"You are upset with me, aren't you?"
"I am not. But, you should not be here with me with no supervision."
"Why not?" she asked. "I've been alone with you before, five years ago. You might recall it."
He sighed deeply before saying, "You were young then. I was young. We are no longer those same adolescents. We have grown up and are now adults. It is not done for a woman of your age to be alone with an unmarried man—or any man—at this time of night, unless that man be her husband."
"Are you telling me you are volunteering to be my husband?"
"Saa, I am not."
"Shame," she said, looking up at him. "At least then you would be protecting my reputation."
He laughed. "In a Pikuni camp, it is not your place to mention your desire to marry me. I fear I have cautioned you about this before. It is the man who asks the woman to be his, not the opposite."
"I know. Still, I can't seem to help but ask you about it."
Although he couldn't keep himself from laughing, he also recognized a simple fact: she was unaware of how greatly he was coming to desire her. This was good.
"Come," he said, stepping out in front of her. "I will take you to your sister's lodge."
As she fell into step behind him, she asked, "Will you stay at my sister's with me?"
"I will not. I have a lodge of my own."
"Oh? Where is it?"
He chuckled and said, "I think I should not tell you where my lodge is. If I do, I fear I might find you in it more than would be good for you or me."
"Please, Gray Falcon, won't you stay with me while I am at my sister's home, if only for a little while? I am hoping it might be there where we can talk to one another about us, without you constantly lecturing me on my bad behavior. There is something important…something I must tell you. Perhaps there I can."
"Áa," he said, nodding. "Perhaps."
And, so it was that he found himself preparing to spend the rest of the evening with his friend, Eagle Heart, and his friend's family, as well as his very beautiful friend.
****
He is so handsome.
Amelia had always thought so, but he was more masculine now than he had been five years ago. Of course, he was more mature now, which caused his good looks to become more pronounced. He was older, and, because he was no longer a boy, she noticed little things about him that had escaped her attention all those years ago.
His shoulders were broad, his stomach was flat, emphasizing the narrowing of his figure into the masculine "V" shape. She recalled that five years ago he had worn his hair mostly in three braids—two in front and one in back. Back then, he'd hung an eagle's feather from one of his braids, also.
But, at present, his hair was loose, straight, and hung down his back almost to his waist, with the exception of one braid that he wore in front with an eagle's feather dangling from it.
He was without doubt the handsomest man of her acquaintance, and, unaware of what she did, she sighed. It was an overly warm evening, yet as he sat before her, he was not stripped of his shirt.
Instead, Gray Falcon wore a white, elk-skinned tunic which was fringed with leather and black hair. In the middle of his shirt was a large circle, decorated with porcupine quills in colors of black, white and red. His leggings were white as well, boasting the same color scheme and design as his shirt, but instead of circles, a single line, perhaps two inches in width, decorated the outer seams of his pants. The moccasins on his feet were made of treated, white buckskin and were again sewn with the same design and colors. The blue-and-white blanket he usually carried on his arm, or wore Roman toga–style, had fallen down around his waist as he sat cross-legged style, directly across from her.
Amelia's sister, Laylah, sat quietly next to her. Laylah's son was asleep and lying down toward the back of the tepee. A teacup had been placed in front of Amelia, as well as one beside Gray Falcon. Laylah held her cup up to her lips, gently sipping the coffee.
"It has been a long time since I have enjoyed a cup of coffee." Laylah sighed. "Sometimes I miss these little treasures the steamship brings in. Since I've come to live here, I have found pleasure in making teas from the herbs and berries that grow so abundantly here. It is a good substitute for the coffee, but when the ship comes in, it's always a pleasure to have real coffee." She reached out to place her hand over Amelia's. "I am hoping to secure one of my husband's ponies tomorrow so we can bring both your trunk and Sharon's belongings here. Eagle Heart's sisters and I put up your tepee as soon as we pitched camp here, since we didn't know exactly when the steamboat would arrive. We have stocked it with robes and blankets, with bowls and utensils made of buffalo horns, knowing you would not have been able to bring any of these luxuries with you. We placed your lodge right next to mine so you would feel secure and so we would be able to be close. I can't begin to tell you how much I have looked forward to your coming here."
Amelia squeezed her sister's hand. "And, I am happy to be here. As soon as I came of age, I have plotted, planned and saved the money I earned from selling Indian-beaded jewelry back in St. Louis. I made bracelets and necklaces of beads I bought from the tribes there. It has taken me a little over a year to accumulate enough money to make this trip and pay for Sharon's expenses, also. Tell me, have you received any of my letters?"
"I have not received any of them recently. Only those you wrote to me a few years ago."
"Oh my. How did you know I was coming?"
