Chaska rested his hand over the pendant. “I am proud to wear this.”
They cleaned up the dishes, and Chaska helped Doug load Naomi’s things into his SUV. “Are you heading straight to Pine Ridge?”
Doug shook his head. “We need to run by her apartment. She’s been gone longer than she intended and has bills and things to manage. We’ll spend Sunday there, pack up her stuff, and then leave for Pine Ridge Monday after she makes a trip to the bank. That’s the plan at any rate.”
And then it was time.
Naomi insisted on saying goodbye to Shota, who whined and wagged his tail when he saw her, licking her fingers through the enclosure fence. “Pilamayaye, Shota. Thank you for having such a good nose and finding me. You saved my life.”
Then they walked together back through the house and out the front door to Doug’s waiting vehicle.
Doug shook Chaska’s hand and then Winona’s. “Thank you both for everything. I will never have the words to tell you how grateful I am. I’ll see you around.”
He climbed into the vehicle, giving Naomi some privacy.
She hugged Winona, the two of them in tears. “A month ago, I didn’t know you, and now you’re my best friend. We are sisters.”
“Yes, we are.” Winona kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you again soon.”
Chaska took Naomi into his arms, savored the precious feel of her, not wanting to let go and yet knowing he must. “Promise me you’ll give this all you’ve got. Throw yourself into it.”
She buried her face against his chest. “I promise.”
He stroked her hair. “I’ll visit. When you can drive again, you can visit us. Tecíhila. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” She drew away, smiling up at him through her tears. “We’ll see each other again soon.”
“Yes, we will.” He kissed her soft and slow, then helped her into the vehicle, waving to her as Doug drove away.
Naomi watched Scarlet Springs disappear behind them.
“You don’t have to call me ‘father’ or ‘dad’ unless you want to,” Doug said. “You can call me Doug.”
“I like calling you ‘dad.’”
“Tell me about it—tell me about how you grew up.”
So, Naomi told him everything she could remember, sparing him no detail.
He listened, and she could see that her words distressed him. He reached over at one point to hold her hand. “That is no way to treat a child. In the old days, when the Lakota people were strong in their traditional ways, it was unheard of for a parent to strike a child. I’m so sorry, Naomi.”
“You don’t need to apologize.”
“It sounds like some kind of crazy cult, not a church.”
“That’s what Chaska said.”
“If you want, I’ll file a request with the state to annul your adoption.”
She stared at him. “Is that even possible?”
“I’d have to check case law, but because you’re Native and no attempts were made to place you with a Native family, we might stand a chance.”
“Wow.” Could she truly erase Peter and Ruth from her life? “I would like that.”
“If it’s okay with you, I’d like to get my name added to your birth certificate. I’m not sure what’s involved there, but that’s why I wanted the paternity test to be admissible in court.”
He’d really thought ahead.
“Of course, it’s okay with me.” It was beyond anything she’d hoped for.
Naomi’s heart began to lift, she and Doug singing along to the Beatles, Doug sharing his stories of growing up and telling her about Star and the kids.
Seven hours after leaving Scarlet, they reached Rapid City and pulled into the parking lot of Naomi’s apartment complex.
Doug helped her up two flights of stairs, then carried her stuff up. “Nice place.”
It felt strange to be home. Everything was so familiar and yet part of a different life. The Naomi who had lived here and worked here and dreamed here had left three weeks ago hoping to relax—and she’d returned a new person, living a different life.
Doug got himself settled, called Star, and then logged into Naomi’s wireless, while she sorted through her mail, balanced her checking account, and paid bills. There was already an invoice from the hospital in Scarlet for almost forty thousand dollars. There was also a letter from the State of Colorado Victims of Violent Crimes Compensation Fund, telling her that she had gotten approval for assistance and explaining how to file a claim. She needed to file a claim with her health insurance, too—and get the check from Knockers to the bank.
So much to do.
Doug came up behind her, rested his hands on her shoulders. “I would be happy to help with all of that.”
Maybe it was the fact that he was an attorney, but Doug seemed to have a special knack for making paperwork easy, helping her to finish much more quickly than she had imagined and with none of the stress. After that, he helped her package online jewelry orders, including the earrings he’d bought for Star, and get them ready to mail on Monday, examining each piece before he boxed it.
“I know some people—artists—who are going to be very excited to meet you and see your work.”
He packed the boxes up and set them in a plastic mail tote by her door, then came to stand by her. “What’s next?”
And it hit Naomi.
This is what it was to have a father.
ENTERING: PINE RIDGE INDIAN RESERVATION
LAND OF THE OGLALA SIOUX
CHIEFS
RED CLOUD * BLACK ELK * CRAZY HORSE
NO HUNTING
WITHOUT TRIBAL PERMITS
* * *
The wooden sign stood off on the shoulder of the road, Naomi’s throat growing tight when she saw it.
“Let’s get a photo.” Doug pulled over, helped her out of his vehicle, then took a few shots. “I’ll send one to your Chaska, let him know we’re here.”
Doug took the long way home, wanting her to get a feel for the land. “This is the land of your ancestors, of Maggie Otter Tail, your great-grandmother whose mother ran from the Seventh Cavalry through the snow to Stronghold and survived the massacre.”
“You mean Wounded Knee?”
Doug nodded. “This is our land, but it comes with the memory of much loss. There is pain here, the genetic trauma of terror and violence, but there’s hope, too.”
The landscape was beautiful, but the way people lived…
Naomi wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but she was astonished by the poverty as they passed dilapidated trailers and ramshackle houses that didn’t look fit for human habitation, children playing in the dirt.
“Out on this end of the rez, there’s no running water or electricity. People use car batteries or generators when they can.”
“This is like …” She stopped herself, not wanting to offend.
“It’s like a third-world country?” Doug nodded. “You’re not the first person to say that. This is the poorest county in the United States. Our median annual income here is four thousand dollars.”
Naomi stared at Doug, shocked. “How do people survive?”
“Charities. Government commodities. Relatives. Odd jobs.”
Outside her window, teenagers sat in the bed of a broken-down pickup truck with no tires, its paint long since bleached away by the sun.
“People who visit see the poverty. They see the crumbling houses and the rusted-out vehicles. They read about the alcoholism and the high dropout rate and suicides. But they miss the real story—the economic growth, the rising number of kids finishing college, the strength of our elders, the sense of community, the resurgence of our language and culture. The story of the Lakota is a story of survival against all the odds—and that’s your story, too, Tanagila.”
“That’s what Grandpa Belcourt said.”
Doug grinned. “Elders like him are important to us. They know the old ways, and those ways will make us strong again.”
They
reached the town of Pine Ridge an hour later. They passed a Subway, a Catholic church, a Pizza Hut, then Doug turned down one of the streets and pulled into the driveway of a blue, two-story house.
“Look what the kids did for you.”
A hand-made banner hung over the garage. Covered with smiley faces and handprints, it read, “Welcome home, Naomi!”
She swallowed the lump in her throat. “How sweet.”
Doug helped her out of the vehicle. “You go on in. I’ll get your things.”
The door opened, and a woman Naomi recognized as Star stepped out.
She was petite and prettier than her photograph, a bright smile on her face as she hurried over to Naomi and drew her into her arms. “What a long road it’s been for you, Naomi, but now you’re home. Welcome.”
Three weeks after Naomi came to Pine Ridge, her tribal enrollment was approved. Her story had been big news around the reservation since she’d turned in her application, word of her ordeal spreading. The local newspaper, radio station, and TV station dredged up the old articles and news footage from when she’d been found as a baby, sharing clips and quotes. Naomi had never heard or seen any of this before, and reading and listening to it wasn’t easy, especially when the TV news ran a photograph of her taken at the hospital the night she’d been found.
“Why did your mama throw you away?” Kimímila crawled into Naomi’s lap, her gaze on the TV screen. “You were a pretty little baby.”
Naomi swallowed hard. “I don’t know.”
She would probably never know.
Star stepped in. “Naomi’s mother, whoever she was, must have had some kind of sickness in her mind. We should pray for her.”
“I’m glad they found you,” Chayton said.
“So am I.”
Star and Chumani had baked a cake to celebrate Naomi’s enrollment, her nickname written in squiggly scrawl in white icing—Tanagila.
“Now that you’re official, I think it’s time to get everyone together and introduce you. It would be a good time for a naming ceremony.”
“A naming ceremony?”
“I hear you’re officially one of us.” Chaska lay back on his bed, the sound of Naomi’s voice taking the edge off a rough day.
“Yes. It’s been all over the news here. They showed a photo that police took of me the night I was found. Mato called it my baby mugshot.”
That made Chaska laugh. “Is there any way to get a copy of it?”
Chaska wanted it, even if Naomi didn’t.
“I think Star already has it. Oh, I started Lakota classes last week.”
“Yeah? Let’s hear it. Say something.”
“Toníktuha he.” How are you?
He replied. “Waste.” I’m well.
Yes, he was fine, but, damn, he missed her. It had taken only a day for him to realize how colorless and empty his life was without her. She’d been gone three weeks now. Though they texted and emailed every day and tried to talk at least once a week, it seemed like she’d been gone forever.
“I’m not sure I’ll ever be fluent like you and Win.”
“That’s okay. Just keep at it.”
“The kids have been helping, especially the two little ones. Chay and Kimi run around touching things and naming them. It’s impossible to remember everything.”
She told him how her father had filled out the paperwork to have himself added to her birth certificate and how he’d hired an attorney to annul her adoption. “Peter and Ruth sent a letter, agreeing to the annulment on the condition that he pay them more than a million dollars to compensate them for the expense of raising me.”
“What? That’s outrageous.” They were lucky they weren’t in prison.
“My dad told me not to worry about it, that it was just them making noise. He’s pretty sure we’re going to win.”
Chaska found himself smiling at the easy way she called Doug dad. Things were going so well for her, and that’s what he needed to remember.
“I asked my father if he was ever going to tell me my mother’s name. He said he would tell me one day, but not yet.”
Chaska wondered what Doug’s reasons were for keeping the woman’s name secret. “How long before you find out about the annulment?”
“It could be months.”
She changed the subject then, telling him how Doug had set up space for her to work in the garage and how he’d introduced her to some artists at the college. “I asked about taking classes, but after they saw my work, they wanted to know whether I’d like to teach next term.”
He didn’t like the idea of her staying so long, but he didn’t say that. “That doesn’t surprise me at all.”
“I told them I couldn’t do that, of course, because I wasn’t staying here that long. As much as I love it here and feel at home, I want to be with you.”
Chaska tried not to let his relief show. “I’m sure they understand.”
“Star is taking me to an orthopedic surgeon in Rapid tomorrow to see if I’ve healed enough to walk again. I can’t wait to get this boot off and get rid of these crutches. I want to be able to drive again at the very least.”
Chaska’s bedroom door was open, so, naturally, Winona popped her head inside. “Are you talking to Naomi? Tell her about the owl.”
“Win wants you to know that they released the little burrowing owl back into the wild a few days ago.”
“Really? Wonderful! How is Win?”
“Ask her yourself—in Lakota.” He handed the phone to Win, listening as the two women caught up, talking for what felt like a very long time.
“I’d better give you back to my brother. He misses you a lot.” Win handed him the phone again and left him in peace.
“Did you know your grandpa is doing my naming ceremony?”
“Yes. We’ll be there.” Chaska wouldn’t miss it.
“How is everything with you? You sound down.”
He did? “We’re moving ahead with the system design for this NASA project, and I’ve been putting in a lot of extra hours. We got toned out today for a fatality.”
“Oh, no. What happened?”
He hadn’t planned on telling her, but some part of him needed to talk about it, especially with the woman who held his heart. “A teenage kid was goofing around with some of his friends, slipped on some loose rock, and fell more than a hundred feet. His mother was waiting by the ambulance when we got down. It was … a rough scene.”
“Oh, God, Chaska. I’m so sorry—for her, for that kid, for all of you.”
“Thanks.”
She listened while he shared his grief, his sense of helplessness, her understanding helping to smooth away his roughest edges.
“I know you think you did nothing, but you brought him down, you returned him to his family. There was nothing more anyone could do.”
They talked until Naomi’s cell phone battery was almost gone.
“I miss you so much. See you in two weeks,” she said. “I love you.”
“Tecíhila. I love you, too.”
Megs sat at the front of the ops room, clipboard in hand. She’d called a budget meeting and had some equipment concerns to discuss with them. That was all fine and good, but it was making Chaska miss his phone time with Naomi.
“Mitch Ahearn. Chaska Belcourt … is brooding.”
Chaska’s temper flashed. “I am not brooding.”
“Correction. Chaska Belcourt is brooding and cantankerous.”
Laughter.
Chaska forced his teeth together. No one here deserved his anger.
Hawke leaned in, put a big hand on his shoulder. “You miss her.”
That was an understatement. “Yeah.”
“When are you going to see her again?”
“Two weeks. Her folks are holding a naming ceremony for her, and my grandfather will be running the show.”
Hawke gave him a sympathetic nod. “Those two months when Vicki was back in Chicago—damn, I just about fell apart. I wound up drinking at Kno
ckers with Hank, of all people, trying to give me relationship advice.”
Okay, that was pretty bad. “Advice from Hank?”
Hank was famous locally for blowing up his own house while trying to extract hash oil from marijuana using butane.
At least Chaska hadn’t fallen that far.
Megs’ voice intruded. “Eric Hawke … is trying to cheer up Belcourt. Aw, that’s sweet.”
Megs could be such a pain in the ass.
When roll call was done, they got down to business.
Megs held up a check. “I received this today—a check for twelve thousand dollars from Naomi Archer, who is an angel for being true to her word.”
Whoops, whistles, and applause greeted this news.
Oh, yeah. Chaska had forgotten to tell Megs to expect that.
“This wasn’t figured into our budget, so I’d like to use it for new gear, including those bullhorns.”
“We need Camalots and some Big Bros, man,” Herrera blurted.
And then it was on.
“We need to replace some ropes and slings.”
“What about ice tools?”
“What we really need is an overhaul on Rescue One’s engine.”
Sasha bounced up and down in her seat. “This is like Christmas!”
Hawke ignored them. “You’ll see her again soon, man, and when you do… Let me just say that reunion sex—it is insane.”
Chaska looked over at his friend. “Thanks, Hawke.”
That had given Chaska something new to think about.
Chapter 25
Star looked out the window. “He’s here.”
Naomi jumped to her feet, looked outside, felt her heart melt at the sight of him. Chaska stepped out of his truck, wearing jeans and a white T-shirt, long hair pulled back in a ponytail, the bear pendant she’d given him hanging from its cord around his neck.
She stepped into her flip flops, opened the front door, and ran to him. Okay, so it was kind of a limping run, but it took her straight into his arms.
He crushed her against him, kissed her deep and hard, his familiar scent enfolding her. God, it felt good to touch him again, to feel his strong arms around her, the long weeks of missing him finally over—for now.