Vin had rode outside of town towards the area
in which he knew Mapiya’s people were, thinking pensively on what he was going
to do about Chris. He was not far out of
Four Corners and the sun was slowly rising in the eastern horizon.
He hated seeing his friend in the condition
that he was in, but he was running out of options. He knew sooner or later he was going to loose the blond
gunslinger if he kept up his recklessness.
He was about to go past a copse of trees when
he heard what sounded like horses coming down the trail. Vin nudged Peso up the hill that overlooked
the road and dismounted quickly to lie down on his belly, peering over the
hill, so that he could determine who was coming up the trail.
He only had to wait a little while, when he
spied a group of Cheyenne slowly riding down it. There were eight men and a woman.
As he scrutinized them from the top of the hill,
his eyes went wide with surprise and joy.
He got up from where he was, waving his arms in the air and yelled in
Cheyenne, “Mapiya! Kovaahe! ó'kôhóme!
It is good to see you again, my friends!”
Mapiya and the others turned their eyes upward
towards the hill and saw their friend Netse Ôhvo'komaestse waving his arms and
calling to them. Mapiya thanked
Ma'heo'o with all her heart. She had
found her husband’s people and things would right again.
Kovaahe smiled at this and thanked the spirits
that they had found the one who would lead Mapiya’s heart home.
Vin jumped up quickly and mounted Peso. He rode like demon down the hill, almost
scaring Mapiya in fright. She was
afraid that he would fall headlong into the ground. But he did not and Peso kept his feet under him.
Vin’s heart was beating with joy and relief at
finding them. He thanked Ma'heo'o also
for his wisdom and the gift he was about to give to Chris Larabee.
Mapiya slowly dismounted her horse, being
careful of Heoveaenohe on her back and went to meet the
exuberant tracker.
Once Vin was down the hill, he quickly jumped
off Peso and almost ran the width between him and Mapiya. As he approached, he saw that there was
something on her back, but he could not get a clear look at it. Instead, he just kept walking until he stood
only a foot from her.
Mapiya looked at her husband’s friend and saw
much to worry her. He did not look well
and it looked as if he had no slept in a long time. He was way to thin, but then again, so was her husband. She hoped he had good news of him and prayed
that he had not given up hope of ever finding them again.
Vin leaned over and kissed Mapiya gently on
the cheek. He was about to grab her
into a hug, when Mapiya stayed him where he was. She smiled gently and turned her back so that he had a better
view of what she carried.
It was a Comanche cradleboard, much like the
one Chris had watched Otseemeoo'e place on Mapiya’s burial
stilt. He could barely see the sleeping
face of little baby strapped to it. Mapiya
removed it from her back, cradling it in her arms so that he could have a
better view.
“Mapiya?” questioned Vin with a gleam in his
eyes and hope in his heart. “Is
this…? Is this who I think it is?”
Mapiya nodded happily. “Yes, Netse Ôhvo'komaestse. It is Emo'ôhtavo vo'e’s son, Heoveaenohe,” she answered pulling the blanket away a little so
that he could see the child.
Vin grinned from ear to ear at the revelation
of tuff of blond hair that stuck up on the sleeping child’s head and the face
that held the head of hair. He looked
so much how Vin imagined Chris would look when he was a child. “Yep.
He’s Chris’ alright,” said Vin mostly to himself. He then said to Mapiya, “Can I hold ‘im?”
Mapiya nodded and swiftly removed the child from
the cradleboard. She then carefully put
the baby into the young blue-eyed tracker arms.
Vin gently took the baby from Mapiya’s arms
and stared at it with loving eyes. This
was Chris’ son. A son. He could not believe his good fortune. Chris had now something to look forward to,
something to live for. This was the
answer to his prayers. In fact, he now had two somethings as he looked into the
loving eyes of the boy’s mother.
“Ya said his name is Heoveaenohe? That means Yellow Hawk, don’t it?”
“Yes.
He was named so. I can see the
spirit of the Hawk in him, just like his father has the spirit of the Black
Storm in him and you of the Eagle,” she replied proudly gazing at her son.
“Mapiya, where ya been? What happened?” came Vin’s other questions
as he watched the child start to wake.
“I will tell all. But first…must go to husband,” answered Mapiya quickly silencing
his questions.
Heoveaenohe started to open his eyes and when
he saw the stranger that held him, he smiled laughingly.
“Hey, he likes me,” exclaimed Vin.
“There is no reason for him not to,” replied
Mapiya. “He knows who his father
trusts. And who better to trust than his…his oncle?”
“Uncle?
Me?”
“Of course.
Just like Kovaahe and ó'kôhóme. You and Emo'ôhtavo vo'e’s other brothers are
his oncles, yes?”
“Yeah.
Of course we are,” said Vin smiling as he held the little hand in
his. “And he’s strong just like his pa
too it seems.”
Mapiya could only nod as Vin gave the little
boy back to her. She then strapped him
back onto the cradleboard and placed the squirming child on her back. She then mounted her horse and waited until
Vin had mounted Peso. She then turned
to Kovaahe and ó'kôhóme and said, “Time for Heoveaenohe to meet his father.”
Kovaahe and ó'kôhóme agreed and motioned for the small band of Cheyenne to
follow Netse Ôhvo'komaestse to their brother.
***********************************************************************************************************************
Chris opened green bloodshot eyes that found
himself in his bed at the boarding house.
He did not remember much of what happened, only that the man had come
bursting into his room talking some nonsense about a bounty on his head and
shooting the man as he tried to shoot him.
Unfortunately, due to his drunken state, he was almost not fast
enough. Almost.
He tried to rise from the bed and as he did,
his head swam and his eyes went out of focus.
At the same time, he felt a pain in right side that ached terribly and
he looked down at his body and saw a bandage stained with blood wrapped around
his middle. He was basically naked under the blanket except for his
drawers. Damn! He almost forgot about getting shot. Almost.
As he tried to rise a little more, he heard
footsteps walking quickly over to where he lay and felt four pairs of strong
hands push him back down. He groaned as he felt his stomach start to join his
head and side for attention. “Fuck!” he
croaked as he felt the nausea making its presence known in full force.
“That’ll teach ya to listen to me when I say
take the laudanum,” he heard Nathan’s voice admonish.
He turned to his left and found the
brown-skinned healer sitting next to him, looking at him annoyed.
“Nathan,” was all Chris replied as he let his
head fall back on the pillow that was cushioning it.
“You need to listen to Brother Nathan,
Chris. He knows what’s best when it
comes to healing,” said a voice that sounded like Josiah.
Chris turned to his right and found Josiah
sitting on a chair next to his bed. “Josiah. How long I’ve been out?”
“’Bout a few hours. It’s sun up already,” replied Nathan, taking his wrist to check
his pulse. “How ya feelin’?”
“Like I got shot,” said Chris grimacing as he
tried to sit up again.
Nathan quickly held his hand against his
chest, preventing him from only rising up on his elbows. “Ya need to lie back down, Chris. That bullet hole in ya is nothin’ to mess
around with. I got it out, but it did
some damage to the muscles and ya need to heal,” he explained.
Nathan watched as Chris’ eyes tried to glare
at him, but there was not the usual strength there. The man was dead tired, had a hangover, a bullet hole and he knew
the fever that he felt slowly building would soon be in high enough to put the
man down at least for the next couple of days.
“Listen, Chris, ya glares don’t scare me and
if I have to, I’ll have Josiah here tie ya down, ya understand? Stay in this bed and don’t you move until I
say so!”
Chris eyes opened wide in shock. It was a rare moment for Nathan to loose his
temper and if he did, then Chris knew he had to have done something very bad.
Nathan saw the shock in the man’s green eyes
and knew he did not understand how much fear he had given them in the past few
months. They had come close to losing
too many times during those months and now that they got him back, it looked
like they were going to loose him again, but to something Nathan could not cure
or fix. It frustrated him, as well as
the others.
“Now, I’m gon’na see if Inez can bring ya
somethin’ to eat and I want ya to eat.
I noticed those ribs of yours was almost comin’ clean through ya skin.”
“I ain’t hungry, Nathan,” retorted Chris,
using his hand to rub the tiredness from his eyes.
“Ya gotta eat, Chris,” demanded Nathan.
Chris sidled a fore long glance at the
dark-skinned healer and knew the man was worried. They all were, but at this
moment, Chris did not care. All he
wanted to do was to either have his family back or join them. Nothing else mattered now. He closed his eyes against the pain he felt
in his heart and sighed. “Nathan, I’ll eat later. I’m…I’m tired right now.”
Nathan and Josiah watched as the gunslinger
closed his eyes and went promptly to sleep.
Nathan shook his head in disappointment. The damn man would be the death of them all, if he did not kill
himself first.
Nathan looked over to Josiah who sat on the
other side of the sleeping man. He
could see the irritation that the older man was having at Chris’ words. But Nathan shook his head, signaling to
Josiah that now was not the time to push the subject. He motioned for Josiah to join him outside in the hall.
He and Josiah then stood up and walked out of
the room, closing the door silently behind them.
Once there, Josiah could not hold in the anger
he felt at Chris’ desires. “Nate, this
has got to stop. The man is going to
kill himself,” complained Josiah fervently.
“I know, Josiah. If the liquor doesn’t kill him then starvation will. He’s lost a lot of weight, Josiah. A good stiff breeze could not that skinny
ass, hard headed man down on his backside.
I just don’t know what to do anymore.”
“Vin thinks he’s dying from a broken heart,”
came Josiah’s statement.
Nathan looked at the man in agreement. “And Vin’s probably right. I’ve seen something like this happen during
my time in the war. A man just gives up
here,” said Nathan pointing to his head. “And then they give up here,” he said
placing his hand on his heart. “After
that, the body just stops living.”
“Wasn’t there anything anyone could do?”
“Nope.
One day they just up and died, no warning. I just…I just can’t see that happenin’ to Chris.”
Josiah understood this. They all could not see a strong man like
Chris Larabee slowly dying from the inside.
It was a contradictory to who Chris Larabee was.
“I’m goin’ to get him somethin’ to eat. See if ya can find Vin. Maybe he can talk some sense into that
mule-headed man.”
Josiah nodded and they both proceeded to walk downstairs
towards their respective tasks.
**************************************************************************************************************************
Buck walked quickly over to the jail. He opened the door to find JD and Ezra in a
conversation concerning the body of the dead man they found in Chris’
room. Chris had yet to shed any light
on whom the man was or what he wanted, so the others decided to take it upon
themselves to find out.
“Ya got anythin’, JD?” asked Buck as he
entered the office.
“Nope.
But I did find this in his pocket,” answered JD handing over a piece of
paper.
JD and Ezra kept their eyes on the tall lawman
as he opened the folded paper. He did
not say anything, only stared in shock.
“Bounty hunter?” questioned Buck in amazement.
“It seems our Mr. Larabee has a price on his
head, Mr. Wilmington and our dead friend here was trying to collect.”
Ezra watched as Buck’s eyes turned from shock
to anger. “Is there a problem, Mr. Wilmington?”
“Ya bet there is!” yelled Buck. “How dare he!”
“Buck?
What’s wrong?” asked JD concerned by his friend’s rage.
“I’m goin’ to get some answers,” growled Buck
as he left the office, slamming the door behind him.
Ezra raised eyebrows in question at JD at his
departure, but all JD could offer him was a shrug.
*************************************************************************************************************************
Nathan returned to Chris’ room with a small
bowl of beef broth that Inez had prepared for him. He also had added one of his teas to the tray. It would help in trying to prevent the man
from a developing a fever. He hoped
that Josiah found Vin. They would need
his skills to convince the blond to eat.
As he opened the door, carrying the tray with the
bowl and the cup, he noticed that Chris was still asleep. He knew the man had to be tired, not
sleeping and drinking most of the time.
It would do no good for his body.
He placed the tray on to the small bureau in
the tiny room and went over to the bed.
As he stood over him, he saw that Chris was sweating profusely and that
he was twisting and turning in what seemed like pain.
He knelt down next to the man and felt his
head. Damn! It was hot, too hot. The
fever had come on suddenly and come on strong.
Nathan could not believe how fast.
Chris needed help and he needed it fast.
He walked quickly over to the water basin and
was glad to find it had fresh cold water.
He took a rag he had found lying on the bureau and dipped the cloth in
it, soaking up as much of the water as he could. He then walked back to the sick blond and started bathing his
head and chest.
As he was trying to decide if he should go get
the others, the door came flying in and Buck walked in strangling a piece of
paper. “Chris!” he yelled. “What the hell…?” He stopped in mid-sentence as he saw Nathan bathing his friend as
he twisted and turned in the bed. “Nate?”
“He has a fever. I knew it was comin’ but it just came on too fast. I think ‘cause he ain’t in such good condition
to begin with that it did. Buck, go get
Josiah. I need ‘im here to help me.”
Buck could only nod, his angry thoughts about
Chris not telling him about the bounty gone.
“Where is he?”
“I sent ‘im to go find, Vin.”
“Vin left here last night.”
“Left?” asked Nathan surprised.
“Yeah.”
“Do ya now where?”
“Nope.
Didn’t say. Just up and
left. Said for us to watch Chris ‘til
he gets back,” replied Buck, his eyes not leaving the form on the bed.
“Alright.
Just go get Josiah and see if ya can bring me some more water. We gotta get his fever down.”
Buck nodded and left the room quickly in
search of Josiah and the water.
************************************************************************************************************************
Vin and the small group of Cheyenne rode into
Four Corners around noon. Unaware of
Chris’ illness and what had transpired while he was gone, Vin smiled as he
looked at the woman and the child that rode beside him. Chris was going to be in for a surprise and
so were the others.
As the small group rode further into the town,
the people of the town started to notice.
Some ran into their homes, while others stood in the street to
gawk. Vin could hear words spoken like
bloodthirsty savages and danger. A few
of them whispered and pointed outwardly at Vin and the Cheyenne that rode next
to him.
Vin saw Mary Travis and the Judge walking quickly
over to him. He knew what was coming
and glared hard at them.
“Vin,” said Mary curtly, eyeing the woman
Cheyenne and the other warriors that rode with him with suspicion.
“Mary, Judge,” said Vin nodding to both of
them. He saw that they were waiting for
an explanation of who his guests were, but Vin refused to say anything. He felt it was not his place or their
business. It was Chris’ business. He then nudged Peso onward, while the little
group followed.
Mary and Judge Travis stood where they were,
watching in bewilderment and surprise as they group moved further into the
town.
When they were finally in front of Nathan’s
clinic, Vin halted the party. Mapiya
and the other Cheyenne looked at the place he had stopped in confusion.
“Is this my husband’s home?” asked Mapiya with
trepidation.
“No, it ain’t. This is Nathan’s clinic.
You remember Nathan?”
“Yes.
The healer. He lives here?”
“Yeah, but he ain’t here now. I’m going to leave ya and the baby here
until I get back and then we’ll go see Chris.”
He did not want Mapiya to see Chris in his current condition and until
he could determine what that was he thought it best to postpone their meeting
for a little while.
“Where…Where is Emo'ôhtavo vo'e?” asked Mapiya, fear starting to clinch her
heart.
Vin saw the panic in her brown eyes and knew
what she was thinking. “No, no,
Mapiya,” said Vin grabbing her by the arms.
“He’s alright, I promise. It’s
just that findin’ ya and the little papoose there is goin’ to be somewhat of a
shock. Ya see, every since ya turned up
missin’, he ain’t been well and…”
Mapiya heart calmed some. Her husband was alive but unwell. She remembered he was unwell even before her
disappearance. She just did not
understand why he was not better. She needed
to see him and soon. But she understood
Netse Ôhvo'komaestse hesitation. She
could wait, but she would not wait long before she would go look for husband
herself.
Mapiya nodded and said, “I trust you Netse Ôhvo'komaestse. I will wait.”
Vin sighed in relief, glad that Mapiya had
understood. He did not want the woman
to be hurt and he did not know if Chris would be found again in a drunken
stupor. It was no way for a reunion to
be held.
He led Mapiya and her baby, followed by ó'kôhóme
and Kovaahe up the stairs into Nathan’s clinic. “I will be back quickly,” he said before closing the door and
running back down the stairs. He then
proceeded to walk towards Chris’ room at the boarding house, hoping that the
blond was still there and in a much better condition.
************************************************************************************************************************
Vin had almost reached the boarding house when
he spotted Buck, JD and Ezra walking quickly towards the same place. They seem to be carrying a lot of towels and
water towards the boarding house and it worried him greatly.
“Hey, Vin!” called JD. “Ya back!”
Vin moved to catch up with the others and
said, “Yeah, JD. Just got back.”
“Did ya hear that there’s some Indians that
rode into town today? Casey said she
was awfully scared at the sight of ‘em,” asked JD. He knew Vin would be the
right person to ask since there was nothing he did not know about them.
“Yeah.
I was the one who brought ‘em in,” replied Vin as he looked at what Buck
was carrying. “Buck, why do ya have all
those towels for? What happened?”
“Chris took a turn for the worse, Mr. Tanner,”
explained Ezra. “We’re assisting Mr.
Jackson in trying to reduce his currently high fever.”
“Yeah, we all thought the same, Vin,”
interjected Buck. “But Nathan thinks ‘cause he was so weak to begin with, ya
know with the drinkin’ and all, that he just wasn’t strong enough to fight off
the fever. I gotta get back with these
things. Nathan’s waitin’.” The tall moustache man then quickly
continued his heading towards the boarding house.
JD followed him quickly with the bucket of
water he was carrying, but before Ezra could follow, Vin grabbed him gently by
the arm.
“Ezra, wait.
There’s somethin’ I been meanin’ to tell ya’ll.”
“Can it wait, Mr. Tanner? I think our assistance is needed immediately
by Mr. Jackson.”
“Yeah.
Let’s get up there and then I can tell everyone at the same time,” said Vin,
grabbing one of the buckets of water that Ezra held. They both walked quickly over to the boarding house, Vin’s mind
in turmoil at what he would find.
*********************************************************************************************************************
When Ezra and Vin entered the room that Chris
used while in town, they found it crowded with their friends who were working
feverishly over the delirious blond. It
seemed Chris was in the throes of a nightmare and was fighting Josiah and
Nathan with a strength Vin did not think he had.
“Buck!” yelled Nathan. “Get over here and help us!”
“Right, Nathan,” said Buck grabbing on to the
man’s flaying arms.
Vin placed the bucket on the floor and quickly
ran over to kneel down next to the head of the ill man. “Chris, Chris, it’s me, Vin. Calm down, Cowboy, we’re only tryin’ to
help,” said Vin soothingly as he brushed the stray hairs that fell over the
gunslinger’s eyes.
Vin felt the heat that emanated off of his
friend and turned concerned blue eyes towards the dark-skinned healer. “Nate.
He’s awfully hot,” said Vin solemnly.
“I know, Vin.
We’re tryin’ to get it down now.
Just try to keep him calm.”
Vin nodded and went back to his silent
murmurings.
Suddenly, Chris bucked up hard, trying to
break Josiah and Buck’s hold on his arms and legs. Nathan jumped back in surprise as Chris started to yell. But what came out was not English. Vin knew it was Cheyenne that Chris was
speaking.
“Mapiya! Nemehotâtse! Nemehotâtse, Mapiya!”
“What’s he sayin’, Vin?” asked Buck looking
worriedly on.
“He’s…He’s sayin’ that he loves Mapiya,”
replied Vin distressed.
“Mapiya…Eneoestse! Mapiya…Mapiya…Né'áahtovêstse! Šé'šeotsêstse!…Šé'šeotsêstse!”
mumbled Chris thrashing around on the bed.
Buck and Josiah continued to hold him.
“He’s dreaming and it sounds like there are
demons in there, brother,” added Josiah.
He could understand most of what Chris was saying also.
“It’s the fever. We have to get it down. Vin, ya got ‘im?”
“I got ‘im, Nate,” answered Vin as he moved
himself on to the bed and held the blond’s head in his lap, while speaking
words to calm him.
“Buck, Ezra, get those towels soaked into that
cold water and then help me and Josiah to start placin’ ‘em on ‘im,” directed
Nathan.
The three men started to work on getting their
friend’s fever down in silence. But Vin
decided it was time to break that quietness with his news.
“Listen, boys. I got somethin’ to tell ya and it can’t wait,” announced Vin.
“Go on, Vin. We can listen while we work,” said Nathan taking one of the soaked
towels from Buck and placing it around Chris’ chest.
“Well, I guess it’s good news, but with Chris
the way he is…”
“Spit it out, Vin,” said Buck irritated as he
handed Nathan another towel.
“I found Mapiya,” said Vin trying to gauge
their reaction.
They all stood still for a moment, amazement
on their faces.
“Hot damn! How? When?” voiced Buck excitedly.
“Where was she?” asked JD curious and
relieved.
“Is she alright?” inquired Josiah.
“She’s fine, Josiah. She hasn’t told me everythin’ yet. She’s waitin’ on Chris at the clinic,” answered Vin.
“Well, why don’t ya just bring her over here,”
suggested Buck smiling. It would be
good to see her. He knew it would be
good for Chris.
“Well, ya see, there is one thing I haven’t
mention yet,” said Vin hesitantly.
“Yeah?
What is it?”
“Well, Buck, she’s got a kid. Chris’ kid,” said Vin finally.
They all stared at him with their mouths
opened.
“Did you just say a kid?” asked Nathan, his
wits returning.
“Yep.
A child, a baby, a papoose.”
“A baby?
Chris has a baby? By Mapiya?” asked Buck still in shock.
“No.
By JD,” replied Vin annoyed. “Of
course, by Mapiya. Who else?”
“Well…” started Buck smiling devilishly.
“Don’t go there, Bucklin,” said Vin cutting
him off. “Chris has a new son.”
“A boy?
That’s great!” answered Buck. He
then knelt next to Vin and the blond man that lay with his head on his lap and
said, “Ya hear that Chris. Ya got to
get better. Ya son’s waitin’ on ya.”
“I don’t think he can hear you, Buck,” said
Nathan wrapping another cold towel around the man that Josiah had handed to
him.
“That’s alright, Nathan. As soon as those green eyes get a hold of
Mapiya and the little boy he’ll get better fast,” said Buck assuredly.
Nathan glanced at him doubtfully. He hoped Buck was right, but Chris was in
bad shape at this moment and he did not want to let the others know until he
was over this one crisis.
“Buck, I need to go back to Nathan’s clinic and
see after her and the child,” said Vin swiping away another stray strand from
the blond’s sweating head. “Have to
tell her about Chris.”
Buck nodded that he understood and switched
places with Vin while Ezra took Buck’s vacated position of handing towels
soaked in the cold water.
Vin knelt down next to the blond one more time
and said, “I’ll be back, Chris,” and then walked out of the room to Nathan’s
clinic.
“I’ll come with ya, Vin,” said JD following
quickly behind.
Once they were gone, Buck looked down at his
feverish friend smiling and said, “Damn, Chris, ya the luckiest man I ever
known, a son. I’ll be damned.”
Josiah smiled also and so did Ezra. This was going to be a new experience. Chris as a husband and a father was
definitely going to be a hell of ride.
But Nathan was not smiling. He knew how bad the situation was with Chris
and he hoped that Mapiya had not finally come only to have to bury him. He ignored the others talk and kept working
hard at making sure that the young Cheyenne woman would not have to bury a
husband today.
*************************************************************************************************************************
Vin and JD had walked back to Nathan’s clinic
and found the Cheyenne warriors that were left outside the building standing
near their horses. Vin nodded to them
and proceeded up the stairs, with JD close behind.
When they got to the clinic, they found Mapiya
sitting on the one bed in the place, gently rocking her child, with ó'kôhóme and Kovaahe standing guard over her and the baby.
Kovaahe approached Vin as he entered and
asked, “Where is Emo'ôhtavo vo'e?”
“I must speak with you and Mapiya. There is…There is something that must be
said between us,” explained Vin.
Since JD did not understand Cheyenne, he
ignored the conversation and walked directly over to Mapiya and the baby.
Mapiya glanced up from her ministrations with
her child and smiled at the sight of JD coming over. “JaDee, it is good to see you well,” said Mapiya.
“It’s good to see ya too, Mapiya. Is that him?” he asked pointing to the baby
in her arms.
Mapiya nodded and motioned for JD to take a
seat next to her on the bed. She then lifted
the young baby from the blanket and handed him over to JD. JD held the baby gently, cradling him in his
arms as the little boy laughed in delight.
JD looked at the young child. His hair was the same color as Chris’ and
stuck up in the air like when Chris had a bad day. His eyes were round and the color of Mapiya’s, soft limp pools of
brown. His skin was tanned, but JD
could not tell whether it was because of his heritage or because he was always
in the sun. He took the baby’s little
hand into his and felt the strength there.
He had to agree with Vin. There
was no way this was not Chris’ child.
“What’s his name?” asked JD. He figured maybe Mapiya named him after his
father.
“Heoveaenohe,”
replied Mapiya proudly.
“Heov…what?”
“It means Yellow Hawk, JD,” said Vin
interrupting his conversation with Kovaahe.
“Oh.
Okay. Yeah, I guess he does look
like a Yellow Hawk.”
“You are his oncle, JaDee,” proclaimed Mapiya.
“I am?” asked JD. He was startled and glad at the news that he had a nephew. For JD it was a big deal since he had no
real family of his own and now he was an uncle, to Chris Larabee’s son no
less. He beamed with pride at the
thought.
Vin watched the young Easterner as he played
with the baby and talked with Mapiya.
He knew JD would make the perfect uncle, being young himself, he could
actually grow up with the kid.
“Vin?”
Vin left his reverie to look at Kovaahe. “I am sorry, Kovaahe. I have much to think about. We will talk of Emo'ôhtavo vo'e now.”
Kovaahe nodded and he, Vin and ó'kôhóme
gathered around JD, Mapiya and the baby. Vin then went on to tell them what he
came to say.
TBC.
Heart
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