Jenny Cussler's Last Stand (24 page)

“She knows something. I’m telling you,” Jenny said as she smiled back at her nemesis.

“Yup, I think you’re right about that, Jenny. She looks like trouble.”

Just then, Clint entered the room, followed by Sam Two Dogs and George. Jenny watched with interest as Clint grabbed two chairs and put them in the center of the room. She bit her lip. Another exercise?

Sam Two Dogs folded his hands across his ample belly and coughed. All eyes turned toward him as he began to speak.

“Folks, we’re about to begin a cleansing ceremony. I want you all to stand while we bring our wounded warriors home. Not all wounds can be physically seen, but they all need tending to. We wash their feet to wash away the damage of war. In this way, they can reenter society cleansed and free of burden.”

Clint turned to open the door behind him, and Auntie Martha stepped in, bringing the two young Army veterans with her. Each one wore an American flag draped over his shoulders. Their expressions could only be described as dazed. They seemed to have no idea what was happening, and neither did anyone else in the group as far as Jenny could tell from the wide-eyed expressions around the room.

Sam Two Dogs took one young man by the arm and George took hold of the other, and they began to lead the men around the room in a slow shuffle.

An eerie, keening wail emanated unexpectedly from the end of the room, and all eyes turned to Clint for a moment. He sang a low, haunting melody that brought goose bumps to Jenny’s arms. She couldn’t tear her eyes from him. He’d gone completely Native, apparently. The man she had kissed only hours before had transformed himself into a traditional man, a mystical creature capable of sorrowful singing in a language she could not understand. He kept his eyes on the floor and his hands crossed in front of him while his lips moved with his vocalizations.

Sam and George brought the young veterans to rest in front of the vacant chairs. They sat down on the metal seats—one red-faced with strong emotion, the other pale, his eyes wide and locked on a distant place in front of him. Jenny could see his Adam’s apple working.

Clint’s voice trailed off on a last deep note that echoed like a sigh. He raised his head, and Jenny sucked in her breath as his eyes met hers. She stared at his grave expression for a moment before turning to the sound of Sam’s voice.

“We’re gonna wash their feet now, our veterans. We’re gonna cleanse them and heal their wounds.” Sam kneeled down in front of the red-faced veteran while George went down on one knee in front of the other. They began to remove the young men’s shoes and socks while Auntie Martha and Clint brought forth two heretofore unseen plastic basins with a plastic jug of water. The young men were then instructed to put their feet in the basins.

While Jenny watched in awe, the two older men poured water over the pale white feet of the young men. Jenny watched as tears ran down the face of the red-faced veteran. She herself had all she could do to fight back sobs. Kate failed and was seen wiping her face. Even Steve dashed his hand against the corner of his left eye.

George and Sam Two Dogs worked in silence. Auntie Martha stepped forward with two blue face towels, and the older men dried the feet of the younger men. Clint stepped forward to pick up the basins, and he took them outside, then reentered.

Sam pulled his veteran up, and George followed his lead.

“Welcome home, son,” Sam said as he pulled the taller veteran into his arms and hugged him.

George whispered his welcome and likewise embraced the other young man, albeit with less ease than his counterpart.

Sam signaled for the young men to put their shoes back on, and once that was done, the elder veterans began to parade the younger men ceremoniously around the room once again, stopping for each group member to echo the words, “Welcome home” and give a handshake.

Jenny alternately watched the ceremonious greetings and Clint, who kept his grave eyes on the proceedings. Their eyes met once, and Jenny made a conscious effort to smile, though she felt her lips wobble as she struggled to overcome her renewed inhibition with the traditional Native American man who had not long ago held her in his arms as a regular modern-day guy.

Without returning Jenny’s smile, Clint returned his gaze to the young men as Sam and George led them out. He glanced down at his watch and then spoke.

“I think it’s about time to break for lunch, folks. Be back at 1:00 p.m.”

Jenny turned uncertainly toward Kate, who nudged her to leave the room. A lingering glance over her shoulder showed that Clint had already left the building by the opposite door. Her heart sank. It seemed likely she might not see him for lunch. His brief glance in her direction seemed withdrawn...distant.

She shoved her hands in her pockets and shuffled along toward the community area to wait until the lunch bell rang. Maybe she was just reading too much into his every glance. She needed to calm down, she told herself.

“Hey, over here!” Steve beckoned Kate over to a picnic bench, and Jenny followed in her wake...lost in thought, her eyes searching the faces of the people around the camp.

“Did you happen to...um...?”

“I think Steve is talking to you, Jenny.” Kate’s dry voice hardly penetrated. A man with long dark hair descended the stairs of the washrooms. It wasn’t Clint.

“What?” A flash of light blue shirt near the vehicles. She craned her neck but couldn’t see anything.

“Jenny?”

“What?” Jenny turned back toward Steve and Kate, the latter who studiously studied her nails while she sat on top of the picnic table with her feet resting on the bench.

“Steve is talking to you.”

Jenny threw a last look around the camp. “I’m sorry. What were you saying?”

“I was wondering if you managed to talk...to...you know.” He threw a quick glance at Kate who turned her face away and began to hum softly as she watched the camp activities.

“Oh, no, I didn’t. I haven’t seen her yet.”

“Oh, okay. Sorry. I guess I’m pushing.”

“I’m not here,” said Kate, pretending to look at something in the distance.

“She kind of knows, Steve. Sorry. It’s really hard to hide anything from Kate.” Jenny shrugged her shoulders.

Steve’s lips curved in a crooked grin. “Yeah, I figured. That’s okay. So, when do you think you’ll...um...be able to talk to her?”

Jenny searched the camp again, this time for a tiny, dark-haired Native American beauty.

“I don’t know, Steve. I don’t want to rush this and blow it. Maybe tonight? After the sweat? I’m sure she’ll be there.” She ran a harried hand across her forehead. She really hadn’t given Steve or Lisa any thought since last night.

“No, no. That’s fine. Take your time. You’re right. Don’t rush it. In fact, maybe you shouldn’t say anything at all. I’m getting cold feet.”

Jenny turned to look at him closely for the first time. A sheen of perspiration shone on his tanned forehead and a tinge of bronze colored his cheeks.

She sat down next to him on the bench and put a maternal hand against his forehead. His skin was cool...almost clammy.

“Are you okay, Steve? Your skin feels kind of strange.”

He put his hand over hers and patted it as he lowered it. “Yeah, I’m good. Just nervous.”

“Lisa!”

Jenny froze at the sound of the familiar voice calling a name uppermost in her mind at the moment. All eyes turned to see Clint hailing Lisa near the barbecue area.

Lisa, in light blue jeans and a form-fitting pink T-shirt that set her café au lait skin off to perfection, paused on her way to the dining hall. She waited for Clint to approach. He towered above her, petite as she was, and Jenny studied the dark-haired couple, so similar in coloring thanks to their common heritage.

With superhuman effort, she brought her eyes back to Steve’s face as he stared at the couple with a frown between his eyes. His golden blond hair was so dissimilar to the dark black braid that hung down Lisa’s back. She glanced down at the pale freckled skin of her arm. So different from Clint’s wonderful honey brown skin. Maybe they were both just kidding themselves...thinking they could find love in another culture.

She looked over her shoulder again. Lisa raised a hand to Clint’s face and let it linger there for a moment. Clint, his hands on his hips, laughed.

Jenny bit back a gasp. Good gravy! Clint and Lisa? She hadn’t even thought about them as a couple. But surely she would have known somehow. Wouldn’t she? Had they been a couple in the past? Were they a couple now?

“Well, well. What’s that about?” Kate said the question uppermost in everyone’s mind.

“Um...nothing, I don’t think,” Steve offered. “They’ve always been kind of close...even last year.”

“Really?” Jenny breathed when she regained air. She turned from the scene. “Are they...? You don’t think they...?”

“No, no... I don’t think so. At least I hope not!” Steve gave a shaky laugh. “Maybe I’m too late anyway.” He stared after the couple, but Jenny refused to follow his eyes.

“Oh, no, you’re not!” Kate said firmly. “She said she was on her own. You guys are reading too much into this. As a matter of fact—” Kate stepped down from the bench table and stood— “I think I’m going to find out what’s going on.”

Blithely ignoring the pleas from both Jenny and Steve to stop, Kate marched off toward the barbecue pit. Jenny dropped her head forward and buried her face in her hands.

“What is she likely to say, do you know?” The anxiety in Steve’s voice echoed her own palpitating heart.

Jenny gave a slight shake of her head as she continued to hide in her cupped hands. “Anything she wants, I’ve noticed. I really don’t want to know what she finds out.”

“You mean because of Clint.”

Jenny shrugged and nodded as best she could.

“Uh-huh,” she said in a muffled tone.

“Yeah, I thought I saw some blushes when you looked at him.”

Jenny kept her face buried. “What’s going on back there, can you see?”

“Not really. I don’t think I want to look any more than you. Kate is talking to Clint and Lisa. I wish I could read lips.”

“No, you don’t.”

Just then, the lunch bell rang, and Jenny was forced to raise her face. She thought about going in to lunch, contemplated hiding out in the room, and finally decided on another course of action. She made her excuses to Steve and hurried toward the washroom, passed it by, and disappeared into the meadow that had offered her such solace only a few days ago.

****

“Yes, we are related, Kate. We’re cousins. Clint’s grandmother and my grandmother were sisters. How did you guess?” Lisa dipped her head curiously.

“Oh, I just noticed how you two resembled each other, and I thought I’d give it a shot. You look like you know each other well.”

Clint raised his eyes to see Jenny striding away from the picnic area. Steve stared, not after Jenny, but at them.

“We spent summers together here on the reservation. My mom would bring me here for the summer, and I stayed at Clint’s house, right, Clint?”

“What?” he asked as he watched Jenny’s rigid back and then allowed his eyes to travel toward Steve. What was going on with those two? Jenny had assured him they weren’t romantically involved. So, why were they in close contact every time he turned around? The sight of Jenny touching Steve’s face galled him to no end. It sure looked intimate to him. And why was she running away? Her fast pace certainly indicated haste. Had Steve and Jenny had a fight? Why would they fight if they weren’t close?

“I spent summers at your house.”

“Oh, yeah. You did.” Clint shook his head. “Sorry, I wasn’t following... I mean, I didn’t hear what you said.”

Kate gave him a narrow-eyed look and followed his eyes toward Jenny’s retreating back. He knew she watched him, and he didn’t care.

“Where is she going?” He simply could not help himself. Discretion seemed a foreign concept to him at the moment.

“Oh, probably to the bathroom. She’ll be back.” The grin on her face should have brought a matching response to his lips, but he was confused. Jenny had ignored him all morning, and he didn’t know what to think. Was she sorry about last night? Though nothing had really happened, something had definitely happened.

He had a feeling he wasn’t going to be able to do without her. Call it love, call it lust. He didn’t care. He wanted Jenny Cussler to stay with him, and he had no idea how he was going to keep her from leaving in a few days when camp ended.

“Are you ready to eat, Kate?” Steve blocked Clint’s view of the last spot where he’d seen Jenny.

Kate turned to survey the new arrival. “Sure, let’s go in. Where did Jenny go?”

“I don’t know,” Steve said, his voice unusually hushed. “She just took off.”

“Is she all right?” Lisa asked in a concerned voice.

Clint narrowed his eyes as he watched Steve’s face bronze. The guy was blushing. What the heck?

“Ye-yeah, I-I think so. She...uh...didn’t say.”

Steve dropped his eyes and shuffled his feet from side to side in a restless manner. Clint looked from him to Lisa, whose own cheeks took on a pink hue similar to her T-shirt.

“You’re kidding,” he murmured to himself. He rested his hands on his hips again and studied his cousin as if he’d never seen her before. Steve? Was she interested in Steve? The man certainly couldn’t keep his eyes off her. And where did Jenny fit in all of this? Why was she touching Steve? Why did they seem to be together so much? He sighed.

“What?” Lisa, in the act of turning toward the dining room, paused. Steve and Kate stopped and turned back.

“Kidding about what?” Lisa asked with a knit between her delicate dark brows.

“What? Did I say something?”

“You said, “You’re kidding.”

Clint cursed himself for thinking out loud.

“Oh, nothing.” He forced a chuckle. “I don’t remember what I was talking about. Are you all ready to go in? They’re not going to have any food left if we don’t get going.” He dropped his hands from his waist and with a last glance over his shoulder in the direction Jenny had taken, he shepherded everyone toward the dining hall with the firm intention of making good his escape from the group.