Authors: Linda Bridey
Tags: #Romance, #Historical, #Victorian, #Western, #Historical Romance, #Westerns
She smiled back and said, “And you, Black Fox.”
Marcus appeared by Black Fox and said, “Don’t you mean, Black Dog?”
He Who Runs laughed with Marcus while Sammi looked horrified. Black Fox’s mouth turned up at the corners and Sammi felt her anxiety lessen again.
“Come on, Sammi. Someone wants to see you,” Marcus said and led her over to the bed where Owl lay.
Tears pooled in her eyes as she saw Owl’s sickly pallor. His eyes were open and he smiled when he saw her. Sammi grasped the hand he held out to her and sat down carefully on the bed with him. She tried to smile at him, but couldn’t. Tears fell from her eyes as Sammi held tightly to his hand.
Owl asked, “Why you cry?” His voice was barely above a whisper.
She couldn’t answer him. Sammi could only press his hand against her cheek and cry. Owl looked at Marcus and said, “Can everyone please leave?” in Lakota.
Marcus said, “Sure.”
When they were alone, Owl said, “Sammi, don’t cry.” He didn’t understand why she was so sad. They had all fought well and were still alive. Owl felt that it was cause to celebrate, not to be sad. Her sobs were making the bed shake which sent little jolts of pain through his shoulder. He could deal with the pain. What he couldn’t take was not knowing why she was so upset. Sternly he said, “Woman, stop. You drown me with tears.”
Instead of scaring her, his statement struck her as hilarious and Sammi began laughing uncontrollably. At one point, she snorted because she was laughing so hard and Owl laughed which inflicted horrible pain upon him. He pressed a hand against his shoulder and Sammi instantly sobered.
“I’m so sorry, Owl. I shouldn’t have gone after those guys. It was too dangerous and now you’re hurt. You almost died,” she said.
Owl pursed his lips as he tried to come up with the right words. He understood more English than he could speak. It was very frustrating. “You get Silver Ghost.”
Thinking that something was wrong, Sammi ran to the door and opened it. “Marcus! He wants you.”
Marcus hurried into the bunkhouse and crossed the floor to the bed. “What is it?”
“Translate for me, ok? I hope one day I can speak English better than I do right now,” Owl said. He motioned for Sammi to sit again.
Marcus said, “He wants me to translate. Just forget I’m here. Your conversation will be completely confidential.”
“Ok,” Sammi said and looked at Owl.
“Sorry for including Silver Ghost, but English has too many different words that mean the same thing. I understand more than I can speak. Anyway, Sammi, do you think that’s the first raid I’ve ever been on?” he asked.
“No,” Sammi answered.
Owl nodded. “That’s right. I knew the risks. Yes, I went along to protect you, but I could have just refused and you wouldn’t have been able to track them.”
Sammi frowned. “Why didn’t you just do that then?”
“In my culture, if someone announces that they are going on a raid, it is your right to decide to go or not. If something happens to you on this raid, it’s not the fault of the person who invited you. So I don’t blame you for me getting hurt. I blame myself because I wasn’t swift enough in turning to avoid the knife.”
Sammi said, “I didn’t warn you in time.”
Owl frowned at her. “Why do white people make everything about guilt? Is it your fault that the sky is blue or the snow white?”
“No.”
“Did you do your best in everything you did that night?” Owl asked. “Think about your answer.”
Sammi tried to look at the events that had taken place through Owl’s eyes. She tried to shake off the things that Mitch had said to her the day before and listen to her own internal voice. Owl waited patiently. He’d rather have an honest answer than a quick one. He was also trying to teach Sammi something.
When Sammi raised her head, the usual confidence Owl was used to seeing had returned to her eyes.
“Yes, I did,” she said.
“Good answer. You should know that if you were a Lakota woman, you would never be allowed to do the things you do. Our women do not directly participate in a battle. I know we laugh about your Lakota name, but I did not give it to you lightly,” Owl said.
Sammi gave him a questioning glance but didn’t say anything.
“Mitch hired me to follow you home and protect you. I did my job. I didn’t expect to become friends with you since you weren’t supposed to know I was there. I got tired of hiding from you and so that’s why once I knew he had told you about me, I figured it would be stupid to continue doing that.”
“I’m glad you didn’t try to hide, either,” Sammi said with a smile.
“Me, too. There are some people in life that you instantly connect with no matter who they are or whether they are white or Indian or whatever,” Owl said. “That’s what happened with us. I accepted you as a friend and you accepted me, too.”
“Yeah. I didn’t expect that to happen, either, but I can’t tell you how glad I am it did,” Sammi said.
Owl smiled. “So because I accepted you, it wouldn’t be fair to impose my own beliefs on you and try to change you, just as I know you would not try to change me.”
“I would never do that. I wouldn’t be fair,” Sammi said. Then she put a hand over her mouth. “You wore a suit to my wedding and danced at the reception.”
Owl laughed and winced. “Just because I did those things didn’t mean that you were trying to change me. I did them as a favor and because my pesky little brother told me I should. And I was curious. It’s an odd thing having a brother who is half white. Ever since he came into our lives, he tells us things that make me curious. It’s annoying,” Owl said with a smile.
Marcus frowned and would have said something about Owl’s last statement, but Owl said, “Shut up. You’re supposed to translate, not comment, remember?”
“I appreciate you doing that for me,” Sammi said.
“You’re welcome. It was also fun watching Seth’s face when I danced with Maddie and also everyone’s expressions at the ceremony,” Owl said. “But back to your name.”
“I can understand why you would give me that particular name,” Sammi said.
“I don’t think you do.”
Sammi said, “Why?”
“The fact that I considered you a warrior despite you being female is a symbol of my respect and affection for you,” Owl said. “I would not have done such a thing for any other woman.”
“Really?” Sammi said, “That means a lot to me.”
“Your husband really isn’t so different,” Owl said. “He accepts you or he would not have married you.”
“I disagree with you on that,” Sammi said. “Sorry.”
“Why?”
“He accepts me up to a point, but he doesn’t want me to take matters in my own hands when it comes to crime. I wouldn’t have if it didn’t involve my stuff,” Sammi said. “Someone came into my home and took things that are really important to me. I needed to get them back and took the chance to do it before it was gone.”
“I understand,” Owl said. “I know what you mean, but you also have to look at things from his side. He loves you and if you died then he would greatly mourn his loss. Each person has a job to do. Being sheriff is his, so let him do it. Keeping peace at the bar is yours, so you do it.”
“Right. And that’s what we were doing, but…” Sammi broke off.
“You felt that you needed to get your stuff back because it was yours? I would have felt the same way. I would have wanted to avenge the theft of my things, the same way I wanted to avenge the death of my wife and child,” Owl said.
“Wait. You were married?” Sammi asked. “You never mentioned it.”
“Have you told me everything about you yet?” Owl said.
“Not yet,” Sammi said.
“Ok, then. It’s not something I care to speak about because it’s still very painful sometimes. So I don’t talk about it and my family and friends don’t out of respect for me. I’m only telling you this now so that you can see that I understand your feelings,” Owl said.
“Ok. Thank you. Mitch told me that because I broke my promise to him about not going after my stuff on my own, he can’t trust me now,” Sammi said.
“Ah, I see. Well, that is a problem. So you did actually have this agreement?” Owl said.
Sammi nodded. “We did.”
Owl sighed. “Do you love him and still want to have a life with him?”
“Yes, of course, but I’m not good for him. I embarrass him and he needs someone that can be a better wife to him,” Sammi said.
Owl shifted and grimaced.
“I’m sorry, I should let you rest,” Sammi said and began rising.
Owl snagged her wrist and said, “Sit! I’m not done yet.”
Sammi sat back down.
“Making a promise to someone is very serious, as you know. Mitch especially is the kind of person who values promises. You broke his trust, that’s true, but you can regain it, Sammi.”
“How?” Sammi asked.
“That I can’t tell you. People have different reasons for trusting someone. You have to find the best way to make him see that you are sorry and that you want to make a new promise to him. You also have to convince him that you won’t break it again,” Owl said. “That’s how you can be a better wife to him.”
Sammi thought about that for a moment. “I see what you mean,” she said.
“Good,” Owl said and released her wrist.
Sammi stood up then. “Thank you for everything, Owl.” She bent and kissed his cheek. “Get some rest. I’ll be back to see you tomorrow.”
“You’d better be or I’ll send He Who Knows looking for you,” Owl teased her.
“No, don’t do that. He’s pretty scary,” Sammi said with a laugh. “Thanks for interpreting, Marcus.”
Marcus smiled. “You’re welcome. Good luck, Sammi.”
“He wants me to what?” Dean asked Seth.
“Are you deaf? I said that Joe wants you to stay tonight after the election so you can be officially appointed to the council,” Eddie told Dean.
“Eddie, I understand Joe’s concerns, but we’ve got a lot going on here. I’ve got a bunch of Lakota running around the property and we’re feeding them and the twins have a cold now,” Dean said.
“It’s only for a few hours,” Eddie said.
Dean sighed. “Ok. I told him I’d do it, so I will.”
“Good. Is Black Fox here?” Eddie said as he looked for the tall Indian.
“Yeah. Probably in with Owl,” Dean said.
“Thanks. See ya later,” Eddie said.
Eddie entered the bunkhouse and greeted all inside it. He went over to Owl, but the man was asleep. He turned to Black Fox and said, “Joe sent me. We don’t have a mayor since Jessie was arrested. We need one and he wants to hold a special election tonight. It’s understood that this is a bad time, but he still wanted all of your men who want to vote to have the chance,” Eddie said.
Black Fox said, “We will come because we have made an agreement. Owl wanted to vote. Can he do that?”
Eddie said, “I don’t know why not. It can be a proxy vote. Who do you want to do it?”
Black Fox went over to Owl and tapped on his shoulder.
Owl opened his eyes and said, “What?”
Black Fox said, “Joe is having a special election tonight. Who do you want to cast your vote for you?”
Owl thought for a moment and then said, “Warrior Woman.”
“He wants Sammi,” Black Fox told Eddie.
Eddie shook his head. “Women don’t have the legal right to vote.”
Owl got angry at that. “That’s a stupid rule! Anyway, she is voting for me, not herself and that’s who I choose. Either she casts my vote or I don’t vote.”
Black Fox translated that to Eddie.
Eddie said, “Ok. It’s fine with me.”
“Good,” Owl said and closed his eyes again.
Joe’s eyes met Eddie’s. “He wants Sammi to cast his vote? Oh, jeez, that’s opening up a whole other can of worms. That’s up to the council to decide and I doubt it’s going to fly.”
“You better turn on your famous powers of persuasion, Joe, because if she can’t cast Owl’s vote, it might make Black Fox angry and then none of them may vote,” Eddie said.
“Damn it! Why can’t anything be simple? Ok, I’ll do my best,” Joe said. He started going over what he was going to say.
It took almost an hour, but Joe finally got the council to approve of Sammi casting a proxy vote for a man who couldn’t be there. Only a select few people knew that the Lakota planned to participate in the election and that was exactly as Joe and Black Fox had wanted it.
The voting started and Sammi was informed of Owl’s decision. She readily accepted the responsibility. That Owl would choose her to cast his vote filled her with pride. When Black Fox and his people showed up, it created quite a stir. Joe got up on the stage in the community center and calmed down the voters and officials.
“Now, listen. The Lakota have special privileges regarding voting in this country and as such have the rights to vote tonight. Mitch joined him on the stage.
“That’s right, folks. They’ll be allowed to vote unmolested or you’ll be arrested,” Mitch said with authority. He spotted Sammi and his stomach constricted as he realized how much he missed her and how much he was sorry for hurting her. He had to force his feelings down so he could do his job. Mitch turned his eyes elsewhere so the pain wouldn’t be so bad.
The Lakota chief stood with his head held high. Joe noticed that Marcus stood with the Lakota and would vote as such. Marcus had decided that this would help create a positive feeling towards his Lakota family since he was a respected member of the Dawson community.
There were some people who had loud objections to the Lakota voting, but Black Fox ignored them. A few people left, but most stayed and the rest of the voting went smoothly. Black Fox saw Sammi and motioned to her to join him. Proudly she walked over to the chief and grasped arms with him.
He smiled down at her and said, “It is good to see you. Owl sends his thanks.”
“It’s good to see you, too, brother,” Sammi said.
“I think my brother made a good choice to become friends with Warrior Woman,” Black Fox said.
Sammi said, “I made a good choice to become friends with him.”
Black Fox nodded. Sammi noticed people talking and pointing at her, but she didn’t care.
Once all the votes were officially counted and recorded, it was announced that Joe Dwyer was the new mayor of Dawson. The community center was filled with cheers and applause. Joe’s speech was humble yet eloquent. With not feeling well, he’d forgotten to bring the speech that Tessa had written for him. He’d done some rehearsing with it, but didn’t know it by heart. Therefore, he spoke off the cuff quite a bit.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I’d like to thank you all for coming out to this special election tonight. I know this was sort of a rush job, but we’re in a rather unique situation and the council agreed that we needed to do something very quickly. Without having a deputy mayor or anything like that, there was an immediate need to hold a vote.”
“I was looking forward to a good fight for this office, but circumstances didn’t permit that. I guess I’ll just settle for my opponent, who tried to kill me, to be rotting in jail.”
Applause broke out and Joe waited.
“There are a lot of people I need to thank. First are all of those who assisted with my campaign, and you all know who you are. Your names will be in the newspaper tomorrow. Without all of you, I’d have been dead in the water. You have my undying gratitude.” He groaned. “Sorry, folks. Still feelin’ a little under the weather. Um, where was I? Oh, yeah. I’d like to thank all of you for voting for me. I promise not to let you down. I’m not perfect, but I’ll always have the best interests of our Dawson residents at heart.” He motioned to the Lakota people. “That includes our Lakota brothers and sisters. We’re very fortunate to have such a good relationship with them. I, and others present, consider them very good friends and we would like to continue that special relationship with them. Mitch, get your can up here,” Joe said.
Mitch looked bashful as he joined Joe.
“I’d like to thank Sheriff Taylor for doing such a fine job since Sheriff Allen passed on. He’s had a difficult set of circumstances handed to him, and yet he’s risen above all that to help assure that our citizens are safe. My very first act as mayor is to give him permission to hire two deputies. Let’s give him a round, everyone!” Joe said.
Mitch smiled as everyone clapped. Sammi felt such pride in her husband and clapped right along with everyone else. Tears of regret filled her eyes as she thought about all that had taken place since she’d come to Dawson. She didn’t deserve such a wonderful man. Suddenly she couldn’t breathe because the grief she felt made her chest constrict. Pushing her way through the crowd, Sammi ran for the door.
Once outside, she stopped and took huge gulps of the cool night air. She looked up at the starry sky and tried to get her emotions under control. She didn’t know what was wrong with her. Ever since the night she’d told Mitch about her past, Sammi had felt a flood of emotion and they had run the gauntlet from anger to euphoria. Prior to that, the most she felt was anger or a version of happiness. Other than that, there had been a void of feelings in her life.
Sammi began walking towards home. Tears still fell from her eyes and she grew angry with herself for being weak. When she arrived at home, Sammi went straight upstairs, undressed and crawled into her bedroll. She had no idea how long she’d cried before she fell asleep.
It was very late when Mitch came home. He hoped that Sammi was in their bed, but he found her in the other bedroom again. His heart was heavy with sadness as he prepared for bed. Even though he was exhausted physically and emotionally, sleep did not come to him.