Tempting Fate: A Colorado High Country Novel

  “I want a boyfriend to kiss me,” she heard Chumani say from the doorway.

  “You can kiss boys when you’re twenty-seven like Naomi,” Dad said.

  Then the front door closed, and Naomi and Chaska were alone—or as alone as they were likely to be this weekend.

  “I’m glad you got here early.” Her naming ceremony was the day after tomorrow, and tomorrow more than a hundred relatives were expected to arrive, people she hadn’t met before. “At least I get some time with you.”

  “This is the first time since I’ve known you that you’ve been walking,” Chaska said, a grin on his face. “How does it feel?”

  “My calf muscle is weak from not being used, and my ankle is stiff and sore, but it’s so nice not to have crutches.”

  “I bet it is.”

  They walked around the yard, talking, their fingers laced together, until Naomi remembered her manners. “Star and my brothers and sisters want to meet you.”

  Inside, Naomi introduced Chaska to Star and then to the children. Chumani was shy like a girl who’d been hit with her first crush, barely able to say a word, a little smile on her face. Kimímila rushed up and gave him a hug.

  Mato shook Chaska’s hand, very much the young man. “Thank you for saving my sister’s life.”

  “I was happy to do it,” Chaska replied, his gaze meeting Naomi’s.

  Chayton shook Chaska’s hand, too. “Is it true you have a pet wolf?”

  “I’m not sure he makes a very good pet because he’s still pretty wild, but, yes, we live with a wolf in our backyard. His name is Shota.”

  Chay seemed fascinated by this. “Can you bring Shota next time?”

  “Probably not. He wouldn’t be happy leaving his home.” Chaska held out his hand to Doug. “Good to see you again.”

  “You, too. Naomi has missed you.”

  Star invited them to sit down at the kitchen table and enjoy some iced coffee. She asked Chaska questions about his work and the Team. “My husband saw you climb and said you have true skill. He said it was like watching a real, live Iktomi.”

  Then they talked about the ceremony.

  “Naomi has been busy making gifts for all the relatives who come,” Star told Chaska. “Chumani and Kimi love to watch her work.”

  It was a custom after a naming ceremony for the family of the person who’d been given a new name to host a giveaway for those who attended.

  “You made jewelry for everyone?” Chaska’s brows rose in surprise.

  Naomi nodded. “I made silver and turquoise earrings for the women and girls and silver dream catcher pendants for the men and boys.”

  “Good.” Chaska looked like he was fighting not to smile.

  “So, Doug and I were thinking… We’re going to need some extra tables for the barbecue. We found a rental place that has some available, but it’s in Rapid City. Would you two be willing to head into the city for us?”

  Naomi’s dad reached into his pocket and pulled out a credit card. “We’ll pay for the tables, of course, but if you could pick them up, that would be great. It’s kind of late in the day, so you might have to stay overnight at Naomi’s apartment—that is, if you don’t mind.”

  Naomi looked from her father to Chaska as it dawned on her what Star and her father were doing. They were giving her a way to be alone overnight with the man she loved. “We don’t mind, do we?”

  Chaska shot to his feet. “We’d be happy to … uh … help.”

  Chaska hurried with Naomi up two floors to the door of her apartment and stood there, his blood burning, while she fumbled with her keys. “Let me.”

  He took over for her, sliding the key into place and turning the deadbolt. Then he pushed the door open and followed her inside.

  The moment the door closed behind him, she dropped her handbag and jumped into his arms, kissing him, tugging his shirt from his jeans, fumbling with his zipper.

  He backed her up against the wall, yanked down his fly, freed his cock, then lifted her skirt to cup her, sliding his fingers inside her panties, moaning when he found she was wet.

  “Please, Chaska.”

  He had just enough presence of mind to put on the condom he’d tucked in his jeans pocket before lifting her off her feet, pinning her against the wall, and burying his cock in her heat.

  They moaned in unison, her legs wrapping around his hips, drawing him closer, holding him in place. He’d forgotten how damned good it felt to be inside her. She was so tight, wet. Perfect.

  He tried to fall into an easy rhythm, but it had been so long, too long for both of them. In a heartbeat, he was thrusting hard, driving himself into her, his hips a piston, his fingers digging into her buttocks.

  A framed photograph fell off the wall, glass shattering.

  Neither of them so much as looked.

  All he could think about was Naomi, beautiful sweet Naomi. He lusted for her, loved her, was close to losing his mind over her.

  Her head was tilted back now, her nails digging into his shoulders through the cloth of his T-shirt, her lips parted as she moaned out her pleasure in time to his thrusts. “Chask-aa-aa-aaah.”

  He loved the way she said his name when she was about to come, loved the look of sexual bliss on her face as she unraveled, loved the musky scent of her arousal, the way her soft body yielded to him again and again and again.

  He pounded himself into her, needing her, wanting only her, only Naomi.

  She cried out, arching against the wall as she came.

  He was right behind her, climax swamping him with pleasure.

  For a moment he stood there, his body holding hers against the wall, his cock still inside her, her legs wrapped around his waist. Then he grabbed the condom and withdrew, lowering her slowly to her feet.

  She gave him a contented kitten sort of smile. “God, I’ve missed you.”

  He managed one word. “Yeah.”

  She laughed. “We knocked a photo off the wall.”

  While he cleaned himself up and disposed of the condom, she swept up the glass and set the photograph on the coffee table.

  Her cell phone buzzed. She hurried to her handbag, which she’d dropped on the floor just inside the doorway, drew it out, and read a text message, a smile coming over her face. She handed it to Chaska.

  Don’t really need tables. Take my credit card and go out to eat somewhere. See you tomorrow. XO Dad

  “My dad is the best.”

  Chaska couldn’t argue with that.

  They got some Chinese takeout, making the most of their short time together by staying home. There were so many stories Naomi wanted to share with him, so many things they needed to say to each other. It seemed to her that the bond between them had somehow grown stronger since she’d left.

  They made love again, Chaska settling Naomi astride him, looking up at her through dark eyes. “Ride me.”

  It took Naomi a few attempts to figure out the rhythm, but when she did… Oh, yes. It was heaven to feel him inside her, to control the angle and the depth, to see the arousal on his face as he watched her take him. He palmed her breasts, reached down to stroke her clit.

  She came twice, the second time taking him over the edge with her.

  Afterward, she lay on top of him, contented to her soul, their hearts beating against each other.

  He traced the line of her spine. “I want you to marry me.”

  It took her a moment to realize what he’d said.

  She raised her head, stared down at him, her breath caught in her throat. “Do you… Do you mean that?”

  “I know you’ve got a lot going on here. I don’t want to take you away from that. I’m not saying we have to get married right away or that you’d have to move to Scarlet tomorrow, but I miss you, Naomi. Being away from you—it’s so much harder than I thought it would be.”

  Heart soaring, Naomi ran a finger down his sternum. “I would love to marry you, Chaska, but I’m a very traditional Lakota woman now.”

  A
dark eyebrow arched. “Is that so?”

  She nodded. “You’ll have to gather up some horses and talk to my father.”

  “Your father doesn’t even have a place to keep horses.”

  “I read about a Lakota woman whose bride price was a hundred horses,” she teased, rolling off of Chaska onto her side, snuggling against him, her head resting on his shoulder.

  “A hundred?” Chaska laughed. “Were they the plastic kind?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “I don’t have a hundred horses, but I’ll see what I can pull together.” He raised his head, kissed her lips. “If he accepts my bride price, you’ll marry me?”

  “Yes.” She kissed him back. “Tecíhila.”

  Chaska drove Naomi back to Pine Ridge in the morning, then helped her father get ready for the relatives who were already rolling in. It was a hot day for early September, and Doug had a big yard, so Chaska took on the chore of mowing the lawn.

  “Is this your way of saying I’m an old man?” Doug joked.

  Chaska laughed. “Just trying to get on your good side.”

  Afterward, he helped Doug and Naomi’s Uncle Tim set up a sweatlodge for the inipi Old Man was holding to prepare Naomi for her naming ceremony.

  She came outside to watch them as they constructed the willow frame.

  Chaska walked over to where she stood in the shade. “What do you think?”

  “I’m starting to feel nervous.”

  “About the inipi or the naming ceremony?”

  “Both, but mostly the inipi. I’ve heard stories about people freaking out and trying to get out. I don’t want to be that person.”

  “Don’t listen to the stories.” Some of them were true, but hearing this wouldn’t help her. “Old Man goes easy on first-timers. It won’t be like the sweats we do for Sun Dance. Doug will be there. Star will be there. Win and I will be there, too. You can sit between us if you like.”

  She nodded. “That would make me feel a lot better.”

  He kissed her. “It’s going to be fine.”

  “Hey, Naomi, I’d like you to come meet my sisters,” Star called.

  Naomi kissed Chaska and walked back to the house.

  Chaska helped finish the lodge and stacked firewood. Then it was time to head to Rapid City to pick Winona up at the airport. He stopped in at the house to tell Naomi he was leaving. “I’ll be back in plenty of time for the inipi.”

  “I can’t wait to see Win.”

  “She’s excited to see you, too.” He gave her hand a squeeze, then headed out the door and climbed into his truck, an idea forming in his mind.

  Heated stones. Sage. Sweetgrass.

  Naomi sat in the silent sweatlodge with a towel wrapped around her shoulders, her pulse beating a little too fast. Winona sat on her left and Star just beyond her, while Chaska sat, shirtless with a towel around his waist like the other men, on her right.

  Darkness. Water hitting stone. Hot steam.

  She fought back her panic, her senses stunned by the pitch black, by the suffocating heat. She held onto Chaska and Winona’s hands, felt their reassuring presence beside her.

  A drumbeat. Her heartbeat. The otherworldly trill of an eagle bone whistle.

  She sang the songs, songs she had practiced every night with Doug, songs she knew by heart, Chaska’s strong voice and Winona’s joining with hers, with Grandpa Belcourt’s, with Doug’s, with Star’s.

  Tears. Prayers. Purification.

  She didn’t know why she was crying, but couldn’t stop, old sorrows and fears rising inside her only to wash away in the steam. She prayed for everyone in the lodge, for all of her relatives, for the Lakota people, for all Native peoples, for the kind people of Scarlet, for the woman who’d abandoned her, for Peter and Ruth and their congregation.

  Tunkasila, Creator, take pity on me. I am praying with my people.

  Songs. Voices raised in unions. Drumbeat strong as a heartbeat.

  “Mitakuye Oyasin!” they said together. All my relations.

  The door went up, steam shooting into the night, cool night air rushing in.

  When the inipi was over, Naomi felt new and clean and free.

  Naomi stood in her bedroom, Winona, Star, and other women from her family, helping her put on a hundred-year-old tanned doeskin dress with quillwork that her great-grandmother had once worn. She couldn’t believe they were letting her wear it. The quillwork—blue with black designs—was among the best she’d ever seen.

  “You look beautiful,” Star said.

  When Naomi looked in the mirror, the woman who stared back at her was someone she’d never seen before, a strong Lakota woman with braids hanging over her shoulders and no makeup on her face.

  It had been an amazing weekend. She’d met so many wonderful people, each one of them related to her by blood. Everyone had brought gifts for her, some simple like braids of sweetgrass, others sacred, like eagle feathers. Everyone wanted to hear her story, to know more about her, to talk with her.

  It was like standing in the center of a benevolent tornado.

  They walked outside together for the naming ceremony, relatives sitting in the shade or standing in groups.

  Grandpa Belcourt stood next to the big tree, wearing his best blue jeans and a ribbon shirt, an eagle feather in his hair. Chaska was there, too, feather in his hair. His gaze was warm when he saw her, appreciation in his dark eyes. Winona stood beside him, looking like she wanted to run over and hug Naomi.

  Naomi went to stand beside Grandpa Belcourt, who waited for quiet and then began to speak, reminding everyone that Naomi hadn’t had a naming ceremony when she was little. He told them how important a Lakota name was, its spiritual power conferring protection on Lakota children.

  After that, he blessed her with his ancient eagle father, painted her face with wase, singing ancient and sacred songs, the host drum beating out the rhythm.

  Then it was time for him to speak her name, the name that the Spirit world would know her by, her true Lakota name. She knew what her name would be, of course. Everyone already called her Tanagila—Hummingbird.

  Grandpa said it in Lakota first, and then in English, speaking clearly so that everyone could hear. “She Catches the Light.”

  Stunned, she stood there, accepting the congratulations of her family, her mind flashing to that July day when she and Grandpa had sat on the front porch.

  It’s all about the settings on the camera. They need to be fast enough to catch the light for just that split second when the wings are open.

  And for the first time in her life, Naomi knew exactly who she was.

  Chaska couldn’t believe he was doing this. “The pants are too short.”

  Not surprising, given that they belonged to Old Man, part of an old powwow costume he still had on hand.

  “You won’t be able to tell when you have the moccasins on.” Winona fussed with his braids, then stepped back, biting back a smile. “I think you look great. A little Hollywood maybe, but, good.”

  His cousin, Frankie, watched from the sofa, chuckling. He’d let them borrow his house as their staging area and had even helped Chaska pick out the horses he needed for Naomi’s bride price. “You going to wear a shirt or just go bare-chested? Women like that bare-chested stuff, especially when the chest looks like yours.”

  “Thanks, Frank. I feel completely un-self-conscious now.” Chaska couldn’t wear the shirt that went with the pants because it was too narrow in the shoulders for him.

  Frankie shook his head. “I don’t know about this. Her father is either going to be impressed—or he’s going to call the police on you, man.”

  Winona put the leather cord for the pendant Naomi had given him over his neck and fussed with it, too. “Doug is going to love this—especially the horses.”

  “Enough.” Chaska batted Winona’s hand away. “Let’s get back before all the food is gone.”

  A thanksgiving feast always followed a naming ceremony, and Chaska was hungry. Or
maybe he was nauseated from nerves.

  They walked out to Frankie’s driveway, where the horses waited in the bed of Chaska’s pickup. The plan was that Frankie would follow him, bringing a loading ramp to make it easier for Chaska to get the horses down. Then he would ride them into the feast and offer them to Doug.

  Naomi wanted a traditional Lakota betrothal? Well, she was going to get it.

  “Hoka hey!” shouted Frankie, climbing into his truck. “Let’s roll.”

  They drove the short distance back to the Otter Tail residence, trucks parked alongside the road for a half mile in either direction and found a parking spot. Frankie brought the loading ramp, attached it to the back of Chaska’s truck, then stepped aside.

  Chaska climbed into the bed of the truck, mounted the horses, and started their engine, then drove them down the ramp and up the street.

  People smiled as he passed, some laughing. He didn’t care. What he was doing would be the stuff of legend by tomorrow—if the bride agreed to have him and Doug didn’t have him arrested.

  He drove the horses into Doug’s backyard, stopped the engine, and dismounted, standing there, waiting for Doug to see him.

  Old Man saw him first. He gave him an approving nod, a big grin on his face.

  Then Naomi noticed him. “Chaska? What in the—”

  “I think he’s here for your father.” Star seemed to understand what was going on. A bright smile on her face, she drew Naomi aside. “Doug!”

  Doug stepped out from behind the barbecue grill, walked over to Chaska, a look of confusion on his face. “What are you—”

  “It’s a bride price,” Star whisper-shouted in Lakota.

  Doug nodded, met Chaska’s gaze. “You want to marry my daughter?”

  “I bring twenty-two horses for her.” Chaska stepped away from the yard tractor, giving Doug a chance to examine it.

  It was a 22-horsepower machine that would make mowing Doug’s big yard much faster and easier.

  “Are they good horses?” Doug kicked a tire.

  People laughed.

  “They get a five-star review on the hardware store’s website.”