When kindred spirits uni.., p.23
When Kindred Spirits Unite, page 23
It was harder than it looked. Theo found himself sweating more from the dancing than being close to the fire. But he couldn’t bring himself to stop. Beside him, Nora began to lighten up and kept the smile on her face.
They danced and circled the fire. Theo could feel himself forgetting everything else but the two of them in that moment. There was no trouble and no danger.
It was just him and Nora.
Chapter 35
It felt like an eternity had passed since Nora had danced.
She hadn’t planned on joining everyone. There were few opportunities for her to do so. While the village loved finding any excuse to celebrate, she spent most of her time watching after the children or cleaning up.
The festivities were thrilling but she had never felt like she truly belonged among the dancers or near the fire.
That was a position for the talented, the spiritual, and the brilliant ones. She had never been one of them. Besides, she could be satisfied by merely watching them. Most of the time that was enough.
She could have told this to Theo. Instead, she let him guide her over to the fire, and she showed him the steps. Remembering how her Pia had taught her, she did the same for him.
The smile on his face was infectious. Before she knew what she was doing, she was laughing and singing along. Her mother had spent three years insisting that she learn. Though she wasn’t any good, there was something freeing about it.
Dancing around the fire let Nora feel like there was nothing to worry about any longer. The past was forgotten.
Right then, it was just her and Theo.
There was nothing more she wanted in that moment. Just the two of them. She looked up, unable to help herself. How could he be so handsome?
The name they had given him suited him all too well, bringing a flush to her cheeks. Her eyes focused on his face lit up by the warmth of the bonfire. She saw his chiseled jaw and the hair falling across his brow.
And the smile he wore was entirely directed right at her.
Warm tingles climbed up from her toes to spread through her entire body. It made her more flexible and gave her the energy she needed to keep dancing. She could feel the beat of the drums within her heart. They went in circles with each other and in circles with other dancers, and in circles around the fire.
Soon, Nora felt the layers of sweat dripping from her brow.
She soon slowed down and squeezed Theo’s hand. “Water,” she told him, trying to speak loud enough to be heard with her dry throat. “I need water.”
He nodded and went with her to go find waterskins. She could sense him right behind her at her shoulder. They wove their way among the people as familiar faces nodded to them and smiled.
“It was good to see you two dancing,” the chief said pointedly.
His son nodded. “When is the union?”
Others chimed in as she tried to focus on the water.
“The two of you will have a beautiful family.”
“Strong dancers!”
“You two are meant to be.”
Trying to ignore the insinuations, Nora nodded and kept walking. She kept her head low and was grateful that Theo couldn’t understand them. The blush on her cheeks only grew with every crazy compliment.
Had the entire village talked about her and Theo?
She thought about what the chief had told her when they talked before supper. That pointed look of his had been all too clear. Her uncle thought that she needed to wed Theo for a number of reasons.
Before he could have Theo dragged over to make it official, she had hurried off with her excuses as to why that couldn’t happen.
Marriage had never been on the plate with any of the native men or with Theo.
There was no way that she was going to force him to marry her. She wouldn’t make anyone marry her, just like no one could make her marry anyone. While he might have been handsome and trustworthy, Nora didn’t think that was reason enough for them to marry.
“Here.”
She jerked her head up as Theo stopped and handed her the waterskin to drink from. Nodding, she accepted it eagerly.
“What were they saying to us?” he asked innocently.
Choking, Nora sputtered. She cleared her throat painfully before eyeing Theo. Just when she thought she was beginning to cool down, she felt the heat creeping back up her cheeks. How was she to explain? The very thought made her stomach clench.
Theo frowned. “Was it bad?”
“No!” Her eyes widened as she hurriedly shook her head. These were not bad people. Annoying, perhaps, but they were family. Not knowing what other excuses she could make up, Nora forced herself to admit everything.
She stammered through her explanation.
“It’s in line with your name. Pahayoko means a lover, a marrying sort of man,” she said and looked away. “And, well, everyone was saying that we would be...that together, that we should, erm…They think we are to be married.”
His mouth dropped open. When the light flickered on his face, she saw that he was rather flushed like herself. “Oh,” he managed to say.
Biting her lip, she dropped her gaze. The two of them stood there awkwardly for a quiet moment before a loud noise made them both jump. It was Lotse being chased by one of the other children. They screamed again and then ran between Nora and Theo.
She fell off balance, but Theo was there to right her.
“Thanks,” she mumbled sheepishly.
Though he nodded, he said nothing. She wondered if he felt half as embarrassed as she did.
Nora swallowed while she clung to her waterskin. Hesitant to think or even look at Theo any longer, she dropped her gaze to stare at the ground. Chief Mukwooru’s voice was still in her mind.
He had shared his story about the past and what he knew about the white men. It had not been much more than what she had already discovered and confirmed for herself.
There had been fights over the land. Everyone wanted to own property and they couldn’t agree about who would get what. Then there was talk about the train tracks being set nearby, which only worsened the situation.
Many people had to leave. One or two had an accident. And there had been a fire.
On top of that, only one person had been found to have come around that time and to still stay in the area. Nora looked up at Theo, finally beginning to believe that he had no idea what sort of man his uncle must be.
It was easier to think about this danger than to think about the beating of her heart.
“I have to go back,” Nora told him suddenly.
Theo jerked his head up to catch her eye, tilting his head. “Okay,” he said simply. “Then what do we do?”
There was no mistaking that. He accepted this decision, and he was going to come with her. Although part of her wanted to say that he should stay away, Nora couldn’t deny that it would be easier and comforting to have someone with her.
She stepped closer and began to talk.
It would be best if they went back sooner rather than later. Though he was hesitant to believe that it was his uncle who had committed the murders, Theo agreed that the man was deeply involved in the trouble.
Now, they needed proof. More proof than the property deed.
Though determined, neither of them seemed eager to leave the village. They paused to look out among the people celebrating. Already she had forgotten why they had all come together for this party.
“When should we leave?” she asked him quietly.
She watched his chest rise and fall for a long moment. When her gaze made its way up to his face, there was a note of hesitation in his eyes.
What was he thinking? Nora noticed a stray curl dangerously close to falling into his eyes. Her fingers itched to brush it back into his other locks. Her breath caught in her chest the longer she looked at him.
“We should go tomorrow. The longer we wait, the more trouble that could happen. We need to end this now and get our answers,” Theo said decidedly before swinging his gaze over to her.
Gulping, Nora forced herself to focus back on the topic at hand. “Right. Yes. That would be best.”
It was supposed to be her who was driven and willing to do whatever it took to end this once and for all. She straightened her shoulders with a frown. What was she thinking, allowing herself to get so distracted? With a shake of her head, she tried to tell herself to focus once again.
“Nora?”
“Hmm?” She swallowed hard as he took a step closer to her to remove the distance between them.
Theo motioned around them with his waterskin. “Do they have a name for you? They don’t call you Nora, do they?”
A wry smile made its way onto her face before she shook her head. “No. No, they call me Nadua. It means, well…it means someone who has been lost and is now found.”
Her heart stopped beating when he looked at her. “I like it.”
“Thanks. Me too.” She gazed up at the man, wondering what he was thinking. She licked her lips and listened to the music surrounding them. All she wanted to do was close the space between them. It wasn’t much and it wasn’t a lot. It would be so easy to do. Her lips parted and she found herself forgetting everything but him.
Nora inhaled deeply as she realized he was looking back at her. Was he thinking the same things? She sensed him drawing closer to her, taking the initiative to come closer.
Never had she wanted to kiss someone so badly.
But then, her bravery faltered. She didn’t know how to kiss someone. And what if he didn’t like it? Doubts suddenly rained down on her.
Jerking away, Nora gulped. “I’m sorry,” she squeaked. “I should go.”
She ran before he could stop her, hurrying off through the celebration to make her way to her tent. It was empty down there. She curled up in the skins and closed her eyes. It was difficult to tell if she was shaking or if her heart was really beating that loudly.
Trying to pretend she was fine, Nora inhaled deeply and told herself that this would all be over soon.
Chapter 36
Theo woke up with a sigh on his lips.
Life seemed to only grow stranger every day for him. Sometimes it was better and sometimes it was not. Sitting up, he prayed he would be the former.
They were going to need prayers for what they were about to do. Dressing, he clambered up off the ground. Sleeping in these tents was more comfortable than he had anticipated. It made him want to build his own someday. All he needed to do was find a nice plot of land to settle down and enjoy.
Settle down. The idea sounded better every day. That wasn’t something he had expected to happen, but perhaps it was because he was getting older.
He stepped out of the tent and looked around the village. There had many places where he had enjoyed living. Wyoming was different. The air was better, the scenery was better, everything was better. And on top of it all, there was Nora.
Dropping his gaze from the sky, Theo looked around. His hat and boots were right there outside the tent for him. He put them on before starting to search for Nora. She had to be there somewhere.
The sun was just beginning to rise. He hoped she hadn’t left without him. He knew it was a real concern since she could have easily done so. Judging from how she had run away last night, and it worried him.
The memory made him frown, wondering if he had done something wrong to make her do that.
Sighing, he rubbed the back of his neck. He wouldn’t find any answers just standing there. He started to move about, collecting his bag to go put it with his horse. The children ran after him to say their farewells.
Theo had thought he would be relieved to be leaving. Such a thought had faded away some time ago, though he didn’t know quite when.
It was a great village. The people worked hard to build their lives and take care of one another. He could see the brightness in their eyes as they lived among nature. He had seen that same brightness within Nora every time he looked her way.
Thinking about her made his body react in funny ways, making his stomach flip and his mouth turn dry.
Had they been close to kissing last night like he thought they had? When Nora ran away, doubt had washed over him. He had been left standing there by himself and had no idea what to do.
“Pahayoko.”
The name brought a smile to his lips, remembering what Nora had said last night. But when Theo turned to find who had called his name, the grin faded immediately. It was clear from the extra necklaces and headdress that this was the chief.
“Pahayoko,” the older man repeated on his way over to him, “You must be careful. You will watch Nadua. She must stay safe from danger. Danger from them and danger from you. You must not hurt her.”
His English was rough, but there was no mistaking the harsh tone.
Theo nodded. He blinked several times and then cleared his throat. “Right. Yes. No, I mean, no, I won’t. Nora—Nadua—will be safe.”
The chief stared him down for a long minute with his arms crossed. He looked as though he had something bitter in his mouth even though he clearly wasn’t chewing. Either way, Theo felt the smallest ounce of trepidation with such intimidating company.
“Ah!” Someone yelped and hurried over. What had Nora called her? She was an older woman with beads in her hair. This was the woman who had helped to raise Nora.
Theo noted how the two of them had the same chin and the same ears. He swallowed and took a small step back, wondering if he had gotten himself in trouble. If he told them that he would always protect Nora, would they understand?
“You,” the woman said while gesturing to him. “You and Nadua.”
He nodded. “Right, yes. She’s safe. I mean, she will be. Nadua is going to be just fine. I promise, I won’t let anything happen to her. I mean it.”
The two of them stared him down for a minute before the adoptive mother suddenly grabbed his hand and shoved something into it. He forced himself not to react. Instead, he paused to look down at what he now held.
It was a feather.
A small white feather along with a particular shade of corn yellow hair were tied together with a small leather cord.
Theo’s lips parted slightly before looking up to them for guidance.
Now, the two people before him were beaming. It was such a change from the chief’s first scowl that he didn’t know how to react. He tightened his grip on the items and forced himself to stay put.
“Good luck,” the woman explained in delicate words. “Good luck.”
“Theodore.”
He jerked to attention. Muttering his thanks, he turned around to find Nora riding her horse over to him. She also led his horse with his bag already tied on there. He noted that she had a thick horse blanket that she rode on now.
It was time for them to go.
Nodding, he slipped his new good-luck charm into his pocket and hastened to his horse.
Four warriors rode with them, offering an escort. Theo wondered how long the men would stay with them but couldn’t bring himself to ask or even speak. It seemed that Nora was satisfied with the quiet as well. No one spoke until they made their way down from the cliff and moved past the trees.
