Wild Desire (21 page)

“Yes, Adam and I fought,” Runner said flatly. “But that is all I wish to say about it.”

Leonida immediately fell silent. She went into her house and began quickly gathering together some food for Runner's travels. She knew that he had not had time for breakfast.

When she returned, offering him a leather bag, which smelled pleasantly of freshly baked bread, Runner smiled down at her and accepted it. “You are such a good mother,” he said, bending to kiss her cheek. “Such an admirable woman. I wish more were like you.”

Leonida returned his kiss, wondering over what he had said. From what she had noticed about his feelings for Stephanie, he surely felt the same about her.

Yet there was something in his voice and eyes today that told her that he was being tortured from within about something, and she doubted it was over the fight that he had with Adam. She had to believe that it had something to do with Stephanie.

Yet she knew better than to try and interfere. Her sons had a way of keeping secrets from their mother. This saddened her, yet she had grown used to it and accepted it and loved them no less for it.

Runner placed the food into his saddlebag, then swung himself up onto his horse. “I will do my best to find my brother,” he said, then wheeled his horse around and rode away.

He rode for several hours, even traveling as far as where he had seen Thunder Hawk that one night when it was quite late, but there were no signs of his brother anywhere.

He rode on and on, stopping only to refresh his horse beside a meandering stream and to eat his fill of his mother's delicious bread. Then he rode onward again, watching for the signs of any travelers on all sides of him.

When he knew that his search had taken him perhaps too far than what was normal for Thunder Hawk's travels, he started to turn his horse back in the direction of home, but stopped and edged his steed behind a cover of bushes when he saw two people approaching on horses. His gut twisted when he spied a pack mule ambling behind them.

“Stephanie and Adam!” he hissed through angry, clenched teeth.

With guarded deliberation, he watched their approach. When they rode past him, not realizing he was there, his heart beat angrily within him: the direction of their travel would take them to Canyon de Chelley! Adam was taking Stephanie there for her to photograph what Runner had explained to her was sacred.

She was going against Runner's wishes, and he did not have to think long as to why she felt free to do this. Adam had surely told her that he had confessed everything to Runner about how she was tricking him. Now that she knew that the truth had been told, she obviously did not care what Runner would think about her going to Canyon de Chelley. She was free to do as she pleased.

This proved to Runner that her love for him had never been sincere. She would never photograph what he had asked her not to unless she no longer cared what he thought.

“Little white woman, we shall see about that,” Runner said, anger flushing his face red.

After they got farther up the trail, he began following them.

Chapter 24

Several horses trailing behind him on ropes, Thunder Hawk's heart pounded with a mixture of anticipation and fear as he rode proud and tall on his Navaho horse. Sky Dancer's village was in view. He could hardly wait to see her again, yet fears of being rejected by not only her father but also Sky Dancer ate away at Thunder Hawk. She had no idea that he was arriving at her village to ask for her hand in marriage. He hoped that he had read her eyes correctly the many times they had seen one another at each of their village's joint celebrations and feasts.

He glanced over his shoulder at the horses that he had either found wandering or had stolen from Damon Stout. One by one, his eyes roamed from horse to horse, mentally counting them.

“Fifteen,” he whispered. “Surely that is enough for the bride price.”

It had to be enough. These were all that he had been able to find, or steal, and keep in his secret corral.

He directed his eyes toward the village again as he rode closer to it in a slow lope. It had become too dangerous to steal any more horses from Damon Stout. Word had been brought to Thunder Hawk that Damon had been at Fort Defiance lodging complaints against the Navaho people. That had to mean that Damon's horses would be guarded too closely for Thunder Hawk to ever steal from him again.

“Fifteen,” he repeated. “Will that be enough to please Chief Red Moon?”

Frowning, he recalled Sky Dancer's father. Chief Red Moon's reputation was known far and wide as a fierce leader who dealt severely with those who became his enemy. He had warriors guarding his enchanting daughter both day and night as though she were an untouchable, sacred object.

As he should
, Thunder Hawk thought. She was beautiful beyond words; and so sweet, just looking at her had melted his heart.

“She is only fifteen winters,” Thunder Hawk worried aloud. He feared that this could be one of Chief Red Moon's arguments against his young daughter taking a husband.

“My
own
age could be a problem,” Thunder Hawk continued to worry aloud. In his lifetime, he had only witnessed seventeen winters. In the Navaho tradition, it was the custom for the men to marry at a much later age.

But not every man fell so totally in love at this age, he thought. And not every Navaho brave his age was forced to attend the white man's school. Once married, he would assume the duties of a husband. The foolishness of an education would be no longer forced upon him, as though he were a mere child.

This thought made determination replace his fear. He
must
make a good impression. He
had
to leave this village today with Sky Dancer riding at his side.

A shudder ran through him at the thought of how he might be received back at his village with a bride. He had already deceived his parents by sneaking away from school yesterday to come on this pilgrimage of the heart. Surely when they saw the reason why—that he had gone to seek a wife, and then saw who his bride was—they would no longer be angry at him.

Everyone adored Sky Dancer. Who would not want her as a daughter-in-law?

Still, he thought with another shudder, if Chief Red Moon sent him from the village empty-handed, what excuse could he give his parents then? To make things up to them, he would have to attend school for many weeks without sneaking away.

“Sky Dancer
will
be mine,” he whispered to himself over and over again as he rode closer to the village.

He finally reached it and entered, aware he made quite a sight with many beautiful horses trailing behind him, their hooves making a sound similar to thunder as they beat against the ground. Yes, it was surely a spectacle, one that he was proud to make.

He smiled and nodded at the people as they came and stood at the doors of their hogans. He patted the heads of children as they ran along on each side of his horse, laughing and reaching up to touch him. Owning this many horses seemed to make him into a hero in the eyes of the children. He only hoped that Chief Red Moon would feel some of the enthusiasm generated by the hordes of children as they gathered in even greater numbers around him as he approached the chief's hogan.

Then Thunder Hawk's eyes wavered and his throat tightened when up ahead he saw Chief Red Moon step from his dwelling. He was an imposing figure who stood over six feet in his bare feet and whose weight must have been no less than three hundred pounds. His eyes were dark and set back deep under thick, black eyebrows. The bones of his face were prominent and his nose was hawk-beaked. His bony jawline was heavy, moving solidly into a jutting chin beneath a straight mouth.

Chief Red Moon wore a velveteen shirt and breeches with silver buttons glistening from the sides of his breeches and up the front of his shirt. His hair hung long, black, and sleek across his shoulders, a red velveteen headband holding his hair back at his brow.

The frown that he wore and the locked arms across his chest caused fear once again to grip Thunder Hawk. He could tell that Chief Red Moon was not as taken by this young man who so boldly entered his village with a stampede of horses tied behind him as the children were.

Then Thunder Hawk's heart seemed to drop to his feet when Sky Dancer slipped to her father's side, her dark eyes wide and dancing when she saw who was approaching, and surely understanding why: the horses; they were proof of Thunder Hawk's intentions on this bright and sunny day of late summer.

Thunder Hawk let his eyes trail over Sky Dancer. She wore a fully gathered skirt and velveteen blouse, both of which revealed her tiny waist and luscious curves. Her face had been perfectly molded by the hands of the Great Unseen Power.

As always, her smile was melting Thunder Hawk. Thunder Hawk's eyes locked with Sky Dancer's. His pulse raced when he saw that once again they were communicating their feelings for one another without having spoken.

Intrigued anew by her loveliness, his head began to spin, but feeling the steely gaze of her father on him, he again turned his eyes to the chief.

He drew a tight rein a short distance away from Chief Red Moon and Sky Dancer. There was an obvious absence at the chief's right side, his wife having passed away two moons ago due to a fever.

Dressed in his finest clothes, a pair of fringed breeches, a dark purple velveteen shirt that displayed silver buttons down its front, and a matching velveteen headband that held his long, black hair in place, Thunder Hawk dismounted his horse. He nodded a thank you to a young brave who took his reins and stood obediently beside the horse.

His shoulders squared, his throat dry, and his heart pounding out his fear of standing before this great chief, Thunder Hawk took the few steps required to reach Chief Red Moon.

Once there, he clumsily gave the chief a pleasant greeting, then also extended the same cordial greeting to Sky Dancer, who smiled timidly at him, then cast her eyes even more bashfully to the ground.

“Why have you come?” Chief Red Moon said, not wasting time with further cordialities. He did not even invite Thunder Hawk into his dwelling. “Why have you brought many horses?”

Sky Dancer lifted her head long enough to cast Thunder Hawk a sweet, quick smile, and then once again lowered her eyes humbly to the ground.

“The horses that I have brought to you count fifteen in number,” Thunder Hawk said, turning to motion with a hand toward them. “Do you not see that they are all beautiful?”

He turned back around to face the chief. “Do you see them worthy as a bride price?” he said, his voice drawn and edged with fear.

“A . . . bride . . . price?” Chief Red Moon said, glowering at Thunder Hawk. “For whom?”

Thunder Hawk shuffled his moccasined feet nervously. He cleared his throat. He gave Sky Dancer a wistful stare, then challenged the glare that Chief Red Moon was sending his way.

“Thunder Hawk brings these horses to Chief Red Moon as payment for the privilege of marrying his beautiful daughter,” he finally blurted out.

Many people had gathered around them, whispering and nudging one another, while others had crept close to run their hands down the necks of one or more of the horses.

When Thunder Hawk voiced his intentions, a hush fell over the crowd. All that Thunder Hawk could hear was the harshness of his breathing, and perhaps even the beating of his own heart.

Chief Red Moon took a step closer to Thunder Hawk. He took a slow turn around the young man. Then Red Moon went and stood beside his daughter again. “You lack the years required to be a husband,” he scoffed. “Take your horses and go.”

Gasps wafted through the air around Thunder Hawk, but his own was the loudest. He could not believe that Chief Red Moon could be so quick to deny him what he wanted so much.

Sky Dancer lifted her eyes and looked boldly into his, then gave the same bold, steadfast gaze to her father.

“Father, I do not want him to leave,” Sky Dancer said, no longer pretending to be timid and shy. “Not without
me
.”

Chief Red Moon's eyes lit with a sudden fire. His jaw tightened and his lips pursed as he gave his daughter a disbelieving stare.

“Father, this daughter does not want a man of many years for a husband,” Sky Dancer continued. “Sky Dancer wants Thunder Hawk.”

Her confession made Thunder Hawk's knees weaken with surprise and happiness. He now knew that he had not misread her eyes those many times they had stared at one another during family visits. And surely her dreams had included him, as his had often been filled with her.

At this moment, he felt as though he was experiencing another dream; her wanting him for a husband was something that he had wanted, yet feared never having. He had taken a dangerous chance in coming here today with the bold offering of horses.

Now it seemed as though his heart had led him well in this decision. He did not see how the chief could refuse his daughter her choice of husbands. The whole village had been a witness to her confession.

Chief Red Moon placed gentle hands to Sky Dancer's delicate shoulders. “Daughter, how is it that you know how your heart speaks?” he said quietly. “You have never been alone with Thunder Hawk. You have never been allowed to be alone with
any
man. And he is not a man; he is but a child in my eyes.”

With that, Thunder Hawk straightened his shoulders even more squarely, thrust out his chest, and held his chin high with dignity. He had to prove his worth. He hoped that somehow he reflected some of Sage's nobility, knowing that in so many ways he resembled his chieftain father. If only Chief Red Moon would look past the young man in him, and see him as he would be in the future.

Surely Chief Red Moon understood that this man asking for his daughter's hand in marriage might one day be a powerful Navaho chief. He was from a long line of chiefs, and his father, Sage, carried the title on from his ancestors before him.

Of course, Thunder Hawk knew that Runner would be there to make challenges to the title. But that was far in the future. Chief Sage was a young man in spirit and body.

“Father, when our people met in celebrations and feasts with Thunder Hawk's, I saw him,” Sky Dancer said. “He saw me. Our eyes spoke of our feelings for one another. Sky Dancer is so pleased that I read the right message in Thunder Hawk's eyes—that he loves me as I love him. I want nothing more from life than to be his wife.”

Thunder Hawk's lips parted with a low gasp, having never expected that Sky Dancer's feelings could run this deep for him. It was more than he had ever dreamed possible. To have her at his side forever was something that made everything else seem trivial. He wanted her now more than life itself.

There would be no more schooling. There would only be a wife who stood by his decisions to be the great owner of vast numbers of sheep. They would live the dream together.

Chief Red Moon gaped openly down at his daughter for a few more moments, then drew her into his gentle embrace. “Sky Dancer, this father has never forbidden this daughter anything of the heart,” he said, his voice low and caressing. “Nor will he now.”

“Thunder Hawk and I will have our own private ceremony,” Sky Dancer said.

Chief Red Moon said nothing for a moment, then nodded. “If that is what you wish, then so be it,” he said. Again he hugged her, then stepped away.

Sky Dancer paused and stared up at Thunder Hawk, then dashed toward him and flung herself into his arms. “I do love you,” she whispered, so that only he could hear.

Thunder Hawk's insides melted with the bliss of the moment. He held her a moment longer, then watched her enter the hogan, knowing that she was going there to gather up her belongings.

Feeling that this was unreal, as though it could not truly be happening, he was light-headed and giddy. He smiled clumsily at Chief Red Moon as the chief went to the horses and slowly began checking them over. After each was approved, they were taken away to the chief's pole corral, which was already filled to capacity with handsome steeds.

Chief Red Moon stepped up to Thunder Hawk, patted him on the back, then eyed him up and down, as though measuring his worth. Then he gazed into his eyes. “The horses are of great value and breeding,” he said calmly. “I do not venture to ask how they came into your possession. I take them, anyhow.”

Chief Red Moon chuckled and clasped a hand to Thunder Hawk's shoulder. He leaned closer to Thunder Hawk, so that only he could hear what he said. “I, too, have ventured onto land owned by Damon Stout,” he whispered. “I, too, have added to my herd at his expense.”