by Deanna Jewel
Taima’s chuckle sounded light and easy. “One of those maidens will become his wife, to pass on our legend to his children and great grandchildren, and eventually get to someone in your future to retell our story of how my spirit will follow you through time.”
Surprised by Taima’s comment, Kate met the certainty in his eyes. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
He slowly nodded. “I must do what is necessary to fulfill my dreams. My spirit will travel through eternity to find you. Don’t ever doubt that.”
Kate looked out across the water to stare at the stony cliffs. A memory flashed through her mind of a man with long hair, dressed in a dark brown duster, walking away from her. The shiver running down her spine did more than send a tingle of excitement over her flesh. Something familiar about the man in the duster had caught her attention, yet she couldn’t place her finger on what it was. She closed her eyes, wanting desperately to know all the answers and her true reason for being here.
“Kate, look,” Kelee called to her, holding up his catch.
“I’ll start a fire so we can eat soon,” she called back, dismissing the memories.
As she turned, Taima’s fingers gently caught her beneath the chin, raising her face to his. “You are special to both of us, my wife. Remember that.”
Taima’s head descended until his warm lips touched hers and lingered there. His arm encircled her waist and drew her close, his tongue slipping past her lips to sweep her mouth. Security cloaked her as surely as his embrace.
Her tongue met Taima’s, enticing a moan from his throat. Kate wanted him, here, now, but not with Kelee present. She knew there would be time for them later.
“Perhaps Ahanu will show up and take Kelee back with him,” Taima said, his voice rumbling from deep within his chest.
Kate slowly slipped her fingers down the warm column of his neck, tracing a line to the hollow of his throat. He swallowed.
“I, too, want you, but we will have time later, my warrior chief. Right now, your son wants us to cook his fish.”
* * * * *
Unwillingly, Taima released her and Kate left to gather wood for their fire. The gentle sway of her hips stirred memories of last night and how easily she kept rhythm with his body. He clenched his fists, willing away the need that built within him like a raging flame. Tonight would not come soon enough.
He strode over and sat atop a log to watch Kelee spear more fish. Kelee brought over the few he had, then returned to the lake for more.
Hoof beats sounded in the distance.
Taima listened intently.
A lone rider approached.
Taima turned to check on Kate. She squatted at the newly built fire oblivious of the newcomer. Placing a finger to his lips, he motioned for her to remain quiet.
“Nechan! Come.”
Kelee obeyed, and he and Taima strode to Kate’s side. “Keep him with you. I know not who approaches.”
Kate’s eyebrows drew together. “But I don’t hear anything.”
“Listen.”
The rider’s horse approached like a thunderstorm on a quiet afternoon, stopping abruptly before Taima, the hooves stirring up a cloud of dust.
An out-of-breath warrior steadied his horse. “We need you at camp. The Ute are attacking our people. They have already taken two of our women,” shouted one of Taima’s braves.
Knowing what he must do, Taima looked to Kate. “Keep Kelee with you until I return. You will be safe here.”
His heart raced, hoping he wouldn’t be too late to save his people. Taima mounted his horse and raced back to their camp.
Smoke filled the air as he approached the encampment. The remains of one lean-to lay in smoldering ashes. Aiyana huddled nearby with her children. At least they were safe. Through the dusty haze, Taima’s gaze darted about. Crying women and children ran around collecting what belongings had been scattered by the Ute. His heart sank with pity for those who had lost all their belongings.
Battle cries on the far side of their camp drew Taima’s attention. A Ute warrior leaned over, grabbed a woman, and pulled her struggling body onto his horse, then raced across the meadow of tall grass toward the pine tree-covered mountainside.
Taima gripped the mane of his horse and his mount lunged forward, determined to rescue the frightened woman.
Minutes seemed an eternity before he rode anywhere near the warriors. As he closed in, the Ute plunged from sight, into the dense forest.
* * * * *
Kate wanted to be with Taima, to be sure Ahanu and Aiyana were safe, but Kelee needed her protection. She had helped him clean the fish and now they cooked over the open fire.
Kate reached over the hot coals to retrieve a stick of baked trout and handed it to Kelee, then got one for herself. Her stomach growled as the delicious aroma wafted around her.
Peeling back the skin to expose the succulent white meat, she popped a piece into her mouth, only to burn her tongue. “Mmmm...this tastes great, Kelee. You are an excellent fisherman. Your father is proud of your skill, you know.”
“Thank you, but Noshi can catch many more fish than I can,” he stated, placing another chunk of fish into his mouth. “He’s the best hunter of all our warriors, and he’s killed more buffalo and elk than anyone.” Kelee stiffened his spine and threw back his shoulders. “One day, I will be a great hunter like my father.”
Feasting away on his fish, Kelee stopped. His eyes again lit with excitement. “I will ask Noshi when we can take you to see the ancient Indian pictures high on the rocks. You’ll like them.”
Kate laid her cooking stick aside, her fish gone. “Where are these pictures?”
“They are all over the rocks way down by three lakes. We’ve been there many times. That’s where my father and Ahanu hunt the big horn sheep. We have to travel down around the two red-painted mountains. You’ll like seeing them, too. We have so much around here to show you yet. I hope you decide to stay.” Without another thought, Kelee plucked off another chunk of fish from his stick and ate heartily.
Kate smiled. Kelee’s self-esteem glowed from his young face. One certainly could not mistake who his father was. She would miss him when the time came for her to return, if it ever did.
“Kate...will you go back to live with your own people someday?” His question took her by surprise. Surely he was not privy to her thoughts.
“I don’t think there are any of my people here.”
“You can stay with us then.”
The plea in Kelee’s eyes warmed her heart. He would never understand should she suddenly disappear and return to her own time. “I will stay for as long as I’m able, but I fear there are some among your people who feel I don’t belong here.”
Kelee threw down his empty roasting stick. “And who are these people? I will have Noshi cast them from our group.”
“You are too kind,” Kate said, easily laughing. “But we must get along with others, even when we don’t always agree. Besides, here, I am the intruder.”
A woman suddenly spoke up in her native tongue behind Kate, the harsh tone immediately stiffening Kate’s spine. Before she could turn around to see who the woman was, Kelee stood and his lip curled as he angrily retorted in Shoshone.
Kate turned around when the woman spoke again.
Mai stood there alone.
The anger left her eyes when she met Kate’s gaze. Unable to understand her next comment, Kate looked at Kelee. “What did she say?”
Kelee glanced back at her, his eight-year-old body tall and proud as he stepped between herself and Mai. Kate wondered how much of their conversation the woman had overheard. “She means to offer her friendship as a bond with those who don’t want you here,” he said.
“Do you speak English?” Kate asked Mai.
Mai looked at Kelee and so did Kate, her lips still pursed in anger. “No she doesn’t.”
Mai held out a leather necklace with a small pouch attached, motioning for Kelee to give it to Kate as she spoke a
few words. Kate wondered why Mai had waited so long to come forward knowing this woman had watched Kate from a distance many times before. Though she appeared to be of great beauty, Kate sensed an ulterior motive to her offer of friendship.
Kate accepted the necklace Kelee handed her. But a shiver ran the length of her arm when the soft leather pouch touched her palm. She wanted to toss it away, although to offend one of Taima’s people would be thought of as unforgivable.
“She asked that you wear it under your dress so others might not see it,” Kelee snarled. “She said it would only make things worse if they knew she had given it to you.”
“Thank you,” Kate replied, meeting Mai’s dark gaze. Something evil lurked within her eyes, though Kate couldn’t place her finger on it. Mai offered friendship, but the cold, indifference in her gaze told another story.
Kate wanted to look away from Mai’s eyes, yet some magnetic pull kept her from doing so. While she stared into the black depths, it seemed as though a menacing storm surrounded the three of them. Moments passed and still Mai stared, her eyes wide and unyielding. An intruding force filled Kate, like there wasn’t enough room inside her body.
Kate gasped and clutched her chest when a sharp pain wrenched at her heart.
Mai pointed to her and spoke in Shoshone, then Kelee looked at Kate. He translated, though he refused to step from between them. “She said to put the necklace on, now, and do not take it off.”
Doing as Mai demanded, Kate slipped the leather over her head and dropped the pouch down the front of her dress. A hot, radiating sensation took her breath away as the pouch rested between her breasts. She touched her chest, and closed her eyes, then took a deep breath, trying to will away the cloud of apprehension.
When Kate opened her eyes again, the sun beat down upon her and Kelee, but Mai was nowhere to be seen. She glanced toward the dense pines. “You must not tell your father she gave this to me. Should he ask, I will think of something.”
Kelee nodded.
Kate searched for signs of Mai, and wondered how she could have slipped away so easily. The offer of friendship seemed strange when Kate had received a different impression whenever she had caught Mai watching her in the past. On several occasions when she and Taima were together, the evil glare Kate had received from Mai was enough to scare any woman. Yet, now she offered friendship?
If Mai wanted to be with Taima, she might go to great lengths to get her own way. Kate touched her chest where the necklace rested. Perhaps even this pouch supposedly contained items over which Mai had cast mystical spells. Kate laughed. She had nothing to worry about. She didn’t believe in such nonsense and would wear the leather pouch just to prove that fact to herself.
Kelee’s small hand touched her shoulder. “I don’t like that woman. Even when she took me fishing with her father while you were away, she stared at me all the time with her dark eyes. They scared me.”
Kate wrapped her arms around Kelee to comfort him as much as herself. “I think she scares a lot of people.” She tousled his hair. “Let’s gather more wood and sit by the fire.”
The afternoon sun warmed Kate as she waited for Taima’s return. Kelee poked a stick among the glowing, orange embers, and Kate realized he could now be considered her son if she were truly Taima’s wife. He would grow into a brave warrior someday, well trained by his father.
She hoped to be around to watch him grow into manhood. A feeling of loneliness shrouded Kate like a heavy mist, causing a warm tear to slide down her cheek. The beat of her heart, the emptiness inside her, echoed. She didn’t want to be here forever, but she didn’t want to leave Kelee and Taima either. Not after she and Taima had struggled to such progress in their relationship. Taima would come to love her as she now loved him, though Kate didn’t know how long it would take him to admit as much.
Swirling the emerald ring on her finger, the stones sparkled in the sun as she watched. Taima had liked her ring. Next time they were alone, she’d use a leather strip to tie it around his neck to keep with him. It would be a part of her. Perhaps that would help bring them closer.
Kate wiped away the tear before Kelee noticed, for he would ask more questions than she wanted to deal with at the moment. On the other side of the lake, a cow moose with her offspring drank from the shoreline. The wildlife here roamed so freely. Unlike the few animals she remembered seeing from her own time.
* * * * *
Thankful he’d saved the woman who sat before him on his horse, Taima rode into camp. Burned lean-tos smoldered; a cloud of smoke lingered in the air. Two of his young braves lay dead, surrounded by their sobbing families.
An old woman approached Taima to help the young woman from his horse, then walked away comforting one another.
Dismounting, a shrill scream drew his attention. Dichali, Mai’s father, lay sprawled upon the ground, the top of his head split open by a tomahawk. Mai frantically tried to wake him, her fingers clutching the leather of his bloodied shirt.
Taima strode toward Mai, sorry he’d lost another member of their foraging group, but she was the last person he wanted to deal with right now. Mai turned toward him as he approached, then quickly flung herself at him and cried onto his chest. With the reins of his horse in one hand, Taima reluctantly soothed her by running the other down her back.
“What will I do now?” she sobbed in Shoshone. “How will I go on alone?”
“You will manage, Mai. At one time, you took care of your father, now there are many of our people here who will welcome your help. They, too, will need you.”
After a moment, she stopped crying and looked up at him. Mai stared into his eyes, but he quickly averted his gaze to watch a tear rolling down her cheek. He knew better than to risk looking into the eyes of a skin walker, if in fact, she truly was. The risk wasn’t worth the possibility.
She gently ran a finger down the side of his cheek. “But it is you I need, Taima. I have for a long time. And I’ve seen the way you watch me when you think I’m not looking.”
Disgusted by her comments, Taima rolled his eyes and concentrated on the clouds. He refused to allow her into his soul by looking into her eyes.
“I’ve needed you for a long time, but though you watch me, you’ve ignored me since last year when father and I joined your people. Why?”
Taima clenched his jaw. Although he owed her no explanation, he said, “As chief and provider, my time is taken up by more important things.”
The circles Mai traced at the hollow of his throat didn’t entice him, if that’s what she’d intended. He concentrated on the sky. More clouds moved in, indicating a sudden down pour of rain approached. Taima remembered Kate and Kelee awaited his return.
His leather shirt tightened as Mai’s fingers clutched the front. “Father was one of your elders. You owe it to him to offer comfort to his family. Is that too much to ask?” She tugged on his shirt when he didn’t respond. “What does that white woman have that I don’t?”
Grasping her hands, Taima pulled them from his shirt. “Whatever you need regarding food and shelter, I will provide. Beyond that, I cannot help you,” he stated, staring into her dark eyes for just a brief moment.
Taima turned and walked away, observing other mourners who cried over their losses. His fingers tightened into fists. The Utes would pay dearly for what they had done here today.
“I will have you, Taima,” Mai called after him, he refused to stop. “Your white woman will pay.”
Those parting words froze his heart and halted his steps. He spun around, only to find Mai gone. She’d disappeared more quickly than a deer spotting the hunter. Scanning the area, Mai was nowhere to be seen.
Taima met the gazes of his people. Frightened expressions covered the faces of those close enough to hear the words that still echoed through his brain. The threat in Mai’s words created visions of disaster where Kate was concerned. He needed to return to Kate and Kelee at the lake.
Swinging himself onto his horse, Taima sped from the en
campment and rode like the wind toward Kate. He prayed she would be safe from the Ute’s attack. They’d finally come to know each other better in the past few days and losing her now would be more than he could bear.
Chapter Eighteen
Taima held his bow tightly in one hand while his other grasped the mane of his horse. He gripped the powerful animal beneath him with his thighs as the horse raced through the green, sage-filled valley toward the lake. Thoughts of Kate and Kelee stayed foremost in his mind, but allowing himself to care too much for Kate could prove to be a mistake. If danger had come to them while he protected his people, Taima vowed he would never love again. Did love always bring heartache and sadness? He’d had his fill of both.
He turned the horse right and headed for the slight ridge overlooking the lake and valley. Halting the animal, Taima held his breath, quickly scanning the water’s edge for Kate and Kelee.
A sudden release of tension flooded Taima, for there, sitting beside a fire in the late afternoon sun was the woman who’d come to occupy his every thought, chatting calmly with his son. Taima’s heart soared when Kate stood and looked in his direction. She didn’t wave, only met his gaze, joining the two of them across the distance. He thanked the Great Spirit for sending her to him. Not many warriors were blessed twice in one lifetime with a good woman to love.
Taima nudged his horse down the ridge, all the while keeping his gaze locked with Kate’s. As he approached, the expression in her green eyes told him she was glad for his return. Her parted lips drew his attention.
Though reluctant to pull his gaze from her face, Kelee demanded his attention. The boy ran to him with raised hands, and Taima reached an arm down, pulling Kelee onto the horse in front of him.
Wiggling around, excitement lighting his eyes, Kelee asked, “Did you kill the Utes, Noshi?”