“I think I can figure it out.”
“Enju.”Jack was smiling and it made the corners of his eyes crinkle. “Have this finished by the time I get back.” He turned and started walking away.
“You really want me to do this by myself?”
He stopped and pointed at her. “You build gohwah, woman, or I’ll have to send you back to Hayilkah.” With that exaggerated threat, he left her standing there.
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
He had left her alone with those instructions to finish the shelter. It had taken her a long time to figure out how to fill in the framework of saplings with the brush. At first, the brush kept falling out. Each piece of brush had to be wedged against other pieces and the frame. The fact that squaws and braves kept glancing at her didn’t help the situation. The children who came over to jabber excitedly and point and laugh were a distraction—but a welcome one from her tumbling thoughts.
Now, somehow, she was supposed to fill in the brush with bear grass. She was lucky she had gotten this far—the roof had really been impossible.
As she held some grass in her hand and stared at thegohwah, waiting for the solution, she became aware of a squaw standing a few feet away, staring at her. Candice looked over at her. The woman was slender and pretty. She was a few years older than Candice, and she stared at Candice with hard, hostile black eyes. Candice could feel her hatred, and its intensity frightened her.
The woman walked closer, and Candice rose to her feet apprehensively. With a look of scorn, the squaw tapped thegohwah. It shuddered.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Candice asked as calmly as she could, despite the fact that she was sure the woman didn’t understand a word she said. “I’ve spent all afternoon building this, so please keep your hands to yourself.”
“An angry wind, it blows away,” the squaw said in stilted English.
Candice was surprised. “How did you learn English?”
“Niño Salvaje taught me,” she said with a small smile.
“Niño Salvaje?”
“The man you know as Savage.”
A sick feeling spread through her veins. “Why did he teach you English?”
“Why do you think he wants me to know his other language?” The woman’s smile broadened.
Candice refused to acknowledge her rising comprehension. “I have no idea,” she said, but oh, she did.
“I am his woman,” the Apache returned calmly.
Candice was very still—except for the pounding of her heart. She could not mistake the avid jealousy pouring through her. She smiled tightly at the squaw. “What’s your name?”
“Datiye.”
“Well, Datiye, if you are his woman, then why am I building his gohwah?”This was said with more confidence and gusto than she felt, even while she knew she was a fool to be competing with this woman for a man she didn’t even want.
The woman stared, her face darkening, but didn’t answer. It was then that Candice heard his voice and looked up to see Jack approaching with the tall, handsome Apache who had spoken English to her and a stunningly beautiful woman. They were chatting in Apache, the squaw between the two men.
The three stopped, and Candice turned her back deliberately on them, still stunned by the first woman’s admission. She was filled with dark emotions, thinking about Jack and Datiye, thinking about Jack looking at her and teasing her that morning while this woman—his mistress?—was here in camp.I really don’t care, she told herself, and knew it was a lie.
When the tall Apache started to speak sharply, Candice had to look to see what was going on. Jack was inspecting her handiwork carefully, obviously as a means to ignore what was occurring, and Datiye was leaving them with a hard, angry stride, clearly sent away by the Apache.
“This is my brother, Shozkay,” Jack said. “And this is his wife, Luz.”
Candice nodded, barely able to restrain herself from demanding just what his relationship was with the other squaw. She looked at Luz and was again struck by her sensual beauty. Luz was staring at her too. “You’re one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen,” Candice told her frankly.
Luz smiled, and she reached out and touched her shoulder. She spoke in Apache, and Shozkay translated. “She wants to tell you the same thing—that you are as beautiful as the sunrise.”
Candice was overwhelmed by the compliment, especially as it came from another woman. “Thank you,” she said softly, and they smiled at each other.
Jack was inspecting thegohwah, pacing all the way around it. “BlessedUsen,”he muttered, “this is the worst I’ve seen.”
