Chase the Wind (35 page)

“Yes, Pawnee.”

“So you have reason to hate the whites and hate the Indians.”

Chase the Wind looked at her as if she had made a great revelation. His eyes narrowed as his head filled with memories of torment from childhood, when the other children had made fun
of
him because he was different. Then came the banishment from the village immediately following the death of his father, the strange
ness of the fort and the white soldiers who had been responsible for his father’s death, and his mother wanting to get as far away from the memories as soon as possible, without regard for the weather or their safety. It had all happened so fast, he had hardly had time to deal with it all. He had not even given a thought to where he would go after he left the mission. Jenny had laid it all
out before him with one simple statement. Now the question loom
ing before him was where
did
he belong?

Jenny watched as a variety of emotions made their way across
his regal face. She knew she had struck a nerve somewhere, but
didn’t know if that was good or bad. She knew his mind was else
where, lost in some memory, but she was also curious. She had
assumed that his mother had been captured by the Kiowa, but he’d
said she didn’t want to leave. “Tell me about your mother and
father. How did they meet?”

Chase the Wind blinked his eyes as if he were waking up.

“My mother lived with her mother and stepfather at a mine. They
were isolated from the other workers, and she said her stepfather was always worried about claim jumpers. He would beat her
mother, and my mother would run and hide when he did. She was
afraid of what he would do to her. He was an evil man, and he
drank a lot, which made it worse. My father would see her hiding
in the woods when he was out hunting, and he became curious
about her, so he started to watch her. He spent days just watching her family work the mine; then the man would get drunk and start in on his wife. One day he just walked up to my mother when she
was crying. She wasn’t afraid. She said later that she figured an
Indian couldn’t be any worse than what she was living with every
day, and it wouldn’t have bothered her a bit if he had killed her.
My father knew a little English, so they managed to communicate.
One day she just got on his horse behind him, and he took her to
his village. The tribe was not happy, because he was a great warrior
and they wanted him to make a good marriage, but he said he loved my mother and that was the end of it. The tribe never accepted her, but my parents were so much in love that they didn’t
care. She taught me how to read and write English from her Bible
and made sure that I spoke it well. I think her mother must have been a teacher before she married the miner. My mother barely
remembered her real father. She said that life was hard after he died and they couldn’t make ends meet, so that was why her
mother remarried. She said the man changed after they came west.
My father took her back to the mine one time, but all they found
was a deserted cabin and a grave. They believed that he had finally
killed her.”

“So your mother and father were very much in love?”

“Yes. When the soldiers came, my mother fought them, but one
of them hit her, knocking her unconscious, then threw her on the back of a horse. My father went after them in a rage. He shot the soldier so my mother could escape, but then he was killed.”

“Where were you?”

“I was out of the village, chasing wild horses. When I came back,
the entire village was in mourning, and they told us we had to leave, that we had brought the white soldiers down on them.”

“Were there any other whites in the village?”

“There were some; they all went back.”

“But they still blamed you?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry. This must all be so strange for you.”

They sat in silence for a while, both thinking about what had
happened to the young half-breed.

“What about you—how long has it been?” Chase the Wind
asked.

“A year this spring. One minute we were a family, and the next
we were orphans.”

“Then your family was happy. You were happy?”

“Yes, but I didn’t realize it until it was gone. I mean, I never
knew anything else; we never needed anyone else; we were complete.” Jenny placed her chin on her knees, which were tucked up
under her. “I wonder if I’ll ever know happiness like that again,
the innocence that we lost.”

“You’ve lost the innocence forever, but you can find the happiness. At least I hope you can. I don’t know really, because I never
had that kind of happiness. I was never accepted into the tribe, so
I knew bad as well as good when I was with my mother and father.”
Chase the Wind captured her again with those dark eyes that
showed the pain of his isolation. “At least you’re not alone.”

“I’m grateful for that. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t
have Jamie.”

“I’m glad to know I’m so appreciated,” Jamie said as he came strolling into the room, grinning widely. “Have you been waiting for me?” he asked Chase the Wind while winking at his sister.

“Forever,” Chase the Wind answered as he shifted uncomfortably in bed. Jamie helped him up, and they disappeared behind the
screen. Jenny discreetly slipped out of her bed as they went.

“You know, Chase, we’ve got to find an easier way to do this,” Jamie said as he helped him back to the bed. “I don’t plan on being
your crutch for the rest of my life.”

“Chase?”

“Yeah, Chase. It’s easier than Chase the Wind, you know. Just like I’m James Duncan, but my friends call me Jamie.

“Friends.”

“Well, I should hope so. We’ve been up close and personal, if you know what I mean, and I’d hate to think I’m doing all this for someone who isn’t my friend.” Jamie grinned as he arranged the leg back in the sling, then moved it into the raised position. “I’m
pretty handy to have around, too,” he said as he admired the contraption. Chase couldn’t help laughing, and when Jamie extended
his hand to him, he took it. In that firm exchange they took full
measure of each other and found a kinship.

“Jamie,” Chase began, once the formalities were out of the way.
The priest was here this morning.”

“What happened?” Jamie’s face went from its usual open friend
liness to wariness.

“Nothing, but he scared your sister. The nun wants you to move
in here with Jenny for her protection.”

Jamie began to pace, much as Jenny had earlier, but where she
had moved gracefully around the room, Jamie prowled like a tiger
in a cage.

“What did Jenny tell you?”

“She’s afraid for herself and for you.”

“For me? Why should she be afraid for me?” Jamie stopped his
prowling and stood in the middle of the floor.

“She’s afraid you might seek revenge and get hurt in the process.”

“Revenge for what?” A sudden realization came over Jamie’s face
as the events of the past month came together. “Damn!”

The instant he spoke, a mug went sailing past his head and
crashed into the wall above Chase’s head, making him jump, then
look over his shoulder at the milk running down the wall. Jenny
was standing in the doorway, hands on her hips, her eyes narrowed
into slits.

“I trusted you,” she snarled from between clenched teeth. “You
had no right.”

“Your brother needs to know what’s happening.”

“It’s none of your business!” Jenny was shouting now.

“Yes, it is. You should have told me,” Jamie said.

“Why? So you could go out and get killed, or worse?” Jenny
came stomping into the room, and Jamie met her halfway.

“It’s my job to take care of you.” He stuck his nose inches from
hers, leaning over her.

“And it’s mine to take care of you.”

“No, it’s not. I’m the man of the family now, you are my responsibility and if something is going on, I should know about it.”

“Not if I don’t want you to.”

Chase watched as they stood toe to toe, nose to nose.

“Jenny, he could have killed you.” Jamie shoved his hair back, his frustration growing at his sister’s unreasonable stand.

“Yes, and if you go after him, who would stop him from killing
you?”

“He’s not going to kill me. He can’t hurt me.”

“No, but he could have you arrested, and then who’s going to
stand up for you and take your side?”

“I think you’re being ridiculous.”

“Ridiculous! I’m not the one who goes off half-cocked all the
time.”

‘Yes, you are.”

“What?”

“You’re the one who goes off half-cocked. I’m the sensible one.”
Jamie gave her a smirk that sent her temper flaring. Jenny whirled
around, searching for a weapon of some sort to use against his hard
head. Chase was sitting up, watching the proceedings with rapt attention. “See, you’re looking for something to throw, aren’t you? Admit it, you don’t think things through. I, at least, listen to reason.” Jenny opened her mouth to answer his latest challenge, then
snapped it shut. She turned, her skin flaring out, and left the room,
slamming the door as she stormed out.

“I guess that shut her up,” Jamie said to Chase as the sound of
the door slamming echoed in the tiny room

“You’d better go after her before she gets into trouble—or, worse,
runs into Father Clarence.”

“You just hope I can get her calmed down before she starts in
on
you.”
Jamie grinned at him.

Chase looked down at the shattered pieces of mug. “I guess it’s
a good thing I can’t walk. It looks pretty dangerous out there.”

Chapter Sixteen

Jamie didn’t have any trouble following Jenny; she had left clear tracks through the snow. The air was frigid, the sky still overcast. He hoped she hadn’t gone far. She wasn’t wearing a coat, and he
pulled his ragged one closer about him as the full force of the wind
hit him. The wind was so strong he had to hold his hat down on his head. “Now is not the time for you to be so stubborn,” he
mumbled as he made his way through the snow, his long legs
breaking through the crusty top layer.

He caught up with her in the orchard. She was leaning against
a tree, her arms wrapped around it as if she were afraid the wind
would take her away. Jamie took his coat off and draped it around
her shoulders.

“I guess you’re pretty mad at me,” he said. She wouldn’t answer
him. “Jenny, come on, its freezing out here.” He cocked his head
so she would have to look at him, but she turned the opposite way.
“Jen,” he begged. “Come on, you have to go back and yell at Chase.
You can’t do that if you’re frozen to a tree.” Jamie grinned when
he saw her shoulders shake; he knew she was trying not to laugh. Jamie began to jump up and down, waving his arms against the
chill. “Come on, I’m freezing.”

She turned and looked at him. “Serves you right.”

“Can we please finish this inside?”

Jenny reluctantly let go of the tree, and Jamie turned to go back to the mission, jogging in place as he waited for his sister to fall in
step with him. Jenny scooped up a handful of snow and dropped
it down the back of his shirt, taking off like a shot after she did so. Jamie let out a whoop and set out after her. Jenny’s shoes were old
and worn, and she hadn’t gone far when the slick soles gave out
and she went sliding into a drift, landing face first, her skirt flying
up over her backside. Jamie came upon her and doubled over in laughter as she came blinking and dripping out of the snow. He finally stopped laughing long enough to help her up, and the two of them slipped and slid all the way back to the mission. Jenny finally joined his laughter when his legs went in two separate directions, causing him to land in a split position in the snow.