by Linda Bridey
Dean said, “Seth told us how well you played and that Joe hired you.”
“Yes! I can’t believe it. Will is going to enjoy it tomorrow night, too. At least I hope he does,” she said.
“Of course he will,” Sadie said. “He’ll be surprised that you went last night.”
“Well, it was just on impulse. I told Raven how much I’ve been wanting to play and I twisted his arm until he took me. I would have gone by myself, but I didn’t have a horse. So I made him take me,” she said and prayed for forgiveness for the lie.
Sadie smiled. “He’s very nice. I’m glad you’re not afraid of him or Uncle Owl.”
“Why would I be afraid? I think it’s stupid to be afraid,” she said smiling at Owl.
“Too bad not everyone thinks the way you do,” Owl said. “Well, I’d better get back to work before the boss starts yelling.”
“That’s right, little brother,” Dean said with a smile. “Me, too, or the boss is gonna get after me, too.” He winked at the women and followed Owl.
*****
Zoe might not have seen Will, but she saw Raven. He made sure of that. At lunch time he stopped over at Pricilla’s under the pretense of checking to see if it was all right for him to come to dinner.
Pricilla said, “You know you don’t have to ask, dear.” She patted his arm and asked, “Do you want to eat here or were you going somewhere else?”
With difficulty, he kept his eyes off Zoe as he said, “I have plans already, but I will see you for supper.”
“All right. Have a good afternoon and stay safe,” Pricilla said and started making lunch.
While her back was turned, Zoe handed Raven a small piece of paper, which he quickly stuffed in a pocket. He arched a brow at her, but she just smiled.
“I have to go for now, but I’ll be here for dinner,” Raven said. Over Pricilla’s head, he winked at Zoe. He kissed Pricilla’s cheek and left.
As soon as he was outside, Raven read Zoe’s note. It told him that she was staying in Dean’s tipi that night and to not come to Pricilla’s house. A huge grin spread across his face as he loped up the street to the Grady House. He’d made arrangements to have lunch with Owl because he had questions for him, and he didn’t want anyone else to know.
When he got to the restaurant, Owl was already there.
“Hau, uncle,” Raven said in Lakota. As he looked about their table, he saw there was no one around them who would know Lakota. This would ensure their conversation would be private.
“Hau, nephew,” Owl greeted him in their native tongue. He noticed a slight tension in Raven’s body posture, but Raven’s eyes held a happy light. “What is on your mind?”
Alice, one of the waitresses, came to get their orders. Raven didn’t care what he ate, so he ordered the special. Owl put more thought into his order. Raven was impatient as he waited for his uncle to tell Alice what he wanted, so she would leave. Owl finally requested a chicken fried steak dinner, and Alice went on her way.
“I need advice,” Raven said. “Was it hard for you to get used to living in a house?”
Owl stared at Raven for several moments. “Are you thinking about building a house?”
“Maybe. I do not know,” Raven said.
There would only be one reason for Raven to be thinking along those lines. “Are you seeing someone? You have not said anything about someone special.”
Raven said, “I am not seeing her, exactly, and I will not say who this person is, either. Was it hard to adjust?”
Owl thought back to when he and Hannah had first gotten involved and smiled. “It was at first because I was terrified of houses. Remember?”
Raven laughed. “I had forgotten about that. I was young when you and Aunt Hannah married. I remember being sent to let you know we were back from the Sun Dance the year you were hurt. I was so excited to find you still alive when I came to your tipi.” Thoughts of his dead uncle, He Who Runs and his aunt, Eagle Woman suddenly rose up and caught him off guard. The wounds were fresh, and he had to work hard to rein in the grief that threatened to bubble to the surface. Seeing the sorrow in his nephew’s eyes, Owl had much the same trouble, and both men remained silent for some time.
Finally Owl said, “I got used to it little by little because that’s where she lived, so I had to go there. Once I had decided that I could not live without her, where we lived did not matter too much to me. By that time, I no longer feared houses, and when we moved to our new house, we had a tipi to use, too. So, there is always compromise. This woman you are interested in; she is white?”
“Yes. Until I met her, I had no thoughts of marriage, especially to a white woman. I did not want to get into a hopeless situation like Reckless did with Rachel.”
Before Reckless had married Brook, a woman from a Lakota tribe in Minnesota, he had courted Rachel Crispin, Mitch Taylor’s adopted daughter. Their relationship had lasted for three years but ended when she had tried to manipulate Reckless into marrying her by lying about how far their relationship had gone.
Even had she not done that, Reckless would have never married her since she wouldn’t have embraced his way of life. Raven wanted to avoid that sort of thing at all costs.
Owl nodded as Alice brought their meal. They thanked her and went back to their conversation. Owl took a bite of his steak and asked, “So you care for her seriously then?”
“I think so. I do not understand it.”
“Understand what, nephew?”
Raven sighed and put down his fork. “When did you first have strong feelings for Aunt Hannah?”
Owl grinned. “Almost the moment she fell on top of me in the mud. I tried to save her from falling in it. It was just this time of year, too. I could not stop her fall, but I thought I could at least cushion it and keep her from getting dirty. It worked, too. Our eyes met as we lay in the street together, and that was it. I could not get her out of my mind.”
Raven enjoyed hearing the story again and hearing the happiness in his uncle’s voice. “And then you impressed her by cooking for her.”
“Yes. Have I told this story too much?” Owl asked with a chuckle.
Raven shook his head a little. “I never tire of hearing it and many other stories. I would have liked to have seen her face when you pulled those cooking dishes from out of the ground.”
“It certainly did impress her, but I was nervous about what she would think. Lucky for me, she was open to new things and did not run away or refuse to eat it. I was very fortunate that she agreed to marry me,” Owl said. “But getting back to you; you have only recently met her?”
“Yes. It is complicated, though. I am not the only one interested in her, but he has not claimed her.”
“Ah, I see. So you want to woo her, but are concerned about beginning something without being able to follow through,” Owl said.
“Yes. I do not want to hurt her or waste our time on something that can never happen,” Raven told him.
“This is the first time I have ever heard you talk about a woman so seriously.”
“It is the first time I have thought about a woman so seriously, and I cannot tell you why I feel this way,” Raven said. “I mean, she is beautiful, funny, kind, and creative.”
Owl gestured expressively. “Must there be other reasons why? Who but Wakan Tanka really knows why we fall in love with someone? One thing concerns me; this other man. He is white?”
“Yes.”
“Be careful, nephew. Though we enjoy more freedom about these things than many others, we still have to watch what we do. Be sure this other man has no claim on her before moving ahead,” Owl cautioned Raven.
“Yes. I know that I must exercise patience. In the meantime, I will give her much to think about.”
Owl smiled. “I am sure you will. Dean is excited about going to see our family this week. I still remember when he could not stand us. Now he has a tipi, and has let you put up a tipi. Oh, there is a girl who will be staying in his tipi tonight. You wi
ll have a neighbor overnight. She is new here, and wants to see what it is like.”
Raven said, “Oh? Why would he let her do that?”
Owl shrugged. “She is a friend of Sadie’s. There is no harm in it.”
“No, but I am glad that my tipi is far enough away that I will not hear her snore if she does,” Raven said, feigning displeasure.
“Perhaps it is she who will be grateful because I know for a fact that you snore,” Owl teased.
They spent the rest of their meal arguing good-naturedly about who snored and other embarrassing stories.
Chapter Nine
Pricilla pulled a loaf of bread from the oven just as Raven bounded in the door with a smile on his face. There were some times when she could see what he must have been like as a child, and she could imagine that there was little his parents had been able to refuse him. He waited until she put the bread down before hugging and kissing her.
“Hi, Auntie. Is that for me?” he asked. “I’m hungry enough to eat a horse.”
She chuckled. “Some of it is, not all.”
“Ok.” He went to pull a piece from it, but she swatted his hand.
“Not until supper. And wash your hands. It has to cool a little. You can’t slice it when it’s so hot, Raven,” she admonished him.
“Who needs to slice it?” he asked. “Are we not going to eat it no matter what form it comes in?”
“Mind your manners, young man. Go wash for supper,” she said pointing upstairs.
He grinned at her and ran up the steps. Pricilla shook her head as it sounded like a herd of elephants ascending the stairs. “It’s like having a teenage boy back in the house.” She smiled. “And it’s very nice.”
John came in the house. “Did I see Raven come in here?”
“Yes, dear. Why?” she asked.
“Oh, good. I need help with something,” John said. “What’s he doing?”
“Washing up for supper,” Pricilla said. “It won’t be long, so don’t make me wait on you. I don’t want the chicken to get dried out.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a smile.
Raven came back downstairs. “What do you need help with, John?”
“I swear he hears the grass grow,” John said. “C’mon. I’ll show you.”
As he followed John outside, Raven wondered where Zoe was, but didn’t ask about her. John took him into his workshop and closed the door.
“Raven, I need to talk to you about Zoe.”
It was a good thing that Raven was schooled in the art of not reacting to shocking or surprising statements right away. Internally, he jerked, but his only visible reaction was to frown. “Zoe? What about her?”
John scratched his head. “Well, I’m concerned about something.”
“Go on.”
“She told me last night that she’s gonna be playin’ at the bar with Joe and the rest. I don’t have a problem with it, but, well, Pricilla isn’t happy about it. I don’t want something to happen with Zoe like it did with Jamie. I don’t know what it is that you do, but she listens to you. Can you help me with this? I tried to talk to her, but sometimes it’s like talking to a brick wall. Also, can you watch out for Zoe while she’s at the bar? I know you will anyway, but maybe pay her a little extra attention and put an old man’s mind at ease?” John asked.
Relief made Raven grin. “Leave Auntie to me. And Zoe. I’ll make sure she is safe.”
“Thank you. You’re a Godsend, Raven,” John said. “We better get back in there, or she’ll have both our hides.”
*****
“Auntie, you and John should come hear Zoe play banjo. She is very good,” Raven said as they sat down to eat dinner.
Zoe had arrived home while the two men had been outside. Raven intended to meet the problem head on without seeming to.
“Raven, why are you always trying to get me to come down there?” Pricilla asked with a reproachful look.
“Maybe I would like to see you have a good time and maybe I would like you to watch me work,” Raven said.
Pricilla gave him an uncertain look. “Watch you work? Why would I want to do that?”
“So you would see how safe I help keep things, and then you wouldn’t be so worried about people. You are very caring and I know you worry. I don’t like it that you worry so much. It’s not good for you. I would like to put your mind at ease, Auntie,” Raven said.
Zoe watched Raven as much as she dared. It was hard to keep her eyes off him. He was truly beautiful, and she longed to kiss him again. She couldn’t wait until later that night because she knew Raven would come to her.
Pricilla gave him a smile and said, “You are very thoughtful, but I have no intention of going to the bar, dear.”
“Why?”
“Because I just don’t think I would enjoy it. It’s been too long since I was to a place like that and I really don’t want to go,” she said.
Raven grinned. “If it has been too long, then you should go so you could say it hasn’t been too long.”
“You are very persistent. I’ll give you that,” Pricilla said.
Raven looked at Zoe and said, “You have no idea.”
Zoe lowered her eyes and smiled.
Pricilla pounced on Zoe. “Do you think that’s funny?”
Zoe tried not to laugh and failed. John and Raven joined in.
“Raven, I am not going to the bar. If other people want to go, they can, but I’m not going to. Let that be the end of that nonsense,” she said even though she laughed a little.
“Ok. So then it’s ok if Zoe goes to play, right?” Raven said.
Pricilla looked at Zoe and then at Raven. “Well, I suppose, but—”
“Good. You just said other people can go there, so it’s ok for her to. Besides, there are many women who go to dance. Good women, like my Aunt Maddie, and Jamie, and sometimes, Aunt Tessa goes, too.”
John could have cheered. Raven had Pricilla cornered. She couldn’t protest unless she wanted to insult at least two women of whom she was fond and whom she respected. I wish I had the boy’s talent at this. Must be something the Lakota learn. I need to have him teach it to me.
Pricilla’s cheeks became a little pink. “Yes, I suppose that’s true.”
Raven leaned back and gave her a level gaze. He’d learned this type of diplomacy from his father, who was a master at such things. “Besides, Zoe is a grown woman and she needed a good job. Joe pays well, as you know. She has a gift and should use it, Auntie. Doesn’t your God expect you to use the gifts He has given you?”
John thought, Good God, he’s going in for the kill. There’s no way for her to get around this now.
“Well, but in a bar?”
Raven shrugged, unconcerned. “Where does it matter that she uses it so long as she does? Where is it written that banjos must only be played in church?”
Pricilla knew he was right and decided to concede the point. “Well, nowhere, I don’t think. Yes, Zoe, you are a grown woman and if Joe is going to pay you a decent wage, then I suppose it’s all right.” She pointed her knife at Raven. “But I am holding you personally accountable if any harm should come to her, Raven. Do you understand me, young man?”
Raven dropped his eyes and said, “Yes, Auntie,” as though properly chastised.
Pricilla gave an emphatic nod and started a different topic of conversation. John looked at Raven and the brave winked back at him. John could have kissed the boy. Instead, he just winked back. Then Raven and John both winked at Zoe, and she had to work hard not to smile at them.
*****
Zoe was caught up in all of the rowdiness that took place much of the time at the Samuels place when they were playing poker. The twins, Katie and D.J. were old enough that they were allowed to play now and were quite good at it. They played for toothpicks instead of money.
She had never played poker, but Seth sat by her so he could teach her how. He sat a little bit in back of her and whispered instructions and advice in her ea
r. This worked well except for when he yelled at someone. Then Zoe felt as if her eardrum was ringing. After the second time Seth realized what he’d done, he started putting a hand over her ear before yelling at whoever he was responding to.
“I can’t have our banjo player goin’ deaf,” he said, smiling at her.
Zoe got to see just how big Raven’s white family really was. The twins belonged to Dean and Tessa. Seth and Maddie had J.R. and Kayla. Dean and Seth’s younger brother, Marcus, who was also one of the town doctors, and his wife, Claire, were in attendance. Their daughter, Aiyana, and their son, Anthony, were allowed to play with them. Their youngest, a baby boy named Eric was passed along as people took their turns playing.
Jack and his wife, Sparrow, a Lakota woman, accused each other of cheating whenever one would win, making each other laugh. Their son, Danny, and their daughter, Sophie, were also amused by whomever was not taking a turn at the moment. Zoe didn’t know how they kept everything straight. They told her that Mike, Tessa and Dean’s next to youngest son, was still at college until the end of the following month.
Zoe was teased about being clumsy. She’d knocked over a glass, accidently hit Seth on the nose when she was gesturing about something, and stepped on Sparrow’s foot. D.J. was instantly defensive of her.
“We can’t help it if God didn’t give us good coordination,” he said, which drew laughs.
She told them about how Raven had gotten around Pricilla’s disapproval of her playing at the bar and how she’d made him promise to keep watch over her.
“I’ll have to ask him how he did it,” Marcus said. “I cringe every time she comes into the clinic for something. I usually beg Ben to see her, or Mike, when he’s home. He gets rid of her so fast, usually by telling her something gruesome. Last time I think it was about how long the human intestine is.”
Zoe said, “Just have Raven talk to her about it. I’ll bet he can get her to behave.”
Marcus smiled. “I should. Why didn’t I think of that?”
Tessa said, “Because until he and she became close, we had no idea that someone would be able to wield so much influence over her like he does.”