Savage Summer (24 page)

Wolfrunner found a place where a bolder jutted out from the mountains, partially protecting them from the rain. He placed Danielle down and then knelt beside her. “If you do not want this thing, you must say so now. Later it may be too late, Danielle.”

For her answer, she leaned forward and offered him her lips. She wasn’t sure if the groan she heard came from her or from Wolfrunner. She only knew he was kissing her and making her feel all funny inside.

His hands were trembling as he gently pushed her clothing aside. There was a hard rocky surface below them, so he pulled her on top of his body so the rough stones wouldn’t cut into her soft skin.

Danielle felt her head reeling as he lifted her up and placed her against his naked flesh. How glorious was the sensation of feeling his hard muscles fitting into her body as if they were meant to fit together.

“Danielle, Danielle,” he whispered over and over. “Danielle!” he finally cried out in agony.

Wolfrunner knew he wasn’t thinking clearly. All he knew was that he and Danielle might never make it back to the village. There was a chance that Scar Face would come out the winner in their contest of skill and strength. He would take what happiness he could tonight. The woman he loved was in his arms, and he knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her. Danielle’s soft body had driven him to the brink of madness. Wolfrunner knew he had to have her.

“You are my heart,” he whispered against her sweet lips. “I love you with my whole being.” The words were spoken in Blackfoot—Danielle did not know that the man she loved had just bared his soul to her.

So far the homeward journey had been a painful haze for Skyler. She and her Uncle Tag had little to say to one another. They were both worried about what they would find once they reached the Blackfoot village. In each of their minds dwelled the possibility that Danielle might already be dead.

Days passed and they pushed themselves past endurance. When they reached St. Louis, Tag bought horses and supplies and they pushed onward once more. They followed the Missouri River, sometimes by barge, other times on horseback, until at last they came to Fort Leavenworth.

As they rode up to the fort, a sentry passed them through the gates. Tag dismounted and helped Skyler from her horse. He remembered being here as a young boy. He and Joanna had briefly stayed with Colonel Jackson and his wife, Kate. He noticed that the fort had changed but little since then.

“We will need to stock up on supplies here, honey,” he told Skyler. “If you are too tired to go on, we can rest a few days. I have been pushing you hard,” he said with concern written on his face.

“I am not tired, Uncle Tag. I will be ready to leave when you are.”

He smiled at her kindly. “This hasn’t been easy on you, has it, Skyler?”

“It hasn’t been easy on either of us, Uncle Tag. I know what you are going through. I just wish I could help you. I want to give you words of encouragement, but at the same time I don’t want to raise false hopes. We both know the problems we are facing.”

“We’ll get through this, Skyler. We just have to take one day at a time.” He tied their horses to the hitching post and
motioned for her to follow him into the supply store where he purchased food and blankets.

They had decided to spend the night inside the fort and start out early the next morning. Tag took Skyler to her room and told her he would return later.

Skyler looked about the crude cabin with its wooden chairs and a bed with a lumpy mattress. It seemed curious that the farther they got from Philadelphia, the cruder the houses and buildings became. They were leaving the white man’s civilization behind and moving on toward the great wilderness.

She opened her leather satchel and withdrew her beaded buckskin gown and moccasins. After today she would cease being Skyler Dancing. After today, she could be herself—there was no reason to pretend to be something she wasn’t.

When Tag entered the room a short time later, he was startled to find his niece dressed in her Indian gown and moccasins. He couldn’t believe the change in her. Her hair was braided and encircled with a leather headband. Her knee-length moccasins disappeared beneath the fringe at the bottom of her gown. She was sitting on the bed dangling her feet just off the floor. She held her breath waiting for him to say something. For some reason she needed to be accepted as herself.

He smiled slowly. “I see no evidence of the elegant Miss Skyler Dancing. Is this some lovely young Indian princess I behold?”

“I am Sky Dancer, Uncle Tag. I will never again go by my white name. Please do not be hurt, but I want never to return to your world.”

He drew her into his arms and patted her back affectionately, now knowing the harm that had been done to her. “I now believe it was wrong to try and take you and Danielle out of the lives to which you were accustomed. In your case we took a lovely wildflower and tried to strip it of its true beauty. Can you ever forgive us for that, Sky Dancer?”

“There is nothing to forgive. I just didn’t fit into the white
world,” she said sadly, laying her head against his broad shoulder. “I am not even certain that I will fit back into the Indian world, Uncle Tag.”

“You were deeply hurt by Morgan’s attitude toward the Indians weren’t you?”

Sky Dancer raised her head and looked at him. She loved this tall blond man who was almost as dear to her as her own father. She knew the torture he was going through, worrying over Danielle. She didn’t want to cause him further pain, so she smiled.

“I will survive. All you need be concerned with is getting to my village as quickly as possible.”

He looked deeply into the eyes that reminded him so much of Joanna’s. “I don’t know if I have told you this or not, but I am so proud of you. You are a credit to your mother and father.”

Her arms went about his neck and he held her tightly. He’d never realized until now just how much she had been suffering. Sky Dancer was not given to complaining as Danielle had been. Rather she suffered in silence.

“Are you hungry?” he asked in a lighter vein.

“Starved,” she admitted.

“Good, because I have brought us a feast, if you consider dining on army food feasting.”

They dined on roasted corn, beans, and corncakes. After they had eaten, Tag stretched out on his bedroll, giving Sky Dancer the bed. They were both exhausted and soon fell asleep, thinking about the long journey that still lay ahead of them. There would be days and weeks of hard riding before they would ever know what Danielle’s fate was.

The next morning as they rode out of the fort, Sky Dancer heard several of the soldiers calling after her. “Are you a squaw of a breed?” one man asked. “I’d like to be your chief,” another called out suggestively. “Come warm my tipi any day, sweet thing,” another hooted.

Tag watched Sky Dancer raise her head proudly, with her
eyes looking straight ahead. Only he knew how she was hurting on the inside. He could have easily started trouble over the soldiers’ remarks, but that would only have caused Sky Dancer more pain. It was better to let the matter drop, since the harm had already been done. He was never prouder of her than when she glanced over at him and smiled.

“I am the daughter of Windhawk, Uncle Tag. No one can make me ashamed of that fact.”

He gave her a warm glance, too choked up to speak. Indeed, he thought. She was a daughter worthy of the great chief of the Blood Blackfoot. A princess in her own right, an angel among the dirty swine at the fort.

Sky Dancer set her sights on the distant mountains. Soon, she thought…soon, she would be home! Perhaps the pain of the last weeks wouldn’t be as acute when she was reunited with her mother and father.

Morgan sat in the Jameses’ parlor, staring at Alexandria. He couldn’t help but notice how her hand shook as she poured the tea and handed it to him, while trying to avoid his eyes. The doctor in him told him something was very definitely wrong here.

He had tried to stay away because that was the way Skyler had wanted it, but he couldn’t get her out of his mind. He was here now demanding to know where he could find Skyler, and he was in no mood to be put off by unanswered questions. He noticed Alexandria’s eyes kept darting to the door as if she were expecting someone.

“What’s going on, Alexandria? I don’t understand any of what has happened. All I want you to do is tell me where I can find Skyler—is that too much to ask?”

Her golden eyes met his and he saw sadness there. “I cannot help you in this, Morgan. You must not ask me any more questions.”

“I can see you are upset. Is there anything I can do to help? Would you like me to send for your doctor—or perhaps you would like me to give you something to help you rest?”

“No, I will be fine. I just cannot seem to talk to anyone right now.”

Morgan stood up and started pacing the floor. “Do you have any idea what all this is doing to me, Alexandria? I feel like I’m battling a blank wall. You have got to tell me what is happening, or at least tell me where I can find Skyler. I don’t care if she’s at the end of the earth, I’ll go after her. I have had two weeks to think this through, and I have come to the realization that all that matters is that I love Skyler and she loves me. Anything beyond that is unimportant.”

At that point Farley, the grizzly old trapper, entered the room and looked Morgan over with a practiced eye. Nodding his head, he sat down beside Alexandria.

“Morgan, I would like you to meet a very dear family friend, Farley. Farley, this is a friend and neighbor, Dr. Morgan Prescott. He’s also a colonel in the army,” she said, glad for the interruption.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance,” Farley replied. He’d overheard part of the conversation between Alexandria and Morgan Prescott and was sizing the man up. His eyes went to Alexandria and he could see she was very upset.

“Don’t you think you oughta be in bed, Alex?” Farley asked with concern.

“Yes, perhaps you are right,” she said, standing up. “If you will excuse me, Morgan, I think I’ll go and lie down. I’m sure you’ll understand.”

Morgan stood up and watched her rush out of the room, feeling frustrated. Everywhere he turned he seemed to meet with opposition.

Farley leaned back and popped a sweetcake into his mouth. “I seed you’re in the Calvary,” he observed.

“That’s right, Mr. Farley. But not for much longer. I’m on leave until I receive my discharge papers,” Morgan said, looking the old man over. The old trapper’s manner of speech was coarse and he wore buckskins and scuffed boots. His beard and hair were as white as snow, and Morgan was puzzled as to
how such an odd character could be a friend of the James family.

“Name’s not Mr. Farley,” the old trapper corrected. “It’s just Farley, lessen you want to call me by my Indian name, Crazy Fox.”

“How well do you know the James family, Farley?” Morgan asked, wondering if the old man might be able to help him find Skyler.

“I knowed them good as some and better than most,” the old man said, eyeing Morgan shrewdly.

“How about the Dancing side of the family? Are you acquainted with them as well?”

Farley’s eyes narrowed. “What iffen I am? I just heard Alex tell you she wouldn’t help you find Sky…ler.”

Morgan opened the top button of his uniform and sat down beside Farley. “If you heard me talking to Alexandria, you must also have heard me say that Skyler and I love each other. I want to find her, Farley. I know I can make her happy. Will you help me in this?”

“What makes you think you can make her happy?”

“Because she loves me. Something went wrong between us, and I don’t know what it is. I am half out of my mind, thinking I may never see her again.”

Both men heard someone enter the room and turned toward the doorway. Alexandria paused as if she were having a hard time speaking. At last she looked into the eyes of the dear old trapper. “I have been thinking it over, Farley, and I believe you should tell Morgan about Skyler.”

“Are you sure?” he asked. “Don’t you want to think on it a spell longer?”

“No, my mind is made up. We must tell him everything,” she said, sitting down on the edge of a satin-covered chair. “There has been too much unhappiness lately. It’s time to tell the truth.”

Farley stood up and placed a cushion at Alexandria’s back. He poured her a fresh cup of tea and handed it to her, then drew up a footstool to sit beside her, as if he were her watchdog.

Morgan watched impatiently, wondering why they were acting so strangely. “For God’s sake, will you tell me what’s the big mystery,” he ground out between clenched teeth.

“When do you have to report to Fort Laramie?” Alexandria asked.

“I resigned my commission a week ago. I won’t be going to Fort Laramie—why?”

“How much do you love Skyler?” she asked point-blank. “Is your love strong enough to overcome prejudice?”

His eyes clouded over. “I don’t really understand what you are asking me. I love her more than I ever thought to love anyone,” he admitted. “Why do you think I’m here?”

“I wonder if you love her enough?” Alexandria asked as she studied her hands that were clasped in her lap. “Do you love her enough to accept her no matter what you hear about her?”

“Nothing on earth could make me stop loving her. Did she tell you that I asked her to be my wife?”

Alexandria shook her head. “No, but then Skyler keeps much of her feelings to herself.”

“Tell me where I can find her, Alexandria,” Morgan said urgently. “I will go to her wherever she is.”

“Do you recall the day you had just come from Washington?” she asked.

“Yes, of course. I was going to ask Skyler to marry me that day, but something happened. I remember very clearly that she became upset. What I don’t know is why.”

“I can tell you why, Morgan. She became upset when you were talking about the only good Indian being a dead Indian. You made the mistake that so many people make. You think just because someone doesn’t act and think as you do that they are beneath you. You don’t realize that the white race is stealing the Indian lands and when the Indian tries to protect what belongs to him, you say he is a savage.”

Morgan was astonished by Alexandria’s emotional outbreak. He looked at the old man and found his eyes cold as ice.

“What has all this to do with Skyler? I suppose you are telling me she doesn’t like prejudice.” He looked puzzled for
a moment. “No. That couldn’t be right. She wouldn’t turn away from me just because I detest the Indians.”

“Wouldn’t she, Morgan?” Alexandria asked. “What if I told you her name isn’t really Skyler Dancing…but Sky Dancer! Would you understand then?”

Morgan closed his eyes, trying to digest what Alexandria was telling him. “My God,” he said in an agonized voice. “Skyler is an Indian! No wonder I hurt her that day in the summerhouse. Why didn’t someone tell me? I have been going over and over in my mind, trying to rationalize what happened. Now it all comes together.”

“Now it ain’t ’zactly true when you say Sky Dancer’s an Indian,” Farley spoke up. “Her pa’s the chief of the Blood Blackfoot, but her ma’s white. Sky Dancer is an Indian princess. She ain’t never been near no one who looked down on her or her race before. In the Blackfoot tribe she is honored and revered.”

Morgan stood up and walked over to the window. He had been a blind fool. Why hadn’t he seen what was right before his eyes? He turned slowly back to Alexandria. “I don’t understand any of this.”

“It’s all very simple, Morgan. Joanna is Tag’s sister. She was once rescued by Windhawk, the chief of the Bloods. She fell in love with him and turned her back on the white world, and they were married. Sky Dancer is a child of that union.”

He shook his head as if to clear it. “I can see how Skyler might…Dear God, I must have hurt her. She must have thought I would hate her if I found out about her father.”