by Linda Bridey
With considerable effort, He Who Runs contained the strong emotions and said, “I see. While I would like nothing more than to hunt down this vile coward and bring back his bloody scalp, I know that this would not be a wise thing to do. I understand why my son did not tell us this, but he should have trusted me more. However, that is between him and me and not for you to worry about.”
“I’m sure it was just an oversight on his part,” Joe said. “I admire your girl for doing what she’s doing tonight. I want her to come home with me tomorrow, though. So when she’s done tonight, Reckless will bring her home to be with you overnight. I wanted to clear all this with you.”
“She has agreed to this?” He Who Runs asked.
“Yes, sir, she has,” Joe said.
He Who Runs nodded. “It is good then. Thank you. She will make a good family member. We will miss her.”
Joe said, “Hey, it’s not like she won’t come visit and stuff. I mean, she’s free to do that, you know. I’m not tryin’ to keep her from you.”
He Who Runs smiled a little. “You are very kind to do this.”
“It’s really more for her. Rick said she wanted to pay restitution so I figured this might be the best way. I wanted to make sure you and Eagle Woman were all right with it, though,” Joe told him.
“It is the right thing to do,” He Who Runs agreed. “You are a good man.”
“So are you. I’m proud to call you my friend,” Joe said.
He Who Runs nodded.
“Well, I’m gonna go see these grandbabies of yours. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Joe said.
Reckless saw him coming and grinned. Joe hugged him and said, “Congratulations, Reckless.”
“Thank you. Brook is feeding the twins right now.”
“That’s ok. I’ll wait. In the meantime, let’s step over here. I got something I need to talk to you about,” Joe said and drew Reckless off to a more private spot. Then he proceeded to take Reckless to task for not informing his father about the latest developments with his sister and to tell him about the way in which she was going to pay restitution.
Reckless wasn’t used to Joe being displeased with him and felt badly about Joe being put in a bad position with his father. “I did not mean for that to happen. I was going to tell him after the soldier was captured. I should have told him…” he broke off as he noticed his eagle circling over their camp.
Joe followed his gaze and saw the eagle. “What is it?”
Reckless frowned. “I do not know. It has been doing that since this morning and it is still there. I do not know what it means, but I feel that it is important.”
Joe felt a shiver go up his spine. This kind of stuff always did that to him. “I hope it doesn’t mean anything. Anyway, I wanted to tell you about your sister. Oh! There they come. I gotta go see these babies.”
Reckless grinned at Joe’s enthusiasm and went to join his family and friends again.
Chapter Seventeen
Eddie saw Tom sitting on the front porch of Deena’s house when he pulled the buggy up to their place. That suited him just fine since he wanted to talk to him. Eddie hopped down from the buggy and came to the front porch to shake hands with Tom.
“Evening, Tom,” Eddie said.
“Same to you, Eddie,” Tom said.
Eddie jumped right in. “Can we take a little walk, Tom?”
“Sure thing.”
Tom led Eddie over towards the barn and said, “What’s on your mind, son?”
Eddie tried not to let his nerves show as he replied, “I want you to know how much I respect Deena. She’s a wonderful woman and it’s obvious that you and her ma raised her right.”
“Thank you,” Tom said.
“She’s been doing a great job for us at the ranch and I’m impressed with her. So is Joe. I have only the best intentions towards her, Tom, and I’m asking your permission to court her,” Eddie said.
Tom regarded Eddie for several moments. He was protective of Deena, but he knew she was getting to the age to make these kinds of decisions for herself. However, he respected Eddie greatly for following tradition. Eddie would be a good man for his daughter to marry should it come to pass, and he would love some grandbabies to hold and play with.
Eddie had good, steady employment and would provide Deena with a nice life. It didn’t hurt that she would be able to hobnob with the mayor, either. Yes, the possibility of her marrying Eddie appealed to him.
“If I say yes, I expect you to be good to her and respect certain boundaries,” Tom said meaningfully.
“Yes, sir. I understand what you’re sayin’.”
“So you’re serious about my girl then? This isn’t some sort of game for you?”
Eddie shook his head. “No, Tom, it’s not a game. Yes. I’m serious about her. I promise to treat her right.”
Tom smiled. “Then you have my permission to court Deena.”
Eddie grinned. “Thank you, Tom. You won’t regret it.”
The two men shook hands and went back to the house.
“I’ll go see if she’s ready,” Tom said and went inside.
Eddie was elated that Tom had agreed to his courting Deena but held it down to a huge grin.
Tom stopped in their kitchen and sighed. He wished his wife, Winnie, was still with them. Their girl was grown up now and Tom had the feeling that she wouldn’t be living there a whole lot longer. No, he felt in his bones that this fella was the one she’d been waiting on. Maybe it was his Pawnee heritage that made him sensitive to these kinds of things. Tom took a deep breath and stepped over to the stairway.
“Deena! Eddie’s here. Don’t keep the man waitin’!” he called up to them.
“I’ll be right down, Pa!”
“I’ll tell him.”
Deena checked her appearance in the mirror again. She’d curled her hair and put on a little lip rouge. Her cheeks were already pink with excitement about going dancing with Eddie. She wanted to look pretty for him. Scotty had taken her to the Watering Hole a couple of times, but it had been a while since she’d been there. Going with Eddie was going to be so much more fun, she thought. She smoothed her pale lavender skirt again and decided that she was ready.
Eddie watched her come out onto the porch and his heartbeat jumped a little at how beautiful she looked. “You’re lovely.”
Deena blushed. “Thank you.”
Tom watched the way they reacted to each other and remembered how it was with him and Winnie all those years ago. He said, “Well, have fun you two. Don’t have her out too late.”
Deena’s smile was tight as she came to kiss his cheek. “Don’t you start that again, Pa,” she whispered in his ear. “I’ll come home when I’m ready. Eddie’s a gentleman. Don’t offend him.” She kissed him again and then pulled back.
Tom chuckled at the stern look in her eyes. “Goodnight, Eddie.”
“Goodnight, Tom.”
Eddie noticed Deena’s tense posture as they rode along behind King and Rook. He reached over and took her hand in his.
“You all right?”
“Hmm? Oh, yes.”
“Are you sure?” Eddie asked.
Deena sighed. “I just hate it when Pa acts like that.”
“Like what?”
“Trying to tell me when to be home. I’m twenty-six. I think I know when to go home,” Deena said.
Eddie chuckled. “He’s just lookin’ out for his little girl.”
“I know,” Deena said. She didn’t want to discuss it any longer because she didn’t want her frustration to intrude on their evening. “I’m really excited about dancing again. I haven’t been in a while now.”
“Me, too, on both counts. I’m glad you had a good time this afternoon,” Eddie said.
“I can’t believe there were so many people there,” Deena said.
“Reckless has a lot of family, both Lakota and white. I get confused on all of the relationships, but Joe is able to keep them straight,” Eddie said. “I know Marcus is
sort of the…what did Joe call him? Oh, yeah. The bridge between the two cultures. That’s what he said.”
“Do you mean because Marcus is half Lakota?”
“Yeah. Somehow over the years, Marcus’ Lakota family and his white family have sorta blended, I guess you’d say. They’ve adopted one another. It’s remarkable,” Eddie said.
“That’s a pretty big family,” Deena agreed.
“Yeah. I’m glad my family isn’t that big. I wouldn’t remember everyone’s name,” he joked.
“Me, neither.”
*****
A half hour after arriving at the Watering Hole, Deena found herself immersed in a world of fun. Joe’s business partner, Jake Henderson, ran a fairly clean establishment in that he didn’t allow any prostitution or dancing girls in it. Alcohol flowed freely and games of chance were permitted, but fighting was kept to a minimum by the bouncers. This allowed the vast majority of patrons to enjoy themselves in a relatively safe environment.
Joe and his band of merrymakers, as he called them, entertained the crowd two or three times a week. The band didn’t have an official name because they couldn’t all agree on what to call themselves. Joe was determined that they would come up with something, however.
Deena danced not only with Eddie, but with several other men, including Jake, who loved to dance more than anyone present that evening. The bartender never missed an opportunity to dance, provided that someone could cover the bar for him during a song. Eddie was good natured about her having other dance partners since the guys who wanted to dance with her were friends of his.
Eddie wasn’t surprised to discover that Deena was a very good dancer since he’d seen the way she could weave through tables without dropping trays. They moved well together and laughed at Joe’s funny little side comments about people on the dance floor, which were said in between the lyrics. The one that caused the whole band to stop playing was his criticism about Rick’s poor dancing ability. “Good Lord, Ferret Boy, I don’t know why you even try.”
Rick got laughing so hard, that he had to walk off the dance floor, and his wife, Gina, sat down on the stage until her laughter subsided. Jake took pity on her and danced with her the next song.
Deena wasn’t offended when other women wanted to dance with Eddie when she was dancing with other men and often the two couples ended up dancing close to one another depending on which type of dance they were doing. While Eddie might laugh with these other women, Deena didn’t read anything into it other than having some fun. They always came back together and the way Eddie looked at her made Deena feel special. With his eyes, he let her know how beautiful he thought her and how much fun he was having with her.
The band took a break and Eddie escorted Deena to their table.
“I’ll get some fresh drinks. Be right back,” he told her.
Deena took out a fan from her small purse and began fanning herself. It was a warm night and she was hot from all the dancing. Jake had propped the front door open and opened windows, which helped somewhat, but the bar was still warm. She was surprised when Scotty Myers sat down next to her.
“Hi, Deena,” he said. “You’re looking very nice.”
“Hi, Scotty. Thanks. How are you?” she asked.
“I’m fine. So you’re here with Eddie, huh?”
“Yes, I am.”
Scotty smiled. “I hope you’re havin’ a good time.”
“I am.”
“What does he have that I didn’t, Deena?” Scotty asked.
“Pardon me?” she asked with a frown.
“Eddie. What’s he have that I didn’t?”
“I understood the question, I just thought you were rude to ask it,” Deena said.
“Were you plannin’ on leaving me for him?” Scotty asked.
“No. You broke up with me, Scotty, remember?” Deena said.
“Only because I knew you didn’t love me. Was he the reason why?” Scotty said, leaning closer to her.
Deena said, “We just stared seein’ each other, Scotty.”
“I’ll bet you had your eye on him, though. Is it because he works for our mayor and makes money hand over fist?” Scotty asked.
“I told you money didn’t matter to me, Scotty,” Deena said.
“Then what is it?”
“I want you to leave me alone. You’re drunk,” Deena said.
“I might be drunk, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong. You ain’t denying it, Deena. You wanted him the whole time you were with me, didn’t you? Hell, maybe you were seein’ him at the same time.”
“No, she wasn’t, Scotty,” Eddie said from behind the other man as he returned to their table. “I think you better get out of here now.”
Scotty stood up abruptly and said, “Of course you’d deny it, Eddie. I’ll bet what she wouldn’t give to me, she was giving you!”
Eddie’s rage was immediate and his reaction was to slam his fist into Scotty’s face. The force of the blow knocked Scotty backwards. Eddie followed Scotty and grabbed his shirt lapels. He pulled Scotty up and then slammed his head down onto the floor before Caleb Benson grabbed him.
“Eddie, that’s enough,” Caleb said as he held Eddie back from doing any more damage.
“I know he’s your friend, Caleb, but I’m not gonna tolerate him sayin’ things like that about Deena,” Eddie said.
Caleb nodded. “I understand. I’m not saying Scotty was right, I just don’t want you to kill him.”
Eddie looked into Caleb’s smiling brown eyes. He was glad to see that Caleb didn’t seem to harbor any grudge against him. “All right, Caleb. You can let me go. I’ll let you do your job.”
Caleb released him and patted his shoulder. “Thanks, Eddie. Sorry Scotty was causing you trouble, Deena.”
Deena smiled tightly at Caleb, but didn’t answer him.
Caleb hauled Scotty up off the floor and started dragging him towards the door.
“Are you ok?” Eddie asked Deena.
“Yeah. I will be,” she said.
“I’m sorry about that,” Eddie said.
“It’s not your fault. Thank you for defending my honor,” Deena said and suddenly laughed. “I’m sorry, but the look on his face when you hit him. I shouldn’t laugh, but I can’t help it.”
Eddie chuckled. “I couldn’t help it. It happened before I even knew what I was doin’.”
“Pa used to say ‘it’s not a good night at the saloon if there’s not at least one fight’, so I guess you helped make it a good night,” Deena said.
“Tom said that?”
“Yeah, but he didn’t know I was listening. He was talking to Ma one night and they didn’t know I was up. I was pretty young then, but it always stuck with me,” Deena said.
“I’ll have to remember that and remind him about it sometime,” Eddie said.
“Don’t you dare! You’ll get me in trouble,” Deena protested.
Eddie was glad that he was able to bring laughter back into their evening out. Just then, the two fiddle players signaled Jake that they were ready for a dancing duel. Jake reluctantly came out from the bar. Deena hadn’t seen the duel for a while and became excited.
Every so often, Seth and Luke Samuels challenged Jake to a contest to see whether they stopped playing first or he stopped dancing first as a song tempo increased to a frantic pace. It was a battle between their arms and his legs. Jake’s wife Rebecca scooted through the barroom to sit at a table near the front so she could watch him. Joe kept track of everyone’s bets since Gus was tending bar.
“Ok, boys, let’s go,” Jake said with a smile.
Seth and Luke began and the tempo was fast, but not too fast. Gradually it increased and the audience clapped along with the beat. Jake’s feet flew as he stomped, twisted and clapped. The bartender was sweating as much as the fiddlers as they battled. Jake faltered and then signaled that he was done. He bowed to the fiddlers and they nodded back while laughing.
Cheering and whistling mingled with the groans
of those who’d lost the bet. Deena and Eddie had both bet a little money on Jake, but hadn’t lost very much. Deena’s good spirits had been restored and when the band started up again, she and Eddie returned to the dance floor.
Chapter Eighteen
Minx tried to keep the apprehension out of her face as she crept towards the place she always met Bill, but it was hard. She felt nothing but revulsion and fear towards the man who had become her tormentor. Only for the tribe had she sacrificed so much. If it could have been avoided, she wouldn’t have stolen. It was a shameful act and guilt weighed on her heart over it.
She carried the sacks with her; one a decoy, the other with real jewelry in it. They had come a little early so that the three men could be in place when Bill showed up. Jack had agreed to take Reckless’ place as bouncer at the Watering Hole so that he could come with Rick and Mitch. Jack had done it before, so it wouldn’t look that unusual if he were there to help Caleb instead of the brave.
Minx reached the meeting place and crouched there. She wanted to be able to move quickly if need be, so sitting down was not a good idea. Her leg muscles were strong, so she could hold her position for a long time without fatiguing.
The moon was half-full and there was plenty of light by which to see. Minx smirked to herself. She would hear the man coming long before she saw him. He had no idea how to move silently through the forest or even over the flat, open places. She smiled as she thought about her Uncle Marcus, Silver Ghost, who even in cowboy boots could walk over any kind of ground without making so much as a whisper of sound. The soldier could certainly take some lessons from him.
As she heard booted footsteps, Minx sobered and worked on fixing her face into an expressionless mask. Soon she saw him appear. He actually had the nerve to smile when he saw her and he gave her a little wave as though they were friends. Minx felt bile rise in her throat but choked it back.
“Hello, little Minx,” he said, and knelt down near her.
She shifted away from him. “I have it for you,” she said.