The Heart Remembers (14 page)

“I’ve been thinking the same thing.”

When supper was finished, Dane lent a hand to help Tharyn with the dishwashing and the cleanup of the kitchen. That done, Tharyn put two cups of steaming coffee and a plate of oatmeal cookies on a tray. Dane carried the tray as they went to the parlor together.

Dane placed the tray on a small table beside the sofa, and as Tharyn sat down, he went to the fireplace and tossed in a couple more logs. He rubbed his hands together briskly as he headed back toward her. “The night air in late September is quite cool in Central City, Mrs. Logan.”

She laughed. “Yes, Dr. Logan. Quite cool.”

He lowered himself in his favorite chair next to the sofa where Tharyn sat, picked up his cup of coffee and a cookie, and sighed heavily. “I’m absolutely exhausted. Rudy Louden wore me out.”

“I can understand that, sweetheart. Just observing it wore me out. Let’s hope that the rest of his teeth stay healthy. I wouldn’t want either of us to go through that again. He’d probably be just as stubborn about the anesthetic the next time.”

“Without a doubt!”

The Logans talked further about Dane’s desire to return to the Ute village and tell Chief Tando the gospel. They spoke of what a joy it would be to see the chief, his family, and the other people in the village open their hearts to Jesus.

When it was drawing near bedtime, Dane and Tharyn read their Bibles together and then prayed.

Tharyn prayed first, and after praying for many people, including their adoptive parents and their pastor and the church, she talked to the Lord about starting their family. Silent tears coursed down her cheeks as she told the Lord it would be difficult for Dane to find another nurse-receptionist to come to Central City to replace her when she was ready to give birth to their first child.

Tharyn felt Dane’s firm hand on her shoulder as she prayed on, asking the Lord to show them His will about when they should start their family. She told the Lord that when that time came, Dane would need His leadership in seeking a new nurse-receptionist and the money to pay her sufficiently.

Tharyn closed her prayer by thanking the Lord for helping Dane to be the one to cause the change in Chief Tando’s thinking.

As Dane prayed, he also went over the people and things they prayed about regularly, then said, “Lord, if this increasingly strong desire in Tharyn’s heart to become a mother is because You are putting it there, then show us this for sure, and we will know that we are to start our family earlier than we had planned. If this is Your will, we know You will bless the practice sufficiently so we can afford to hire a lady full-time. I thank You that we are doing so well financially, and that we can already be thinking about turning it into a clinic and adding another doctor.”

When Dane closed his prayer and opened his eyes, he saw the tears streaming down Tharyn’s cheeks. He took her into his arms and said, “Sweetheart, don’t concern yourself about the finances. I
want to become a father as soon as the Lord is ready. Quite possibly He would have us hire the new nurse-receptionist so you can have our first child before we take the step to turn the practice into a clinic and hire another doctor. The Lord will provide when it’s time.”

Tharyn clung to him as she wiped tears from her eyes. “Darling, I want so very much to be a mother, but only when it’s God’s time. The desire has been inside me so strong ever since we got married, but somehow it grew stronger today when I got to hold little Lydia Marie in my arms.”

Dane smiled and looked into her eyes. “I can understand that, honey. Well, it’s getting late. We’d better head upstairs.”

Half an hour later, Dane blew out the kerosene lantern that sat on the small table beside the bed and slid down into the covers. Tharyn cuddled up close to his back for warmth. After several minutes, she kissed the back of his neck and whispered, “I love this time of night. Everything seems so quiet and peaceful.”

Dane did not respond.

A frown formed on Tharyn’s brow in the darkness. “Sweetheart, don’t you agree that this is the best time of the night?”

Then she heard his steady breathing and realized he was already asleep.

“Poor darling,” she said in a faint whisper, “he has had a hard day. Bless him, Lord, and give him a good night’s rest. Thank you for giving me such a thoughtful and wonderful husband.”

Lying there snuggled up to Dane’s back, Tharyn relived little Lydia Marie Miller’s birth, and wiped tears on the sheet as she whispered, “Thank You, dear Lord, for giving Jack and Sally such a precious little girl. I will be so glad when we can have our first baby. I … I will be happy whichever it is, boy or girl. But somehow, Lord, I feel that our first child will be a girl. I’ve got to think about
names, so when it comes time, I can tell Dane what I want to name our first girl.”

Tharyn fell asleep thinking about her first child.

She was in her kitchen at midmorning one day, and while standing at the sink, she looked out the window into the backyard and smiled as she saw her little five-year-old daughter swaying back and forth in the swing her father had made for her and hung from a limb in one of the large cottonwood trees.

Tharyn felt impelled to step out on the back porch and watch as the little girl happily swung back and forth with her back toward the house. Her long dark brown hair, the same color as Dane’s, fluttered in the air.

After watching for a few minutes, Tharyn stepped off the porch, walked around in front of the swinging child, and saw that she had dark brown eyes—exactly like her father’s.

When the girl saw her mother, she flashed a big smile. “Mommy, will you push me so I can go up real high?”

Tharyn noted how beautiful the child was and marveled that she bore a strong resemblance to her mother. “Honey, it will be dangerous if you swing too high. I don’t want you to fall out and hurt yourself.”

“Daddy swings me real high. I’m a big girl. Come on, Mommy. I’ll hold on tight.”

Tharyn smiled and shook her head. “All right, Elizabeth Ann, but you make sure you hold on real tight.”

Elizabeth Ann. What a beautiful name
!

Suddenly Tharyn found herself sitting up in the bed, breathing hard and repeating the name
Elizabeth Ann
over and over.

Pale moonlight touched the curtains at the bedroom windows,
giving just enough light to illuminate the room and to make deep shadows all around.

“Yes!” Tharyn said exuberantly, popping her hands together. “That’s it! Elizabeth Ann Logan. It’s beautiful!”

Dane stirred, rolled over, and opened his eyes. “Honey, shouldn’t you be asleep? What are you clapping about in the middle of the night?”

A hand went to Tharyn’s mouth. “Oh, I’m sorry, Dane. I didn’t mean to wake you.” She leaned over and hugged him joyfully. “I was just having such a wonderful dream, and it made me so happy!”

Dane rubbed his eyes. “Well, now that I’m awake, do you want to share it with me?”

“Yes! Oh, yes, I want to tell you about it!”

Tharyn shivered in the cool air and settled herself comfortably under the covers, placing her head on Dane’s shoulder. “Darling, you know I don’t believe in omens or things like that, but just before I dropped off to sleep, I was thinking about the first baby God will give us, and somehow I had a girl in mind.”

“Oh, really?”

“Uh-huh. And this dream fell right into line with what I was thinking.”

Dane twisted under the covers so he could see her face in the moonlight. “Okay, now you really have my attention. I’m wide awake. Tell me why this dream was so special. I want to share it, too.”

Tharyn raised up on an elbow, bent down and kissed her husband’s stubbled cheek. She lay back down and placed her head on his shoulder again. “Well, I dreamed that we had a girl first, and in the dream she was already five years old. She had dark brown hair and eyes just like yours, and she was absolutely beautiful. She … ah … did look a lot like me.”

Dane snickered. “Well, she indeed would be beautiful, then.”

“You’re a flatterer. And you know what?”

“What?”

“Her name was Elizabeth Ann.”

“And how did you learn her name?”

“Well, in the dream, I just walked up to her and called her Elizabeth Ann. And she called me Mommy.”

“Hmm,” said Dane. “I wish I could have been there, too. Elizabeth Ann, eh?”

“Yes! And that’s what we will name our first baby girl! Ah … if that’s all right with you.”

“Sure it is. I love it. Elizabeth Ann Logan. I really do love the sound of it.”

A thrill went through Tharyn’s body. “It
is
beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Most certainly. Now it’s time for the future Elizabeth Ann Logan’s mommy to get some sleep.”

Tharyn raised up on an elbow again, kissed him on the lips, and said, “All right. Good night, future Elizabeth Ann Logan’s daddy.”

TEN
 

T
here was night music in the air around the village of renegade Ute Chief Antono as a dozen fires flickered their light on faces of braves and squaws and the tepees that stood close around the spot where the adults were gathered. All the children had been put in their blankets inside the tepees for the night.

Antono’s village was situated in the Rocky Mountains a few miles due west of Chief Tando’s village.

Above the sounds of the crackling fires and the few voices that could be heard in the village, the night music went on. There was the rhythm of the wind in the branches of the pines. Wolves howled in the mournful distance, and nearby owls hooted, underscoring the deep gurgling sound of the creek that ran past the village.

On each side of the village, two sentries were at their posts. At the east edge of the village, warriors Sudana and Hipto sat on a fallen pine tree, listening to the night music around them. Their ears, however, were alert to any unfamiliar sounds, and their eyes continuously searched the darkness for any sign of someone approaching.

A few clouds drifted overhead, partially covering the moon.

Suddenly Hipto stiffened as he heard sounds of hooves in the grass. “Do you hear that?” he asked his partner.

Sudana grasped his rifle, peering in the direction from which the sounds were coming. “Yes. It could be deer or elk, or even antelope. But I think it is horses.”

Both men stood up, rifles ready, and suddenly they caught sight of what appeared in the dim moonlight to be ghostly shapes floating toward them.

The back of Hipto’s neck prickled, the hairs rising.

“It is horses, and there are riders on their backs,” Sudana said.

Sudana stepped forward first, then Hipto moved up beside him. At that moment, the clouds that partly covered the moon blew away, and the brighter light revealed two Ute warriors. As they drew up, one of them said, “Sudana, Hipto. It is Zaldo and Windano.”

Sudana said, “You are traveling? You need a place to sleep for the night?”

“It is not like that,” said Zaldo. “We must speak to your chief.”

Sudana nodded. “We will take you to him. Please leave your horses here.”

Zaldo and Windano slid off their horses’ backs and walked with the sentries as they led them into the village. Soon they were moving past the fires, and some of the warriors recognized Zaldo and Windano and spoke to them.

Chief Antono was sitting on the ground by the fire in front of his tepee, his squaw beside him. Two other warriors and their squaws were seated around the fire with them.

All of them saw Sudana and Hipto coming their direction, and when Antono recognized subchief Zaldo and warrior Windano, he stood up. The other two warriors by the fire also rose to their feet.

“Chief Antono,” said Sudana, “Zaldo and Windano have come here wishing to speak to you.”

Antono nodded, with a friendly look in his dark eyes. “Come. Sit down here by the fire.”

Antono’s squaw stood up. “We squaws will leave so Antono may talk to Zaldo and Windano privately.”

Antono thanked her, and as all three squaws walked away, Antono told the other two warriors they could stay. He dismissed Sudana and Hipto that they might return to their post.

Antono picked up a fresh log and tossed it on the fire, then set his steady gaze on his guests. “What is it you wish to discuss with me?”

Zaldo’s features were stony. “Chief Antono has not learned of what happened to Chief Yukana and many of his warriors today?”

Antono shook his head. “No. What happened?”

Zaldo explained that for the past few days, Chief Yukana had been leading his warriors in attacking white men’s ranches, killing them and their families, then burning their houses. He explained that this was because Chief Yukana learned that earlier this week, Chief Tando had gone to Fort Junction—accompanied by Chief Ouray—and had signed a peace treaty with white man’s government. In his wrath toward Chief Tando’s turning traitor, Yukana had decided to show his hatred for the whites by attacking their ranches.

Antono smiled thinly. “I must say what Chief Yukana did was very good. I only learned of Tando becoming a traitor and signing the peace treaty this morning. Word came from some Ute warriors who live near Fort Junction. I will tell Chief Yukana how proud of him I am when next I see him.”