Taima didn’t answer. He merely lifted Beth up and placed her on the cot. He tossed some more wood on the embers and waited to make sure it caught, and then settled down beside Beth.
“This is almost too small for the two of us,” he mumbled.
“I’ll turn on my side to make more room,” Beth offered.
Her back was to the wall, and when she turned on her side, Taima was facing her, his face inches from her own.
“No place to put my arm,” he stated before laying it over Beth’s waist, while he put his other arm under his head and continued to stare into her eyes.
Beth could feel his hand moving absently against her back.
“You aren’t very big, though,” he smiled. “I am surprised at how strong you are.”
He brought his hand up and traced it over the muscles of her upper arm.
“Comes from wrangling cows, I guess,” Beth said, liking the feel of Taima’s hand rubbing against her arm.
“Your skin feels cold,” he said, making an effort to rub her arm even more.
“I think you are warming me up, though,” Beth almost whimpered at his touch.
Beth felt Taima’s lips brush across her forehead, and a shiver ran through her.
“I wonder how long the rain is going to last?” she said, not knowing what else to say.
“Forever, if I had my way,” Taima mumbled. “I like being here with you.”
“It is sort of cozy,” she chuckled.
“More than just cozy, it seems right, like we belong here together.”
“Do you think we do?”
“There is thunder outside, and you are in here with the arms of Thunder keeping you safe. The Thunder Gods must be directing it. I wasn’t going to come here to work when Avonaco asked me. I didn’t want to work on a white man’s ranch. Then something in my head told me to come so I listened to that voice. Now I know why it told me to come.”
He brushed his lips against Beth’s forehead again, and his arm tightened around her waist, pulling her even closer to him.
“All decisions have a purpose. All actions make your life what it becomes. I think you give me a purpose I never had before I came.”
“What purpose is that?” Beth asked.
“To be near you like this. I wish to always be near you.”
“We wouldn’t get much work done if that was the case,” Beth laughed, trying to lighten the mood.
“I think we work well together. When we are not working we feel good together. Do you agree?”
“This feels good,” Beth murmured, thinking this was the best she had felt in a long time.
Beth had always spent her life trying to keep up with her older sisters and brother. There was little chance to play, and even at social events, the few they had time to go to, Beth never seemed to fit in. Most young women in the area were not ranch workers. They were sisters or children of ranchers, and while they did all the housework and cooking or preserving the food, they were not actual cowboys like Beth and her sisters were. This set them apart in a subtle way. It made the three girls independent and sure of themselves. They did not need a man helping them or protecting them. Hardened cowboys in the area were looking for something soft and simpering, to make them feel strong and protecting. Beth felt that was the reason neither she, nor her sisters, had found a man. Besides, they were too attached to the ranch they had helped make a success to ever want to leave it and ride off with some cowboy, or move onto someone else’s ranch. Beth wondered if she would ever want to leave the ranch.
Now, for the first time in her life, there was a man who wanted to be near her, who was not intimidated by her independent nature. She liked the feel of his arms holding her and his lips against her forehead. Callie was happy being married to Chayton, so it stood to reason that she would feel comfortable in the arms of this Comanche.
“When a Brave in our tribe has found the woman he wishes to become his ah tah-day, he plays the love flute to lure her to him. If the flute brings her to him, he knows she wants to become his ah tah-day. I have no flute to play for you, but the storm has brought us here and put us together. The thunder is my friend. It has helped me find a woman I wish to become my ah tah-day. I just need to know if you feel the same way.”
“I’m not sure how I feel,” Beth breathed, as she lifted her head to look into his eyes. “I know I feel good right now. I like you and the way you look. I know you are a good friend of Avonaco, who we all trust and love. If he did not think you were a good man, he wouldn’t have brought you here.”
“I am a good man, and I know you are a good woman. Avonaco told us many stories about the time he spent working on your ranch. It seemed exciting but I wasn’t sure I could trust white people. We have always been treated badly by them. Now that I have met you and your family, I think my opinion is starting to change.”
“So much that you would want me as your woman?”
“More than just my woman. Ah tah-day means wife. Mahyehn is the word for woman. Own p’ayle doe is the word meaning loving or caring for someone. I want to do both. Love and care for you.”
“I am feeling overwhelmed. When I rode out with you today, I never guessed that…”
“Life leads us in the direction we are meant to go. One just needs to know when it is time to follow the Great Spirit’s direction and realize when it talks to us. I think the Great Spirit talked to me when It told me to come work on your ranch. Now it is telling me why I came to work on your ranch. What is it telling you?”
Beth was silent, merely staring into Taima’s eyes, not knowing how to respond. She had never been put in this position before. She had never been held in a man’s arms. She had never thought much about marriage, and now suddenly, she was expected to know what to do or feel!
“Say you will let me love and care for you,” Taima begged.
“I’m not sure I know how to be loved and cared for. I have always…”
“I will show you,” Taima said in a husky voice.
Then his mouth was coming down against Beth’s trembling lips, coaxing her to accept his love. He knew the God’s approved. All he had to do was convince her to listen to his God.
Beth felt herself relaxing, as a sigh escaped her mouth when Taima lifted his head from hers.
“Can you accept my love?” he asked softly.
“This is all so sudden!”
“Not sudden enough. I have longed to find a woman to love, but no one at the reservation seemed to fit what my heart yearned for. I know now, that you are what my heart yearns for. All the signs point to it, and I must follow the signs.”
“Are you sure? I didn’t think that anyone would know the moment they laid eyes on someone that they were the one they wanted to spend their lives with.”
“Spend your life with me and discover why I know,” he breathed.
“Connor will have to approve, and so will Chayton. You would have to remain here at the ranch with me, and it belongs to Callie and Connor.”
“Then I will wait for their blessing if you will agree to accept me once they give it.”
“Yes, I think I will,” Beth said, wanting to be loved by this man who was offering his love to her.
“Thank you,” he murmured, showing his gratitude by consuming Beth’s lips in a passionate kiss.
Beth let her hand smooth down over Taima’s hard muscular chest. She liked the feel of it under her fingertips. As her fingers touched him, his kiss deepened, and his arms crushed her to him tighter.
“My Own p’ayle doe,” he whispered against her lips before he captured her breath into his own mouth once again.
Beth drifted away into a new exciting experience as she felt Taima’s kisses awakening a deep need from within her heart. She never thought she would need anyone the way she started to discover she felt she needed this impressive Comanche brave. She thought about how happy Callie was with Chayton, and she realized she could be happy with Taima as well. Now all she wanted was the feel of Taima’s lips on
hers and his hands caressing her back and arms.
Her heart was beating like a war drum, and she could feel Taima’s heart beating against her own chest in unison with her heart.
“When we finally marry, I will be able to take you completely,” Taima whispered. “As much as I wish to take you now, the Gods would disapprove.”
“Then I hope everyone gives you their blessing,” Beth responded. “I can’t wait until the Gods approve.”
Taima chuckled, and his kisses were all-consuming, as they waited out the storm.
Connor saw Taima and Beth riding up to the house. The storm had just cleared. He and Avonaco, along with Maska had managed to bring their cows and calves back to the ranch, in spite of the storm. He saw that Beth and Taima had also found a few strays.
“We need to head out and look for Tommy and Konton,” Connor called. “When we got to the ranch and penned the cows up, we found their horses in the barn along with a couple of mama cows that apparently followed the horses back. I’m worried that something might have happened to them and the calves that belonged to those cows. We are going to bring their horses with us since they are on foot.”
“Do you want us to come with you?” Beth asked.
“Yeah, we might have to spread out to look for them. They may have gone to the dried riverbed to look for strays, and if they got caught in a flash flood no telling what may have happened to them.”
Connor stopped and took a longer look at his sister and Taima.
“You two look pretty happy. I assume you took shelter in the sheep herder’s hut. You don’t look the worse for wear.”
“We managed to light a fire and dry out,” Beth informed him.
“I have to ask your permission to make Beth my wife,” Taima blurted out.
Connor raised his eyebrows.
“You didn’t do anything to my sister while you were hold-up together, did you?” he asked, staring at Taima with concern.
“Connor!” Beth cried. “Taima was a perfect gentleman. He asked me all proper to marry him before he ever kissed me.”
“And then he took advantage of you?” Connor accused.
“Of course not, are you going to approve or not? I know we have to wait until Chayton comes back to make it official, though. We would have to remain at the ranch, once we got married.”
“Hell, I’m all for it, and I am sure Chayton will approve. I don’t see any problem with you both remaining at the ranch. After all, we built it for the family, and it takes a family to keep the ranch going. This is all so sudden though. Taima has barely started working for us, and already he wants to marry my sister.”
Taima grinned. “The Great Spirit directed it,” he insisted. “When the Great Spirit leads you, asking questions is not permitted. The Great Spirit knows my heart and my heart is meant to beat for your sister.”
“Well, if you put it that way…” Connor laughed. “We had better start looking for Tommy and Konton,” he said more seriously.
The group rode out, and it wasn’t long before they discovered two mud covered individuals, carrying a calf each around their necks and over their shoulders.
“Well, where did you come from?” Connor laughed. “It looks like you have been wallowing in the mud like a couple of pigs!”
“Pretty much,” Tommy muttered.
“Well you are both alive and breathing, so I guess we can’t complain,” he chuckled. “Hand those calves over to Avonaco and Taima, and climb up on your horses. You look beat!”
They transferred their load over and gratefully swung up into the saddle of their horses. As they all headed back to the ranch, Tommy described how Konton saved the calves by hauling them up into the burrow before the water could rise any higher in the riverbed.
“Fast thinking,” Connor complemented.
He glanced over at Beth and Taima. “Your sister wants to marry Taima. What do you think of that?”
Tommy glanced over at Beth.
“She does?” Tommy gasped.
“Don’t look so shocked!” Beth laughed. “Callie married an Indian.”
“That’s not what I am so shocked about. It seems that Konton and Taima may be of like minds. He wants me to marry him too, but I haven’t agreed yet.”
“Looks like we are going to start our own tribe,” Connor laughed. “You might as well agree. These young braves make good cowhands, and since this ranch is a family affair, I wouldn’t mind having more of them working here.”
Konton looked over at Tommy. “Everyone likes the idea. What about you?”
“How can I disagree with my own family?” Tommy said. “Maybe Beth and I should have a double wedding, once everyone comes home.”
“Well now that that is settled,” Connor said, we should head back, so we can all take a warm bath, and then tomorrow we will spend the day branding calves.”
“All you ever think about is work,” Tommy complained. “You are only interested in having good workers at the ranch. That is why you want us to get married to these men.”
“That is not so. I like your choices, and they are smart to know a good woman when they see one, even if it is sort of sudden. Chayton is going to be overjoyed to have more of his kinsmen living on the ranch. Seems like everyone is going to be happy about this, I just never thought you girls would ever end up making a choice for a husband, and I would have you on my hands for the rest of my life!”
“You still have us on your hands,” Beth laughed. Only now we have a little more to offer you.”
She glanced over at Taima and he leaned over and grabbed her hand.
“I hope your family returns soon. I cannot wait to make you my wife,” he told her.
“I haven’t heard from anyone yet since I got the letter telling me to take care of things until they returned,” Connor informed them. “I understand they are remaining until Shanny can have her coming-out party, and then no telling how long after, they will decide to stay.”
“I guess there is plenty to keep us all busy here until they return,” Tommy shrugged. “All I care about now is getting this mud washed off of me!”
Everyone laughed, and they kicked their horses into a gallop, anxious to return back to the ranch. It seemed like the storm brought more changes than they had counted on.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
By the time Ina and her helpers reached the herd, the wind was whipping up and she hoped they could round them all up and get them back to the ranch before the major part of the storm broke. Ina pulled her linseed oil, mustard color, Pommel rain slicker out of her saddlebag and pushed her arms into it. She noticed the others doing the same. She was pleased to see how well the Comanche were working together, and even Hudson was holding his own. She noticed Chogan was staying close to Cooper and knew he was keeping an eye on Cooper. Cooper seemed irritated by it, which made Ina chuckle inside. He must have thought he could continue running the ranch the same way he had when Hank was still around. Apparently, Hank hadn’t kept a very close watch on Cooper, which was probably just the way Cooper liked it.
When the first clap of thunder shook the ground, the cattle lurched, and it was all they could do to keep the group from taking off in the other direction in a mad stampede. However, a small group broke away, and Cooper went after them, with Chogan close on his tail. Feeling assured that Chogan could take care of the situation, and keep Cooper in line, Ina focused on keeping the rest of the cattle going in the same direction, as she called for the others to hold them tight, and not let any wayward maverick make a break for it. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning knifed through the sky erupting in the middle of the herd, hitting one of the steers, causing it to fall to the ground. The rest of the herd went crazy scattering in all directions, with small groups breaking loose from the body of the herd. Dohate took off after one small group, and Ezhno followed the other, which left Ina, Hudson, and Adoette to struggle with the main herd.
Ina thought of how Callie had saved Beth from going over the drop off during a storm when they w
ere driving cattle, and knew how she must have felt. Only no one’s life was in danger at the moment. Ina hoped it remained that way. She glanced over at Hudson. His face looked stark, but it had a certain determination in it that impressed Ina. He was working on keeping the rest of the cattle within the main group and Adoette, on the other side of her, was working on the same thing.
Only then the clouds opened up and the rain came down so suddenly that what had once been dust blowing around in the wind, turned into mud splashing up in their faces. The rain made a thumping noise on her slicker, and she was amazed at how dry the slicker always kept her. Ina wiped her face with her sleeve, but it didn’t do much good, as more mud and water continued to assault her, making muddy rivulets down the front of her slicker. She was praying they could just hold the group together and get them in the pen, without any mishap. She wondered how the others were faring with their smaller groups of cattle. Without warning, Ina’s horse’s hoof hit a prairie-dog hole and went tumbling to its knees, throwing Ina from its back. She found herself sprawled in a tangle of yellow slicker, the muddy water now soaking into her clothes. No sooner had it happened, when Adoette was at her side, helping her to her feet.
“Are you hurt?” he asked, trying to yell above the noise of the storm and the cattle.
“I don’t think so, but my horse took off with the rest of the cattle. I was riding one of the new horses, which needs a lot more training, I can see.”
“Come on up with me,” Adoette offered, picking her up and placing her on his own horse, and then swinging up behind her. “It looks like Hudson has his hands full, trying to manage that group on his own.
“I’m surprised he is doing such a good job,” Ina commented, as they tried to catch up with the cattle, and hold the other side tight.
Adoette kept one arm firmly around Ina’s waist, holding her steadily in front of him, as his horse weaved and bobbed forcing cattle back into the group each time a stray tried to break away from the rest. Ina was amazed at how well his horse responded and wished the horse she had been riding had performed as well.
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