Destiny's Bride (24 page)

“I gave her a strong sleeping potion,” Rain Woman whispered. “She will sleep for a while.”

Relief washed over Lone Eagle at not having to face the look of disappointment he would surely see in the eyes of his wife. He told Rain Woman and Singing Sparrow about the fruitless search and his intentions to resume looking. His gaze assessed them. “My mother and grandmother, you look so tired. Please, get some rest. I am fine and will watch over my wife for a while.”

“Your words say one thing, but your defeated stance shows them untrue.” His mother embraced him then stepped back. “I will go and take Rain Woman with me if you promise to eat some of the stew we have kept hot and sleep next to your wife. You must replenish your strength if you are to continue looking for your child. We will return in the morning.”

Lone Eagle was far too tired to argue and nodded. He felt strange sending Rain Woman away from her own lodge, but dared not awaken Cecile from her much-needed sleep. The old woman left without complaint.

Rather than hunger, he felt an empty numbness, but his body needed nourishment. He forced himself to eat. Finishing his last bite, thoughts of Two Clouds and the babe’s hunger flashed through Lone Eagle’s mind, overwhelming him with guilt for having filled his own stomach. He tried to blot out the negative images and cling to something positive, but hopelessness shrouded him. Shedding his clothing, he stretched out next to his wife.

Even in sleep, she wasn’t at rest. Her body hiccoughed from hours of crying and she thrashed about. He cuddled behind her, drawing her close. Maybe his love would transform into strength and energy to see her through this, no matter the outcome. He called upon the Great Spirit to protect and watch over Two Clouds, and then drifted off to his own troubled slumber.

He had barely shut his eyes, or so it seemed, when the sun crested the trees and highlighted the walls of the tepee. By the time Green Eyes woke, he was dressed and ready to leave. She clambered to her knees her and took a deep breath.  “Please tell me you found him?” Dark circles ringed her red and swollen eyes, her pleading gaze focused on him.

He tried to paste a look of confidence on his face, but failed. Their little one was still missing and possibly dead. How could he encourage her to believe when his own hopes were fading?

She rose and came to him, clawing at his chest. “Lone Eagle, please tell me our child is alive.” Her voice was weak and hoarse.

He embraced her, breathing in the faint smell of smoke from her hair. “Green Eyes, I did not find our son, but I am not giving up, and neither should you. I resume the search today and will not return without him.”

Chapter Twenty-four

Lone Eagle packed needed supplies into his parfleche. His last thought was of food, but true to their words, Rain Woman and Singing Sparrow returned bringing breakfast. His mother offered each a bowl of mush.

“Who knows how long you will be gone?” She extended Lone Eagle’s bowl. “Please, for me… eat.”

“I will, but only to sustain myself so I can find my son.”

He took the food, but the guilt of eating when his son probably hungered made each bite difficult to swallow.

Cecile shook her head at the bowl Rain Woman offered. “I cannot. My stomach is in knots.”

“But, granddaughter, you must eat. You had no food yesterday, and you’ll make yourself sick.” The old woman’s plea fell on deaf ears.

Lone Eagle wanted to speak, but words wouldn’t come. He hugged Cecile, kissed her forehead, and ducked through the doorway of Rain Woman’s lodge.

His wife followed, her eyes tearing and her expression defeated. He mounted his horse, while Brown Otter held the reins.   Green Eyes stepped forward and clung to his leg for a moment, casting a pleading look up at him. Pain tore through his heart as he nudged his animal forward.

Broken Feather and his group took a different direction while Lone Eagle and Brown Otter revisited the site where they last camped. They tethered their horses and continued the search on foot, but with so many trails leading into the mountains, determining which to follow proved difficult.

“If Spotted Doe carried the child and supplies, she would be less likely to take a trail where she would have to deal with thick brush and hanging branches.” Lone Eagle shared his logic and then pointed to the west. “That one would be the easiest to navigate.”

Despite its deceiving appearance at the lower level, the selected route became treacherously steep as they climbed higher. The path narrowed considerably, exposing them to a precipitous drop into a rugged canyon. Loose rocks and pebbles spilled over the edge and clattered into the deep chasm as the two men hugged the mountain and navigated the winding route.

They safely passed the most dangerous part and stopped to rest. Lone Eagle crumpled to the ground and massaged his brow. “Perhaps we should re-think my strategy and turn around. I don’t think this was the best choice.”

At that moment and from ahead, Spotted Doe rounded the bend, alone. Her eyes widened and a startled gasp sliced the silence. She turned to flee.

Like a hungry cougar, Lone Eagle sprang to his feet, grabbed her and spun her around. “What have you done with my son?”

Spotted Doe stood defiantly and said nothing.

Her silence only made him angrier, and he dug his fingers into her arms. “I demand you tell me and tell me now.” He shook her so hard her head bobbed back and forth.

She squirmed to escape his grip. Their struggling moved them dangerously close to the cliff’s edge. He realized their situation. “Stop, Spotted Doe. Stop moving!”

The more he tried to restrain and reason with her, the more agitated she became. She continued to inch them closer to the dangerous drop. He struggled to keep his balance as she fought against him and finally let go of her.

Free of his grasp, she turned to run, but the earth gave way beneath her. Lone Eagle made one last desperate attempt to grab her, but failed. He watched her plummet to certain death, her scream echoing from the mountain as she fell into the canyon below. In the eerie silence following, he imagined he still heard Spotted Doe’s cry for help.

He peered over the broken ledge at the lifeless body on the rocks below, feeling a momentary pang of sorrow. Remembering the days when his brother was alive and his wife was a happier person, Lone Eagle lifted his face to the sky. “Oh Father of the spirit world, please reunite Spotted Doe with her departed husband. Allow her the happiness she was deprived of in this world.”

He regained his composure and again focused his attention on Two Clouds. He turned to his friend whose mouth was still agape. “Brown Otter, we must hurry. Hopefully, my son is nearby.”

The sun had slipped below the distant mountains, leaving little daylight. The two hastened their pace. Two Clouds had been without nourishment for too long, but Lone Eagle held fast to the belief that his son lived.

Grasping the arm of his friend, Lone Eagle fought the fear in his voice. “We have to find him, my friend. A hungry, crying baby will attract hungry animals newly awakened from winter.”

“We will find him, my brother. We will.”

Lone Eagle’s eyes scanned every possible hiding place along the trail while listening for any sound to lead him to his son. The two men searched behind every rock, explored every crevice, and moved aside every long blade of grass in their path. The dimming light made it hard to see, and Lone Eagle’s shoulders sagged in defeat.

He straightened, his head craned to one side. “Brown Otter, do you hear that?”

“Yes. Yes, I do.”

Somewhere in the distance a baby cried.

Barely able to contain his joy, Lone Eagle darted in the direction of the sound. “Keep crying, little one, lead us to you!”

The wailing grew louder, leading them off the path to pile of brush strategically placed to hide the opening of a small cave. Pushing the camouflage aside, Lone Eagle entered, being cautious with each step. Lack of light made seeing inside the dim recesses difficult , but he followed the healthy cries of his son, crawling  along the ground until he touched the child’s flailing arm.

Lone Eagle’s heart pounded like a tom-tom. He grabbed his son and held him close, pressing his lips against the baby’s soft brow. “It’s okay, little one. I’d cry too.”

The child molded against the warmth of his father and ceased howling. Lone Eagle relished the moment, still trying to understand Spotted Doe’s motives. Had she meant to let the child die or just keep him long enough to punish the parents? It mattered little now—the answer perished with Spotted Doe.

Two Clouds sucked his fist. Lone Eagle chuckled, filled with joy to hear such a welcome sound. “Be patient a little longer, my son.  I will get you home to the waiting arms of your mother.  You have no idea how much you are loved.”

Chapter Twenty-five

Cecile strolled in a foggy sadness, wondering why she was being punished. A familiar cry reached her ears when Lone Eagle raced into camp with Two Clouds clutched tightly against his chest. The little one screamed at the top of his lungs. Not far behind was Brown Otter, issuing his own jubilant whoops. The clamor brought people out of their lodges. Cecile was rooted to the spot in disbelief.

Realizing it wasn’t a dream, she hurried to her husband and snatched the baby from him. Happy tears streamed down her cheeks as she smothered her baby with kisses and held him close. She reached out and pulled Lone Eagle into her embrace. “Thank you, thank you. Oh, my God, my child lives.”

Singing Sparrow and Rain Woman hugged each other, their own tears mingling, and never had Cecile found the wails of her hungry child such a source of joy. “You must be starving, my little one. Let’s take care of that right now.”

Leaving the curious and noisy group clamoring around Brown Otter for information, she ducked into the tepee, followed by her husband. Catching just a bit of the murmuring outside, she paused just inside, her brow raised, her hand soothing her fretting child. “Lone Eagle, did I hear what I thought I did? Spotted Doe?”

“Yes, she’s dead. You won’t ever have to worry about her again.”

“What happened? What a shame she had to die with such hatred in her heart. She was a jealous and lonely woman but I never wished her dead.”

Cecile offered a breast to her child.  He suckled with such vigor, she grimaced.  While the baby ate, she patted the floor next to her.  “Come, tell me everything.”

Lone Eagle sat and splayed fingers through his unbraided hair. “We were very lucky to find our child. When Spotted Doe saw us, she attempted to run away and fell into a canyon. I tried to grab her before she fell, but I wasn’t quick enough. I feared without her to lead us to Two Clouds, we would never find him.  Thank goodness he has a healthy cry or we might have never discovered the cave she hid him in.”

Cecile gazed upon the sated and sleeping child in her arms and breathed a sigh of relief. “Sleep well, my darling son. We won’t ever have to fear Spotted Doe and her evil ways again.”

***

Cecile opened sleep-laden eyes, her nude body still contoured again her husband.  Her stirring woke Lone Eagle and he nuzzled her neck.  She pushed her body closer against him, reaching up to caress his cheek. “Thank you for such a nice reward for finding our son.”

Sunlight filtered through the smoke flap at the top of the lodge, and Lone Eagle rolled away, stretched his muscular arms in a morning yawn, and then playfully slapped her bare behind. “Get up, sleepy one. It looks like a beautiful day. Our son is home and everything is good. Today is the day we finish packing for our move.”  He stood and dressed, then carried logs from the stack next to the door and lit the fire.

Cecile stifled a yawn and rolled over to check on Two Clouds; he still slept soundly. When she touched his baby soft skin, the events of the past days seemed more like an awful nightmare than reality. She sprung to her feet, feeling as if a hundred-pound weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Still not comfortable sleeping nude, she hurriedly dropped her doeskin dress over her head, hoping to cover herself before her husband turned around.

Too late, he’d stood from stooping and eyed her beneath a raised brow. “I don’t understand why you are still so shy. What difference does it make if I see your bare body in the light of day? I touched and tasted every part of it last night.”

His comment warmed her cheeks. “I’m trying to get used to it. I was brought up where it wasn’t customary for a person to parade around naked anytime.”

He laughed. “Nothing happens when you’re naked in the daytime that doesn’t happen at night. Don’t you suppose your parents shared their bodies with one another?”

The thought heated her cheeks.  “If you don’t mind, I’d rather not discuss my parents and what happened or didn’t happen in the privacy of their own room.”

What puzzled her…her admiration of her husband’s naked form. How many times had she enjoyed watching him don his breechclout and leggings?  Just the sight of his ample manhood set her heart aflutter. A chuckle brewed as she pictured herself as a painted lady from the wrong side of the tracks—like her father had once described.