Black Thunder (37 page)
Authors: David Thurlo
“There are some tortilla wraps in the fridge, Daughter, but they’ll taste better if you warm them up first.” Rose was seated at the kitchen table, notes spread everywhere.
“It’s good to see you happy again and doing something you love, Mom.”
“We all have to redefine ourselves from time to time, Daughter,” Rose
said.
As Ella transferred the tortilla wrap into the microwave, she caught a glimpse of Dawn standing in the doorway. “You’re right, Mom. What we are isn’t always what we’d like to be, but by changing ourselves we grow and find our own place in life.”
Grabbing the tortilla wrap from the microwave, Ella went outside. It felt good to linger on such a beautiful morning. Now that the case was closed,
she didn’t need to rush in to the station.
“Mom?”
Ella smiled at Dawn, who’d followed her outside. “Good morning, Daughter.”
“I heard what you just told
Shimasání
about finding our own places in life,” she said. “I’m not really sure who ‘me’ is yet, but until I am, I don’t want to close any doors.”
Ella waited, wondering where this was going.
“Mom, have you ever regretted not having a
kinaaldá
?”
“Sometimes,” Ella admitted slowly. “Back then, it meant very little to me—I had my own issues to deal with—but time changes us in ways we never expect.”
“I know. We … outgrow things. Like my old computer. It was just right a year ago, but now…”
“Are you lobbying for a new one?” Ella asked, laughing.
“No, well, yes. But what I’m trying to say is that I want to have my
kinaaldá
. I’ve read
about it in some of
Shimasání
’s old books, and it sounds really—well, cool. You know I love to run, and during the ceremony, I know I’m supposed to race twice each day, beginning before dawn—if you’ll pardon the pun.” She grinned. “There’s a whole lot more to it than that, of course, and I’d like to do the four-day ceremony, if that’s okay. Can we still put one together?”
Ella looked at her daughter
and smiled. “Of course. What do you say we go visit your uncle later this morning and see what his plans are for next week?”
Rose opened the back door and stepped out. Ella knew she’d heard them through the open kitchen window.
Rose’s eyes filled with tears as she looked at Dawn. “Your coming-of-age ceremony is something you’ll never forget, Granddaughter.”
As Ella watched them go back inside,
arm in arm, she couldn’t help but notice the love that drew her mother and daughter together. Dawn was no longer a child, but that very fact was fostering a new closeness between them.
Time. It was slipping right through their fingertips, but with its passing came the whispers of new beginnings.
Also by Aimée & David Thurlo
Ella Clah Novels
Blackening Song
Death Walker
Bad Medicine
Enemy Way
Shooting Chant
Red Mesa
Changing Woman
Tracking Bear
Wind Spirit
White Thunder
Mourning Dove
Turquoise Girl
Coyote’s Wife
Earthway
Never-ending Snake
Plant Them Deep
Lee Nez Novels
Second Sunrise
Blood Retribution
Pale Death
Surrogate Evil
Sister Agatha Novels
Bad Faith
Thief
in Retreat
Prey for a Miracle
False Witness
Prodigal Nun
The Bad Samaritan
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously.
BLACK THUNDER
Copyright © 2011 by Aimée and David Thurlo
All rights reserved.
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Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Thurlo, Aimée.
Black thunder : an Ella Clah novel / Aimée Thurlo and David Thurlo.
p. cm.
“A Tom Doherty Associates book.”
ISBN 978-0-7653-2451-1 (hardback)
1. Clah, Ella (fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Police—New Mexico—Fiction. 3. Navajo Indians—Fiction. 4. Navajo women—Fiction. 5. Policewomen—Fiction.
6. Mothers and daughters—Fiction. 7. New Mexico—Fiction. I. Thurlo, David. II. Title.
PS3570.H82B57 2011
813'.54—dc22
2011021585
First Edition: November 2011
eISBN 978-1-4299-8585-7