Yellowstone Romance Series - Bundle (# 2-5) (14 page)

Chapter 15

What the hell, Russell. This girl isn’t interested in you.
All he seemed to accomplish was to make her nervous. She acted as if he’d done more than just kiss her. Other women sure never seemed to mind. And he sure as hell didn’t have to work half as hard with them.

Chase stopped himself short. What
did
he want from Sarah? His attraction to her was annoying as hell. Each time he told himself to leave it alone, words came out of his mouth that left her flustered again. He had to find a way to reach her mother. It was as simple as that. He needed to get home, back to where things were familiar. He definitely didn’t have a clue about life in this time. 

Living here in this environment was harsh, that much was certain. Why didn’t he seem to be bothered by it, then?  He did mind having his life threatened. Twice now, in less than a week. If he didn’t learn to defend himself, he’d be dead soon. Sarah had spoken the truth that he’d probably end up on some Indian’s platter if he stayed behind at the cabin while she visited her friends.

Is that why she’s not interested in you, Russell? Because you’re not a man in her eyes?
  She’d made it plain that she didn’t think he could take care of himself. Was that the way to impress her?

Listen to yourself! One minute you want to get out of this place, the next you want to impress her. What the heck, man.
He laughed out loud at the absurdity of his predicament. On the one hand, he just wanted to go home, making sure he’d never see her again. The next moment he tripped all over himself for a girl he could never have. He didn’t have a clue as to how to win her over. Back home, all he had to do was mention he was a jock, and girls lined up to be with him.

“Something amuses you?” Sarah stared at him as if he’d just grown wings.

“Yeah. My situation here is pretty funny,” he said flatly.

“Situation?”

Chase stopped walking. He waited for Sarah to stop, too. When she turned to look at him, he said, “How far is it to that rendezvous place, Sarah?”

Her eyes widened. “You can’t be thinking of going there,” she said, her voice heated.

“I just want to know where it is.” He shrugged, pretending mild interest.

“You will never get there alive. The Blackfoot will kill you the moment you enter their territory.”

“Stop telling me how incompetent I am, dammit,” he yelled. Did everyone see him only as a failure?

“It has nothing to do with incompetence.” Sarah glared at him, her hands on her hips. “No man I know travels through hostile territory alone. It is suicide. Other trappers travel in large groups. It is safer that way. Do you wish to die?”

“No, I just want to get the hell out of here.” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. She let out an audible gasp at his harsh words. “What’s the matter, Angel? Why does that surprise you? There’s nothing for me here,” he sneered.

“I…I thought you were getting along here quite well,” she said quietly.

Her words surprised him. No one other than Coach Beckman had believed in him, encouraged him. When he died, all desire to be the best had died along with him. Sarah thought he was doing well?

“Sorry I yelled at you,” he mumbled.

She walked up to him and placed a tentative hand on his arm, looking up at him intently. He clenched his jaw.  “You are a good man, Chase Russell,” she said softly. He stared into her deep blue pools.

“You have the prettiest blue eyes, you know that?” His words were a mere whisper.
Since when do you spout silly compliments to women, Russell?
He knocked himself in the head mentally. He was turning into a lovesick tomcat. Next he’d be spouting poetry.

“My Shoshoni name is
Aibehi Imaah ba’a.”
She smiled at him softly. “My mother named me after a particular hot water spring she calls Morning Glory Pool.”

“I’ve seen that pool.” Chase stepped closer to her. “It’s nothing compared to your eyes.”

Grizzly barked next to him. “Great timing, partner,” Chase grumbled, reaching down to pat the dog’s head. He looked up again and grinned at Sarah. She hadn’t moved. “You’re making it hard for me to keep that promise I made this morning, you know that, Angel?”  Her face turned scarlet. Chase smiled inwardly.

“Don’t we have to be somewhere?” he said with as much cheer as he could muster. He headed off in the direction they’d been traveling. Another second of her staring at him so intently, and a herd of bison wouldn’t stop him from taking her in his arms and breaking his promise.

*****

Sarah stared after him. He would have kissed her again if Grizzly hadn’t barked. And she’d wanted him to.  She shook her head, and ran to catch up with him. They would reach the village soon. Her thoughts needed to be elsewhere other than on the tall man walking next to her.

“Where is this rendezvous, Sarah?” he suddenly asked again.

She sighed impatiently.  He wouldn’t know how to get there, anyways. What could it hurt to tell him?  “Beneath the Teewinots, by the great lake,” she finally answered.

He shot her an annoyed look, which made her smile. “Speak English, Sarah.”

“Teewinots . . . it means many pinnacles. It describes the mountains.” She hesitated, then added, “the French call them les trois tetons.” She blushed.

Chase grinned broadly at her, his eyebrows raised. “My French is a little rusty, but did you just say the three breasts?”

Sarah buried her face in her hands. Chase laughed loudly. His light slap on her back shocked her out of hiding. His boyish grin was infectious. She began to laugh. “Yes, that’s what it means,” she said between fits of laughter.

“I know that place. In my time, we call those mountains the Grand Tetons.”

“Don’t try and find your way there.” Her face grew serious. “Wait until my parents get home. Surely you can stay here that long.”

“For you, Angel, I’ll stay,” he answered.

Sarah couldn’t react or reply to his comment. The sound of voices carried through the forest, as did the smell of wood smoke. The village came into view through the trees. She exchanged an uneasy smile with Chase. By the look on his face, she could tell he felt nervous, too.

“Most of the people don’t speak English,” Sarah said. “If you know French, a few can speak it. The Tukudeka tend to keep to themselves. They are mountain dwellers, and so have very little contact with other tribes, or with white men.”

“I’ll try and behave myself, Angel. Wouldn’t want to embarrass you.” He shot her a devilish grin. Sarah swatted his arm with her hand, but couldn’t help from smiling back at him. She turned her face when she felt her cheeks grow hot again.

She led the way into the clearing. Nine conical shaped wooden dwellings stood erected throughout the clearing, with one smaller hut further off closer to the tree line. The freestanding dwellings were tightly covered with deadfall, and thatched with dried grasses. Cooking fires burned in front of the majority of the huts. Men and women moved around, each busy with some task. Children laughed and ran around, playing with sticks and carved figures. Dogs lay about everywhere, and some raised their heads and barked a greeting at the newcomers. Grizzly’s tail stood erect like a flagpole, the tip moving back and forth cautiously. People stopped their activities when they noticed Sarah and Chase.

A short, heavy set woman walked towards her when she and Chase entered the clearing, open-armed and smiling brightly.

“
Imaah
, it is good that you are here,” the woman embraced her warmly.

“It is good to be here, Little Bird,” Sarah replied. “How is Snow Bird?”

“She is in the birthing hut. Her time is near.” The woman cocked her head up at Chase, and perused him with curious eyes.

“Chase, this is my aunt, Little Bird. She is the wife of Elk Runner. You’ve, ah, already met him.” Turning to her aunt, she said, “This man is called Chase. He has seen to my safety in coming here.”

Chase reached out a hand. Sarah put hers out and blocked him. “Just nod and say hello,” she said. He nodded his head at the woman, muttering a quick hello. She continued her perusal. Sarah shifted weight from one foot to the other. She could only guess what her aunt must be thinking.

“I, ah, need to go see Snow Bird,” she said to Chase.

“I’ll be waiting.” He shrugged.

Little Bird nodded at him. “Come,” she said to him in stilted English, “you sit with . . . my . . .
kuhma
.” Her eyes darted to Sarah for help.

“Husband,” she supplied.

Little Bird gestured for Chase to follow her. “Sit with husband,” she said.

Chase walked off after the woman, turning once to Sarah, and said, “I’ll be fine. Go do what you need to do.”

Sarah admired his broad shoulders as he walked away. He didn’t appear to be uncomfortable here, and carried himself with confidence. With a satisfied smile, she headed off to the one wickiup that stood furthest from the rest.

******

Sarah stretched her back, and massaged her neck, groaning at the relief it brought to her tense muscles. She squinted as she stepped out of the darkened hut into the bright early afternoon sunlight. The baby had taken his sweet time in making an appearance into the world. Snow Bird had labored all through the night, and Sarah had wished her mother would have been here to help. She had feared for her cousin and her little son a few times. But nature had taken its course, and he’d simply been a slow arrival. Right at the moment, she needed to walk off the soreness in her muscles from sitting and squatting for long hours. Snow Bird and her baby slept peacefully, and Sarah used the opportunity to leave the hut for a while. With some trepidation, she also wondered how Chase had fared the night.

Loud and boisterous children’s laughter and shouting reached her ears. She glanced around in the direction of all the noise. At the other end of the village, a group of boys clad only in breechcloths, and several girls, ran around like a flock of birds. There seemed to be two groups of kids, with one group chasing after the other.

At the periphery of the cluster of children, Sarah spotted Chase. Her mouth fell open. He was calling to a particular child, and held something in his hand. Just as she’d seen him do with the tomahawk, his left arm raised up and he aimed for a throw. The object in his hand sailed through the air, into the waiting arms of the little boy, who took off running in the opposite direction after catching what Chase had thrown, whooping loudly. The rest of the children ran after him, yelling like a war party of Blackfoot in pursuit.

Chase pumped his arm in the air, rooting the boy forward. Sarah stared openly at the tall man. He wore no shirt, and his lean upper body glistened in the sunlight, a sheen of sweat covering his skin. The display of solid muscle caused her face to flush, and her pulse increased.

Spotting her aunt and a group of women sitting off to the side beneath some shady trees, Sarah headed in their direction. Grinding nuts and dried berries with round stones against flat rocks, the women watched the excitement with smiles on their faces. A few older men, her uncle included, stood on the opposite end of the play field, their heads together in heated conversation, obviously discussing the tactics of the game.

Little Bird glanced up at her when Sarah approached. She motioned for her to take a seat next to her. Sarah eased herself to the ground, and picked up a flat rock and round stone, and reached for a handful of nuts from a woven basket that sat in front of Little Bird.

“What is going on?” Sarah asked, moving her wrist in a rhythmic motion, grinding the round rock over the nuts.