Tales of Western Romance (34 page)

Lifting his head, Blue Hawk gazed into
Lynnie’s eyes. And now it was his father’s voice he heard, telling
him that when he met the right woman, he would know it. Lynnie was
that woman, he was sure of it. But why had he found her here, in
this time, and not his own?

How could he stay, knowing he would never see
his mother and father again? Never see Hawk or Blackie or Mary, or
any of their children. His ties to home ran deep, bound by blood to
his family and to the land that had nourished them. If he stayed
here, his parents would never know what had become of him.

And yet, how could he return to Bear Valley?
What kind of future would he have without the woman he loved? How
could he leave her when it meant never seeing her again? Never
tasting her kisses or holding her in his arms? Never hearing her
laughter, or seeing her smile?

“
Daniel, what’s wrong?”

“
I need to go back to the hill where
you first found me.”

Her gaze searched his and then, feeling a
sudden chill, as if someone had walked over her grave, she wrapped
her arms tightly around him, knowing that the day she had dreaded
had arrived.

He made love to her when they got home that
night. Each touch, each kiss and caress tinged with a kind of
desperation, each word edged with sadness and longing. She didn’t
beg him to stay. How would she survive the night if he refused?
Besides, she had no right to ask him to stay. He hadn’t come back
in time to find her, but to spend time with the Cheyenne, to live
in the old way. She had robbed him of that. She would not rob him
of the family that waited for him back in his own time.

He didn’t spend the night in the barn as he
usually did. She wasn’t sure what that meant. Was it because he was
leaving? Or because he had decided to stay? She prayed for the
latter. Hoped he had changed his mind, until he gathered her into
his arms and kissed her good night. His kiss was achingly tender
and she blinked back her tears, knowing it was a prelude to
goodbye.

* * * * *

The next morning, Blue Hawk rose before dawn.
After saddling the dun, he rode away from the ranch, his heart
heavy, already aching with missing her.

He lost track of time as he rode, his mind
replaying every moment he had spent with Lynnie, every touch they
had shared, every kiss and caress. Last night, in his arms, she had
held nothing back. Her love had poured over him, warm and
indescribably sweet.

The sun was high in the sky when he reached
the top of the hill. The brush hut was still there, looking a
little the worse for wear for having braved the elements. Lifting
the flap, he peered inside. The blanket, the wooden tub, and Fox
Hunter’s pipe were where he had left them. His clothes were there,
too, neatly folded. Although he knew it was only his imagination,
he could have sworn the scent of tobacco from Fox Hunter’s pipe
still lingered in the air.

Straightening, Blue Hawk looked up, his arms
reaching toward heaven. “Hear me,
Maheo
,” he called. “Help
me to know what I should do, which path I should follow.”

He paused, listening, but heard only the
sighing of the wind.

“
Half of my heart yearns to stay here,
with my woman. The other half yearns to go home to my people. I am
torn between the two.”

The wind rose, stirring the dust at his feet,
rustling the leaves on the trees.

Blue Hawk stood there, arms raised, the sun
beating down on his head, sweat trickling down his back, until the
sun began to slip into the west.

Lowering his arms, he shook his head. Had he
really expected an answer?

The wind ruffled his hair, sending a chill
skittering down his spine.

Tomorrow, before the sun sets
,
whispered the wind.
If you wish to save the woman, bring her
with you.

Chapter 13

If you wish to save the woman, bring her
with you.
Blue Hawk pondered those words and what they might
mean as he rode back to the ranch. He shook his head. Save Lynnie?
Save her from what? Hoping for enlightenment, he had stayed on the
summit for an hour after hearing those ominous words, but the wind
had died away and silence had reigned on the top of the hill.

It was dark when Blue Hawk rode into the
yard. After unsaddling the dun, he took the porch stairs two at a
time and stepped into the house.

He found Lynnie sitting on the sofa in the
parlor, a handkerchief in her hand, her eyes red and swollen.
“Lynnie, what’s wrong?” he asked, kneeling in front of her.

“
You’re here.”

“
Of course, where else would I
be?”

“
I thought…” She sniffed. “I thought
you went back.”

“
I wouldn’t go without telling you
goodbye.” He reached for her and she slid off the sofa into his
lap. “Lynnie.” He kissed her cheeks, the tip of her nose. “Please,
don’t cry.”

“
I can’t help it.”

Blue Hawk sucked in a deep breath. “I love
you, Lynette Richardson. No matter what the future holds, don’t
ever forget that.”

“
I…I won’t. I…love you,
too.”

He crushed her close, his hand stroking her
hair. How was he going to get her to go back with him? Would she
believe him if he told her the wind had spoken to him? Hell, now
that he was away from the hill, he wasn’t sure he believed it
himself.

* * * * *

Lynnie slid a glance at Daniel. Earlier, she
had fixed him dinner; now, they sat side by side on the sofa, an
awkward silence between them.

“
Where did you go so early this
morning?” she asked.

“
I went back to the hill where you
found me.”

“
Oh.” She took a deep breath, certain
her heart was breaking. She didn’t have to ask why. She knew. His
time here was almost up.

“
Lynnie, I’ve got to go.”

She blinked rapidly to hold back her tears.
“I know.”

When she started to rise, he took hold of her
hand, pulling her back down beside him. “Lynnie, I went there to
pray.”

She stared at him. She hadn’t prayed much
lately. After the deaths of her parents, she hadn’t been sure
anyone was listening. “What were you praying for?”

“
Guidance. I want to stay here, with
you,” he said, squeezing her hand, “but I feel like I need to go
home.” He took a deep breath. “And you should come with
me.”

“
What?” She shook her head. “God told
you that?”

“
In a way.” He closed his eyes for a
moment and in that instant, he saw the ranch house. It was engulfed
in flames. Cowhands lay dead in the yard. Ese’henahkohe and dozens
of young Cheyenne warriors were silhouetted in the fire. Blue Hawk
shook his head. Had he caused this by coming here? Or had he been
sent here to save Lynnie? Either way, he had to get her away from
the ranch before tomorrow night.

“
What are you talking about? Daniel?
You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“
You have to trust me, Lynnie. We have
to leave here. Everyone has to leave here tomorrow, before
sundown.”

“
Daniel, you’re scaring me.”

“
I know.” Springing to his feet, he
began to pace the room. “The Cheyenne are going to attack the ranch
tomorrow night. If we don’t get out of here, they’ll kill us all.
You have to believe me.”

She stared up at him. His face was lined with
worry, his eyes dark, haunted. She had no doubt he believed what he
was saying. “How can you know this?”

“
The wind told me,” he said.

“
The wind?”

“
The Great Spirit spoke to me through
the wind,” he clarified. “I know it sounds crazy, but you’ve got to
believe me.”

“
I believe in you,” Lynnie said. “We’ll
leave tomorrow.”

* * * * *

Lynnie went to talk to the cowhands first
thing in the morning. Jase and the other men looked at her as if
she’d gone insane when she ordered them to pack up their belongings
and go into town, and instructed them to take Adele with them.

Grumbling, the men went to do as bidden.

Returning to the house, Lynnie went into her
bedroom and packed the few things she owned that were important to
her – a tintype of her mother and father on their wedding day, her
father’s silver pocket watch, a delicate figurine of a ballerina
that had belonged to her grandmother. Lynnie glanced around her
room, adding her mother’s pearls and wedding ring to the pile.
There were surprisingly few mementos she cared about, she thought,
but then things had never been important to her. She folded her
favorite dress and put in into her valise, along with her
hairbrush, pins, and a change of underwear.

She paused a moment, then shook her head.
What was she doing? Did she really believe that the wind had told
Daniel her life was in danger? She shook her head again. She didn’t
believe in visions, but, as she had told Daniel, she believed in
him.

Closing the valise, she carried it
downstairs. A glance out the front window showed her palomino and
the dun were saddled and ready to go. It seemed wrong to run away,
to leave the land her father had fought so hard to keep.

With a sigh, she went outside, wondering if
there would be anything left when they returned.

* * * * *

Lynnie glanced backward repeatedly as she
followed Daniel toward the high bluff where Jase had shot him. The
dust from her herd and that of Jase and the cowboys, was barely
visible in the distance. She had given Jase a letter, to be opened
if she didn’t return, granting him ownership of the land, the
stock, and the house.

Daniel was oddly silent as they began the
upward climb. When they reached the summit, she was surprised to
see the funny-shaped brush hut still standing.

Dismounting, Daniel lifted her from the back
of her horse, then unsaddled the palomino and the dun. Both horses
immediately began grazing on a patch of yellow grass.

Blue Hawk picked up the canteens he had
brought and slung the straps over his shoulder. “Are you
ready?”

She picked up her valise, then shrugged.
“Ready for what?”

“
That remains to be seen,” he said, and
taking her by the hand, he ducked inside the lodge.

After reshaping the fire pit, he added an
armful of wood from what remained of the pile he had gathered when
he was here with Fox Hunter. He touched a match to a handful of
kindling, filled the wooden bucked with water from the canteens,
then stood there, his arms crossed over his chest, waiting for the
stones to heat.

Sitting on the blanket facing the doorway,
Blue Hawk gestured for Lynnie to sit beside him.

“
Listen, Lynnie, while I pray, I need
you to sprinkle water over the stones. Can you do that?”

She nodded.

“
Okay, here we go.” After lighting the
pipe, he clasped one of Lynnie’s hands tightly in his. Then, taking
a deep calming breath, he offered the pipe to the four directions,
to mother earth and father sky. He puffed on it four times, then
laid the pipe aside.

Lifting his head, he began to chant softly,
sending a fervent prayer to
Heammawihio
that the Great
Spirit would grant him and his woman a safe journey back to Bear
Valley and the people he had left there.

He could feel Lynnie shivering with tension
as she sprinkled the cold water over the hot stones. Soon, the air
was thick with steam.

Blue Hawk continued chanting and as he did
so, he saw shadowy movements on the lodgeskins. There was his
father, his long black hair blowing in the wind as he raced a red
stallion across an endless prairie. There was his mother, her head
bowed in prayer. And there…there was Lynnie, cradling a dark-haired
baby in her arms.

Stunned, Blue Hawk fell silent.

The steam dissipated.

Lynnie! He glanced quickly to his left to
find her staring at him, her eyes wide, her face pale. She swayed
unsteadily and he lifted her onto his lap, one hand stroking her
hair.

“
It’s all right, Lynnie,” he said.
“Whether we’re still in your time, or in mine, everything will be
all right.”

Chapter 14

Blue Hawk pulled Lynnie to her feet. For a
moment, he held her close and then, his heart hammering with
apprehension, he lifted the door flap and stepped out of the lodge,
drawing Lynnie with him.

The palomino and the dun were gone, but Blue
Hawk hardly noticed the absence of the horses when he saw the man
riding up the hill toward him leading two saddled horses.

“
Neyho
.” Blue Hawk breathed the
word in wonder as his father reached the summit.

Swinging from the back of his mount before
the horse had come to a halt, Shadow embraced his son.
“
Naeha!”

Blue Hawk blinked the tears from his eyes.
They stood together for several moments before Shadow stepped back,
his gaze moving over Lynnie. “Who is this?”

“
Neyho
, this is Lynette
Richardson. She saved my life. Lynnie, this is my father, Two Hawks
Flying, but we just call him Shadow.”

“
I’m pleased to meet you, sir,” she
said, with a curtsey.

“
You are welcome here,” Shadow said,
smiling. “Come, we must go. Hannah is waiting for you.”

“
My mother,” Blue Hawk explained as he
lifted Lynnie onto the back of one of the horses, then glanced at
his father. “How did you know we were coming?” Blue Hawk
asked.

“
I saw you, in a vision,” he said.
“Both of you.” He winked at Lynnie. “Hannah is already making plans
for the wedding.”