“We mustn’t keep Aunt Emily waiting,” Rosebud said as she headed down the hall. Then she paused, causing Nick to nearly trip over her. “And Tanya? I’m glad things are going well.”
“Me, too,” Nick heard her say. Me, too, he mentally agreed as he swung past his office to grab his notes.
Once he was settled into his seat at the conference table, the door safely shut, Emily Mankiller asked him, “So, where does our case stand?”
Time to get down to business. While he was sure that both Emily and Rosebud were happy that he’d come back and reconnected with Tanya and Bear, the fact of the matter was that he’d been hired to do a job, and now was the time to do it. “The first water sample from inside the contaminated zone is headed to the lab today, and on Thursday, I’ll be accompanying a tribal member to the leading neurologist in the state for the first round of testing for heavy metals and other contaminants. If Rosebud’s theory that the fracking polluted the groundwater of the Dakota River and a ten-mile radius is correct, then both the water and the people who are drinking it will test positive. Once we have confirmed the results through independent testing and lined up experts who will be able to testify about what the results mean, we’ll have Midwest Energy…” by the balls was what he almost said, because that was the language used in Chicago. But this wasn’t Chicago, and he didn’t think Emily, or even Rosebud, would appreciate such imagery. “We’ll have them on the ropes.”
Both women exchanged a look that Nick interpreted as “we hired the right man for the job.” Which was a huge compliment. “Impressive,” Rosebud said. “Who are you taking to the neurologist?”
Nick paused, wishing he had a glass of water. Suddenly, all those horrifying diagnoses and death statistics were standing out in 3-D in his mind’s eye. Must be the late night after the early morning, he thought. He couldn’t afford to come apart at the seams—not now, and as sure as hell not in the courtroom later. “My son.”
The silence that came over the room was downright painful. Before either woman could offer him weak reassurances, Nick went on, “The second person I’m going to have tested is Doreen Rattling Blanket.”
“Who’s going to pay for the tests?” Rosebud’s voice was low but serious. Very serious.
“I am, at least for my immediate family. That includes water treatment. The tribe may have to look into trucking in fresh water for families who have been contaminated. Those costs would be recouped with a judgment in our favor.” Emily nodded in approval. “What I’d like from you two is a list of other people who have developed unusual health issues since the alleged fracking took place. Bear doesn’t speak. Doreen acts like she’s suffered several strokes and her weight gain is unusual, too. Within that ten-mile radius, who else is sick? I’ll pay the up-front cost for all the testing on the assumption that those costs will be reimbursed by the judgment against Midwest Energy. But I need more than just two people. I need dozens.”
Emily Mankiller cleared her throat. “Tanya would know who’s not well. She’s my eyes on the rez. But she doesn’t know anything about this case, does she?”
“I’m maintaining all appropriate confidentiality,” he assured her, knowing that he shouldn’t be irked by the suggestion that he’d tell Tanya everything but annoyed all the same. “She will be going to the doctor’s visit with me and Bear, obviously. I will not discuss this case with her without your express permission. But someone’s going to have to tell her something if she’s going to be doing oral interviews on people’s health.”
Emily nodded. “I don’t see a conflict here. She’s got a right to know. You have our permission to discuss the situation with her, but I would recommend you not go in with guns blazing. There’s no need to spark a panic.”
Nick looked at her, but the older woman didn’t even blink. That was a pretty slick way of telling him to wait until he had some proof—and walked a damn fine line between forthcoming and withholding. Unfortunately, Emily had a point. Right now, he was guessing. It was an educated guess, to be sure, but he had no proof that Bear’s silence had a thing to do with the fracking. If he sprung this on Tanya now, at the very least, she’d lose a lot of sleep over it, and at the worst, she’d panic. And panic was one of those things that spread like wildfire—once it was out there, it was impossible to control. “Agreed.”
“All we ask is that you use your best judgment on when and how you communicate about the case with Tanya,” Rosebud added, striking a warmer tone. “How you do that is completely up to your discretion.”
Emily nodded, looking tired. “We’ve fought for our land for so long…” She looked at Rosebud, who covered her aunt’s hand with her own. “I never thought we’d be poisoned by it.” She seemed worn down by the fight, but that exhaustion didn’t last long. She glanced up, and Nick saw that she wasn’t giving up anytime soon. “We can win this, Nick. We have to. I know that Tanya will be one hundred percent behind us. I’ll talk to her about doing oral interviews, but I think it’s best to hold off on that assignment until the situation with Bear has been resolved. In the meantime, you’ll keep us apprised of the test results?”
“Absolutely.” He cleared his throat. What he wouldn’t give for some water—clean water. “Depending on the results, though, I may have to be absent from the office. I want to assure you both personally that if that worst-case scenario happens, I will keep working on the job that I was hired to do.”
The silence that followed was even more uncomfortable. Finally, Rosebud said, “You’ll tell us if you reach the point where you have to recuse yourself, won’t you?”
“Absolutely.” But more than ever, he didn’t trust this case in some outsider’s hands. Would Jenkins, back in Chicago, give a damn about a little boy who couldn’t speak? Would he front the money for expensive tests for ten to fifteen percent of the tribe’s population? Would he do everything—everything—in his power to bring Midwest Energy to justice? Or would Jenkins punt the ball and take the first piddly settlement Midwest offered just to be done with the whole thing?
Nick knew the answer. And he knew what he had to do.
Ten
“Just hold him steady,” a small woman with a large needle said.
Tanya squeezed her eyes shut. She had Bear on her lap. Nick held Bear’s arm down against the table. He stood between them and the nurse, shielding Bear’s face from that needle. “Bear? Look at Daddy, honey. Hi!” Nick was saying, and even with her eyes shut, Tanya could hear him making funny faces.
She couldn’t look, though. Even though this blood draw was for Bear, just the thought of her baby hurting made her nauseous. Of course, if she was going to throw up and pass out, where better than in a hospital?
Then Bear’s body went stiff and he slammed his head back into Tanya’s chin. “Shh, shh,” she whispered in his ear. Again, it was pointless, but it was all she could do without crying.
“I know,” Nick was saying, his voice kind. “Almost done—oh, you’re being such a good boy! Yes, you are!”
Despite the upsetting situation, Tanya smiled at Nick. He acted as if he had this whole fatherhood thing down cold.
That was almost as important as how he didn’t act. At no point in the past four days had he acted like she owed him. Last night, dinner had been as normal as possible, considering Nick was at her place and spent the night. After she’d cleared the dishes, he’d pulled out a fancy-looking laptop and done some work before he’d read Bear his bedtime story. Then they’d made love on the couch again. It was the sort of night that Tanya desperately wanted to get used to.
She could do without the blood draws, however, even though she knew it was for the best. How long was this lady going to keep taking blood?
The whole time, Tanya’s mind spun. The doctor spent a large part of their appointment talking about how quickly kids bounced back from stuff like “aphonia”—which was the big, fancy word he’d used for ten minutes before Tanya had figured out he was talking about Bear’s silence. The doctor had said he was g
oing to run some standard tests to nail down the exact cause of the aphonia, but “We might need to investigate some environmental causes,” in his professional opinion. Environmental—that was the word that kept Tanya’s brain whirling.
Whatever the cause was, the doctor had been clear—Bear could recover easily from the aphonia once the cause was identified. For the first time in months, Tanya wasn’t resigned to Bear being disabled. Instead, she was hopeful that he could be fixed. And it was all thanks to Nick.
Finally, the needle part was over. The nurse left the IV port in, so Bear wouldn’t have to have another stick at the hospital. She wrapped it up so Bear wouldn’t pull at it, then stuck a Curious George bandage on the top. Tanya looked at the huge cluster of vials full of Bear’s blood and felt more than a little ill. What a strange feeling, she thought. Blood had never bothered her before, but something about this situation made her extra uneasy. Tests meant results, and while the doctor had glossed over the really bad stuff, results could mean some very scary diseases. Tanya felt as if she’d spent too long ignoring a small leak and suddenly it had become a flood that she couldn’t manage by herself.
“Now, you’re heading over to the hospital for a CT scan, correct?” The nurse briskly removed her gloves and sat down at her computer. “Do you know where you’re going?”
“Yes,” Nick said, and Tanya fell in love with him all over again. He was here; he was strong; he was in complete control of this situation. She wasn’t struggling to do all of this alone. She felt as if the weight of the world had been, well, not lifted, but shared. And for that, she was grateful.
They walked down a hallway and past the open door to what looked like the doctor’s personal office. Tanya had formed an opinion of the man from the way his receptionist had answered the phone, but in person, he was friendly—almost eager to see that Bear got any possible test he needed. Like right now. “How did it go?” he asked, popping up from his desk.
Nick answered for her. “Fine.”
The two men seemed to be staring each other down. If anything, Nick looked like he was close to threatening Dr. Klein. What was that all about? The awkwardness of the moment had Tanya wondering what, exactly, Nick had done to get this appointment.
“People don’t ignore you when you’re rich, and they don’t write you off when you’re powerful,” he’d said. Clearly, he knew what he was talking about.
“We look forward to hearing from you as soon as the results are in,” Nick said, and there was no mistaking the directive in his tone.
“I’ll be in touch.” And there was no mistaking the doctor’s begrudging reply.
Must have been a heck of a phone call, Tanya thought with a smile. How nice that, for once, things had gone in her favor. She had Nick to thank for that, too.
“Ready?” Nick asked as he took Bear from her. Thumb in his mouth, Bear snuggled his head onto Nick’s shoulder, then sneaked his other hand up and grabbed on to Nick’s hair. Nick responded by leaning down and kissing Bear on the forehead, then reaching his hand out to her. She laced her fingers with his and they walked out to the truck, where Nick buckled Bear into the correctly installed car seat.
This was happiness, she decided as she took her place next to Nick. The only way things could have possibly been better was if they weren’t traveling between a doctor’s office and a hospital. But she felt sure that with Nick sharing the load, it wouldn’t be long before they figured out what was wrong with Bear and had it fixed. It wouldn’t be the worst case. Bear was going to be fine. She just knew it.
As a computer voice in Nick’s phone told them where to turn, Tanya found herself daydreaming about what might happen after that. Nick was keeping his promise, being the father she’d hoped he would be. He helped wash the dinner dishes and tucked Bear in—promising that he’d get his very own bed really soon—and just kept being wonderful. That’s what it was. Wonderful.
But, greedy as she was, she wanted more than just a sharing of the parenting load. Sex between them was…well, she flushed just thinking about the way Nick had made her come and then come again last night on the couch. Sex was better now than it had ever been before, but instead of scratching her Nick-sized itch, she only wanted to scratch it some more. She didn’t want to just have dinner with him twice a week. She wanted to have dinner with him every day. She didn’t want to share just a couch with him. She wanted to share her bed. Heck, she wanted to share her life.
Tanya wanted to be married to Nick, which was different than what she’d always wanted before. Back when she’d been a crazy-in-love girl, she’d wanted to get married. She’d dreamed of how Nick would propose and what her wedding dress would look like—same for the cake and the whole ceremony—the whole nine yards of a wedding. She realized now that all those years ago, she’d put very little thought into actually living her life with Nick. Now, though, she hadn’t spent a single moment on any of that stuff. A wedding ceremony was just that—a ceremony. She wanted more than that. Was it wrong to want a nice house? Was it wrong to want another baby—maybe two—with Nick?
She wanted a life with him. She wanted to be a wife to his husband. She wanted to be a family.
The question she couldn’t answer was whether or not she would get that. In the back of her mind, she couldn’t shake the feeling that Nick would get tired—of her, of being a daddy, of the rez, of being an Indian again. The place he was renting was super-nice compared to Tanya’s run-down little house—but the way he talked about his real home in Chicago made it pretty clear that he couldn’t wait to get back to the city.
Bear, she felt, was what was really holding Nick here. He was genuinely concerned about the boy’s health. Yes, that only made Tanya love him more, but underneath that, she sensed a judgment. Did he blame her? Hell, she already blamed herself for not getting Bear to the doctor earlier. She’d tried, she really had, but she didn’t have the pull or the power Nick did.
Did he see it like that? Or did he think that she hadn’t tried hard enough? She just couldn’t shake the feeling that not only was she not good enough to hold Nick, but also that deep down, he didn’t think she was a good enough mother. Even if Bear was fine or if this not-speaking thing of his was a quick and easy fix, Tanya couldn’t get past the fact that other people would hold it against her. She was the boy’s mother, for heaven’s sake. She should have been the one demanding—and getting—appointments. To anyone on the outside, she would seem like a horrible mother—oblivious at best but neglectful at the very least.
She didn’t want anyone to think she didn’t love her son. Least of all Nick.
She needed to get a grip. Nick wasn’t holding anything over her head. He’d made no comments, no insinuations that he held her responsible for this. And actually, there was a small chance that she wasn’t. What had that doctor meant by “environmental”?
“Babe?”
Tanya snapped to attention. “Huh?”
Nick shot her a sideways smile as he turned into a huge parking garage. “We’re here. Penny for your thoughts.”
She was being silly. She had to keep a hold of the reality of the situation, and the reality was, Nick had been back on her couch for only five days. He was doing a fine job of proving his honorable intentions so far, but five days wasn’t long enough to base any major decisions on. She needed to stay focused on the present, not some dreamy future that may or may not come to pass, and the immediate future was a CT scan. The doctor had made it sound like a routine test, nothing to be afraid of. She needed to make sure she focused on getting Bear better. Everything else could be dealt with later.
“I was just thinking how glad I am that you’re here.” That was the unvarnished truth. She wasn’t sure she’d have made it through the blood draw without him, and they hadn’t even gotten to the CT scan yet. Dr. Klein had said that Bear would be sedated. She had no idea how she would have handled that without Nick to be her pillar of strength.
“Yeah?” He parked in an open space on the second level. “
A fun family day out at the hospital, huh?”
Tanya glanced over her shoulder. Bear, no doubt already tired out from the poking and prodding, had fallen asleep. He seemed so peaceful—innocence embodied. “It’s just that…” Her throat closed up. So many emotions—guilt and worry and things she couldn’t even name—flooded her. She just wanted things to be okay. “I wish I knew how this had happened. The doctor said it might be environmental.” Frustrated tears clogged up her throat. “I didn’t feed him tainted food or anything. How could it be environmental? I mean, it’s not like I made his formula with gasoline,” she went on. “But I think you’re right—Mom’s sick, too. Do you think it’s something in the water?”
The moment she said it out loud, she heard an audible click in her head. Of course it was the water—how could she have not seen it before? “Nick—it’s the water! The water at Mom’s house—it has to be! Bear’s there all day, five days a week! Why else would they be sick when I’m not?”
Again, she didn’t know what she expected him to do, but he didn’t do it. Moving slowly, he turned the truck off, then sat there for a few moments, his hands on the wheel. “Tanya,” he said, and she heard nothing but business and danger in his voice. “Do you know what fracking is?”
“No.” Was she supposed to? “Other than it’s got something to do with your case.”
He took a deep breath, and for the life of her, Tanya thought that this must be what he looked like when he was arguing in court. “Fracking is short for hydraulic fracturing. It’s where a mixture of chemicals is injected into the ground and exploded, basically, to release the natural gas stored under the bedrock.”
Tanya’s chest felt like it had caved in. Breathing was almost impossible. “What are you saying?”
“You’re right—I think it’s the water. I think the water was contaminated when Midwest Energy Company drilled under the Dakota River and fracked to get the natural gas located under the rez. The reason the Red Creek Lakota hired me is to prove that when Midwest did that, they contaminated the groundwater and the Dakota River.” Finally, he did look at her. Even though he sounded like a lawyer, he looked like he was worried—about her. “My job is to prove that Bear’s silence, your mother’s headaches—all of that is connected to the contamination.”
A Man of Distinction Page 11