Authors: Marie Harte
Hinto
glared at her as he fought to his feet. “I know damn well how to fight. I don’t
need your advice—” He whooshed out a breath as Wolf hit him hard in his middle
and took him to the ground again.
“Yessir.
That boy is as stubborn as the day is long. Like his mother.” Dan chuckled at
the look Thais shot him. “Well, maybe he gets a bit of it from me. Now Wolf, he
and I are a lot alike.”
“Charming
and handsome. I’d agree.”
Dan
flushed. “Well, ah, thank you.”
“And
modest.” She grinned, the glory of feminine strength apparent in her vibrant
green eyes. He had no doubt she’d breed strong sons, and hopefully, stronger
daughters.
“I
give him another day or so. He knows how much you want to leave,” Dan said
softly, sorry to see the joy fade from her gaze, but needing to say what was on
his mind. “You’re taking Rudy, Jon, Mick and Salvatore with you. No arguments.”
Her
lips flattened.
“From
what Hinto’s told me about what you’re facing, you’ll need the help. No matter
how good you may be with that knife, you can’t outrace a bullet, Thais. Or a
dozen bullets, for that matter. Butch McKenzie and his men are killers.”
“This
I know,” she said stiffly.
Dan
sighed. “Talk about stubborn. Thais, Hinto told me about you, about your
troubles. Now don’t get angry. He wanted to help.”
“He
had no right to share this.”
“Didn’t
he?”
She
flushed and glanced away.
“Honey,
you’re family now, whether you want to admit it or not. I know my boy, and he’s
takin’ a real shine to you. He’s not going to let you go. Not ever.”
“But
I don’t want him to.”
“You
don’t want him to let you go?”
“Yes.
No. I wish he would not be so, so—” she followed that with a flurry of language
Dan couldn’t understand.
“Thais,
you need to know something about Hinto. He’s a lot like my dearly departed Sky.
Takes a promise to heart and never breaks it. He feels deep, and he’s fierce
about those he loves.” He speared her with a look she couldn’t ignore and was
pleased to see a flush on her cheeks. “My wife and I taught all of my sons to
respect the good earth and the people on it. My Hinto, he’s special. I gather
you’ve already seen him track the impossible.”
She
nodded, her gaze intent.
“The
sky rocks. They affected him, just like they affected Dozie. Woman knows
things, and she’s never been wrong. Hinto, well, he can sense the living from a
distance. Boy can track just about anything once he sets his mind to it.”
She
didn’t seem surprised or dismayed by what he’d said.
“You’ve
seen him do it, eh?”
Thais
nodded, not realizing what that meant.
“If
you tell the UTO about what you saw, they’d string Hinto up by his toes.”
She
frowned. “Why?”
“Because
if it doesn’t fit the Nature Laws, the UTs want to kill it. Nothing Hinto does
hurts the land or its people. But it’s different, something the UTs can’t
explain. Hinto trusts you, or he never would have shown you what he can do.”
“Yes,
he trusts me. As I trust him. Not many know where I come from. But Hinto has
earned my respect. He’s a good man. I don’t want him hurt by what I must do.”
“You
can’t dictate his actions, Thais. He’s a man full grown, much as I call him a
boy. He’ll do what he must. He took a bullet for you once, and he’ll gladly do
it again.”
She
grimaced. “I would that he not be so brave.”
He
chuckled. “We’re talking about Hinto. He doesn’t know how to be any other way.”
“Your
wife was blessed by the Goddess. She must have been a truly good woman to have
born such sons and to have married a fine man.”
“My
Sky was a special lady, and I miss her.”
“I’m
sure you see her when you look on your family. You must be very proud.”
Dan
swelled with satisfaction. Damn it all, Thais loved his son. He could feel it. “So
when are you gonna give me some grandbabies?”
She
sputtered in shock. “I—I—Amazons do not breed.”
“From
the stories I’ve been told, Amazons don’t leave the jungle and they hate men. Yet
here you are. Thais, if your women never breed, how do you procreate? Where do
your warriors come from?”
“From,
ah, well, some do breed. But only those who are chosen by the queen.” She
swallowed hard, and he recalled what else Hinto had said about her people. That
they were all but gone.
“She
may be gone, honey, but you’re still here. You’re a warrior, yes. A woman, yes.
But you can be and do whatever you want to,” Dan said softly. “My Mahpee, there.
When Dana died, he died inside too. Felt the same guilt and failure for not
being able to prevent her death. Almost left this world full of hate and a
loathing for himself. But love saved him, love for his family, and for himself.
We can’t go back and undo the past.
“Much
as Hinto wants to drag my sorry butt across the Divide, it’s not gonna happen.
I’m content to sit the rest of my days with my family in a place I love. We’re
all meant to die at some point. It’s the living you do while you’re here that
counts.”
She
studied him, clearly troubled. “You would have me forget the oath I made to my
queen?”
“No,
honey. I’d have you share your troubles. Take help when it’s freely given. Find
the justice you need and use it to heal those aching wounds so you can see to
the future. Live to honor your mother’s memory. It’s a hard thing, I know. The
first days, hell, the first years after Sky passed, I struggled each day just
to get up in the morning. But I had the boys, and they needed me. Hinto told me
about your sisters out there. They need you, and Hinto needs you, too. There’s
so much more power in living, and living well.”
Dan
leaned close and gave Thais a hug. She stiffened in his arms, but he thought he
detected a subtle softening before he let go. “I’d be pleased to call you
daughter, you know,” he said, unable to help his gruff voice.
She
blinked rapidly. “I… I have to think on what you’ve said.”
“You
do that. Why don’t you go on in and let Dozie make you some of her famous
cookies. Good for what ails you.” He winked, hoping she didn’t see the glaze of
tears he could feel gathering.
“Yes,
cookies,” she murmured and left him with an uncertain smile.
As
soon as she left, Hinto dragged himself to his father’s side. “What’s wrong? What
did you say to her?”
Mahpee
and Wolf joined them.
“Can’t
a man talk to his future daughter with a little bit of privacy?”
“Future
daughter?” Wolf whooped. “Hell, Hinto. Why didn’t you say anything before? If
I’d known you were serious, I wouldn’t have been invitin’ her to my room the
past few days.”
He
lost his grin and grunted in pain when Hinto’s elbow connected with his gut.
“Ass.”
Mahpee sneered. He turned his gaze to Hinto, his expression sober. “I hope you
know what you’re doing.”
“I’m
not doing anything. Dad—”
“Don’t
play games, son. You’re heading back into danger, not for me, but for that
Amazon you’re so fixed on. I like her. Your brothers like her. Hell, even Rudy
likes her.”
Hinto
frowned. “He does?”
“Even
Dozie’s warmed to her some. Let her in the kitchen yesterday,” Mahpee added.
Wolf
raised his brow. “No shit?”
“Point
is,” Dan interrupted, “that woman needs your help. She’s confused and from what
you’ve said, mired in a well of guilt. She needs you. And if you’re set on
keeping her, which we all know you are, you need to help her fix what’s
broken.”
Hinto
swore. “Don’t you think I’ve tried that?”
“Maybe
you could show her what to do.”
“What
do you mean?”
Dan
knew the time had come. “She needs to let go of the past to find her place in
the now.” He paused, looking each of his sons in the eye before settling on Hinto.
“Twenty years ago I lost your mother. I’ve missed her ever since. Five years
ago, a terrible thing happened out here to all of us. But life moves on, and we
move with it. Hinto, I’m not crossing the IZ.”
“No,
we talked about this.”
“
You
talked about this. I’ve told your brothers, and they’re okay with my decision. I
want to spend my days here with my family in my home. Not gallivanting around
the damned Divide. Son, you know the kind of trouble we’ll have trying to cross.
Besides the hefty fees, you need to be in the best shape possible to make it
out alive. I can’t do it.”
“You
can. I’ll help you.”
Dan
settled a hand on Hinto’s strong shoulder. “Son, I love you. I really do. But
I’m not going.”
Frustration,
anger, and fear filled him until Hinto wanted to explode. “You can’t do this,”
he choked. “Dad, you’ll die.”
“We’re
all gonna die, son. My time’s coming sooner, is all. I’m not giving up, mind
you. But even if I made it across the Divide, there’s no guarantee the doctors
in the East can help me. You know that.”
“But
it’s a chance.”
“Yeah,”
Mahpee interrupted. “A chance at losing Dad a lot sooner. Forget it, Hinto.
He’s not going.” Mahpee crossed his arms.
“Fuck
you.”
“Nice.”
Wolf shook his head. “Hinto, we know you’ve been busting your ass for years.
Hell, if Dad keeps the gold, he can really get to work on the house. The house
he wants to enjoy while he’s
still alive
.”
Mahpee
added in a low drawl, “Yeah, stick around long enough this time and you can
help out around here.”
“That’s
what this is really about,” Hinto lashed out at his brother, infuriated they
all seemed against him. Didn’t they know how much it hurt to leave each time? To
know one day he might return only to find his father gone? “You’re just pissed
I left you here. Well it’s not a party, asshole. I’m hunting scum because no
one else will. It’s dangerous.”
“Yeah,
Thais seems real dangerous,” Mahpee mocked.
Hinto
struck him in a fit of rage. Mahpee took the blow to his jaw but didn’t fight
back, making Hinto feel even worse.
“Mahpee,
you’re out of line,” their father said. “Hinto, I know you want the best for me.
I really do. But son, ask me what
I
want.”
“Well,
Dad? What do you want? You want to quit us, to quit this life?”
“Ah,
Hinto. I don’t want to leave you. I won’t lie and say I wouldn’t mind seeing
Sky again. But I want to see my grandchildren first. I want to see my boys
married off and happy.” He glanced at Mahpee, who refused to meet his eyes. “I
want to see you hobble that wild Amazon of yours and settle here with us. I
don’t like you leaving us each time, never knowing if you’ll come back. I worry
for you, and that’s taking its own kind of toll.”
Hinto
blanched at the sight of his father’s sorrow. “Dad, I—”
“Let
me do what I want to do, Hinto. Stop trying to save me and let me enjoy this
time I have left.” He gave Hinto a watery smile. “Who knows? Maybe your woman’s
magic seeds will grow into the plant that cures me.”
Wolf
wrapped an arm around his father’s shoulders. “Hell yeah. Look at how fast
Hinto’s leg healed. Only twinges now and then, right?”
Wanting
to believe yet scared to, Hinto agreed just to set everyone’s mind at ease. “Yeah,
sure.”
“I
know it isn’t easy, son. It wasn’t easy to watch Sky waste of the sickness, and
it wasn’t easy to see Mahpee take such a blow when Dana passed. He’s still
suffering, but too damned ornery to stop.”
“Dad.”
Maphee sighed.
“You
help your Amazon, then you come back home with her. We’ll make it work, you’ll
see.”
Damned
if Hinto didn’t want his father’s version of a happily ever after. Seeing the
hope in his face, the plea to finally let him go, Hinto couldn’t deny what he’d
known for some time.
“Shit.
Okay. Fine. Once I’m done with the McKenzies, I’ll…I—” He stuttered, not
trusting he could say what he now understood, what his brothers had known all
along.
“We’ll
be waiting for you,” Mahpee said quietly. “Dad will be right here. He’s not
going anywhere without seeing you and Thais battle it out.” Mahpee’s ghost of a
smile undid him.
Hinto
nodded once and left before bursting into goddamn tears before his family. He
heard his father murmur, “Let him go. He’ll be alright,” and wanted to hit
something. He wouldn’t be all right. Not for a long time. But maybe with
Thais’s help, he could manage well enough to take care of the McKenzies and
return with the woman of his heart. Enough to patch the wounds in his soul, if
not heal him completely.
He
found Beast waiting for him outside the barn, as if the vore knew what he
needed.
“Let’s
go for a ride, fella. I need some air.”