“Harris, can’t fish, Ahote, but he can take care of me. I hope that one day he will grow to love me,” she whispers and begins tugging at the line. He sits beside her, content to be at her side once more.
Ahote turns to look at her and growls low. “No. He lost his wife years ago. His heart was broken. I hope that he will have room for me…” her voice fades when Harris speaks behind her.
“You hope?” Harris demands.
Vanessa jumps and whirls to face him. Embarrassed she stammers, “Harris! I, I…”
“I love you Vanessa, Kimani Schmidt.” He walks forward ignoring the wolf, who chooses that moment to back away from them. “I’ve had feelings for you, but guilt kept me from acting on them. No more!” Harris pulls her gently towards him. “Life is too short to live with regret. I love everything about you, and I’m ready to begin our life together. Do you dare dream with me?”
Tears stream down her face, and she looks into his blue eyes and leaps into his arms. “Yes!”
Harris catches her and laughs, “This is where you say you love me too.”
Vanessa glances at Ahote and gasps when he begins to fade. His solid form shifts to mist, and he grins just as he takes his human form. “Be happy, Butterfly!”
“Thank you,” she whispers, and they both watch as he glances at Harris.
“Take her home. I will take care of the General.”
“I will,” Harris promises.
Ahote smiles and fades into mist. Vanessa hides her face in Harris’s neck, and he sits them on a boulder, expecting her to grieve. She pushes back and captures his mouth in a heated kiss. “I love you, Harris Rivers. I’ve loved you since I was a little girl watching from the shadows. My heart nearly broke when you left and came home married to another.”
Harris jerks in surprise and cups her face gently in his hands. Before he can speak, she shakes her head no. “Let me finish.”
“I wanted you to be happy, and you were. I could see how you loved her, and that’s why I stayed away. I thought we weren’t meant to be.”
“Now, what do you think?”
“I think I see your love reflected in those beautiful eyes and I see a future with lots of laughter and love. Though, I’ve decided you will not be in charge of fishing or our children will starve.”
“Children?” Harris smiles thinking of the possibilities. “I like the sound of that. I promise to make you never doubt my love for you. Let’s go home.”
“I’m ready. What about our guest?”
“He’s leaving in the morning. I think we should leave as soon as we can pack.”
Together they pack and clean up, while Blood Eagle sleeps.
A few hours later, as they ride away from the cabin, Ahote watches from the shadows and howls.
Vanessa lifts her chin and doesn’t look back.
Chapter 34
Blood Eagle jerks awake and grumbles. He slept for seven hours straight without any interruptions. His mind is still trying to process all that has happened. Barclay slaughtered two tribes of Shoshone for oil, no, for money. He slams his coffee cup down and glances around the small cabin. Harris told him how to close up the cabin before they left. He gets to work, determined to find Barclay and make him pay!
After meeting Kimani and hearing about the Shoshone, it makes the nightmare easier to understand. She was buried under a mountain of dead, carved up Indians. He hisses as he slips his feet into his moccasin boots. Still, he knows he’s been given a second chance to make a difference in the outcome of his people.
As he brushes his hair and straps on his pistols, he catches a glimpse of himself reflected in the glass window and freezes. The odd reflection makes him grin. He is clearly Indian, yet his clothing would hint that he was more. It will only aid in helping him move amongst the General’s people.
Once this is over, he will return to the fort where they are drilling for oil and claim a portion of it for himself. General Barclay won’t be able to complete it. A grin spreads, and he nods to himself in the mirror. “With that kind of money, perhaps I can make a difference for my People.”
Stepping onto the front porch of the tiny cabin he sighs when he finds the wolf waiting for him. “I don’t suppose you know where Barclay is?”
The beast pads inside the cabin and returns carrying a two-month-old newspaper and tosses it at his feet. “Wow, you would make a good pet,” he teases.
A huff of impatience has him laughing and picking up the paper. “The San Francisco Bulletin.” Blood Eagle grins. “He’s in San Francisco?” He thinks as he mounts up.
Once he’s mounted, the wolf tries to take the lead, but Blood Eagle nods no. “Not this time, friend. Change of plans. The Fort had trains coming and going all the time. I imagine the General will return to check on his pet project. I have papers showing that I have been conscribed into the good General’s service. Who’s to say he didn’t hire me to take over the security at the site?”
He grins at the beast, “We will wait for him to return and you will have your revenge.”
Chapter 35
“It’s roughly three more days to the Ranch,” Harris explains. “That will depend on the weather,” and Indians,
