A Journey of the Heart Collection (15 page)

Sioux and Cheyenne women huddled out of the
wind in the doorway of the storage building. He caught a glimpse of crates piled nearly to the ceiling through the open doorway. Trying to ignore the stench of so many unwashed bodies, he pushed his way into the smoke-filled room and looked around for someone in charge.

A scrawny, red-necked young man with stringy blond hair seemed to be directing the dispersal of crates. Impatience was etched around his mouth as he argued with a young Sioux brave. “We ain't giving out no ammunition. You can have some extra bean rations.”

“Beans, bah! Must have gunpowder!” The Sioux warrior spat for emphasis at the young man's feet.

“Learn to grow crops like normal folk, and you wouldn't have to worry about shootin' buffalo. Now either take your rations and go, or get out of the way so the rest can get their grub.”

The young brave scowled and swept the rations into the skirt the woman with him held ready. He gave the young man one last glare before stomping away.

Rand pushed his way up to the counter, and the man looked up. “Lieutenant Rand Campbell. I was ordered to see if there's anything you need. You are the new trader, aren't you?”

The young man licked his lips, and his eyes darted toward a door to the side of the counter. “No, sir. Name's Les Johnson and I just work for him. He's in his office right now with some folks. I'll tell him you stopped by, though.”

“You do that. I have another errand to run. I'll stop back later this afternoon.” Rand turned to leave and almost ran into a familiar lanky figure with dirty blond hair and pale blue eyes. “Labe?” Rand stared, almost not believing his own eyes, but it was definitely Labe Croftner. What was he doing here? His blood pounded in his ears, and he swallowed the lump of rage in his throat. “Where's Ben?” Labe would never roam this far from home without his brother.

“R-Rand!” Labe's eyes widened and he started to back away, but Rand grabbed his arm so tightly he flinched.

“Where is he?”

His face white, Labe shook his head, but his eyes darted to the closed door to the right of the counter. Rand released his arm and strode toward the door.

“Wait, you can't go in there!” Labe moved to intercept him, but Rand brushed by him and threw open the door.

Ben was seated at a makeshift desk with two rough-looking men dressed in buckskin sitting across from him on crates. His gray eyes widened when he saw Rand, then he smiled and stood, swiping his white-blond hair out of his face. “Well, well, well, if it isn't the illustrious Lieutenant Campbell come to pay me a call. I didn't expect word of my arrival to reach you quite this soon.”

“What are you doing here, Croftner?” Rand clenched his fists and took a step toward the desk.

“What does it look like? I'm the new trader, old friend. This opportunity was too good to pass up, so I decided to put up with the disagreeable thought of having to run into you occasionally and took the job.” Ben offered Rand an insolent smile and sat back down. “And a very lucrative one, too, I might add. Now if you don't mind, I have business to attend to.”

Rand choked back his rage. He needed a clear head to deal with Croftner. There was some nefarious purpose to Ben's presence here, he was sure. “I'll be watching you, Croftner. You step out of line just one inch, and I'll be all over you like a wolf on a rabbit.”

Ben smiled indolently. “I'm terrified. Can't you see me shake?” The other men guffawed, and he leaned
forward. “Give Sarah my love, and tell her I'll stop and see her real soon.”

Rand gritted his teeth. “You stay away from Sarah.”

“My, my. Does your lovely fiancée know how you still feel about Sarah? Perhaps I should inform her how you're still looking after the poor little orphan.” He sat back and crossed his muddy boot over his knee. “But the beautiful Jessica doesn't have anything to worry about. Sarah belongs to me, and she's going to discover that real soon.”

“You lay one finger on Sarah, and you'll be in the guardhouse so fast you won't know what happened.”

“Hey, there's no law against calling on a lady.”

“She doesn't want to see you.”

“I think I'll just let her tell me that. I'm sure she'd be pretty cut up about discovering her precious Rand is about to marry someone else.”

Tired of the exchange, Rand clenched his jaw. This was getting him nowhere. He turned and stalked out the door as the men behind him burst into raucous laughter.

His jaw tight and his chest pounding, Rand swung up into the saddle. Ranger danced a bit, as if to ask what the trouble was. Rand patted his neck, then
urged him down the trail back to the fort. Did Sarah know Ben would follow her out here? How much did she really care for Croftner? After all, she had agreed to marry him once.

When he arrived back at the fort, he marched over to see Sarah. She had her sleeves rolled up, and tendrils of hair had escaped her neat roll. A smudge of flour marred her flushed cheek, and she moved the loaf of rising dough out of the way.

He resisted the urge to reach out and wipe it off. “I got your slate.”

She smiled and rubbed at the smudge of flour on her face. “Thanks for tending to it so quickly. I'm a little scared about it, Rand. What if I can't teach them? I don't know any Sioux words at all.”

“You'll do fine, Sarah.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Heard from Ben lately?”

A frown crouched between her eyes. “No, and I don't expect to. I made my feelings about him very clear.”

The tightness eased from his chest. “He's here, Sarah.”

Her eyes widened. “Here? As in Fort Laramie?”

He nodded. “He's the new fur trader. He's crooked enough to make a good one.”

She eyed him. “You've talked to him?”

“I think he came because you're here. He said to give you his love.”

Her scarlet cheeks went white. “He was just trying to annoy you. He knows I never want to see him again.”

Ben was just as full of lies as he'd always been. Rand resolved to alert the soldiers to keep an eye on Sarah and make sure Croftner didn't pull anything.

The soldiers had shoveled paths through the snow to all the buildings. The wind skated across the tops of the drifts as Sarah and Joel set out for the chapel. Her pulse thumped in her neck, and she wished she could have gotten out of this assignment.

Joel carried the stacks of slate for her. She didn't want him to grow up uneducated, and he was curious about the Indian children. It was a good way to interest him in studies. As she approached the small chapel, a group of about thirty youngsters watched her advance. She noticed one older girl of about seventeen. She was truly beautiful, with soft, dark eyes, glossy black braids, and an eager look on her face.

The girl stepped forward as Sarah stopped in front of the door. “I am Morning Song, daughter of White Raven,” she said softly. “I very glad to learn more English.”

The yearning in the young woman's face touched Sarah. “You speak well already.” She opened the door and led them inside. Someone had already started a fire in the stove, and the room was warm and welcoming. She motioned for the children to be seated and waited until the rustling stopped.

“I'm Miss Sarah.” She didn't want them to have to start off with a difficult word like Montgomery. “Can you say Miss Sarah?”

Dark eyes stared at her solemnly, then Morning Song spoke sharply. In unison they said, “Miss Sarah.”

Sarah smiled. “Very good. This is my brother Joel.” Several of the youngsters had already been eyeing him. He smiled at them uncertainly. “Could you tell me the names of the children, Morning Song?”

The Indian girl stood and put a hand on the sleek head of each child as she spoke. “This Dark River. This Spotted Dove, this Spotted Buckskin Girl. She is daughter of Chief Spotted Tail. Her Sioux name is Ah-ho-appa.”

Sarah smiled at the musical names. “How lovely.”

The names went on and on. How would she keep them all straight? “You'll have to help me for a few days until I can memorize them.”

Morning Song nodded eagerly. “I very much like to help, Miss Sarah.”

The day went well, with the children all eager to learn. Sarah was surprised at how quickly they picked up the English words.

“That was fun.” Joel's face shone with enthusiasm. “I even learned some Sioux.”

Sarah was clattering around in the kitchen and Joel was out playing with Red Hawk when the front door banged open. “We're in the kitchen,” Sarah called. She poured water from the wooden bucket into the kettle and set it on the stove as Rand came in.

Amelia rinsed the last of the breakfast dishes and dried her hands on her voluminous apron before untying it and draping it over the back of a chair. “I'm going to meet Jacob at the sutler's store. I'll be back for lunch.” She smiled at Rand as she went out the door.

Sarah grabbed a coffee cup. “Want some coffee?”

“Yeah.” He pulled out a chair and sat. “I wanted to hear about your first day of class.”

She poured him a cup of coffee and handed it to him. “It was okay. Most of the little ones don't know any English, but there was an older teenager who speaks well. You'll get a chance to meet her if you stay a little while. Morning Song and Ah-ho-appa will be here anytime.”

Rand curled his hands around his cup and frowned. “Be careful not to get too close to the Sioux, Sarah. You may be doing a lot of harm.”

“Whatever do you mean? I would never hurt them.”

“Maybe not intentionally. But have you thought about how they may become discontented with their lives as Sioux? If you give them too many different ideas, they may not fit in with their own people.”

“That's ridiculous! Ah-ho-appa is a chief's daughter. Maybe she can help her people climb up out of the primitive way of life they lead.” She jumped to her feet and took the steaming kettle off the stove. “You soldiers would have them stay in squalor. Rooster told Joel the only good Indian was a dead one!” She jerked her apron around her waist and tied it before she spun around to face him.

Rand sighed and ran his large hand through his hair. “A lot of the soldiers feel that way, but you surely don't believe I do. You know White Snake was one of my best friends back home.” He and the Miami brave had been friends since Rand was five. “You're new out here, Sarah. There's a lot of prejudice and bitter feelings against Indians. You need to be careful about meddling in things you don't know anything about. I wish things were different. But I've seen too many Indian women taken advantage of in the short time I've been here. I wouldn't want anything to spoil Morning Song.”

Sarah opened her mouth to defend herself, but there was a timid knock on the back door. She bit back the angry words and opened the door with a bright smile. She didn't want her friends to hear their discussion and think they shouldn't come back.

Morning Song peeked in the door, and Ah-ho-appa was behind her with timid, gentle eyes. Morning Song's black hair gleamed in the sunlight. Behind them Sarah heard Rand suck in his breath, presumably when he saw Morning Song's beauty.

“Miss Sarah, we are too early?” Morning Song dropped her gaze as Rand rose to his feet.

“I was just going. Think about what I said, Sarah.” He smiled at the young women and strode out the door.

“You're just in time, Morning Song, Ah-ho-appa. The tea is ready.” Sarah ignored Rand's departure. He hadn't given her a chance to explain her intentions. She wanted to show God's love to her Sioux friends. She swallowed her anger and poured them all a cup of tea.

Ah-ho-appa ran a gentle brown hand around the gold rim of Amelia's bone-thin china and sighed as she took an eager sip.

“What do we do today, Miss Sarah?” Morning Song asked.

“I thought we might go for a walk while the weather holds. Some of the men are predicting more cold weather within a few days, so we should take advantage of the sunshine while we can. I thought we might walk by the river.”