then he shook it off as he thought about Hannah.  She was waiting and all he wanted to do was be with her.  Owl shoved his worries about the future away and entered the house.

              Hannah was at the stove and saw him come in the door.

              “There you are,” she said with a smile.

              Owl said, “Yes.  Something smells great.”

              He waited until she was done stirring gravy before pulling her to him and kissing her soundly.  They parted and Hannah sighed.  “I missed that.”

              Owl chuckled.  “You’re not the only one.”

              She smiled and said, “Wash up.  Supper is ready.”

              “Ok,” Owl said.

              They sat down to a dinner of baked chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans.  Hannah knew that they were all foods that Owl enjoyed.  As they ate, Owl told Hannah what had transpired in camp and while she was sad that some of his family and friends had decided to leave, she was glad that a resolution had been reached.

              After dessert had been eaten, Hannah rose to clear away the dishes, but Owl stopped her.  There was a heated look in his eyes that made her breath catch.  She was ready for him when he slid his arms around her waist and brought his mouth down hard on hers.  Hannah reveled in his possessive actions.  Her response was immediate and desire consumed them.  Owl couldn’t believe how lucky he was to be alive and with the woman he loved so much.

              He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom despite the pain it set off in his shoulder.  All Owl knew was that he needed her and she obviously felt the same way.  Their clothes were quickly shed and Hannah sighed with pleasure as Owl laid her down and showed her how much he’d missed her.

              As he’d promised Dean, Owl returned to work on the ranch a couple of days later.  Hannah had gone to work the day before, but Owl had wanted to say goodbye to those of his tribe who were leaving.  It was hard to bid them farewell, but he felt that his brother had made a good decision.

              When he showed up the following day, he was enthusiastically greeted by everyone and then Dean told him to get to work.  Owl laughed and began cleaning stalls.  His shoulder didn’t mind the work too much.   

              Throughout the day, Owl made sure to be as much of a pain to Dean as he could.  He was making up for lost time.  Though Dean acted irritated on the outside, inside he was amused by Owl’s smart remarks and pranks.  He’d missed Owl and was glad to have him back.

              Hannah hummed happily as she cleaned an examination room and swept the floor.  For the past two weeks, Owl had basically been living at her house even though he came near dark and left early in the morning.  She had never been so happy.

              Marcus sat in his office going over a couple of charts.  It was near the end of the day and all of their patients had been seen.  He listened to Hannah’s humming and smiled.  It did his heart good to know that she and Owl were very contented together.  He wondered when Owl was going to make things official.

              He finished his charts, rose from his chair, and stretched.  “C’mon, Nurse Fairbanks.  Let’s get out of here.”

              “Yes, Dr. Samuels,” Hannah said and put away her cleaning things.

              Marcus laughed.  “I don’t know when I’m ever going to get used to being called that.”

              “You will,” Hannah said.

              “I’m just not a formal person, I guess.  A few people have called me ‘Doc’ and I always look around for the real Doc,” he said.

              Hannah chuckled.  “It’ll just take a little time.”

              Marcus yawned.  “I guess you’re right.”

              Outside, he bid Hannah goodnight and they parted ways.  When Hannah got home, Owl was already there.  His horse was tied near her horse shed.  She put hers away and went inside.  He lay on the sofa and though he seemed to be dozing, Hannah knew better. 

              “Ok, you.  You’re awake,” Hannah said.

              Owl couldn’t keep a straight face.  “How do you always know that?”

              “Because I know what you look like when you’re really sleeping,” she said as she lit a lamp.

              He sat up and looked at her.  He thought she always looked pretty in her uniform.  “So you watch me sleep, huh?”

              Hannah nodded.  “Sometimes.  You look so peaceful.”

              “I watch you sleep, too.  You look beautiful,” Owl said as he felt a spark of desire.

              Hannah laughed and said, “I know that look and not right now.  I’m hungry.”

              “So am I,” Owl said with a grin.

              “Not until you feed me, mister,” Hannah said.

              Owl was about to respond when something smashed through her parlor window and landed on the floor.  Flames began spreading along the woven rug.  Hannah screamed and Owl leaped from the couch and pushed her away from the flames.  Another flaming bottle came through the kitchen window.

              Owl propelled Hannah to the doorway between the two rooms and stood with his arms around her protectively.  They were away from the windows.  No more Molotov cocktails came and they set about fighting the flames.  Owl snatched an afghan from one of the wing backed chairs and began beating at the fire in the parlor.  Hannah pumped water into a pot and worked on the flames that licked along the floor in the kitchen.

              When Owl had successfully smothered the fire in the parlor, he went to help Hannah with the kitchen, but she had it out by the time he made it there. 

              Both of them stood breathing heavily as they looked into each other’s eyes.  Neither of them needed to say anything; they knew what each other was thinking.  Owl took her hand and led her cautiously outside.  They rode double on his horse to the sheriff’s station to report what had happened.

              Jack was on duty and was incensed.  “I think we all know who’s responsible but since you didn’t see them, we can’t prove anything.  They’re a bunch of cowards,” he said.  “I’ll make a report and at least we’ll have a record of it.  They better leave you alone from here on out.”

              Neither Hannah nor Owl slept that night.  They lay holding each other and listening to every noise, poised for anything that might come.

              Over the next week it became apparent that the harassment was not going to stop.  Clive’s friends and family caused trouble for the couple every chance they got.  If Owl was walking down the street, they followed him and insulted him.  Owl never reacted, however.  He couldn’t afford any kind of conflict or else he would be hanged.  So no matter how vindictive their taunts were Owl got rid of whoever hassled him by going into one of the stores or crossing the street and putting distance between them.

              Hannah endured some of the same treatment and it got so that Sammi often walked with her around town so that they left her alone.  One day Hannah had gone to the Grady House to pick up some sandwiches for her and Marcus for lunch.  On her way back to the clinic, two men followed her closely.  The things they said about her were intensely hateful and she finally had enough and turned around to confront them.

              “You leave me alone!” she shouted.  “I’ve done nothing wrong and you know it.  You’re cowards and no more than common thugs and if you keep this up, I’ll report you.  Do not follow me!”  She tried to go on her way again, but one man put a hand on her arm.

              “What’s he got that one of us don’t?” he said.

              “Take your hand off me!” she said.

              People around them were starting to look at them.  A few of them just looked away, but Gus, who was nearby, heard her shout and started coming towards them.

              “Hey!  Knock it off, you two!  Leave her be!” Gus’ lean face registered his anger and the man released Hannah.  Both men walked away.  “Are you ok?” Gus asked Hannah.

              Hannah rubbed her arm where the man had gripped her and said, “Yes.  Thank you, Gus.  I have to get back to work.”

              “Don’t mention it.  Take care, now,” Gus said and watched with concern as Hannah walked away.

              Marcus saw Hannah wipe away a tear when she came into his office to give him a sandwich.

              “What’s wrong?” he asked.

              Hannah burst into tears of anger and fear.  After a few moments, she was able to tell Marcus what had happened.

              Rage swept through the doctor.  “This has gone way too far,” he said.

              “I know, but what can be done?  They know to do these things when I’m alone and it’s my word against theirs,” Hannah said.  “Gus was there this time, but they usually make sure that I’m by myself.  Sammi can’t always be with me.  She has a life of her own and can’t constantly babysit me.”

              Marcus sighed.  Hannah was right.  Short of hiring a bodyguard, there was no reasonable way to constantly make sure that Hannah was never alone. 

              “I don’t want Owl to know about this,” Hannah said.

              Marcus pursed his lips and then said, “I know, but the problem is that if you don’t tell him, he’s gonna hear it somewhere else and he’ll be twice as mad.  This has got to end.  There’s only so much a person can take and eventually he’s going to explode.”

              “That’s what I’m afraid of.  He only comes into town when necessary as it is.  He shouldn’t have to hide,” Hannah said.

              Marcus knew she was right, but he didn’t have a solution.