Colton's Folly (Native American contemporary romance) (25 page)

He looked at her sharply; that wasn’t like her at all. “He said that what they’d done was wrong, and he couldn’t keep it to himself.”

“Then why didn’t he try to stop it?” she asked.

“Would he have had a chance against the others?”

She shook her head. “I guess not.”

“Of course, he did let Seth go.”

She looked over at him. “Did he?”

“Yeah. He saw Seth making a break, but he didn’t stop him, hoping he’d bring help.”

She closed her eyes again, but smiled. “Not bad for a white kid.”

Abby met Cat at his house the next morning for the return trip to the courthouse. She’d had a good night’s sleep and she told him she felt fine.

She looks fine, too, he said silently. Fine and then some. Damn.

The group reassembled in the courtroom shortly before eleven. There was a heavy feeling of tension pervading the room; everyone there felt it, because everyone contributed to it. The judge entered promptly at eleven, much to the relief of those present, and without any preamble began to speak, directing his words to Richie’s attackers.

“I’ll be brief and to the point. What you did was inexcusable, unpardonable and, at the very least, illegal, by trespassing on federally protected land. Even more important, you acted in an unmanly and irresponsible manner toward another human being. The fact that you did not do him irreparable physical harm was due more to his brave self-defense and that of an unexpected ally than to your sense of decency. You showed none, and conceivably might not ever have done so if not for the courage of one of your number, whose conscience would not allow him to remain silent. The only redeeming aspects of this whole sorry affair are his decision to speak out and yours to admit to your dastardly act, saving us all the time and expense of a trial.

“Under any other circumstances I would sentence all of you, except young Daniel Bridges, to six months in the county jail, plus a stiff fine. And that would be no less than you deserve. However, there is another factor to be considered here. You are all family men, and to incarcerate you would be to leave your wives and children with little or no support, throwing them onto the county welfare rolls.

“Therefore I am placing each of you on probation for one year, during which time you will be required to report weekly to a probation officer who will monitor your activities and behavior. In addition, because you have inflicted grievous bodily harm to Richard Lightfoot in an unprovoked attack upon his person, I am levying a fine of one thousand dollars upon each of you, except for Daniel. This money will be paid in installments, the amounts of which will be agreed upon at a meeting next week, and which will be placed in a trust account in Richard’s name.”

Kendrick turned his head slightly to look down at Danny’s upturned face. “Now, Daniel. Although you have admitted your guilt in this matter, I am inclined to be more lenient with you because of your age and the fears of reprisal that influenced you. In addition, were it not for you we would probably be wallowing in this mess for days to come. You came forth and took responsibility. Therefore I am releasing you into the custody of your mother for a period of six months. During that time I will expect you to contact the tribal council at Twin Buttes and volunteer your services in any way that may be helpful to them.”

Looking at Cat with a stem expression, he continued, “I see the head of the council here with us again today, and although I’m sure that it is unnecessary to do so, nevertheless
I charge him with the responsibility of seeing that you are treated fairly.”

He looked over the group and continued softly, “I want to apologize to the family and friends, and especially to you, Richard, for everything that’s happened. If there is any way at all to prevent such a thing from happening again, you can be sure I’ll find it.” He banged the gavel. “This hearing is concluded. Court is dismissed.”

In the general commotion that followed Abby was able to keep herself in the background, and she hardly had to speak to Cat at all before being dropped off at home. When everything was over, and she was alone, she didn’t know whether to be relieved, or sorry.

Weeks passed, weeks in which she and Cat steered conspicuously clear of each other. Then, one afternoon when the term was well under way, Nellie and two of the older women visited Abby after classes were over. She welcomed them and showed them to seats, then perched on the edge of her desk.

“I’m very pleased to see you here. How may I help you?” Nellie nodded in the direction of a gray-haired woman with a deceptively young face and bright, mischievous eyes. “Mary Red Elk here says she’s tired of being cheated when she goes shopping in town. She wants to be able to read the white man’s words and know his numbers so she’ll know when he overcharges her. And Mrs. Billings wants to read the street signs and the labels in the supermarket. Do you think you would have time to teach them and a few others? They could meet you anywhere you say, here, or at your place, whenever you want. It would mean so much to them.”

Abby walked to a window and looked out. This was something she had never anticipated, an added dimension to what she’d always hoped to accomplish with the children. Here was a way to bridge the barriers of language and culture that kept so many of the older people prisoners on the reservation. Without any further thought she agreed.

There were six women in all, and they met in the schoolroom three evenings a week to brush up on the “American” alphabet, as they called it, which they had learned during their early years in government boarding schools and left behind when they returned to the reservation. The arithmetic, though basic, was more difficult, so Abby proposed that they shop in groups, and she provided pocket calculators and instructed them in their use.

The day that Mary Red Elk foiled a shopkeeper’s “accidental” attempt to overcharge her by ten dollars was a day of mutual satisfaction, a kind of graduation celebrated with a special dinner at Abby’s house.

At seven p.m. the following Monday evening she went to the school as usual and found the room filled with people. Startled, she cleared her throat.

“Well,” she said, “our group seems to have grown. Are you planning an invasion of the Crossroads business district?”

Noah Spotted Eagle rose to answer. “This is not a class. We come to honor you.”

Abby looked at him in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

“The ladies came to us saying they want to give you thanks for how you helped them. We decided that since you came to the school, many of us were helped by you. You make our children ready for the world outside this place, so they can meet others eye to eye. You teach them what they must know, and you give them pride in who they are. When they leave here they will be equal. No one will spit on them, or call them names, or drive them out from where they want to be.

“You took on the job of teaching the ladies on your own time and asked no reward. You teach us, young and old alike, both the white man’s way and the traditional way. You bring dignity to one of us who has been lost. You light a spark in a young man that moves him to seek the ways of his grandfathers. You help redeem a broken spirit and bring him back to his people.”

He looked from side to side and motioned with his arms. “In a few months you have stamped your image upon this school. Now we make things complete.”

He turned to the back of the room, and two men came forward with a long slab of wood, which they propped against the blackboard. Already thoroughly confounded by Spotted Eagle’s speech, Abby stared silently at the sign, seeing, yet unable to accept, the words burned into the wood: “Abigail Colton School.” Her mind struggled to accept the tribute, but its enormity overwhelmed her, and tears filled her eyes.

“What is wrong?” asked Spotted Eagle. “Have we offended you?”

“Of course not,” she replied unsteadily. “It’s only that this is too great an honor. I don’t deserve it.”

“Your modesty is most becoming, but unnecessary. You have done what no one else in your place has. You see bad things here and try to change them without changing us. You say, ‘Be yourselves and be proud. Remember all that has gone before. Take from the white man only what you must to protect yourselves and leave the rest to him. Love the land. Love this place, and your brothers and sisters.’ Now your name will be on this building long after you leave here, long after we are gone, and all who come after will know that this was the place of a good person.”

As Abby tried to speak Noah held up his right hand to stop her. “We have taken and will continue to take what you have to give. Accept with grace what little we have to offer in return.”

Finally the ceremony was over. Everyone filed out, leaving Abby alone. In the now-empty room, the words, the images, the faces, weighed on her, and her knees went suddenly weak. She leaned her head against the blackboard and let the feelings wash over her. Alone at last, she let the tears come, and they flowed silently down her cheeks. Finally she’d achieved the acceptance she’d always craved. She’d found a place to belong, a home, but the honor they had bestowed upon her was one she did not deserve, and by bestowing it, they had made it impossible for her to stay. “Don’t cry, Abby.”

The familiar, soft voice sounded behind her, and a hand smoothed her hair. Her heart seemed to stop beating for a split second that seemed an eternity, and she sighed as she realized that the weeks of struggle to put him out of her mind, if not her errant heart, had just been undone by the sound of his voice and the touch of his hand.

“You don’t have to cry,” she heard him say. “You’ve got all the love a person could want.”

Abby turned and watched his face. She saw pleasure and pride there. A tiny hope set her pulse to racing and she touched his cheek lightly. “Do I? Do I have yours? Does anything that’s happened tonight win me yours?”

The light faded from his face, and with it her moment of hope. He looked at her sadly and said only, “Congratulations.” Then he was gone.

Chapter
13

About three weeks later Sherri called. “The stuff you and the kids sent me is fantastic. I mailed out a check for eight hundred dollars. That’s their share of the sales, minus twenty percent as my commission. Is that all right?”

“Y-yes,” Abby stuttered. “Everyone here will be ecstatic. Can you use more?”

“Hell, yes. I sent you a breakdown of who gets what cut of the take, and a list of which items we’ve taken advance orders on. Or maybe I should call them special requests--if they can be filled, that’s fine. If not, just let everyone do what they want. We’ll be able to handle it. And let me know when the next shipment is going out.”

“It’ll be a while. They have less free time with school in session.”

“No problem. We’ll hang in there.”

“This is great news, Sherri. Thanks for the call. And for all your help.”

Excited about the success of the venture and needing to share it with someone, she went over to Terry and Nita’s house and knocked on the door. The house was quiet and dark, and no one answered. She thought for a moment, then squared her shoulders and walked over to Martha’s. Cat answered her knock, and as he stepped aside to let her in, she sensed a problem.

“Watch yourself,” he warned.

He grabbed her elbow unexpectedly, and she looked down as he steered her clear of the luggage that sat on the floor blocking her path.

“What’s going on?”

Martha sat on the couch, her two daughters beside her, their faces drawn, their eyes puffy.

“What’s wrong?” Abby pressed.

“Jared was killed in an accident in the oil field. We’re leaving on the early plane for Oklahoma.”

“Can I help?”

Martha looked at her sadly. “There’s nothing you can do, really. Except maybe check on this house and the girls’ place, maybe water my plants. That’s all.”

The room was quiet for a long time. Then Abby rose, hugged each of the women and said to Terry, “Take as much time as you need. We’ll be fine.”

She watched Martha rise and move off with her daughters. “Is she okay?” Abby asked, turning to Cat.

“Who? Mom? Sure. She’s the strongest woman I know
.” Cat paused, thought for a moment, then continued, “There’s only one other I can think of who even comes close.”

Abby ignored the remark, and Cat carried it no further. Instead he asked, “By the way, why’d you come over here tonight?”

“I wanted to share some news with Terry. It’s really not important.”

“Tell me.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Please?”

“My friend from New York called to tell me that the shipment we sent her sold very well. In fact, the group earned eight hundred dollars. The check is in the mail, and she wants them to send more. I thought Terry would be pleased to hear that. But now it seems so unimportant.”

“You’re wrong,” he countered. “It’s very important. The kids are our greatest resource, and your work with them is our best hope for the future.” He paused briefly and ran his fingers through his hair in a familiar gesture. “In fact, I guess I owe you an apology.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I never thought any of this would amount to much. But it’s changed the air around here, made people feel good, and to top it off, now you tell me it’s turned a profit and there’s an opportunity to earn more. It seems you’ve really started something.”