“We can’t lose her.” Evelyn barreled into the dark tangle of vegetation. “Little girl? Where are you?” she yelled in English. Realizing her mistake, she switched to Shoshone.
Dega stayed near Evelyn. Encountering the girl had reminded him of the bodies, a fate he did not care for Evelyn to share.
Evelyn stopped. “She has to be here somewhere.” She pointed to the left. “You go that way. I’ll go this. Stay in earshot.” Without waiting for him to answer, she charged into the darkness.
Dega almost went after her. He didn’t consider it a good idea to separate. But she was counting on him to help, so he reluctantly bent his steps in the direction she had indicated. “Little girl?” he called out in Nansusequa and in English.
For a quarter of an hour they roved and hunted until finally Evelyn shouted his name and Dega jogged to meet her. She was sitting on a log, her shoulders slumped in defeat.
“I can’t believe she got away from us.”
“She like rabbit,” Dega said.
“Even so. She’s so small.” Evelyn thumped the log. “We’ll rest a spell and then head back.”
“That fine.” Dega perched next to her, careful not to let his body brush hers. Just a few days ago he would have rubbed against her on purpose.
“We have to find her. We can’t leave until we do.”
“Yes,” Dega said.
“Can you imagine what she’s been through? Her mother and brother killed by that mountain lion and now she’s all alone.”
“Where be father?”
“Maybe he was killed, too.” Evelyn rested the Hawken’s butt on the ground and leaned it on the log. “One of us should ride back at first light and fetch my folks.”
The suggestion startled Dega. “What?”
“We can use their help. Maybe fetch your folks, too. And the McNairs while you’re at it.”
“Me?”
“The girl was taking a shine to me. I could tell. She might come if I keep calling. So it has to be me who stays and searches for her while you ride for help.”
“No,” Dega said flatly.
“Pardon?”
“No,” Dega said again. “I not leave you alone.”
Evelyn swiveled toward him. “Why on earth not?”
“The cat.”
“What about it? It’s long gone by now. And I have these.” Evelyn patted the Hawken and her flintlocks. “I’ll be perfectly fine.”
“I not go.”
Evelyn’s temper flared. Here she was, trying to save that poor girl’s life, and he was balking. “I was right about you being pigheaded.”
“I not pig.”
“You’re close enough. Or don’t you care that that little girl could die and it would be on your shoulders?”
Here was another mind-twister Dega must unravel. Evelyn seemed to be saying that if the girl died, he must carry her. “Why not dig hole and bury her?”
“What?” Evelyn shook her head. “I must not be making myself plain. That girl won’t last much longer by her lonesome. You saw how scrawny she is. She’s barely eating enough to stay alive. We have to save her and we have to do it before something happens to her. Do you agree I’m right about all that?”
“Yes,” Dega reluctantly conceded.
“Let’s say I can lure her in. What then? You and me don’t know a lot about raising kids. My mother and my father do. Another reason you have to bring them, and bring them fast.”
“But the cat…”
“Will you stop harping on that? Have we seen any sign of it? No. I told you they roam a large area. It’s probably miles and miles from here.” Evelyn put her hand on his arm. “Do you care for me or not?” she asked bluntly.
“I care,” Dega said. He cared for her more than he had ever cared for anyone. Which was why he was so torn up inside. His caring for her was at war with his devotion to his mother.
“Then do this for me,” Evelyn said. “Fetch my folks. Your folks, too, if you want. Please.”
Dega felt all twisted inside. “All right,” he heard himself say, although every particle of his being screamed at him that he shouldn’t go.
“Good.” Evelyn beamed. “We’ll get a good night’s sleep and you can leave at first light.”
“As you want,” Dega said.
“Don’t look so down at the mouth. You’re doing the right thing. Saving that girl is more important than you and me at the moment.”
“Evelyn…” Dega began. He wanted to tell her about his talk with his mother and why it was important his children be raised as Nansusequas.
“Yes?”
Dega changed his mind. It might make her mad that his mother objected to raising their children white. “Nothing,” he said softly.
“You’re sure acting strange tonight.” Evelyn had never seen him like this and didn’t know what to make of it. She feared that maybe he didn’t feel for her as she felt for him.
“Sorry.”
“Let’s head back and turn in.”
The mountains around them were alive with cries. From all quarters came howls and wails and bleats and the occasional roar of a roving grizzly high on the heights. A feline screech revealed the presence of a bobcat.
Not once did Evelyn hear the telltale scream of a painter. She put the food back in the basket and lay on her back on her saddle blanket with her saddle for a pillow. She tossed. She turned. She glanced countless times at the dark woods in the hope the girl would return. She gazed countless times at Dega, too, rolled up in his blanket and not moving, apparently sound asleep.
Dega heard her fidget. He lay with his back to her, unable to sleep except in fits and snatches. His chest felt as if that cat were clawing at it. He yearned to go to her and take her in his arms and tell her that he was sorry and they could raise their children any way she wanted.
But he didn’t.
Chapter Fourteen
The rosy blush of dawn painted the eastern sky when Dega climbed on the sorrel. He was stiff and hungry, and he dearly wanted to stay. But Evelyn was still insisting he go, so he looked down at her and said, “You be much careful, Evelyn King.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Evelyn replied. “I’ve lived in the wilds all my life. I can take care of myself.”
Dega lifted the reins, then hesitated. “I not like this.”
Evelyn stepped to the rear of his horse. “Off you go, whether you like it or not.” She gave the animal a hard smack, then grinned and waved. “Hurry back, you hear!”
“I will!” Dega promised. He wished the little girl would appear so he didn’t have to go, but she didn’t. He used his heels and brought the sorrel to a trot. The faster he reached King Valley, the better for his peace of mind.
Evelyn watched him ride off with a sinking feeling in her heart. She really didn’t want him to leave, but it had to be done. They needed her ma and her pa. Especially her ma. Her mother was good with children. If anyone could persuade that little girl to come in out of the wilds, it was Winona.
Shadowed woodland at the end of the valley swallowed Dega and his mount. Evelyn sighed and went to the
