Whispers of a New Dawn (24 page)

“And there’s a wind.”

“What wind?”

“Breeze. Wind. Whatever you want to call it.”

“Beck, come on.”

“Hey. It’s my invitation to you.” She extended her arms. “Warm me up, Thunderbird.”

He lay down beside her and she rolled into his arms.

A minute later she sighed. “It’s working.”

“What’s working?”

“I’m warmer already.”

“Warm enough?”

“Oh, no, not warm enough. You can’t shake me that easily, hotshot.” She hugged him closer.

A moment later he said, “It’s like flying.”

“What is?”

“You are. The way you make me feel.”

She kissed his neck softly. “Flying?”

“Yeah. Flying fast and high through the cumulus, right through it to the perfect blue on the other side.”

“Sounds good.”

“Except this is better.”

She brushed her damp hair back and forth over his face and eyes. “Yeah?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“How fast and how high are you flying now, hotshot?”

“Ceiling—forty thousand feet. Air speed—five hundred and twenty-five miles per hour.”

“That’s pretty fast, Thunderbird. I don’t think we have any plane that can go through the sky that fast, do we?”

“Not yet. Someday though.”

They lay together on the beach quietly. Then Becky whispered, “Pick me up and carry me into the surf.”

“But you’re dry and warm.”

“Exactly. And getting dry and warm was all the fun. I want to do it again.”

Raven shot to his feet, scooping her up so suddenly she shrieked and laughed. He ran over the dune and out of the bushes to the beach. Five or six men were surfing a hundred yards away and two women lay on their towels but that was it. He plunged into the big waves, her arms around his neck, and waded out until the ocean was crashing over their heads and practically knocking him off his feet. Becky shrieked again and again as seven- and eight-foot breakers pounded them.

Interlacing her fingers behind his neck she pulled his face toward hers and kissed him slowly, just as a wave knocked them to their knees. He laughed and grabbed at her hand, walking with her, both of them staggering, out of the crashing sea and back to their hideout in the bush behind the dunes.

“Did anyone ever tell you how perfect you are?” he asked.

“I’ll never tell.”

“How much you’re like Hawaii?”

“How can I be like an island?”

“Your beauty. Eyes like green palms. Hair the color of light. Skin as smooth as sand, freckles like—”

“Oh, shut up about the freckles.”

“But I love them.”

“You love my freckles? Do you love me?”

He bent forward and kissed her gently.

“Does that answer your question?”

“Yes, but don’t stop. Keep telling me.”

“I thought you might want to head back into the water again.”

“No. Let’s just stay like this.” She put her hands on both sides of his face. “Your eyes are bluer than the sky is. Let me float around in them instead.” One finger curled around his dog tags. “Christian Scott Raven. What about your other names?”

“I don’t have any other names.”

“You must have. I was thinking about it at Thanksgiving. My students are native Hawaiians. So is the new pilot. Their names mean something.”

“So does Rebecca. It means captivating. Which is exactly right.”

“I didn’t know that. I heard it had other meanings.”

“Trust me. I’m a Hebrew scholar. That’s the right meaning. And my name means a follower of Christ.”

“Okay. But you’re native. Like our Hawaiian friends. Except you’re Cherokee.”

“On my mother’s side.”

“Do you have a Cherokee name?”

Raven grew quiet. “We don’t share the names.”

She ran a finger over his mouth. “Sometimes you do.”

“How do you know?”

“I’ll bet you do.”

He pulled away and sat on the sand beside her. “It happens.”

“Hey.” She put a hand on his arm and got into a cross-legged position. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to tease you about that. I know it’s a serious thing. I should have throttled back. Forget it. It doesn’t matter.”

His blue eyes rested on her. “Sure it matters. Knowing the name will give you a certain measure of power over me. So the Old Ones believed.”

“I don’t want power over you.”

“Well, you have some already, in case you haven’t noticed.”

She kissed his hand. “That’s different.”

“Love makes it different.” Raven smiled. “It’s okay, Becky. I was raised by my mother to believe in a higher power than all that. I’ve given my entire life over to Christ. He has the power. No one and nothing else. Still, I wouldn’t tell just anybody my name. It’s kind of a special thing.”

“I understand that.”

“As a matter of fact, I’ve never told anyone else. Only Mom knows. A chief back in Oklahoma knew but he’s dead. You’ll be the only other person in the world.”

“Really. It doesn’t matter. I’m sorry I brought it up. Just take me in your arms again and let’s—”

“
Waya
. Wolf.”

“
Waya?
”

“That’s the name.” His eyes seemed to take on a deeper blue.

“When can I use it?” she asked.

“When we’re alone.”

“How about the times I pray for you?”

“Sure. But I want it to be a you-and-me name. You’re very special to me. I trust you. I want this secret to reflect that.”

She put her arms around him from behind. “That has to be the greatest compliment you’ve ever paid me.”

“It’s bigger than a compliment. It’s truth.”

Becky hugged him. Then she turned her head so that her cheek rested against his back. “Tell me about your mother.”

“My mother?”

“All I’ve heard about is how rough your father was. Say something about your mother.”

“You sure? Talking about mothers isn’t likely to promote romantic passion.”

“I can wait for the passion.”

“Really?”

She slapped his arm. “Hey. Just stifle it and tell me about your mom.”

“She was where I put down roots. She was the one who prayed with
me and read the Bible to me in Cherokee. Tucked me in. Wanted me to fly—but not for money. To worship God, to worship him with my wings, with my flight, like a falcon or red-tailed hawk.”

“Or eagle.”

“Yeah. The eagle. But then the wolf came into the picture.”

“Hard to say something good about the wolf. Especially after going through the Bible. They’re always a symbol of some kind of evil.”

“A superficial reading takes you there. But the man who named me was one of the Old Ones and a Christ Walker.” Raven interlaced his fingers. “So he brought two verses together and made something new.”

“What?”

“Habakkuk 1:8—I’d be
more fierce than the evening wolves
. But he coupled it with Isaiah 65:25—
the wolf and the lamb shall feed together…they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain
.”

“So what does that mean?”

“He wouldn’t tell me. He said it was for me to figure out. I had to fast and pray. Worship the Creator. Honor the Christ, the Messiah who had come to our people by surprise—surprise because he came with people who were harsh to us. And cruel.”

Becky gently turned his shoulders so he was facing her. “Not me.”

He rested his hands on her shoulders and stroked her cheekbones with his thumbs. “No. Not you. My mother thought my name and the Bible verses had to do with protecting the weak and the innocent, those who were pretty much defenseless. The fierce wolf who uses his ferocity to safeguard life, not take it. Maybe I’m on that path again. I don’t know. I’ve been off it a long time.”

“Because of your father. Because of your brother’s death.”

“Well. You can’t blame the world forever. Eventually you have to do what’s right. I thank God you showed up with your white T-shirt and oversized flight jacket and cat’s eyes.”

“
Cat’s eyes
?” Becky drew her knees up to her chest. “I didn’t do much really.”

“You did everything.”

“No, I didn’t. You had to do things. God had to do things. But I’m glad I helped a bit.”

“More than a bit.” He kissed her lightly on the lips.

“Yeah?” She smiled into the hand that cupped her face.

“Yeah.”

Becky leaned her head into his. “I don’t know how far I can go with this. Maybe as far as marriage. Maybe not. But that probably doesn’t interest you.”

“Why couldn’t you go as far as marriage?”

“Because I was almost there once. And even with giving Moses back to God and trying to get on with my life I’m finding it difficult to picture being at the altar.”

“With me?”

“With anyone.”

“What about engagement?”

“I don’t think I can do that either.”

Raven gave her a big smile. “Well, don’t worry, I haven’t given either of those things a thought.”

Her eyes flashed. “Oh, you haven’t?”

“No. Just being with you keeps me busy enough. What to say. How to act. I don’t have time for the stuff you mentioned. Just you, right now, that’s enough.”

The cat’s eyes emerged. “But you’re a wolf.”

“I am.”

“Are you a nice wolf?”

“A very nice wolf.”

She lay back slowly on the sand. “So then be nice to me.”

He ran his hand gently over her cheek and neck. “I’ll do my best.”

N
INETEEN

O
kay. We stick together. Both jeeps. No one takes off on his own. The Shore Patrol is keeping an eye on us, so everybody be on their best behavior. Okay, Lockjaw? Batman?”

Batman squinted over the water at Ford Island. “What do they think we’re going to do, Harrison? Run off with a battleship?”

Harrison leaned over the wheel of one of the jeeps. He was in his whites. “I think the SP is more concerned with some sort of Army-Navy rivalry turning into a Monday-afternoon brawl.”

Harrison’s buddy, Dave Goff, also in his whites, was at the wheel of the other jeep. “I thought the SP only dealt with stuff on shore—you know, sailors on leave, the ones hanging out at bars.”

Harrison shrugged. “They’re around. So let’s all be good.”

“Aye, aye, skipper,” said Shooter.

Harrison put his jeep into gear. “We have clearance. We don’t want them to revoke it. Let’s head over the causeway. We’re coming in at the north end of the island and starting down the eastern shore.”

The two jeeps drove slowly to Ford Island. Harrison, Batman, Juggler, Shooter, Raven, and Becky were piled in the first jeep. Goff, Jude, Kalino, Hani, Wizard, Lockjaw, Whistler, and Manuku in the second. Wizard was wedged up against Hani and Lockjaw up against Kalino. Harrison began to speak loudly and point as the big ships loomed larger and larger on their left.

“Okay, so we’re at the north end of the row. The first one is the
Nevada
. Fore River Shipbuilding laid her keel in their yard in Quincy,
Massachusetts. Launched in July 1914. Roosevelt was Secretary of the Navy then and he attended that. Her twin sister is the
Oklahoma
. Identical ships for the most part. We can’t see the
Oklahoma
too well from here. It’s way back and anchored next to the
Maryland
. Right behind the
Nevada
is Goff’s ship.”

The jeeps pulled onto the island and were waved ahead. Harrison took a road that led as close to the water’s edge as he was allowed to go. He stopped in front of a ship that towered over the
Nevada
moored in front of it. He nodded at Goff.

Goff stood up in his jeep. “My lady. The
Arizona
. Roosevelt was there when they laid the keel in Brooklyn. Launched her in 1915. Pennsylvania class—you can see how much bigger it is than the Nevada class. Hull number BB-39. The Navy modernized her at Norfolk in 1929—new antiaircraft guns, among other things. We were based in California until last year. Now the whole crew has turned Hawaiian.”

Manuku, Hani, and Kalino laughed.

“How many of you?” Manuku asked.

“Fourteen hundred.”

Batman whistled. “That’s a handful for your Shore Patrol, Goff, if they should come out and try and take on the Army Air Forces.”

“It would be over before the Shore Patrol could show up, sir.”

“Unless we went easy on them.”

Goff grinned. “Unless.”

“It’s massive.” Becky was staring up at the funnels. “It looks like an ordinary gray warship from shore and now I’m sitting under a giant.”

“Yes, ma’am. It’s pretty easy to feel like a dwarf on Battleship Row.”