Emily smiled, realizing her special connection to the fetish. “Thank you,” she whispered, touched by the gift and the care they’d shown in selecting it.
“If you feed the fetish pollen, Pocket Gopher will stay strong and aid you in whatever battles you face.”
“I’ll take good care of it, Uncle, and keep it with me always,” Emily answered.
“Now I’ll say a special prayer to Gila Monster, who can see into the future and knows everything.”
Dinétsoh’s song reverberated with a different kind of strength this time, filling the hogan with an energy that could be felt but not seen.
When he finished, the old Navajo looked at each of them. “I have something to say to both of you. The path of long life and happiness is sweeter when walked in pairs. But to walk in beauty, you have to be willing to let your heart lead you. Go now and remember what I’ve said.”
Jonas stepped outside with her. “I’d like to take you to a place that’s special to me. It’s in the sacred mountains west of here,” he said as they went to his truck. “Will you come with me now?”
“You can take me anywhere you want,” she answered, then gave him a slow, mischievous smile.
His eyes lit up with a fire that was impossible for her to mistake. “Remember those words, sawe.”
He drove north to the main highway, and forty minutes later, they reached the piñon-covered foothills of the Carrizo Mountains.
Once at the top of the rise, he invited her to join him outside. The reservation stretched out below them as far as the eye could see.
“This is the home of my people. I’m connected to this land, and it to me.” He cupped her face in his hands and gazed at her. “You’re part of me, too. With you, I’m finally complete. Ayóó ninshné—I love you. Share my world, Em, and let me be part of yours.”
“You already are. Ayóó ninshné,” she whispered, as his mouth closed over hers.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-4661-8
THE SHADOW
Copyright © 2010 by Aimée and David Thurlo
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*Brotherhood of Warriors
*Brotherhood of Warriors
*Brotherhood of Warriors
*Brotherhood of Warriors
*Brotherhood of Warriors
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