Sweet Savage Heart (30 page)

Nathan described Marissa and stressed how much Rana favored her deceased mother. “You’re my flesh and blood, Rana. How could I not come after you and do anything necessary to get you back? It was too dangerous for you to live there. You don’t belong with Indians.”

These revelations stunned her, and her heart drummed rapidly. She tried to resist the unexpected news. She was being taken away from all she had known and loved; and now he was telling her incredible things that denied even that reality. According to his words, she was not heading for a new destiny; she was returning to an old one that strangely frightened her, though she could not remember why. “Did you tell Lone Wolf these lies? Is that why he gave me to you? You tricked me,” she accused.

Travis tried to explain his talk with Lone Wolf and their decisions, but as he had suspected, they did not sound logical or reasonable now. “We did what we had to do to get you free, Rana. Your grandfather loves you. He wants you to be safe and happy. Please understand.”

Just like that, they had ridden into her life and were trying to change all she knew and was! Why would they speak such false tales? she wondered. “I do not understand. How can he love me? We are strangers. I am not his Rana Michaels. I am Wild Wind. I will return to my people.”

“I can’t let you do that, Rana. As with the other tribes, the Oglalas will soon be herded like cattle onto reservations where freedom and privacy don’t exist but
poverty and disease do. Oglala spirit will die in captivity. That’s no life for you. How long do you think it would take before soldiers or Indian agents found a way to get at you? They would force you to do whatever they wanted, and you’d have to do it to protect your people. If the Oglalas did resist reservation life or rebel against it later, all they would be able to do would be run and hide or fight and be killed. I’ve been on the run before; it’s nothing but hardship, pain, and death. We didn’t want that kind of misery and peril for you. Search your heart and head, and you’ll know Nate speaks the truth. Don’t be afraid to trust us and accept us. You belong on the ranch with us.”

She glared at Travis. “You did not come to help my people. You came to steal me. You lied. You tricked me and betrayed me.”

“Only because the Oglalas made it necessary. They said we could not trade for you and take you away unless I joined to you. It was to keep the other warriors who wanted you from challenging our rightful claim on you. You are Rana Michaels! You’re white, and Nate is your grandfather!” he stormed forcefully at her.

“What coward lurks inside your body, White Eagle? Why do you wait until this moon to tell me such things, if they are true?”

“Because we knew how you would react, just like you’re doing. We wanted to be far away from the camp so you wouldn’t try anything crazy like escaping. And we wanted to give you time to get close to us so you wouldn’t be afraid. How can you be angry because your family has finally found you and you’re going home? You should be happy about this news. I know it was wrong to trick you, and I’m sorry. It just sounded right and easy at the time,” he admitted.

“That’s why you gave my people those guns and supplies? That’s why you asked for me in trade and joined to me falsely? Your words and deeds do not match,
coward with a dark heart!”

Her words rankled and he scoffed, “Wild Wind was known for her disobedience and stubbornness. I did it so we could get you free and take you home with the least amount of trouble and time. There’s a bloody war going on in that area, and we have a ranch to take care of. I wanted to get you and Nate out quickly and safely. And I didn’t marry you falsely, because our joining isn’t legal to whites, and we’re white. When you want to marry, you can choose your own husband, not be traded to a man like a possession. You’re free, Rana. Just like your mother, you can come and go as you please, and probably will.”

“You did not like my mother?” she probed defensively.

“I never knew your mother. I’ve only seen her portrait.”

“I do not understand. Nate calls you son,” she pressed hesitantly.

Her words and expression surprised Travis, who stared at her oddly. Suddenly he grinned roguishly as he shook his head and responded, “No, Rana, I’m not your uncle by blood, but I am by law. Nate adopted me as his son years ago, like Soaring Hawk adopted you as his daughter. My legal name is Travis Kincade Crandall, but most people know me as Travis Kincade. Your mother, Marissa, was Nate’s only child. During the first year after we met, Nate and I became best friends; we’re like a real family now. I’ve been living with him for seven years and working on his ranch as his foreman. I helped him get you back because I love him and I thought I was doing the right thing for him and for you. You’re smart enough to understand what we’re telling you; open your heart and accept the truth. All we’re asking for is a chance to correct the past. You have a home and a family. We risked our lives to claim you. Is this news so offensive?”

“Travis is like a real son to me, Rana. I begged him to
help me get you back. I’m sorry we all tricked you. Travis didn’t want to lie to you or marry you falsely; he did it for me and for you. The Indians made those demands and we didn’t have time to argue. We were forced to go along or they wouldn’t have let us have you. I was planning to give Travis my ranch until I discovered you were still alive. With Marissa dead, you two are all the family I have. When I die, I want the two of you to share the ranch. Will you come home with us? Will you give us a chance to make you happy? Will you try to understand and forgive us? All we wanted was you, my little Rana.”

Rana watched the older man as he spoke. Had she discovered who she was at last, and where she had come from? she asked herself, wondering what these changes would mean to her. Nathan had touched and warmed her heart with his tale of suffering and dreams, but anger and fear had lodged there too. She thought about Travis, in light of this revelation. If she was Nathan’s granddaughter, and she suspected she was, it would explain why Travis had refused to touch her, despite the fact that he desired her and felt married to her in his Indian heart. No doubt, after hearing those awful tales about her, he had expected to dislike her and to find her easy to resist. He had planned to ride in, make a trade for her, then hand her over to her grandfather. The situation had turned on him because of Lone Wolf’s terms, and this intrigued her. Now Travis was caught in a painful trap—which served him right for deceiving her, she decided. He had teased her and tempted her with his kisses and gazes; now she could do the same to punish him, for he had no hold or power over her. Perhaps he too should be forced to learn a few things and to make a few changes…

“I will think on your words and deeds before I speak what is in my heart. This should not have been kept secret from me,” she declared aloud.

Travis quickly concurred. “You’re right, Rana, but
that can’t be helped now. We made a mistake. We’ve apologized and explained, so there’s little more we can do. I know you’ve endured many dangers and changes lately, and you’ve been facing them bravely and with skill. We’re very proud of you. But I wonder how much you learned from the Oglalas. Did you learn about patience and self-control? Are you smart enough to understand more than you can see? Or brave enough to face a new life? You’ve proven you have the courage and cunning to fight like a warrior, but can you behave like a woman? Can you feel and show love and kindness? Are you wise enough to accept what you know is true? And generous enough to offer us a truce and understanding? I said you were very special. I hope I wasn’t wrong.”

For the next few days, Travis watched the trail signs closely to keep them away from peril and people. From the evidence he found along the way, it seemed the Cheyenne and Pawnee were fighting bitterly over the land that had not as yet fallen under the control of the settlers or soldiers. He wished the Indians knew how the whites were duping them into killing off each other, for this was not the time for intertribal wars; this was a time to declare a truce in order to battle the more lethal enemy of both tribes. While the Indians were becoming fewer and weaker, the whites were increasing their numbers and strengths. Each year, more forts were being constructed on the Great Plains, more soldiers were being sent, and more settlers were arriving.

After crossing the Sante Fe Trail and the Arkansas River, they skirted Dodge City and Fort Dodge because Travis had no idea how Rana would act among people, and he did not trust her to be left alone with Nathan. As he had been with Marissa, Nathan was becoming too lenient with Rana, for he was blinded by his feelings for her. Nathan did not believe she could do anything wrong, and he would never have corrected her if she had because he was too happy to have recovered her and feared losing
her again. He had become totally enchanted by his granddaughter, and Travis prayed this girl would not hurt Nathan as her mother had.

They passed near the Crooked Creek battle site and, on June twentieth, camped just inside what was now called Indian Territory, which would one day become the state of Oklahoma. It had been forty-seven days since they had left Texas, twenty-three days since the joining ceremony, seventeen days since they had left the Oglala camp, and five days since Rana had been told the truth about herself.

Travis did not know what to think about the exquisite redhead with steely blue eyes, for she had been behaving in a most unexpected manner, like a perfect lady or a misplaced angel. Having been told of Wild Wind’s turbulent past by Lone Wolf and having witnessed her temper and willfulness in action, Travis was now suspicious of her sunny attitude and obedient demeanor, though he was pleased by her friendliness and compliance where Nathan was concerned. He found himself watching her furtively, day and night, as if she were a hot kettle that was simmering cleverly without giving off alerting steam, a kettle that he knew could burn one badly if it were touched in the wrong place. Travis felt that it would be very much in character for Rana to seek punishment or revenge—however small—for the trick they had played on her, a trick for which he seemed to be taking the brunt of the blame rather than being able to share it with Nathan and Lone Wolf. If this little wildcat were as conniving as most women he had met, he mused, she would bide her time until the right moment presented itself. He had advised, almost demanded, that she trust them; yet he did not fully trust her, for it did not seem to be Wild Wind’s nature to allow herself to be tamed so quickly or easily.

Each day Travis had waited for the ground to slip from
beneath him but he could do nothing more than speculate on the type of retaliation she might take. He wished he could detect some hint of a scheme so he would be better prepared to thwart her. In about eight or ten days, they would reach the Rocking
C
Ranch. Between here and there, they would cross more plains and prairies, an occasional rocky slope, rolling hills, several rivers, and vast Indian lands. It was these Indian lands to which Travis’s attention and thoughts were drawn now as they made camp for the night.

Indian Territory had been chosen long ago as the relocation sight for the “Five Civilized Nations” from the South: the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Seminole, and Chickasaw. In 1834, this entire region had been divided among these tribes, and each tribe had been assured of its ownership and authority over a certain portion of the area. During the recent North/South war, most of these tribes had sided with the Confederacy because so many of them owned slaves. Afterward, in 1866, the Government began forcing new treaties on the five nations, compelling them to cede parts of their assigned territories to the United States to be used as homes for other Indians they planned to relocate, as if their objective were to bunch all Indians into one area where they could be watched and controlled carefully and easily. The Government was, perhaps intentionally, overlooking one major problem: the Plains Indians did not like other Indians claiming their ancestral territories, especially with the help of the whites.

Travis had decided that maybe it was all a clever plot to reduce the numbers of Indians and their tribes by placing them in bloody conflict with one another, for the woodland Indians from the South had no training against the awesome skills and prowess of the Plains warriors, who were determined to hold on to their sacred lands and hunting grounds. He wondered how long it would take
before everyone, Indian and white, realized that relocated Southern tribes could not coexist peacefully with the fierce Plains tribes of the Kiowa, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Comanche, and Apache Nations. He felt certain the U.S. Government would never honor the treaty they were offering the Sioux, which promised to transform most of Dakota into the Great Sioux Reservation, for that area was too rich in grazing lands and gold. The Medicine Lodge Treaty Council was scheduled to be held in Kansas within a few weeks and the Fort Laramie Peace Talks were to take place in Wyoming in the spring; Travis wondered how much, if any, difference those papers and promises would make, for he was very much aware that flowery words seldom changed ingrained feelings.

Because the Cheyenne were longtime friends and allies of the Lakotas, Travis often thought about the Cheyenne leaders he had met and had ridden with, some before he had left the Hunkpapas and some afterward. During this present journey, he had learned many new things about these men. He knew that Tall Bull and Black Kettle wanted peace with the whites and survival for their people, as did so many Indians these days. Unlike many of the “Dog Soldiers,” as the whites called members of the Cheyenne Dog Men Society who were some of the most highly trained and skilled warriors who had ever existed, Chief Black Kettle was willing to accept the white man’s peace treaty and go to a reservation. The leaders of the Dog Soldiers—Tall Bull, White Horse, and Bull Bear—only wanted peace; they were proud men who would never sacrifice their freedom and honor; they were not men who could laze around a reservation. No, Travis reflected, like the Lakota branch of the Sioux Nation, the Cheyenne Dog Soldiers would battle Indian and white to retain their lands and dignity. Travis felt that these Cheyenne leaders were too smart and honorable to kill off the Pawnee for the devious white
man and, he decided, if he were given the opportunity to see them, he would tell them so!