"What do you suppose she's trying to tell us?" he wondered aloud. The woman nodded her head up and down and pounded her chest with her hand.
"I think it has something to do with the heart," Maddie said, looking worried.
"You don't suppose she's having a heart seizure?"
Maddie creased her forehead. "She wouldn't be smiling if she were having a medical problem, would she?"
"Maybe she's not smiling. Maybe she's having digestion problems."
Maddie grabbed hold of Luke's arm. "I think she's talking about our hearts, yours and mine."
"We're not having heart seizures," Luke explained to the woman. He exaggerated his words to make himself more easily understood. But the woman continued to speak rapidly and pound her chest. Nodding in what could only be approval, she walked away, heading in the direction of the Cheyenne encampment.
Watching her, Luke burst out laughing.
Maddie looked up at him as if he had lost his mind. "What's so funny?"
"I think the old woman was trying to tell us she approves of us. You and me. Our closeness… Not that you and I are together, she no longer sees you as a threat. She thinks her daughter's future is no longer in jeopardy."
"You mean because you and I… She thinks Shooting Star will marry White Blossom?"
He grinned and slipped his arms around her. "Now I understand why Picking Bones was so angry with me. She couldn't understand why it took me so long to discover what apparently was obvious to her--how much I love you and want to be with you." He kissed her on the lips, then rested his forehead against hers. "Maddie, last night
was the most memorable night of my life. But…it doesn't change anything."
"Maybe not for you."
"I'm still the same person I was before. A possible murderer. I can't forget that."
"I'll never believe that's true."
He took her hand in his and drew it to his lips. He loved her for the faith she had in him. If only he had that same faith in himself. Things would be different. "I never thought I'd ever see anyone look at me like you look at me. The love I see in your eyes…" He touched her on the lips. "I want so much to be deserving of that love."
She gazed up at him. "Oh, Luke…I never knew that love could be this way."
The two of them were so caught up in the wonder of each other that it took a moment for the sound of gunfire in the distance to register.
Luke frowned at the cloud of dust that rose to meet the sky. "Looks like we have company."
She tightened her hold on him at the sound of more gunfire. "Who?"
"I don't know. Hunters. Probably shooting rabbit." He gazed into her eyes and brushed his lips against hers. "It wouldn't by any chance be your Smithsonian people, would it now?"
"I wouldn't know."
The gunfire increased, as did the dust and the dirt. "I think I'll go and have a look." He headed for his horse. Moments later, he thundered past her, throwing her a kiss that she caught in her hands and clutched to her breast.
She watched him gallop across the prairie until she could no longer see him. Even then she was reluctant to turn away, as if doing so would break some invisible bond between them. What a glorious, wonderful feeling it was to be in love.
She whirled about in a circle, holding her face up to the sky as she twirled. Her hair fell freely around her shoulders.
Love.
What a wonderful word! What a wonderful place to be in love, for the landscape around her was as boundless as her feelings.
She hummed softly to herself as she walked back to the house to check on Matthew. He apparently had heard the gunfire, for he was standing on a box, looking out the window. He was still dressed in his nightshirt.
"Hunters," she said lightly. She rested her chin on his shoulder and peered out the window. A wall of dust swept from east to west. Usually only the wind could whip up so much dry ground, but today the air was perfectly still, with not even a breeze rippling the grass.
She felt a moment of apprehension but quickly chose to disregard it. For once, she was not going to allow her imagination to spoil the joy she felt inside. She drew Matthew away from the window. "We'd better start breakfast. Your father's likely to be hungry when he gets back."
Despite her best efforts, her apprehension increased. She wondered what had happened to Lefty. He was late and that was not like him. As soon as he arrived, she would send him to look for Luke.
She held breakfast for as long as she could, but when Luke hadn't returned by nine, she fed Matthew and sipped a cup of steaming hot coffee.
As the morning wore on, the cloud in the distance faded, but still there was no sign of Luke. She walked back and forth between the barn and the house and, for Matthew's sake, made a pretense of doing chores.
Lefty had not made his customary morning appearance, and she wondered why he and the others had failed to show up for their calisthenics class.
As she and Matthew carried feed to the chickens, Matthew noticed that Picking Bones was not in the usual place. "I don't think Picking Bones will be coming around anymore," she explained, surprised to find herself missing the old woman.
Matthew looked puzzled by this, but since it was difficult to explain, she shrugged. "We'll tell Lefty that we miss her. Maybe she'll come back and visit us."
At eleven, the sound of a galloping horse made her pulses jump with anticipation. She ran outside to greet Luke. Her smile died as Luke's riderless horse drew near.
Fear gripped her. Where was he? Where was Luke?
She lay a hand on Matthew's shoulder. "Stay here."
He slipped his hand in hers, his eyes bright with tears. She squeezed his hand and brushed away the hair from his forehead. "I'm worried too, Matthew. But you can help me… You can help your father by going inside and writing your feelings on your slate." She knelt down in front of him. "That's what will help us."
He nodded and started toward the house. She waited until he was safely inside before mounting Luke's horse.
Luke's horse was larger than hers and faster, and it was all she could do to keep from slipping out of the saddle.
She rode the horse as hard as she dared through the buffalo grass, picking up speed upon reaching one of the trails. Birds circled ahead, their ravenous cries filling her with cold dread. Turkey buzzards!
She tugged on the reins and the horse reared on its hind legs before coming to a halt. Nearby, a buffalo lay on his side, blood trickling from its mouth. She pulled her eyes away from the sight, only to find another lifeless body a few feet from the first.
Further on, the buzzards had descended on a woolly bull. A flock of the birds suddenly rose from the ground and took to the sky in squawking protest. Rising in her saddle, she scanned the prairie beneath the circling birds and, much to her relief and joy, spotted Luke walking toward her.
An almost unbearable excitement filled her as she galloped to meet him. She slid from the saddle and ran into his waiting arms. "I was so worried about you," she cried. "I thought--"
He crushed her to him, and it felt as if he never meant to let her go. "I know," he whispered in her hair. "My horse reared and threw me. Fortunately I was only stunned."
His eyes darkened as he stared at the dead buffalo at their feet. Releasing her, he pulled off his hat and held it respectfully to his chest. Her heart filled with tenderness as she counted yet another thing to love about him.
She dropped down to her knees to stroke the animal's rough coat. "I don't understand. Who did this and why?"
"Without the buffalo, the Indians can't survive."
She searched his face, now wanting to believe what he was saying. "This…this awful crime was done against the Indians?" The Cheyenne were her friends. She thought of Lefty and his eagerness to learn, of Picking Bones, who put the welfare of her daughter about her own needs and comfort. She thought of Flying Hawk and all the others she had grown to care about. How could anyone wish these people harm?
"It's not only a crime against the Indians, Maddie. It was done against all of us."
"It's such a beautiful animal," she whispered. Tears blurred her eyes.
"I'm afraid it's an animal close to extinction." He lay his hand on her shoulder. "Come on, my love. Let's go home."
She thrilled to the term of endearment that fell so easily from his lips, but nothing could soften the horrible crime that had been committed that day. She stared down at the dead buffalo and felt a deep and abiding sadness.
"Luke, do you think I could take one of these animals back to the house? If what you say is true, I want the world to know what a magnificent animal once roamed the prairie. I want future generations to know how they were senselessly slaughtered, and the only way I can do that is through my museum."
"Lordy sakes, Maddie. You're not thinking of preserving one of these animals are you? One of these beasts would fill up the soddy. Have you any idea how much these animals weigh?"
"But…"
"Absolutely not!"
The following morning, Lefty was late galloping up the road toward the soddy. Although it was nearly time for the morning calisthenics class, he was alone.
Maddie waited for him by the windmill. "Lefty, where have you been? I missed you yesterday."
Lefty slid from the bare back of his pony. "Picking Bones say no exorcist."
"Why wouldn't we exercise?"
"She say you do courting dance."
"Courting?" Maddie laughed. "Picking Bones told you that? Well, we'll just have to work twice as hard today. Go and tell the others to hurry."
He stayed her with his hand. "I come to warn you. Things are not good with my people. The buffalo." He glanced toward the distant skies to the still circling scavengers.
Sickened by the memory of the senseless killing, Maddie nodded sadly. "It was a terrible thing. If I ever get my hands on whoever was--" Something in his face chilled her. "Your people… They don't think Luke or I had anything to do with that slaughter, do they?"
"Red Feather blames all white people."
"Then you must convince him otherwise. You must tell him that some white people are outraged by this slaughter. Tell him that for me. Please, Lefty, you must."
"I tell him. But Red Feather not listen."
"Make him listen, Lefty. You must make him listen."
Lefty mounted his pony and rode off. In the distance came the sound of drums. Their slow cadence was far different from the usual joyous sounds that celebrated a birth or marriage.
Gooseflesh rose along her arms, and not even the hot morning sun could chase away the cold chill.
Chapter 33
Later that afternoon, a thunderstorm rolled across the plains. Blue-white lightning flickered against the sky, followed by the low rumble of thunder.
At the first sign of the storm, Luke hurried outside to watch for any sign of fire on the prairie. Maddie finished putting the clean dishes away and, after telling Matthew to stay in the house, rushed outside to join him.
They stood hand in hand next to the windmill, looking across the grasslands for smoke.
As each zigzagging line of lightning streaked across the sky, Maddie held her breath until enough time passed to assure them that none of the dry grass had been torched.
At last the rains came, and the immediate danger passed. But it was only a short reprieve, for this was no quick thundershower. The three of them spent the remainder of the day watching the roof of the soddy for leaks or cave-ins.
"I can't believe what a boring existence I had in Washington," Maddie declared. "Here, it's one thing after another."
Luke feigned surprise. "You mean you didn't have to worry about being washed away in the rain in Washington?"
"Nor did we have to worry about snakes, buffalo stampedes, fires…or hunters."
"What did you do with your time?"
She laughed. "We sat around all day and drank tea and made polite gossip."
He shook his head and slipped his arm around her waist. "That must have been a sight. You drinking tea and making polite gossip."