He hadn’t shared the bison robe with Riley since that night by the lake. He couldn’t be near her like that again. Every day since then, he’d found an excuse to take her hand to help her navigate a difficult section of terrain, or touch her in some other way, even when he’d told himself what a mistake it was to do so. He hadn’t wanted to let her go when he’d held her in his arms after her encounter with that black bear. The more he tried not to think of her, the more she burrowed herself firmly in his thoughts.
She was beautiful to look at, but she didn't see herself that way. Why else would she hide behind those glasses? She was exceptionally intelligent and absorbed information like a parched tuft of grass after a good rain. Her clumsiness was amusing, and it somehow made her more desirable. And, she understood him.
His attraction to her was more powerful than anything the Sky People could unleash on him, but he was at a loss as to what to do about it. Riley didn’t belong here. Her place was in the future, and he would help her get back to her own time.
She had surprised him when she’d mentioned the Sheepeater marriage custom, leaving him momentarily at a loss for words. The color had drained from her face when he’d told her that everyone would assume she was his wife. She’d seemed rather relieved when he’d told her that he didn’t plan to uphold the custom.
The urge to kiss her at that moment had been stronger than the winds blowing in the high mountains on a stormy day. He’d had sense enough to back away that day, but how much longer would his resolve hold? Perhaps he was being tested somehow, but not by the Sky People.
Dogs barked, and a half dozen children laughed and chattered excitedly long before the hunters entered the village. The children surrounded the men who walked ahead of him. The six dogs that had accompanied them on their hunt each pulled a travois heavily laden with several butchered bighorn sheep. Cam’s eyes fell on the travois that carried the ram he’d killed. The old man he’d always addressed as Toko while he lived with the clan had offered him his horn bow for the hunt.
“This bow has always brought down game for me. It will do the same for you, Cameahwait,” Toko had told him, after the shaman had announced that a group of men would go on a hunt to celebrate Cam’s return.
“I will bring back the best piece of meat for you, Grandfather.” Cameron had bowed to the hunchbacked old man. The top of his head barely reached Cam’s chest.
Although this hunt had delayed his plans to leave the camp in search of the Sky People, Cam had joined out of necessity. He needed a new bow of his own, and that required the horns of a bighorn ram. Even so, it would take several weeks or longer to make. He’d also promised Day Star, the woman who had cared for him when he lived with the clan, a new sheepskin in exchange for some tanned hide to make more suitable clothes for Riley.
Cam remained outside the circle of hunters and scanned the village. Women gathered to unpack the meat and hides from the travois. Where was Riley? Leaving her alone to go on this hunt hadn't been an easy decision, but she'd told him that he should go.
He smiled. The memory of her wide eyes when they'd arrived in the village still made the blood pump faster through his veins, just as it had run cold when he'd heard her scream in terror during her encounter with the bear. Among the clan, she'd looked like she'd found a great treasure, her eyes soaking up everything around her, from the cone-shaped dwellings to the men making arrowheads, and the women scraping hides.
Irrational annoyance had slammed him hard. He’d caught glimpses of desire for him in her eyes at times, but those had always been clouded by looks of apprehension. Maybe if he turned into a stone pot, her eyes would sparkle when she looked at him. He mentally shook his head in an unsuccessful attempt to drive thoughts of Riley from his mind. If all went as he hoped, she would be returned to her own time very soon.
The women had taken her into their fold without question, marveling at her light hair and her unusual clothes. She knew a few words to communicate, even if they sounded rather odd when she said them. Apparently women spoke a universal language, however, and the Tukudeka women had soon whisked her away before he’d fully had a chance to explain to her that he was going hunting with the men, and would be gone for days.
Cam’s eyes widened when they finally fell on the person he cared most to see. His heart skipped in his chest when she walked toward him, following Day Star.
Riley wore a simple deerskin dress, the new moccasins on her feet laced up presumably to her knees. It was more than her blonde hair, which flowed freely down her back rather than tied in her usual ponytail, that made her stand out from everyone else. She looked confident among the women, making her even more beautiful. The wide smile on her face brought a smile to his own lips, and he drank her in as she came closer.
She carried a basket under one arm and leaned toward the woman walking next to her, listening intently to what she was saying. When Riley finally looked directly at him, she stopped, and the smile froze on her face. Cam straightened. Something warm and pleasant surrounded him and wrapped itself around his heart. He gritted his teeth. It was time to talk to the shaman, and get an answer about where to find the Sky People.
Chapter Thirteen
“I see you’ve done just fine while I was gone.”
Riley looked up at Cameron when he stopped a few inches in front of her. She adjusted the basket she carried on her hip.
“And hello to you, too.” She raised her brows, trying to act aloof while her insides fluttered with nervous excitement. She’d watched him walk into camp with the rest of the hunters, bringing up the rear with an air of confidence about him that set him apart from anyone she’d ever known. The only other guy with the same self-assured aura was Dan Osborne, but she barely knew him.
The rest of her male friends were academics, like herself, and while they were confident about their book knowledge, no one carried himself like Cameron. All the jocks she’d ever known were arrogant and full of themselves, and she didn’t consider any of them her friends.
Cameron belonged in this environment, with these people, whether he wanted to believe it or not. If not for his Caucasian parentage, he could have easily been born here and no one would know any different.
His eyes slowly, methodically, roamed over her, and his lips curved in a satisfied smile. Riley’s hand went to her face out of habit, to push her glasses up her nose, but she wasn’t wearing them. That old, familiar, self-conscious feeling swept over her at his perusal.
Day Star said something next to her, which included Cameron's name, but that was all she understood. Communication hadn't been easy over the last three days, but Riley had picked up on a few words and knew a few simple ones of her own. Part of the problem was that the dialect of Shoshone the Sheepeaters spoke was different from the modern versions of a few words she'd learned. The Tukudeka dialect seemed to have died out along with its people.
Day Star and the other women of the clan had been friendly and patient with her from the moment she’d stepped into their midst, and they’d communicated mostly with hand gestures. The people had looked at her in awe when she arrived, and once the women and children had lost their shyness, had come up to touch her hair and tattered clothes. Day Star had immediately taken charge of her.
Cameron smiled at his foster mother, who was still talking to him, then glanced back at Riley. His quiet answer seemed to have satisfied the woman. Giving a curt nod, Day Star marched off to help the other women unload the meat and hides from the travois.
“She thinks I’ll be a good provider for my wife,” he said with a mischievous grin on his face.
Riley tilted her head and narrowed her eyes to conceal the rush of adrenaline at his words.
"Well, when you have a wife someday, that could very well be true," she retorted. "I'm assuming you had a successful hunt." Her eyes darted to the six travois which were piled high with butchered bighorn sheep.
She brought her gaze back to him. It would be so easy to pretend for a while, but she’d have to
face reality soon. The day they’d arrived at the village, Cameron, with Wo’itsa’s help, had arranged deadfall and long poles to form a cone-shaped hut, which they then covered with grasses. He’d left enough space on one side to act as an entry, and Wo’itsa had brought him an animal hide to hang over it.
Not that they needed their own wicciup. Cameron hadn’t spent the night in it that first night, at least not to her knowledge, and he’d left to go on the sheep hunt before dawn the following morning. Riley conceded that it had been nice to have a private place to escape to each night, rather than sleep with one of the other families. It had given her a chance to really appreciate living as the Sheepeaters did.
At a loss for words, Riley said, “I should probably go and help.” She moved to follow the Tukudeka woman.
Cameron’s hand reached out to touch her arm, keeping her from leaving. Riley raised her head. An unmistakable look of admiration and satisfaction gleamed in Cam’s eyes. She mentally shook her head. He wasn’t even back ten minutes, and her mind was a jumbled mess again.
“Day Star tells me you’ve done a lot of work while I was gone, and that you’re learning fast.”
Riley let out a short laugh, and her pulse quickened. Maybe he wouldn’t mind listening to her talk about the things she’d had to bottle up inside while he was gone. It wasn’t like her to keep new discoveries or fascinating ideas to herself, but with the language barrier, she hadn’t been able to really converse with anyone.
“It’s been great, Cameron,” she blurted, the same excitement in her voice as when she talked with her professors or friends about her research and academics. “Day Star showed me how to sew this dress. She even taught me the beginning process of how to tan a hide.” Riley fingered part of the new dress she’d made. The tip of her index finger was scabbed over from several pricks of the sharp needle made from deer bone, but learning the technique to stitch the deerskin together and even add some decorative fringes had all been worth it. Her smile widened. “I can’t believe how soft this deerskin is. I’ve read about the labor-intensive tanning methods the Sheepeaters used – I mean, use – and now I understand why they go through so much trouble.”
Riley looked up at him. She was doing it again, unable to curb her enthusiasm when she learned new things. Cameron stood quietly in front of her, listening with an amused grin on his face.
“I know how to make cakes from bitterroot powder and berries, too.” She raised her chin, encouraged that he was still listening. “It tastes a lot better when you roast the root first, and add something sweet, like the huckleberries some of the kids helped me pick the day you left.”
Cameron stepped closer. His hand came up to lightly touch her arm. “Since you’re getting along so well, maybe I should leave you here while I find Naatoyita,” he said in a low tone.
Riley’s eyes widened, as her heart sank unexpectedly to her stomach at the mention of the man who could possibly send her home. The last few days had been some of the best she’d ever experienced. She hadn’t even had time to miss her books. No one had judged her or made fun of her when she’d accidentally tipped over the bowl of water one of the women had just brought back from the creek; or when her hair had gotten tangled in a low-hanging tree branch, and it took two women to free her.
Everyone was genuinely friendly and caring, and she’d learned more about the Tukudeka culture in the few short days she’d been in the village than she’d learned in months of research. With each day, her confidence grew a little more that she could learn and do primitive things such as cook over an open flame, and make her own clothes out of animal skin, given enough time.
“I want to go with you,” she said quickly. Cameron was not going to leave her behind. As much as she would love to stay and learn more about the day-to-day lives of these people, she’d rather spend any remaining time in the past with him, as foolish as that was.
Cameron’s jaw muscles twitched, and he finally nodded. The smile vanished from his face. “I’d better talk to the shaman, then. I plan on leaving at first light tomorrow morning.”
Abruptly, he turned and walked away. Riley blinked, and stared after him. What had put him in such a foul mood all of a sudden? When he didn't turn to look at her again, she gripped her basket tighter and went to follow Day Star.
For the next few hours, she helped cut meat into strips to hang on wooden drying racks. When that messy chore was completed, the women gathered their baskets of grains, seeds, and pine nuts they'd collected earlier, and sat in the dirt to grind them into flour for the bread they planned to cook with some of the meat for the celebration later.
After rinsing the dried blood off her hands and arms, Riley joined the women in front of Day Star's hut and reached for a handful of seeds to grind. The women chattered quietly while Riley's eyes wandered through camp. She spotted Cameron by one of the other wicciups with several of the hunters, talking to the shaman and a few of the old men.
He stood a good inch taller than the other men, but she would have picked him out of any crowd. She’d read accounts that described the Sheepeaters as being fairly short in stature, but she hadn’t found that to be the case. Although none of them were as tall as Cameron, most of them were of average height.
Cameron laughed at something Wo'itsa said, and the old man who'd given him his hunting bow cackled loud enough for his voice to carry through camp. Riley absently held a stone bowl in her lap and ground at the seeds in it with a round rock.
She startled, and nearly spilled the contents of her bowl when Day Star nudged her in the arm. Riley quickly jerked her head away from staring at Cameron. The woman had a bright smile on her face, and she gestured with her chin toward the men.
“Tsaa suankan,” Day Star said, and nudged her arm again.
Riley looked at the smiling woman. Day Star pointed at her, then toward the men. When Riley ventured another glance in their direction, her heart crashed against her ribs, and butterflies churned in her stomach. Cameron still stood among the men, but he was looking directly at her. The strong pull of his stare held her paralyzed, and she couldn’t look away. Her mouth went dry instantly, and her hand trembled.
She mentally shook her head, as if it could clear away the feelings sweeping through her for the man who could hold her captive with only his eyes. He held her gaze for several magical seconds, then returned his attention to the shaman. Had she imagined that look of admiration, and attraction, in his eyes?
She glanced back at Day Star, who beamed as if she’d won the lottery. Riley’s forehead scrunched, unable to decipher the woman’s words. Day Star held her palm to Riley’s chest.
“I don’t understand.” Riley’s voice cracked when she spoke.
“Camehawait,” Day Star patted her over her heart.
Riley stared at the woman, then shot another hasty glance in Cameron's direction, but thankfully, his back was now turned to her. She laughed quickly and shook her head. Day Star's meaning had become clear.
“No, I . . .” she stammered, but stopped, and smiled. Heat crept up her neck. It wouldn’t be a good idea to deny having feelings for him. Everyone thought he was her husband.
"Tsaa suankan," the woman repeated and pressed her hand firmly against Riley's breast over her heart. "Riley," she added, in stilted English. She reinforced her words with a resolute nod of her head.
Riley’s shoulders slumped.
“Is it that obvious?” Were her looks of longing for a guy who was out of her reach so easy for others to see?
Day Star smiled in satisfaction, even though she wouldn’t have understood Riley’s words, and resumed her work.
Riley’s hands trembled when she picked up the smooth stone she’d used to grind the seeds into a fine powder. She forced her eyes on her task, although it required all her will power not to look toward Cameron again.
"Ouch." Riley jerked her hand away and stuck her little finger in her mouth. This was the third time she'd crushed it under the round rock. She poured the flour she'd
managed to produce into another bowl, and stood. She couldn't sit still any longer. Her insides were a jumbled mess. Day Star smiled up at her and waved her away.
Over the last three days since she’d arrived at the village, Riley’s infatuation with Cameron had evolved into something far stronger. She’d tried to explain it away because she’d been overly fatigued during the tiring trek to get here, but she’d had plenty of rest since then.
It seemed that, with him gone, her feelings had only grown exponentially. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him – his intense stares, but also his quick smiles, and the way he’d looked out for her from the moment he’d stepped into that Blackfoot camp and traded his bow for her. When he’d saved her life from that bear, and proved that he would protect her with his life, her feelings for him had spiraled out of control. She’d fallen, and fallen hard.
The back of her eyes began to sting, and she blinked rapidly. Why was this happening? Cameron was as raw and wild as this land, and so completely opposite from anyone she should be attracted to. Yet, there was some invisible connection between them, a pull too strong for her to ignore. If Cameron felt it, too, he’d been very good at concealing it, until a few moments ago. What she’d seen in his eyes had been pure admiration, mixed with something much stronger.
Riley stumbled from the village toward the narrow creek that flowed through the forest a short distance away. Twilight descended over the mountains, and she sucked in a deep breath at the vivid beauty of the wilderness. Deep orange, purple, and red streaks painted the early evening sky as far as the eye could see, and the colors reflected off the distant peaks.
The cool evening breeze lifted some strands of hair from her neck, and she hugged her arms around her waist. Riley blinked away the moisture that pooled in her eyes, blurring her vision, and she sniffed. She tilted her head into the breeze and inhaled deeply. The fresh scent of earth, the forest, and the faint odor of campfire had never smelled better.
Yellowstone Origins: Yellowstone Romance Series, Book 6 Page 13