Skye Cree Boxed Set Books 1 - 3

by Vickie McKeehan

  “But he was a loving father. He was always so involved in whatever I did,” Skye reminded him.

  “Do you want to hear this or not?” Travis snapped. “This is very difficult for me. If you want the truth then I suggest you sit down and listen for a change instead of popping off at the mouth at me.”

  “Very well,” Skye said with enough frost in her voice to form ice.

  “Fine. After you were born, Daniel had difficulty with the situation. I don’t think he’d thought it through very well when he had to look at you every single day and realize each and every day you weren’t his, that you belonged to me. You might have gotten your mother’s deep blue eyes but Daniel could plainly see you had my nose and mouth. Then for some reason, his bitterness over the whole thing shifted to Jodi. At a certain point, Daniel directed his anger at her. A great deal of that time he and Jodi were at odds with one another. They fought constantly. When you were about two years old, it got so bad at one point that they separated. Daniel moved out. He got a place out near Fort Lewis, Washington, where he worked as a civilian contractor. His engineering job took him out of state quite a bit, and because of that, Jodi and I grew closer.”

  “I just bet you did,” Skye tossed out and earned a long glower from Travis. “Okay. Okay. I’ll shut up and let you finish.”

  “Thanks. But need I remind you they were separated at the time?”

  “And need I remind you they were still married?” Skye retorted.

  “Point taken. At first, I stopped by to help out with things. I’d sit with you while she went shopping or took a break from all the mommy stuff. But one night I stayed for supper. Afterward we bathed you and put you to bed together. Then we watched a movie. One thing led to another.” Skye saw Travis swallow hard and turn to the bottle again. He poured another glass and drank it down before going on, “I ended up spending the night.”

  Skye’s face fell. “You know what? I don’t think I’m ready to hear this after all. I’m surprised with all your ‘spending the night’ I didn’t have a brother or sister show up nine months later.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  Skye gaped at the man. “I had a brother or sister?”

  He ran a hand over the top of his head. “Jodi got pregnant again.”

  “Ohmygod. Are you serious? Did my father know? I mean Daniel. Did he find out?” But the look on Travis’s face had her wondering why she’d bother to ask. “Of course, he did. Daniel had to be furious with both of you.”

  “Oh he was. A couple of months went by where he didn’t even speak to either one of us. He stayed away from seeing you, as well, didn’t come around the house at all for visitation, nothing. But then five months into the pregnancy, Jodi had a serious medical problem. She developed something called toxemia. The doctor admitted her to the hospital in critical condition. Her blood pressure shot through the roof. Her kidneys started shutting down. I was afraid I was going to lose her, Skye, so I phoned Daniel, told him to get his ass to the hospital. He showed up. And for three days we both sat there, either at Jodi’s side, or in the waiting room before she finally lost the baby. From there, her condition stabilized. But once Jodi started getting better, her condition improving, she decided losing the baby was some kind of bad omen, some sign that we were not meant to be together. So she persuaded Daniel to give her another chance. Together, they made the decision to give their marriage one more shot.”

  “Just like that? She sleeps with you. You get her pregnant, again. Then when that doesn’t work out for her she shifts back to Daniel. Who are you people? You think you know your parents and then realize nothing could be further from the truth. Wait a minute. Her decision must’ve meant you were left out in the cold again?”

  Travis nodded once and then threw back another shot of whiskey. “I was devastated. That’s when I bought this place, The Painted Crow, and moved to Everett. I pulled away from both of them. That time I stayed away. I was determined to leave them both alone to put their marriage back together. Two years went by. I didn’t see Jodi and Daniel again until you were about four.”

  “My God. That day in the garden. You and my mother just couldn’t keep your hands off each other—apparently.”

  Travis poured another glass of gold liquid.

  “You keep knocking back enough of that stuff because it’s loosening up your tongue. So let’s move on. Out of the blue, one day you decide to stop by the house for a visit, find Jodi alone, and make a move on her in the garden.”

  “No. It did not happen like that at all. Jodi called me.”

  “Booty call? Isn’t that what they call it?”

  “Skye Melody Cree, show some respect! If not for me, then for your mother.”

  “Shouldn’t that be Nakota. After all, I’m Skye Melody Nakota, aren’t I?”

  “Must I remind you that your birth certificate says Cree? Daniel is listed as your father. It’s your legal name.”

  “Should I ask for that DNA test then that you didn’t want to take when I was thirteen?”

  “I may not be the man you thought I was, but I’ll say this again. You will show me some respect. You’re a member of the Warrior Society now, act like the warrior you are.”

  “Screw that. It’s a little difficult to show respect, Travis, especially when I’m learning some very not-so-flattering things about the people I cared about.”

  “We weren’t perfect people, Skye. We had our flaws, our issues.”

  “Oh I can see that. So what happened that day in the garden when Jodi called you? After all that time, why’d she call you?”

  “She needed someone to talk to. What you saw that day was me trying to comfort her. That’s all. Nothing happened between us after I left her and Daniel in the hospital. You have my word on that.”

  Skye was tempted to toss out another insult about how little she could believe anything he said, when she noted the disheartened look on his face. Knowing Travis wasn’t that good an actor, she recognized that sad look for exactly what it was. It could mean only one thing. He’d never touched Jodi again after he made that promise he wouldn’t. And he wasn’t happy about it. Skye saw the regret in his warm brown eyes. She swallowed down her resentment and finally asked, “Why did she need to talk to you that day, Travis?”

  “You won’t like what I’m about to say.”

  Skye spat out in a mocking laugh, “I have news for you, Travis. I haven’t much liked anything you’ve told me so far.”

  “Fine,” Travis said through gritted teeth. “Your mother discovered Daniel was having an affair with another civilian contractor he’d met out at the base. Your mother was naturally upset.”

  “Naturally. She cheated on Daniel with you. He cheated on her with someone else. You people weren’t just flawed, you were weak.”

  “You’re entitled to your opinion. But just remember, you never know what people are going through, what personal issues people are dealing with, or what difficulties they happen to be trying to cope with at any given time. So be very careful whenever you’re tempted to hand down a judgment to us lesser folks, us mere mortals. Not everyone can meet Skye Cree’s high expectations.”

  “You’re putting this back on me?”

  “I’m taking full responsibility for it. I admit I should never have touched Jodi in the first place. What happened after you were born, altered things between Jodi and Daniel, between Daniel and me, between the three of us. We were never the same. Having you changed our lives forever. No doubt about that. But if I hadn’t taken Jodi to bed, if I’d kept saying no to both of them, you wouldn’t be sitting here giving me a hard time and I wouldn’t have my daughter around, my blood kin. I can’t regret that, Skye. Don’t ever ask me to regret that.”

  Her mouth opened for a quick comeback but closed at the profound sentiment. The realization hit her then that if he hadn’t finally agreed, she wouldn’t be here. She reconsidered that path, the options. The man was, after all, her father. At this late date there was only one other issue
standing between them.

  “Why did you let me go live with Ginny and Bob? The truth now, Travis. You’re not that much of a coward.”

  “After Jodi and Daniel died, I managed to get through the funeral but I started a downward spiral from there. I went into a black hole and didn’t come out for months. I honestly believed at the time you’d be better off in Yakima. Every single day, I told myself that.”

  “But you knew it wasn’t true. My mother told you about what kind of people they were and you stood by while I went anyway.”

  “I know that!” he shouted, right before he closed his eyes as if to block out the memory. It took Travis a while to compose what he wanted to say. When he finally opened his eyes, he admitted, “If it’s any consolation, I’ll never forgive myself for putting you through those years with them. It was unforgivable. I was your father. But I was afraid of what you’d think. You were thirteen then. Look at how angry you are at me right now at twenty-six. I wasn’t sure how you’d react back then and didn’t want to take the chance. Look, if you can’t get past this, I won’t blame you. At all. But if you could see it in your heart to forgive me, I’ll make a pledge to you now, I’ll always be there for you from this point moving forward. I want more than anything for us to finally be father and daughter. Surely you can give me another chance, Skye. That’s all I’m asking.”

  She blew out a huge breath right before moving across the room and into his arms.

  Long after the tears on both sides had dried up, they still had to get past several awkward moments. The biggest one, of course, was the realization that this man had deserted her at the very time she had needed him most. No doubt Travis should have stepped up. He should have been the one to provide his expertise and counsel about what to expect from a spirit guide. His insight would have been invaluable—like how to handle all the disturbing images that started after she got to Yakima. All these things would take Skye longer to get past than she was willing to admit. It wouldn’t be easy and it wouldn’t come overnight.

  But Skye was willing to try.

  As the evening wore on, things began to smooth out while Skye helped Travis fix dinner. Slowly over roast chicken and sautéed vegetables, the old friends began to pick up where they’d left off. Knowing each other for years, having a history together worked in their favor. Father and daughter began to find the easy dialogue they’d practiced all those years ago standing in front of the grill at the Country Kitchen, and at the gym where Travis had trained her.

  “Do you remember the day Velma and Bill sold me their old Honda Civic?”

  “What I recall is the day I begged you not to buy the damn thing because the engine kept misfiring and it needed a new transmission. But someone refused to listen. Who picked you up on the side of the I-5 when it literally stopped running?”

  She beamed and picked up her bottle of Steelhead, sipped. “It was freezing that day with rain to boot. You took me to the dealership, helped me pick out the Subaru. At least that day, I listened.”

  “It’s a miracle,” Travis said in jest. “So many times you didn’t. Like when you insisted on looking for Whitfield. I won’t lie to you, Skye. That was hard for me. Letting you go out at night was the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to sit by and watch you do.”

  “And explains you going behind my back to stay connected to Harry.”

  “Harry was my only link to what you encountered on a nightly basis. And I wanted to stay in the loop. I knew you wouldn’t share the details with Velma, or Lena, certainly not with me, so I tried to do the end-around and hope you didn’t catch on.”

  The genuine concern she saw in his eyes was what tipped the scales. Fatherly concern, even then was something Skye thought she understood.

  Later as she sat in his living room sipping on another beer, she stared up at one of the large oil paintings done by a local Native American artist named Ty Moon and realized that one of the man’s landscapes hung in the lobby of Josh’s building. For some reason it reminded her not just of Josh, but the loft—and home. It was the first time she’d thought of his space in that way. When had she started thinking like that?

  When she heard Travis clear his throat from across the room, she wanted him to know, “I need your help getting Kiya back on track. There has to be a way for her spirit to be as strong in me as it used to be and is now present in Josh, short of becoming part wolf.”

  “But you’re still getting visions, otherwise you’d never have been able to find York’s house and save Kelly Donahue. Even though you did a foolish thing going in there alone when you sent Josh out of town.”

  Skye twisted up her mouth and harrumphed out, “I knew you’d take his side. And I did not send Josh out of town. NAGA did. They wanted him for keynote speaker and I thought it best he go.”

  “I call that chop logic, Skye. Besides, I thought that’s what The Artemis Foundation was set up for. I thought when a kid went missing you’d call in the troops and we’d rally at ground central. By doing what you did, you didn’t just shut Josh out. You shut the rest of us out as well. People who had agreed to help you find the missing.”

  She puffed out a loud sigh. “Okay. I’ve been chastised. I’ve already told Josh it won’t happen again.”

  “Good. Now back to this problem with Kiya. You are still having visions, weak as they might be, correct?”

  “Yes, but I have to work twice as hard. I used a paper trail to locate York’s address. Even though I saw the house, gray with red trim and thought I might be able to find the street.”

  “Because you saw Kelly was in trouble.”

  “I did. And I had to get to her. But after that, I had no clue about anything else. Josh is the one who gets vivid images now.” When she saw Travis frown, she added, “I don’t begrudge him that, Travis. He’s earned it. But what I’m not happy about is losing Kiya...entirely. Why can’t Josh and I share a spirit guide?”

  “Need I remind you, Josh is not Native. Despite the transformation, Kiya doesn’t belong to Josh.”

  “So he’s part wolf and they share very strong traits. Whatever you want to call it, they share a connection deeper than the one she had with me.”

  “Good point. What baffles me is how weak Kiya is with you. How your visions have all but dried up, that shouldn’t be happening.”

  “Really? Even if she has human elements that come from Josh? Because she’s very strong within him, stronger than she was with me.”

  “Even then Kiya should still be connected to you in some way. I’m not sure I understand why your wolf spirit has detached as much as she has.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  Travis thought for a minute. “While you’re here, let’s try a bonding ritual. Just you and Kiya. Without Josh here, Kiya may come back to you. Since you and Kiya were a team long before he happened on the scene.” Travis rubbed at his chin. “You know, that might work. It might be the answer.”

  “Bonding? You mean like a wedding ceremony?”

  Travis smiled. “Not quite but it should function as the same in unity and spirit and hopefully give us similar results.”

  “Then what are we waiting for?”

  During Skye’s trip to Everett, Frank had staked out the loft. He’d been there once before waiting for his chance to get inside to look around. When the Cree woman and the gaming geek had headed out in separate cars, Frank knew the timing couldn’t be more perfect.

  On his first visit to the historic building, he’d already pilfered someone else’s card key when he pretended to be from maintenance. He’d discovered long ago that people with money didn’t usually spend too much time looking at the lower rung in society. If one wore a uniform and a name tag, they were pretty much invisible to the upper class.

  From there, Frank had taken his bounty, the card key, and copied the data. He used the electronic codes to make a duplicate. He’d donned a hideous, royal blue colored shirt and pants with the name “Al” embroidered in white and blue over the left pocket, slid his
substitute card through the reader, and waltzed past residents getting off the elevator right into the building.

  As luck would have it, the elevator hadn’t stopped to pick up any more passengers as he made his way up to Ander’s penthouse.

  Once inside the upper floor, he did what he always did. Frank set his timer and started with one room, completely going through it before moving on and tackling the next. His fact-finding expedition had him treating the apartment like a grid.

  The precision paid off. He got a lot done. After installing several cameras and listening devices in obscure locations in the main room and the bedroom, he moved on to the kitchen. When his watch went off after two hours, indicating how long he’d spent on his little venture, he decided any longer than that and he would likely tempt fate.

  As Frank exited the building, he patted himself figuratively on the back for a job well done. How often did one get to stick it to the enemy right in their own backyard and then sit back and watch the film at eleven?

  While in Everett, Skye and Travis fasted in preparation for the ceremony.

  It was the first time in the months since she’d been with Josh that they’d spent the night away from each other. As much as she missed the man she loved, Travis kept her busy.

  Together they readied the in-ground medicine lodge for the ritual they hoped would bring the tradition of Kiya back to Skye once and for all. They worked to cut and stack wood for the fire, prepped the altar and the stones, and gathered the herbs from Travis’s garden they required for purification.

  At sundown father and daughter made their way down a steep set of steps and into the depths of the earth, twelve feet down. The smooth mellow tone of flutes played and soared while smoke poured out of the smudge pot. Travis dipped a finger into the burned sweet grass, used his thumb to first smear the ash onto his own forehead before moving to Skye’s, where he did the same. The gesture, meant to cleanse the mind and prepare the body for acceptance by the Great Spirit, had Skye bowing, for the first time, in respect of her father.