by Deanna Jewel
“I made up a fresh one this morning while you two slept,” Ahanu said, then winked at Kate, and her cheeks flared.
Taima met her gaze and couldn’t help but smile. “You changed the dressing while I slept?”
Kate lowered her lashes and nodded.
“She is also the reason you didn’t freeze to death,” Ahanu added, then placed more wood on the existing fire.
“What of the trappers?” Taima asked, worried for Kate’s safety.
“They passed through the valley below three mornings ago, right after we got you settled here,” Ahanu answered.
Taima winced again as Kate retightened the binding to secure the new poultice. “We’ve lost three days travel,” he said.
“And we’ll lose three more, if necessary,” Kate scolded. “You’re not going anywhere until you’re better.”
Taima gave her a sidelong glance at the sternness he heard in her voice. The look in her eyes dared him to object. “Aiyana won’t be happy with Ahanu, or me, if we don’t get back soon.”
“I’m sure he’ll deal with it. You need to rest.”
Taima watched Kate busy herself. She covered his chest with Ahanu’s buckskin shirt, but avoided his gaze. Her touch not only warmed his flesh, but had somehow begun to warm his heart. Something he hadn’t thought would ever be possible again. The love he’d felt toward Witashnah could never be greater for another woman; at least he used to think so.
“You must be hungry,” Ahanu said. He turned meat roasting over the fire, interrupting Taima’s musings. “This beaver will be ready soon.”
“I could use a drink. Is there water?” Taima asked, rising on an elbow. Kate retrieved the water pouch, and he watched the gentle sway of her hips. Taima took a deep breath, hoping to calm the rapid beat of his heart. She affected him more than he’d realized.
He wondered where she got the idea of another woman when he’d always referred to her as the one Kelee enjoyed being with. Thinking back on their conversations, he didn’t remember ever mentioning Kate’s name, just that the woman he was interested in only cared for Kelee. How could she misconstrue what he’d said? But the fact remained, she had. He drew his eyebrows together as Kate knelt beside him.
She handed him the water, and his fingers brushed her cool hand. Had he not been so weak and in so much pain, he would show her there was no other woman. He tipped up the pouch, and swallowed the tepid liquid without breaking eye contact.
“Lay back and rest until the meal is ready. Are you warm enough?”
He returned the water skin to her, but continued leaning on his elbow. “I’m fine, thank you.”
Kate lowered her lashes and laid the pouch aside. The fringe at the bottom of her dress occupied her fingers as she scrapped dried mud from a few of the red beads. She sat quietly, obviously concentrating on removing the dirt. He wanted to look into the brilliant green of her eyes, so waited for her to glance up again.
A long, silent moment passed between them.
Unable to wait any longer, he placed a finger beneath her chin to raise her face to eye level. Dark lashes slowly rose to reveal her mysterious green gaze. Taima looked deep into her eyes, not sure what he searched for. Perhaps a clue to whom she was or where she was from. “I want to know more about you,” he said, dropping his finger from her chin.
Kate tipped her head to the side. “There’s nothing to tell.”
“How are your headaches?”
She paused, a small smile curving her lips. Such a simple gesture, yet it tightened his stomach muscles, making him sorely aware of his wound. She held his gaze. “I guess I’ve been too worried about you to think about my own problems.”
“Tell me where you’re from.”
Kate’s eyebrows drew together. “I don’t think I can. You wouldn’t believe me.”
“Sakima seems to know. So why are you afraid to tell me?”
Taima waited patiently. If she were to open up to him, he didn’t want to rush her. She sat quietly before speaking. Her gaze darted to Ahanu, then back to himself. “I’m not afraid to tell you, it’s just that I have a hard time remembering. Pieces of my past life flash through my mind. That’s when my headaches start.”
“Why did you think I wouldn’t understand about your headaches when we were at the mounds?”
“Sakima didn’t think you would want to know about the visions I get because you haven’t shown any interest in his visions or me.”
“I can’t deny I felt that at the time. My father thinks you will be with us for many moons. He’s told me this. Is that something you want?”
“Sakima says it also involves you, so it’s not a decision I can make alone. Besides Kelee, we need to deal with the other woman as well.” Kate looked down at a broken fingernail on her left hand. “She watches me whenever I’m away from you, like one day just before I entered your lean-to. She stared at me a few moments, then stepped inside her own lean-to.”
Taima covered her hands with one of his, careful not to hurt the wounds on her wrists. “Who is this other woman you speak of? I’m not aware of her.”
Ahanu knelt beside Kate with food for each of them. “She is Dichali’s daughter. Her name is Mai. I, too, have seen the way she watches Kate. There is evil in her eyes.”
Taima bit into the meat as he thought about the women in their small group. “How could I not notice her if she’s been keeping an eye on Kate?”
Ahanu wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I’ve heard others say evil surrounds her. Bad things happen when she’s around.”
Taima glanced at Kate and knew the suspicion he witnessed in her eyes should alarm him. “Let me know if she causes you any trouble,” he said to Kate.
She quickly swallowed her food, then licked the remainder from the corner of her mouth. In a light, teasing tone, she pointed a greasy finger in his direction and said, “You know I’m not afraid of anyone or anything.”
Shifting his weight on his elbow, Taima tipped his head back and laughed with Ahanu. “Not even the vicious grizzly looking for a hot meal?”
“I might have to admit that, but . . .” She laughed along with them.
Taima tossed his bones into the fire. Bending his knees, he eased onto his back, and touched his side. “I think too much laughter has gotten to me.”
“You need to rest. Perhaps a short walk later would do you good,” Kate prescribed.
Taima glanced at her, then draped his arm over his eyes. He still couldn’t believe she wasn’t trying to start a fight with him. The Blackfoot’s capture of her seemed to have tamed her somewhat, making him anxious to tame her the rest of the way once he was back on his feet.
The shirt on his chest moved closer to his chin and over his sides. He knew Kate adjusted his covering, though he refused to open his eyes or move. He enjoyed the attention. She might even care for him, but knew she wouldn’t admit it.
* * * * *
Satisfied she’d made Taima comfortable while he napped, Kate sat near the fire and watched over him. Never had she been so glad to see him open his eyes as she was this morning. He had been near death. His color appeared better even while he rested. Kate breathed a sigh of relief.
A gentle hand on her shoulder startled her.
Ahanu squatted beside her and said, “He looks better today. I think he’ll be fine, now.”
“I think so, too. But I’m worried that now you aren’t warm enough since Taima has your shirt.”
“Don’t worry about me.” Ahanu laughed and stood. “I’m going down to the river for a few minutes. Everything should be fine while I’m gone, but keep an ear open.”
“I promise.”
Kate watched Ahanu stride away. “Be careful,” she called after him.
The fire crackled from the fresh wood Ahanu had placed on it. Closing her eyes, she inhaled the pine scent emanating from the wood. Warmth from the afternoon sun kissed her arms and face, warming her.
“I think you can still smell the fire from over here.
Come keep me warm.”
Kate opened her eyes; her heart raced with worry. She hurried over to Taima. “Are you getting chilled again? I should check your wound.”
“You’ve already done that. It’s fine, but I am a little cold. Do you mind?” Taima asked, slowly rolling onto his side.
Kate understood his silent invitation to lie next to him. Concerned, she immediately knelt next to him. His skin felt cool to her touch; his forehead perspired. The shirt she had placed on him for warmth had slipped to the ground. She replaced it over his shoulder, covering his arm and side.
Taima stretched out his other arm, again inviting her to lie next to him. She looked into bottomless blue eyes for evidence of one of his tricks. Each time she gazed into his eyes, her body reacted; a tightening clenched her woman’s center, a sensual tingle fluttered over her flesh. Her heart beat so fast she could hardly breathe.
“Please?” he asked again.
Conceding, she lay on her back, placing her head on his firm bicep. Taima rested his head on a clump of grass-covered sod Ahanu had fashioned for a pillow. When he draped his arm over her stomach, his long fingers curved around her waist, and Kate stiffened.
“You can relax. What do you think I’ll do to you in my present condition?”
“I’m sorry, I’m just nervous.”
“Nervous because of what you’re thinking?”
His warm breath caressed her cheek. The pit of her stomach swirled. She did think of him making love to her, but would die before she allowed him to know. “No! Of course not.” A heated blush covered her face and neck.
“You are a beautiful woman, Kate. Any man would be pleased to be with you, but my mother taught me there was more to a woman than what one sees. There are special qualities a man needs to find in a wife, so his children will also be happy with the woman he chooses. You will make someone a wonderful wife someday.”
An emptiness filled Kate. Was he telling her to look elsewhere for a husband, that he wasn’t interested in her?
When she turned toward Taima, their mouths were mere inches apart. She remembered what it felt like when those tender lips had touched her neck at the healing waters, how his knowing caress had made her knees weaken. He wouldn’t have kissed her like that had he not been at least a little interested.
Confusion clouded her mind regarding their relationship. First he wants nothing to do with her, then he tracks her down to get her back. Men! And they say women are confusing, she mused.
“Your mother sounds like she was an intelligent woman.”
“She’s been gone three years, but she taught me many things she’d learned in the east.” He stopped talking, as though to ponder his past. “My father still keeps her alive in his thoughts, he loved her very much. He and I both mourn the loss of someone we loved, but...somehow, I have a feeling you’ve experienced the same type of a loss.”
Kate looked into the branches overhead, wondering why she couldn’t piece her memory together better. The visions she’d seen only served to bring bits of a tragedy to mind, but not the whole story. She had felt a sense of loss when she’d seen the car accident in her vision that night at the fire with Washakie. But a loss of whom? The ache the vision left was still with her whenever she thought back on it. The man in the dream had to have been someone she loved very much.
“Can you tell me about him?” he asked.
Taima’s fingers caressed her side, but she tried to concentrate on the few pillowy clouds that crossed the blue sky, rather than the intimate thoughts his touch provoked. “I don’t remember a lot of my past, just like I don’t remember where I’m from.”
“Do you think you’re from the east? You speak like my mother.”
“If I am, how did I get here?” She looked at Taima again. He lifted his head and rose onto his elbow. “I should remember. And it scares me that I don’t.” Tears gathered in her eyes, blurring her vision. Loneliness filled her heart. She wanted to close her eyes, to forget her past.
Taima’s hand moved to cradle her upper back, his gaze concentrating on her lips.
His head bent forward.
Kate’s pulse raced in anticipation of his kiss. Taima’s fingers laced through her hair, cupping the back of her head. She caressed his chest. Gently, his warm mouth took hers, his tongue quickly parting her lips. She welcomed his comforting kiss, reveled in the healing power of his touch, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Slowly, she moved her hand to caress the contoured muscles of his back.
Taima released a groan as he deepened the kiss. His tongue swept over her lips and the sensitive skin of her mouth, swirling her into a whirlpool of desire.
He drew her closer and she rolled toward him, arching her back. Her breasts tingled against his chest and her nipples tightened in reaction to his hand moving down the length of her spine. The heat of his tongue touched hers, and she kissed him with equal fervor, willing to give herself to him if that’s what he asked for. A moan escaped her throat. Shivers of delight followed his caress.
His mouth left hers, only to sear a hot path along her neck to the hollow of her throat. Kate rested her head back onto Taima’s arm, lost in his tender passion. Warm, moist air touched her flesh where he kissed her.
The weight of his body rolled Kate onto her back, his arousal pressing intimately against her thigh, making her liquid center flow like molten lava. He touched his forehead to hers. “I think you are the reason I suffer from this fever, woman. My desire for you makes me delirious.”
She kissed his mouth, coaxing a reply. It amazed her that she could affect him in this way, yet he refused to admit he had stronger feelings for her. “And how do you think to cure yourself?”
“I don’t think you’re prepared to hear my answer, and physically, I don’t think I’m able to show you.”
“Then I can rest without worry of being attacked?”
“At least not by me,” he chuckled, moving to again lie beside her. He rested his head on the grass-covered sod pillow. “Not today, anyway... perhaps soon enough, though.”
“You sound like you need to sleep. If I promise to stay beside you, will you nap?”
Taima cupped her cheek, drawing her mouth to his for a brief kiss. “That will bring me sweet dreams.”
Kate covered him again with the shirt over his arm and side. Settling herself comfortably, she thought of their conversation. Did he only desire her, yet love another woman? She’d never ask outright. The answer could crush her. Though Taima slept, his hold on her side stayed firm, reinforcing his desire even while he slept.
“Is that the only way he would go to sleep?” Ahanu asked quietly upon returning from the river. He shook his head and smiled.
Kate’s cheeks still heated when Ahanu found her wrapped in Taima’s strong arms, even though she’d kept him warm in this manner for days.
“As long as he rests,” Ahanu replied, dropping three large trout onto a boulder then pulled his knife from the sheath.
“Do you want me to do that?” she asked.
“And have him furious at me because you woke him? I’d rather do it than suffer his wrath.”
* * * * *
Kate licked the last of the delicious trout from her fingers as the three of them ate later that afternoon. “Ahanu, you are an excellent chef.”
“Chef?” he asked, dropping his hands to his lap.
“Cook, it means the same thing. But fish are also good deep-fried.” She realized her mistake too late.
“Deep-fried?” Taima asked.
“The fish are rolled in a flour mixture, then immersed in a deep-fryer of hot oil.”
Taima tipped his head slightly. “And what is this deep-fryer?”
“It’s an electric pot that heats the cooking oil. You have to plug it in.”
“You talk in circles, woman. We don’t know this electric,” Taima said, shaking his head.
Kate stared at him, thinking back on the simple conveniences she was accustomed to, but from what year did she come? “Th
ese are the types of things I know of, yet I don’t know how. Even now, I can envision what the deep-fryer looks like, the electric outlet in the wall, even a microwave.”
“Walls? Microwaves?” Ahanu looked suspicious. “Our people have a right to fear one who sees things not spoken of. Sakima is aware of your visions?”
She looked at both men. The torment of existing in two time periods was beginning to take its toll on her patience. “He had a vision of me before I even arrived. The vision told him I would come from the future.” Kate waited for some sort of reaction from them, but the two only looked at each other, puzzled.
Ahanu spoke to Taima. “You should listen to your father when he speaks. You said he tried to tell you of this.”
Taima met Kate’s gaze. The straight, unreadable expression was neither angry nor cold, just confused. He looked away, then stood.
Feeling more alone than ever, Kate rose. “Where are you going? You’re in no condition to be traipsing through the woods.”
“I will return, then we’ll talk.”
As Taima disappeared into the trees, Kate turned to Ahanu. “Why doesn’t he listen to Sakima when he talks of his visions?”
“Long ago, Sakima envisioned the capture of Taima’s mother. Then years later, told Taima his wife and mother wouldn’t be with them much longer. Those are only a few of the visions which Sakima has had...and eventually they come to pass.”
“And here I am…tormenting a man who needs no more tormenting.”
“It’s no fault of yours. Taima has to deal with your presence in his own way. He’s not been with a woman since Witashnah died. He’s kept away from them. He loved her very much, and I think he’s afraid to open his heart again. Her death was a great blow to him. For months after she passed, Taima led our warriors into battle, placing himself at death’s door each time. The death wish he carried was a heavy one, though now he allows himself to spend more time with Kelee.”