Blood of the Rainbow (19 page)

Jared held her. “Call Lucy. I’ve got some suitcases in the closet. Get them out, and pack our things. Whatever else we need, we’ll buy it in Arizona. I’ll go down to the office and arrange the flights. You do understand we might be down there for a while?”

“Yeah, it’ll be fine, just go. I’ll call her while I pack.” Sara pushed Lucy’s speed button, turned on the external speaker, and laid her cell on the night stand.

Several rings later, Lucy answered in a sleepy voice.

“Lucy, it’s me. I’m sorry to wake you, but Jared’s grandfather has had a stroke.”

“
Oh my god. Is he ok?
”

“Not really. Jared said he’d slipped into a coma. They’re not expecting him to live.”

“
Oh, god, Sara. Is Jared ok?
”

“Not really. I’m flying with him to Arizona.”

“
Oh your mother will not like that.
”

“Lucy, I love Jared. I
need
to be with him. If she calls, tell her what you have to. It’s not going to make any difference. I’m already in the doghouse. I have to go. I’ll see you when we get back. Oh, Jared said to tell Steve and Carl, he’d call them when we got to Arizona, and let them know what’s going on.”

“
All right, I will,
” she said. “
Take care and be careful. I’d say have a good trip, but I doubt you will.
”

“Thanks, I love you Lucy. I wish Mom was more like you!”

Lucy smiled. “
Hey Kid, what are you going to do for clothes? You haven’t picked up the rest of your things yet.
”

“Jared said he’ll buy me whatever I need. I have to run. He’s back. We have to leave.” Sara ended the call. “Get it done?”

“Yeah. We need to be at the airport in fifteen minutes.”

“That was quick. I thought it would take longer to get the tickets.”

Jared added some items he’d taken out of the bathroom to their suitcase. “Not if you tell them you’re a doctor and this is an emergency. Have you got all your things in here now? Can I close it?”

“Yeah. Can I bring my laptop and guitar?”

“Laptop - yes. Guitar – no. It may get damaged in cargo. Since it won’t fit in the overhead compartment, they would probably regard it as a safety hazard. Besides, I’ve got an old one that stays at my parents.”

“I’m ready then.”

“I’ve phoned my mother. She knows I’m bringing you, and she said we could stay at her house with the rest of the family.”

Sara was surprised. “I thought your parents lived in El Dorado.”

“They used to, but they moved to Arizona when my grandmother passed. Dad wanted to live closer to his father so he could look after him. Taking care of our elders is very important to my people.”

“Are they going to be ok with my being there?” Sara was apprehensive. “Under the circumstances, I don’t want to cause you any problems.”

Jared smiled. “Sara, they’re excited about meeting you, my mother and my sister, especially.”

Sara sighed, noticeably. “I was afraid they might try to scalp me, or make me go through the swatting line before they accepted me.”

Jared grinned. He knew she was joking. “Ah – Sara - it’s the
Apache
that make you run the
gauntlet
, not the Navajo. Besides, my mother’s wall is already lined with scalps from mine and my sister’s previous conquests,” he said looking deadly serious. Sara’s eyes widened, and she swallowed hard. He grabbed the suitcases. “Come on, Silly. We don’t have time for this. Our taxi should be here any minute.”

“We’re not taking your car to the airport?”

“No. I don’t know how long we’ll be gone, and I don’t trust airport storage that much.”

Sara swung her laptop and purse over her shoulder and followed Jared downstairs. Gerald met them on the bottom floor. “I’ll take those Sir,” Gerald said, reaching for their luggage.

“Put them in the foyer, Gerald. I’m going out and make sure the studio is locked up tight. Tell Steve and Carl, if they use it while we’re gone, to make sure it’s locked before they leave.” Jared kissed Sara. “You wait for the taxi. If it comes before I get back, send Gerald out for me. I’ll try to be quick.” Jared kissed Sara again and left.

Sara followed Gerald to the foyer. “Gerald?”

Gerald turned. “Yes, Miss Sara.” He patiently waited.

Sara lounged against the wall. “How long have you worked for Jared?”

“About five years.” He sat the luggage by the front door and walked next to Sara. “I was part of the house staff. When Mr. Thundercloud became the new owner, he let Cassie and I stay on.”

Sara smiled. “That sounds like Jared,” she mused.

“Will there be anything else, Miss Sara? Perhaps some coffee while you wait.”

“Yes, please.” Sara knew coffee would help her stay awake and alert. It was late, and she was exhausted from all the rehearsing, and the emotional stress of the day.

“I’ll bring a cart out for you shortly.” Gerald disappeared.

Sara sat on the foot of the stairs, waiting for Jared. A few minutes later, Gerald wheeled a serving cart next to Sara. He handed her a cup of coffee. Sara smiled and nodded.

“Sugar or cream, Miss Sara?”

“Just cream, thank you.” Gerald tipped some cream in her cup.

“Well, everything’s secure,” Jared said, reaching for his cup. “Oh, thank you Gerald. I needed this.”

Gerald smiled. “I thought you might Sir. Will there be anything else?”

“No, this is fine.”

“Then I’ll say goodnight Sir. Have a safe trip, and I do hope your grandfather will be well soon.”

“Thank you, Gerald,” Jared responded with a slight smile. He sat down on the step beside Sara, and they drank their coffee. He smiled. “I can’t tell you what it means to me to have you with me. For you to
want
to go with me, like this. You don’t have to, you know. After all, you don’t know my family,
yet
.”

“I
always
want to be with you Jared.”

Jared laced his fingers with hers, squeezed her hand, and then brought it up to his lips, kissing it. Then he kissed her lips.

The doorbell rang. Jared answered it. “Yes, you can take those,” he said, referring to the luggage. “We’ll be right out. Time to go, Angel,” he said, poking his head around the corner. “Just leave your cup on the table by the stairs. Gerald will find it when he does cleaning rounds.”

Jared and Sara got in, and the driver headed for the airport. Jared leaned his head down to hers and kissed her. “I’m sorry we were interrupted tonight,” he whispered in her ear, kissing the side of her neck.

Sara sighed. “Me too.”

“We
will
get there. I promise,” he whispered, and kissed the top of her head.

Chapter 10

Early in the morning, even for a busy city like Shreveport, there was little traffic on the road. The drive to the airport was short. Jared and Sara arrived on time with minutes to spare. After the driver had sat their luggage on the pavement, Jared paid him, and he pulled away. Sara waited by the luggage while Jared got a valet.

Sara looked forward to seeing Arizona. She’d always wanted to visit there - just not under these conditions. This would be her first commercial flight, and she felt a bit apprehensive. To date, the biggest aircraft Sara had been in had been her father’s Cessna. James was a contracted fire-spotter, for the State Forestry Division. On rare occasions, when James was sure it was safe, he would take Sara and her mother up with him. It wasn’t Sara’s first flight; she’d been in the air before.

------------

The valet loaded their luggage on a cart. Sara and Jared followed him to the check-in point. She nervously paced in the small space to the side of the counter, while Jared paid for their tickets. He told the flight attendant he was a doctor on an emergency flight. Among the first to board the plane were Jared and Sara. It didn’t take long before they were in the air and headed to their first stop - a fifty-one minute layover in Atlanta, Georgia.

The flight to Arizona would normally have taken five hours, but they ran into some turbulence over the coast, and had to make a slight diversion. Six hours later, they touched down in Phoenix.

Jared and Sara took another taxi to his parent’s house. Sara was a little surprised by the size of it. From Jared’s description of their house in El Dorado, Sara was expecting a small wooden frame house, or a tepee. The lack of attention Sara had paid during her tenth grade American History class had left her at a disadvantage. She intended to find a Specialties Bookstore where she could buy some books on Navajo Indians, at the earliest convenience. Maybe a little research might spare her future embarrassment.

------------

The Thundercloud’s house was almost as large as Wisteria Hall. There was a dirt road leading to the circle drive and garage at the front of the house, and another one leading past the house, that disappeared into the distance.

The exterior walls were made of medium peachy-terracotta stucco, with dark-brown wooden shutters. Various indigenous succulents, desert flowers, and shrubs were arranged in neat flowerbeds, in the front garden.

The house was split-level. On the top floor, were the bedrooms and a pleasantly sized library. The ground floor comprised of a vast open-plan lounge, dining, and kitchen area that led into a glass conservatory, and then onto a boarded patio area. At the edge, beyond the pool, it changed to lush green grass the full length of the large back garden. Considering Sara was expecting dust earth, tumbleweeds and giant cacti as scenery, this was a little surprising.

The taxi driver waited while they put their things in the house.

 Jared and Sara got back in the taxi and rode to the hospital. On the way, Jared phoned to check on his grandfather. The old man was still in a coma.

------------

Hand in hand, Jared and Sara headed for the hospital entrance. Sara’s nerves and stomach were twisted in knots. She took a deep breath and sighed heavily. Jared squeezed her hand as they walked through the sliding glass doors to the information desk.

“Nervous?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t be.”

“That’s easy for you to say.”

Jared laughed and brought her hand to his lips, kissing it. “They’re anxious to meet you Angel.”

“You’ve talked to them about me?”

“Sara, in my family, finding our perfect match, or at least someone we
love,
is a big thing. Finding our perfect match is next to miraculous.”

“I thought it was a common thing for your tribal leaders.”

 “Don’t you wish?” he smiled and scoffed. “It rarely ever happens, and certainly not this early in life. We could quite possibly spend the biggest part of our lives with someone who is not our perfect match before we find them, and, in some cases, it may
never
happen.” Jared’s mood darkened. Sara wondered why, but now was not the time to ask questions, not of that nature. She was there for Jared’s grandfather and to support him and his family.

Jared continued. “Usually, when we do find someone as I found you there’s a special meaning behind it,” he said, his voice trailing off.

Sara smiled, and tried to look convincing.
Great
! As if she didn’t already have enough pressure to deal with, now she was meeting her
boyfriend’s
family, and they’d already put her on a pedestal. That would give her that much farther to fall when she failed. And, she did expect to fail. Sara knew a relationship as distinctive as the one she and Jared shared could not come without a price. A price
she
would have to pay, but a risk she would
gladly
take.

 Jared closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose, fighting stinging tears. His voice was choked with emotion. “I wish Granddad had….”

“I wouldn’t give up on him Jared. Old people may seem fragile as tissue paper, but they can be tough as nails.” Sara touched his hand.

Jared frowned angrily. “I’m not giving up Sara. I’m being realistic. It depends on the type of stroke he’s had, and the amount of damage it’s done. Remember, Granddad has already had one stroke. Keeping that in mind, Granddad could pull through with minimal damage, he could pull through, but not come out of the coma and have to be put on life support for the rest of his life,
or
,” he hesitated. “He may not… pull through at all.”

Jared put his arm around Sara’s waist as they approached the desk. A nurse closer to Jared’s age, who was trying extremely hard to impress him, gave them directions to his grandfather’s room. Jared was polite to her, but it was obvious, the only thing he wanted from her, was what he got - information. Her high hopes plummeted when Jared kissed Sara’s forehead, and told her that he loved her, right in front of the nurse. She sighed, glared at Sara, and answered the phone.

Jared and Sara rode the elevator up to the second floor, stepping out into a busy corridor. They meandered down the long hall to room 212C. A private room in the CCU ward. A man in his early fifties, with mid-back length, jet-black hair, sprinkled with the odd strand of silver, met them at the door, his face creased with concern.

Jared’s voice was low, filled with admiration. “How is he Dad?”

Jared’s father shook his head. “He’s not good Shiye.”

“Sara, this is my father, Thomas Thundercloud. Dad, this is Sara Foster.”

Tom smiled. “How are you, Sara?” he asked, shaking her hand. “I’m pleased you came with Jared. We’ve been looking forward to meeting you. Did you have a nice flight?”

Sara smiled and shook his hand. “It wasn’t bad, Mr. Thundercloud.”

“Please, call me Tom Sara.  Jared, you and Sara wait here; I’ll get your mother. Despite the circumstances, you know how excited she’s going to be when she sees Sara. I think introducing them in the corridor, rather than in the room is the safer idea,” Tom said, looking directly at Sara.

Jared smiled. “Yes it would. Brace yourself Angel,” Jared said, leaning in, whispering in her ear, and deliberately brushing his lips against the side of her neck. “Mother can get a
little
emotional.”

Jared’s warm breath tickled Sara’s ear, and the side of her neck, re-igniting a familiar burning inside her.
That wasn’t fair
. Jared knew how that affected her. Sara fought to regain her wits, while Tom collected his wife.