Savage Abandon

by Cassie Edwards

  “You don’t need to dig my father’s grave,” Mia said, stepping up to Wolf Hawk. She reached a hand out toward him. “Give me the shovel. I need no man’s help, especially not the very Indian who is responsible for my father’s deadly heart attack.”

  Wolf Hawk was stung by her words, yet struck by her courage. It could not be easy for her to come up to him and face him with such bitter words. She knew that he was a powerful chief in command of many warriors, yet she, tiny thing that she was, did not hesitate to stand up to him.

  He understood that it was necessary for her to dig the grave herself, to honor her father. He was a man who admired courage in a woman, and especially a woman who had such respect and love for her father.

  He handed the shovel to Mia. “I urge you to make the grave here, beneath these trees,” Wolf Hawk said.” It is a better place for your father’s eternal rest.”

  Again stunned by his kindness, Mia stared at him for a moment. She realized that this was, indeed, the perfect place for her father’s eternal rest. Wolf Hawk had led her to a shady grove of maples and elms.

  Although the earth there was not as hard as inside the fort’s walls, it was still difficult to dig into. But she would not break down and hand the shovel to Wolf Hawk. She was stubborn in that way…a trait her mother had deplored in Mia!

  She did not look at him again as she struggled to dig the grave. Sweat dripped from her brow and wetted her dress. Her long auburn hair clung to her cheeks and brow.

  She sighed heavily with relief when she felt the grave was deep enough to hold her father’s body. Her arms and back ached from the hard work.

  She laid the shovel aside and went back inside the fort to kneel beside her father.

  She reached out a hand to his pale cheek, held her fingers there for a moment as she bent low and kissed his cold lips. Then slowly she reached for his arms to begin the dreaded task of dragging him to the grave.

  Flashes of her mother being laid in the dirt some miles back came to her, causing a sob to rise from deep inside her, and tears to rush again from her eyes.

  “Mama, Papa,” she whispered. “How can this be? I no longer have either of you.”

  Before attempting to take her father’s body to the grave, she looked heavenward. Although she felt Wolf Hawk’s dark eyes on her, watching her every move, she murmured a soft prayer, then spoke a memorized verse from the Bible that she recalled her father speaking over her mother’s grave.

  Then, knowing that she had taken more time than the Indian wanted to allow her, she stood up, bent low and grabbed her father’s arms.

  She grunted and groaned as she tried to pull his dead weight to the grave, but didn’t succeed in budging him even one inch from the spot where he had fallen and died.

  “No,” she moaned in despair. She had never felt so helpless in her entire life, for she knew now that she could not do this alone, and she most certainly would not go inside the cabin and ask Tiny for any more help.

  If she had to drag her father one inch at a time and stand in a pool of her own sweat from the effort, she would get her father buried. And she would do it by herself.

  No matter what she must face as a young woman now alone in the world, she would, and with a lifted chin. She would not show an ounce of cowardice to these Indians, especially not this chief whom she blamed for causing her father’s heart attack.

  Wolf Hawk winced when he saw the trouble Mia was having transporting her father to his grave. But he could not help being proud of her for not asking anyone’s assistance.

  When Mia tried once more to move her father’s body and could not even budge him, she dropped the shovel and sank to her knees. She put her face in her hands and cried.

  She hated showing such weakness to these Indians, but she could not help it.

  She felt totally helpless, for she knew that she could not complete this task alone.

  Suddenly out of the corner of her eye she saw someone bend over on the opposite side of her father. She saw two powerful arms and hands reach beneath her father and pick him up from the ground as though his body weighed no more than a feather.

  She slowly looked up and found herself staring into the eyes of Wolf Hawk as he met her gaze, then carried her father to the grave.

  Oh, so much was exchanged between them in those brief moments. Mia was puzzled, for she felt strangely drawn to this man whose deeds did not match the harshness of his words. Instead, he was giving her a look that melted her heart because it was so full of caring and understanding.

  It was at this moment that she realized this man would not harm her in any way; nor could he have been the one who had shot the arrow into her mother’s body.

  He had come and frightened her father, yes, but she knew that he had not intended for her father to die. He had come seeking those who had slain two innocent young braves.

  Mia rose to her feet and went to kneel by the grave. Again she gazed with intense love at her father’s lifeless body. Again she murmured a soft prayer.

  When she stood and took up the shovel to begin shoveling the dirt over her father’s body, each turn of the shovel was like a knife being thrust into her heart.

  And when it was over and all that remained was a mound on the ground, she gave Wolf Hawk a questioning look.

  “We must go now,” Wolf Hawk said. “Are there some of your belongings that you would want to take with you? For you will not be allowed to return to this place, not once you are in my village.”

  The fact that she was most definitely going to be this man’s captive gave Mia a chill and she questioned her earlier thoughts about him. Mia paused for a moment as their eyes met and held, then she shook her head as though coming out of a trance.

  “Yes, I would like to take a few things with me,” she murmured. “I won’t be long.”

  “I will follow you,” Wolf Hawk replied, not wanting to leave her alone with the tiny man who seemed so disrespectful to her.

  Mia ignored Wolf Hawk, and hurried inside the cabin.

  She paused, taking a last look at the empty birdcage. Oh, how she despised Tiny for releasing her canary to the wild…a bird that had no idea how to survive away from her cage, where she had been safe, loved, fed and watered.

  She looked quickly away from the cage, for she didn’t want to think of what might have happened to Georgina. She was another one of Mia’s losses, adding to her heartbreak.

  Mia started to gather up some things but suddenly realized that Tiny wasn’t in the cabin!

  Wolf Hawk had noticed his absence even before she did. He ran from the cabin and she could hear him shouting out orders to go and find the escaped prisoner.

  She grimaced when she then heard the thundering of horse’s hooves. The warriors were in pursuit of Tiny.

  She closed her eyes so that she would not envision what might happen to him for attempting this escape. She believed he would pay dearly for trying to best these red men of the forest!

  They knew the forest much better than he and would soon find him.

  Wolf Hawk came back inside the cabin. “He will not have gotten far,” he said. He helped Mia by picking up her travel bag and holding it open so she could drop what she wanted inside.

  She smiled weakly at him as a way to thank him for helping her. So much had happened, she was beginning to feel numb.

  She put what clothes she could in the bag, along with her hairbrush, her mama’s Bible, and then something of her father’s…a book of poetry that he had read oft times while relaxing on the first leg of the journey, before things began going wrong for them.

  After her mother’s burial, her father had never been the same. He had spent most of his time alone, smoking his pipe.

  And now even his pipe was gone. It had fallen into the river when her father had had one of his spells.

  Oh, if only she at least had that piece of him, it would bring him close to her on those nights when she would miss him so much. The poetry book might help, but in truth, she knew she wo
uld never get used to not having him around.

  “We should go now,” Wolf Hawk said when he saw that she was no longer placing things in her bag. “We shall go to my village. Those who are searching for the tiny man will return once they have recaptured him.”

  Mia took one last look at the empty birdcage, then walked from the cabin.

  She went to her father’s grave. She needed one last moment with him. It just did not seem real to be leaving her father there all alone in the ground as she had been made to leave her mother.

  Suddenly a terrible feeling of loneliness gripped her. She swayed and felt as though she might faint.

  But a mighty, strong hand on her shoulder reminded her that she was not alone. Although this man was her enemy, she did not believe he would allow any true harm to come to her. The look in his eyes as she gazed into them showed too much gentleness.

  She held her chin high and walked from the grave with him.

  She then saw a travois attached to one of the warriors’ horses. She was amazed at how many pelts were on it, piled high and secured with a rope.

  She could only guess their value. She had been at trading posts with her parents as they bought supplies while roaming the rivers. She had seen the coins and supplies that were exchanged for such pelts.

  A shiver ran down her spine when she thought of the trappers and the loss they must be feeling at having to abandon this prime catch.

  She had to believe they would not give it up so easily.

  Surely they would return to retrieve the pelts. What would they do when they found them gone?

  When they reached Wolf Hawk’s horse, Mia stood back as he secured her travel bag on it. She sucked in a wild breath of fear when Wolf Hawk then lifted her onto the saddle and mounted behind her.

  But soon her fear changed to something surprising. She could not help feeling a sensual thrill when Wolf Hawk reached his arm around her and held her in place against his hard body as he rode into the forest.

  She fought these feelings, for she knew that she should hate this man. He was a savage and he was blaming her for something she had not done.

  She couldn’t believe that Tiny was so cowardly he had left her alone to fend for herself with these Indians.

  As they continued on through the forest, Mia realized that she was entering a new phase in her life and wondered just where it might take her. She no longer felt like the same Mia.

  She thought of her papa and mama together in the heavens. They were surely holding hands and smiling as they looked down at her, proud of her courage!

  Chapter Thirteen

  It well maybe that, in a difficult hour

  Pinned down by pain and moaning for release,

  Or nagged by want past resolution’s power,

  I mite be driven to sell you love for peace—

  —Edna St. Vincent Millay

  The journey to the village seemed endless to Mia as she rode on the horse with Wolf Hawk, but finally she saw many tepees through a break in the trees.

  A sense of dread enveloped her, for she had never even seen an Indian village, much less entered one as a captive.

  She would not allow herself to think the worst, but instead she sat straight and watched as the tepees grew closer and closer. When they entered the village, Indian women, men and children came to greet their chief and his warriors. But as they approached, they looked first at the white woman with their chief and then at the pelts on the travois and frowned with distaste.

  And she understood why they had a sudden dislike for her. Surely they thought that she had something to do with the death of their two fallen braves, for she was the only white person who accompanied the pelts into the village. She was filled with a sudden apprehensiveness…a cold fear.

  Wolf Hawk drew rein and those who were with him did the same. He gazed from one to the other of his people, recognizing apprehension and anger in their eyes and attitudes.

  He understood.

  He knew they believed this woman was involved in the deaths of their fallen youths. He had believed the same at first, and even now was unsure if she could ever be proven innocent.

  If the trappers had fled this country from fear, with intentions of never returning, then he had a hard decision about this woman to make. Release her? Or keep her forever as his captive.

  The latter possibility gave him much thought, for it was not the custom of his people to hold white captives.

  Seeing how anxious his people were to understand why the woman had been brought to the village, Wolf Hawk nodded at them.

  “My warriors, I will meet with those of you who stayed behind to protect our village,” he said. “Then you can go to your families and give them the same explanation that I share with you. For now, I will say this…the pelts you see were found hidden at the old fort. We will use them to lure the trappers here. After they are captured, I shall hand the pelts over to you all to divide amongst yourselves. Keep what you want and trade what you wish to trade.”

  When all eyes remained directed on the woman, he realized that explanation wasn’t enough. “The trappers will come here to rescue the woman and to get the pelts back in their possession,” he said tightly. “But we will not allow either to happen. We will have sentries close at all times, waiting for the evil men who caused the death of our two braves. They will not get past our warriors.”

  Mia had sat stiffly listening to all that he said and now truly felt like a captive. She hoped that when they were alone, he would show his caring, gentle side to her again. As he addressed his people now, he seemed a strong leader who was interested only in their well-being, not hers.

  Mia now felt a new fear. Perhaps he had only been kind to her earlier because he wanted her to go with him without fighting and clawing to keep from being taken captive.

  Perhaps she had made a mistake by accompanying him without a fight. She had only spoken angrily to him. Nothing more.

  But now that she was a captive in his village, she had no choice but to hope that he would treat her fairly. She had done nothing to warrant poor treatment. It was up to her now to prove this to Wolf Hawk and his people.

  And she would!

  Somehow, she would.

  “I will now take the woman to the lodge that is kept ready for lodging visitors,” Wolf Hawk said blandly. “She will be guarded well.”

  Those words caused Mia’s insides to turn cold. Hearing that she would be guarded made her realize that she truly was a prisoner, and she could not help being afraid.

  Yet she remembered just how gently this young chief had treated her and allowed herself to see hope in that.

  When he rode onward through the large village, the children again began laughing and playing, seemingly having forgotten the stranger who had been brought into their midst. She was ignored by the adults of this tight-knit Indian community. The women and men were now going about their usual chores, while an older group of men, whom she thought were probably the elders of this band, sat in a huddle exchanging gossip and smokes from their long-stemmed pipes.

  It was a peaceful scene, unlike anything that Mia had ever seen before. Everyone seemed to be happy with one another, as though they were all one big happy family.

  Then as Wolf Hawk rode up to the large tepee that she now felt would be her “jail,” she smelled food roasting over a fire.

  She only now realized that she had not yet eaten today. The scent of the food made her stomach growl.

  Wolf Hawk drew rein before the community house and dismounted.

  He lifted his arms upward and placed his hands gently at Mia’s waist. As she peered into his eyes with a bitterness he did not want her to feel, he attempted to distract her from dwelling on the fact that she was a captive among people so unlike her own.

  “Food will be brought soon,” he said as he lowered her to the ground.

  The feel of her tininess in his hands made him reluctant to let her go. He knew he was wrong to allow himself such feelings about her.
<
br />   But how could he not? She was one of the prettiest women he had ever seen, and when she was not being bitter and combative, her eyes seemed to express the sweetness he believed was in her heart.

  She was not the sort who seemed to live her life with anger and mistrust.

  When Mia heard that food would be brought, she wanted to lash out and say that she wished to have nothing cooked by his people, that she would rather starve. But the truth was that she needed nourishment in order to keep up her strength.

  She would escape at her first opportunity, yet…where would she go? From whom would she seek help? She was alone, totally alone in the world.

  She didn’t respond to him, for she was afraid her words would hold too much bitterness in them. Instead she smiled sweetly and followed him inside the huge tepee.

  She was stunned at its neat and comfortable appearance. The floors were covered with soft-looking mats, made from what looked like some sort of vines.

  There was a fire burning in a fire pit circled by rocks in the center of the lodge. The smoke from it spiraled slowly upward through a smoke hole.

  Blankets and pelts were rolled up along the inside walls, having been put there for the visitor’s comfort. Mia smiled at the sight. Her rear end felt numb after riding on the horse for so long, and she was looking forward to sitting on something soft.

  Wolf Hawk seemed to have the ability to read her mind. He spread out a blanket, topped with a plush pelt, then gestured with a hand toward it.

  “Sit,” Wolf Hawk invited. “Get comfortable. I shall go for food.”

  He walked away, then stopped before going out through the entrance flap. “Do not attempt to leave, for even as I speak, a warrior stands guard outside the lodge,” he said sternly.

  He saw her eyes waver, and then she looked away from him.

  He went outside and strode to the lodge of his cousin Little Snowbird, where he knew good food was always bubbling over the cook fire.

  Little Snowbird smiled at him. “You are here to eat?” she asked. He ate most of his meals with her, especially since she had become a widow.