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Overview
Excerpt
She hobbled a little to try to catch up with him. He turned back toward her, squinting at her.
"You...find...leather of shoe?"
"I...I did not. I searched for it everywhere. But..."
He stepped back toward her, retracing his path. As he came up level with her, he commanded, "You...stay..."
"I am no dog, sir, to be told to sit, stay or roll over."
He grinned at her. "I not...confused about that."
She crossed her arms over her chest. "I looked and looked for the sole of my shoe, but I couldn't find it."
"I will...find it. You...here...stay."
"No. I'm afraid to be left alone."
His fleeting look at her was enough to cause Mia to realize that her defiance frustrated him. After four days of travel with this man, she had become used to witnessing the tiny nuances that told of this young man's emotional moods. Years from now, she reasoned, he would most likely master those miniscule flickers of concern.
For now, she was glad to have acquired some means to recognize his frame of mind. She said, "Please don't be upset with me. The pea vines and other prickly bushes are constantly stinging me and tearing at my dress. It's so much easier to find a piece of my clothing hanging from a bush, than it is to find the bottom of my shoe stuck in the mud somewhere. The tall grass alone makes it hard to find, for when I bend to look to try to find it, I get pricked."
He nodded. "You speak...true. This...why I go...find it. Easier for me. You...stay...here."
"I can't. I can't be without you."
For a moment, she caught a surprised light in his eye as he regarded her.
"Don't you see?" she went on to explain. "What if something happened to you? What if you didn't return? I would rather be with you and face what you face, even if that be death, than to stay here on my own, unknowing. Without you, I would die here in this world of grass and vines."
The curious look was gone, and in its place was a glimpse of what? Was that admiration?
He said, "Understood. Will try to...teach you way...of prairie. Then not be...afraid."
"Good," she acknowledged. "I would appreciate that, but that's in the future. For now, I must go with you."
He drew his brows together in a frown as he stepped toward her. Nevertheless, he uttered, "Then walk...low to ground. Like this..." He bent over double.
"All right, I will. But why must we spend so much time trying to find this? What difference does the bottom of a shoe make? Truly, who's to see it in this environment of dirt and grass?"
"Land full..." he waved his hands out and away from him, "...of Indian toƞwéya, scouts. If find shoe...they follow...our...trail. Us they kill...maybe."
"Oh," she frowned. "I see. Is that why you've had me go back over the trail so many times to find the pieces of my dress when I've torn it on the bushes?"
"It is so."
She sighed. "Then I had better help you, I suppose, and be more careful where I step, for it was in a muddy patch of ground where I lost my shoe's sole."
"Wašté, good. Itó, come."
Mimicking him, she grappled with the rifle to find a comfortable position, then she bent over at the waist, following him as they made a slow progress back over their tracks. Amazingly, she had no doubt that he would find that stray piece of leather, and he did not disappoint. Within a relatively short time, he held the wayward sole of her boot in his hand.
She limped toward him, and reached out for it, but he did not immediately give it to her. Instead, he made a sign to her, and, turning away, he indicated that she should follow him again, traveling once more in that bent-over position.
Shutting her eyes on deep sigh, she realized she had little choice but to do as he asked.
She hobbled a little to try to catch up with him. He turned back toward her, squinting at her.
"You...find...leather of shoe?"
"I...I did not. I searched for it everywhere. But..."
He stepped back toward her, retracing his path. As he came up level with her, he commanded, "You...stay..."
"I am no dog, sir, to be told to sit, stay or roll over."
He grinned at her. "I not...confused about that."
She crossed her arms over her chest. "I looked and looked for the sole of my shoe, but I couldn't find it."
"I will...find it. You...here...stay."
"No. I'm afraid to be left alone."
His fleeting look at her was enough to cause Mia to realize that her defiance frustrated him. After four days of travel with this man, she had become used to witnessing the tiny nuances that told of this young man's emotional moods. Years from now, she reasoned, he would most likely master those miniscule flickers of concern.
For now, she was glad to have acquired some means to recognize his frame of mind. She said, "Please don't be upset with me. The pea vines and other prickly bushes are constantly stinging me and tearing at my dress. It's so much easier to find a piece of my clothing hanging from a bush, than it is to find the bottom of my shoe stuck in the mud somewhere. The tall grass alone makes it hard to find, for when I bend to look to try to find it, I get pricked."
He nodded. "You speak...true. This...why I go...find it. Easier for me. You...stay...here."
"I can't. I can't be without you."
For a moment, she caught a surprised light in his eye as he regarded her.
"Don't you see?" she went on to explain. "What if something happened to you? What if you didn't return? I would rather be with you and face what you face, even if that be death, than to stay here on my own, unknowing. Without you, I would die here in this world of grass and vines."
The curious look was gone, and in its place was a glimpse of what? Was that admiration?
He said, "Understood. Will try to...teach you way...of prairie. Then not be...afraid."
"Good," she acknowledged. "I would appreciate that, but that's in the future. For now, I must go with you."
He drew his brows together in a frown as he stepped toward her. Nevertheless, he uttered, "Then walk...low to ground. Like this..." He bent over double.
"All right, I will. But why must we spend so much time trying to find this? What difference does the bottom of a shoe make? Truly, who's to see it in this environment of dirt and grass?"
"Land full..." he waved his hands out and away from him, "...of Indian toƞwéya, scouts. If find shoe...they follow...our...trail. Us they kill...maybe."
"Oh," she frowned. "I see. Is that why you've had me go back over the trail so many times to find the pieces of my dress when I've torn it on the bushes?"
"It is so."
She sighed. "Then I had better help you, I suppose, and be more careful where I step, for it was in a muddy patch of ground where I lost my shoe's sole."
"Wašté, good. Itó, come."
Mimicking him, she grappled with the rifle to find a comfortable position, then she bent over at the waist, following him as they made a slow progress back over their tracks. Amazingly, she had no doubt that he would find that stray piece of leather, and he did not disappoint. Within a relatively short time, he held the wayward sole of her boot in his hand.
She limped toward him, and reached out for it, but he did not immediately give it to her. Instead, he made a sign to her, and, turning away, he indicated that she should follow him again, traveling once more in that bent-over position.
Shutting her eyes on deep sigh, she realized she had little choice but to do as he asked.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781538083390 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Barnes & Noble Press |
| Publication date: | 07/07/2018 |
| Series: | Clan of the Wolf , #2 |
| Pages: | 280 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.63(d) |
About the Author
Multi-published author, Karen Kay, has been praised by reviewers and fans alike for bringing the Wild West alive for her readers.
Karen Kay, whose great grandmother was a Choctaw Indian, is honored to be able to write about a way of life so dear to her heart, the American Indian culture.
“With the power of romance, I hope to bring about an awareness of the American Indian’s concept of honor, and what it meant to live as free men and free women. There are some things that should never be forgotten.”
Find Karen Kay online at www.novels-by-karenkay.com
Karen Kay, whose great grandmother was a Choctaw Indian, is honored to be able to write about a way of life so dear to her heart, the American Indian culture.
“With the power of romance, I hope to bring about an awareness of the American Indian’s concept of honor, and what it meant to live as free men and free women. There are some things that should never be forgotten.”
Find Karen Kay online at www.novels-by-karenkay.com
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