Yellowstone Redemption

by Peggy L Henderson

  It’s what you wanted all this time, Russell.

  Sarah’s father made it plain that he didn’t think he was good enough for his daughter. Chase knew he was right.

  Aimee Osborne cleared her throat. She stood, and pushed her chair away from the table.

  “Daniel. A word with you, please,” she said, facing her husband. Chase had to smile to himself. This little woman seemed to be the only person who didn’t cower in front of Daniel Osborne. He could see where Sarah got her feistiness.

  “I…..ah…I’ll just go outside, then,” Chase ran his hand up and down the back of his neck, and stood. He was anxious to find Sarah and talk to her.

  “You will remain here.” Daniel shot him a dark glare that dared him to challenge his authority. He left the cabin. Aimee smiled tentatively at him, then followed her husband out the door.

  Chapter 26

  Aimee inhaled deeply, and stepped out of the cabin. She quietly closed the door behind her, and scanned the meadow. There was no need, really. She knew Daniel would be down by the river. Whenever he had something on his mind that required alone time, that’s where he went. She smiled softly. Sure enough, her husband stood at the riverbank, looking beyond the Madison. Aimee wasted no time, and hurried to his side. She reached up and placed her hand on Daniel’s shoulder.

  “Weren’t you a bit harsh?” she asked gently. Daniel was usually reserved and quiet, and he never passed judgment in haste. He turned to face her, his eyebrows raised in a silent question.

  “He’s confused, Daniel. He was thrown back here without his knowledge, to a time and place he’s completely unfamiliar with, and—“

  “Exactly,” Daniel interrupted her, his voice firm. “That’s why he needs to go back to his time as quickly as possible.” He avoided her eyes, and focused on something along the opposite riverbank.

  “He’s in love with Sarah,” Aimee said softly. How well she understood that feeling.

  “I can see that,” Daniel’s voice raised uncharacteristically. His body tensed, and he continued to stare off into the distance. Aimee moved in front of him. She wasn’t tall enough to obstruct his view, so she wound her arms around his neck and pulled his face down to meet her gaze. Still tense, his arms wrapped around her waist.

  “And she’s in love with him,” Aimee added, staring into his dark eyes.

  Daniel’s jaw clenched and unclenched.

  “You know it’s going to be near impossible to find that time travel device. It’s been twenty-five years. We never thought we’d use it again, remember? That’s why we disposed of it the way we did. What happens if you can’t find it?” She wrapped her fingers around some strand of hair at his nape, and one hand caressed his jaw. His tension eased, but only slightly.

  Daniel didn’t answer. He moved his hands away from her waist, and took a step back. She dropped her arms. Daniel had his stubborn moments, but she usually succeeded in swaying him to see reason. He turned away from her and walked along the riverbank. She followed, and slipped her hand in his. Finally, he gave it a tight squeeze. It was a start. At least he wasn’t shutting her out completely, and there were things that needed to be said. Aimee had her suspicions for the cause of his behavior, and it was best all brought out now.

  “You have to teach him,” she said, pulling him to a stop. He turned, and stared down at her. She almost laughed. He looked at her in stunned silence, much like the man she fell in love with twenty-five years ago, when she proposed the same challenge. “If you think you know everything, then why don’t you teach me?”

  “He needs to return to his time,” Daniel stated adamantly. The gentle afternoon breeze lifted Daniel’s hair from his neck.

  “He needs to learn to survive here, in case he can’t go back,” she argued.

  “Impossible.” He shook his head.

  “Why?” Aimee glared at him, and threw her free hand in the air. “You taught me. You taught our children.”

  “That’s different,” he said quickly. He looked past her shoulders into the distance. What was he thinking? Did he remember standing along this path so many years ago, when she had dared him to teach her to survive here?

  “How so? How is it different?”

  “A man needs to be able to protect his family, and provide for them. This young buck can do neither.” His gestured with his chin towards the cabin.

  “That’s why you need to teach him.” Why couldn’t he see the logic here?

  Daniel released Aimee’s hand, and ran it through his tousled hair. He inhaled deeply before he spoke again. “Hawk Soaring came to me, before we left for rendezvous. He has asked for Sarah.”

  Aimee tilted her head at him and studied his face. “And what did you tell him, Daniel? You could never give you daughter in marriage to someone she doesn’t want.”

  “Perhaps I will. He is a good man. He will be a good provider.”

  Aimee laughed. “I know she and Hawk Soaring have been friends, but has she ever said she is interested in him as a potential husband?”

  Daniel didn’t answer. The scowl on his face sent most men into hiding.

  “You want to know what I think?” Unperturbed by his dark look, she stood to face him and put her hand on his chest.

  Daniel’s scowl turned into a frown, and he inhaled sharply. His lips were drawn in a tight line. “No, but I’m sure you will tell me anyways,” he growled.

  “I think you are afraid to lose your little girl….. to any man.”

  Daniel avoided her eyes. She reached up and cupped his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her. “Teach him. He might surprise you. I’m sure you noticed the tattoo on his chest.” She waited for his response.

  Daniel scoffed. “He can’t be the man we’ve heard about. A man completely out of his element, defeating an entire village of Blackfoot? Impossible.”

  “So the obvious explanation is that there has to be another white man in these mountains somewhere with that kind of tattoo. Is that what you’re saying?” She laughed before her face grew serious again. “Daniel, he looks highly capable to me. He might be out of his element, but he’s had certain training in his own time that requires similar skills that are needed to survive here.”

  Daniel sighed, and stared intently at her. Had he forgotten all the pain and anguish they both endured when they were torn apart from each other all those years ago? Surely he could see that his daughter loved this man. And by the look on Chase’s face, he was deeply in love with her.

  There was a difference, however, Aimee had to concede. Chase seemed to want to return to the future. Aimee remembered how she had fought against being returned to 2010. She had wanted to remain here. She was told she’d be time traveling to the past. It was still a mystery to her how Chase had ended up here.

  Chase was a confused young man. He needed more time to figure out exactly what was important to him. From what he had told her so far, he had made some bad choices and gotten into a lot of trouble. Maybe he just needed to see that he could make a fresh start here.

  Aimee had liked him immediately. She could tell he was torn between his love for Sarah, and for feeling out of place here. That seemed to be the only reason he’d want to return home. If he got a good foothold here, learned about the mountains and how to survive, he would see that this was where he could truly become a man.

  All he needed was the confidence, the belief in himself, to survive on his own, which he seemed to lack. Besting a village of Blackfoot didn’t come by sheer luck. Daniel had been ambushed, and nearly died at the hands of a war party twenty five years ago. If he’d been taken hostage instead, and given the same chance that Chase had been given, could her own husband have accomplished such a feat when he was that age?

  Daniel pulled her in his arms and kissed her. “I will teach him. But, I do so only because you ask.”

  Aimee wound her arms around his neck. “Your daughter will thank you for it,” she smiled into his warm eyes.

  “I still plan to search for the sna
ke head,” Daniel said sternly. “In the meantime, I will do as you wish. But he cannot sleep in our house any longer. He will move to the old cabin.”

  Aimee nodded in agreement. “When do you plan to look for the device? We have lots to do here.”

  “I will decide when the time is right. We’ve just returned home.”

  “You’d best go unpack the horses. Those poor things are still standing around with their loads. I think I need to find our daughter and have a woman to woman talk with her.”

  “When has our daughter become a woman,” he mumbled. Aimee smiled at the frown on her husband’s face. “Ask Chase to help you with the horses,” she called over her shoulder as she walked away.

  She found Sarah sitting on a downed log on the rise behind the cabin. The area was concealed by lodgepoles, yet provided a panoramic view of the valley. Sarah’s shoulders slumped, and she stared at her hands in her lap.

  “Can I sit with you?” Aimee asked quietly. Sarah’s tear stained face tore at her heart. She remembered that feeling of losing the man she loved all too well. For a young woman, it was a devastating feeling. Sarah nodded, and Aimee sat down next to her.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked, wrapping her arm around Sarah’s shoulder. Her daughter’s body shuddered when she took in a deep breath.

  “Why does he say he loves me, but wants to go home?” Sarah sobbed.

  Aimee closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “It’s complicated for him, Sarah. He comes from a world that is very different from here. He doesn’t know how he fits in.”

  “But you wanted to stay here with papa. How did you fit in?”

  “I sort of knew what I was getting into when I got sent here. I wanted to be here. Chase has no prior experience with the wilderness. He told me he’s never been away from the city in his time, until he came to this area shortly before he was sent back in time.”

  “He has no confidence in his abilities, mama.” Sarah wiped her face on her sleeve, and sniffed. “You should see him. He throws a tomahawk as good as papa, and he defeated twenty Blackfoot warriors, but he still doesn’t believe he can survive here.”

  “Right now, I’m sure all he remembers is what a struggle it was to defeat those warriors. He can’t see it for the accomplishment it truly is.” She chuckled. “Perhaps he thinks it is a common thing for a man in this time to run barefoot and nude over mountainous terrain for the many miles he covered.”

  Sarah stared at her. “I told him I’d never heard of anyone accomplishing such a feat.”

  “He must have been hurt badly during that ordeal.” Aimee’s face grew serious.

  “He could barely walk. He was feverish for days. I thought he would die.” Fresh tears pooled in her daughter’s eyes.

  “I’m proud of you, Sarah.” Aimee rested a hand on Sarah’s shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. “Your healing skills are getting very good.” After a moment’s silence, she added, “I asked your father to teach him.”

  Sarah’s face lit up, then the smile froze. “Papa doesn’t seem to like him very much.”

  Aimee smiled smugly. “Your father needs to come to terms with a few things. He’ll warm up to him.”

  “Why didn’t he tell me that Hawk Soaring spoke to him before rendezvous?”

  “You know about that?” Aimee raised her eyebrows in surprise.

  “I found out when I tended to Snow Bird. She has a healthy son.”

  Aimee nodded. She looked down into the valley from their perch high above. Chase emerged from the cabin behind Daniel. The two walked to where the horses were tethered by the woodpile. Daniel appeared to be instructing him what to do. He’d always been a patient teacher. She hoped he wouldn’t deviate from his ways with his newest pupil.

  “Looks like they’re getting along just fine,” Aimee said cheerfully, pointing towards the cabin. Sarah watched in silence. Her shoulders slumped forward, and she twisted a blade of grass between her fingers. There was no hint of joy on her face.

  “Your father can’t see you as a grown woman yet, Sarah. It’s hard for him. In his eyes, he still sees the little girl who fell asleep on his lap every night. It’s hard for him to give you over to another man. I think Hawk Soaring’s request took him by surprise. Imagine his shock now,” Aimee laughed. “He comes home, and the last thing he expects to find is a man in the house who is obviously quite taken with you. And you with him. And,” she paused and leaned forward to see her daughter’s face, “we never expected to have this time travel device come up again. That was something we’ve both put behind us.”

  Sarah stared into the valley, her eyes trained on the man unloading blankets and furs off one of the horses. Her hand plucked at some grasses in the dirt.

  “Chase has no intention of asking for me. He wants to go home,” Sarah said solemnly. Aimee didn’t know how to console her.

  “Sarah. The man is in love with you. That is a powerful thing. It probably scares him. He doesn’t know what to do. All I can say is, give him time.”

  “Papa wants to find the thing that brought Chase…and you, here. Will he find it?”

  “Chances are, he won’t.”

  “Good,” Sarah said firmly.

  Aimee smiled softly. “Sarah, do you love him enough to let him go?”

  “What do you mean?” She looked up, confusion evident on her face.

  “Sometimes, you have to let the person you love be free. You can’t force him to stay if he doesn’t want to. Would you rather he be miserable if he truly doesn’t want to stay here? If your father does find that device, you have to be strong enough to let Chase go if he chooses.”

  Sarah nodded. She wiped her hand across her face, and stood. “May I speak with him?” she asked softly.

  “Of course,” Aimee answered. “Just because we’re home doesn’t mean you two can’t interact.”

  “Papa won’t allow it, I know it.”

  “You let me deal with your father, okay?” Aimee rose from the log, and patted Sarah on the shoulder. She led the way down the hill. The Tukudeka had strict rules about courting, and she realized it must have been difficult for her daughter to go against all the customs she’d grown up with, to have a man live under the same roof with her for over a month. And Chase’s modern ways no doubt added to the confusion. She smiled to herself. Hadn’t it been similar with her and Daniel so many years ago? Her unconventional ways had perplexed him at the start of their relationship. Fond memories came flooding back, warming her insides.

  *******

  Sarah opened the door to the little cabin, the hinges squeaking loudly, and walked in. Her mother had told her she’d keep her father occupied in the house so she could speak with Chase. Mama understood the need for the two of them to talk, after all that had happened this day. Sarah hadn’t expected to find such a strong advocate in her mother. More often than not over the last few years, they’d argued over the most trivial things.

  Chase was busy shoving trunks against the wall opposite the bunk. He turned when she walked in. His tightly drawn lips relaxed. A wide smile lit up his face. He covered the space between them in two strides, and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her to him. “I thought I’d never get you alone again,” he said in a husky tone. His hand swept loose hair off of her face, and he brought his lips down on hers.

  Sarah stood stiffly for a moment. Her parents were home. She shouldn’t be this close to Chase. His lips on hers quickly made her forget about her parents. Her body relaxed, and her arms crept around his neck. She leaned into him and let the warm sensations of being in his arms wash over her.

  “I missed you, angel,” he murmured against her ear, then pulled back.

  “I missed you, too. If my father finds me here…..” she let her words trail off.

  Chase grinned. “Yeah, I’d better watch my manners. I already got the lecture from him. He’s not one to mess with, is he?” His warm hands at her waist sent shivers through her. “The trouble is, I’m willing to take the risk. I can’
t stay away from you.” He bent and nuzzled her neck.

  Sarah wrapped her arms around him. She leaned her head against his chest, his strong heart beating against her ear. Then why don’t you want to stay with me? Her mother had said to give him time. How much time would he need? And would she really be strong enough to let him go if her father found the device? Would he choose to leave?

  Chapter 27

  Chase walked up to the cabin and knocked on the door. His first night spent in the old cabin had felt odd. He missed Sarah’s scent on her bed, but he knew it was better that way. It would feel even worse living under the same roof with her parents.

  He recognized Aimee’s voice inside, inviting him to enter. His eyes swept the room when he stepped in. Sarah stood with her back to him at the workbench. She turned, and their eyes met. An imperceptible current seemed to flow between them. His gut tightened. The urge to rush to her, pull her in his arms, and kiss her senseless was overwhelming. His toes curled in his moccasins, as if they would root him to the ground and prevent him from moving towards her.

  “Sit down, Chase. Breakfast is ready,” Aimee’s soft voice broke the invisible tie between him and Sarah. She ladled food out of the skillet onto plates, and Chase took a seat at the table. He glanced around, wondering why Daniel wasn’t in the room. He hoped he hadn’t sat in the man’s chair, but no one told him to move. Sarah brought him a steaming cup of coffee. His hand darted out and touched hers when she set the cup in front of him. She didn’t move, and the longing in her eyes when she met his gaze was almost his undoing.

  “Thanks,” he said, clearing his throat. He pulled his hand away when Aimee set a plate in front of him. Sarah turned and headed back to the workbench.

  “Sleep well?” Aimee asked cheerfully.

  “I guess so,” he shrugged, taking a bite of the pancake-looking things on his plate.

  “Sarah and I are headed to the Tukudeka village after breakfast. We should be home before dark.”