“Thank you,” she murmured, her breath hitching between the two short words. Willing a vibrant potency into her voice, she repeated, “Thank you very much.”
Another gust of warm summer wind blew across the Montana prairie lands. The sun high overhead continued to heat her shoulders and back through her light cotton top. Slowly, she was able to push the sorrow at bay and latch onto the resolve that had brought her here in the first place.
“Amy was married to a Lenape Indian who lived on Broken Bow,” Jenna told Gage. “David Collins was his name.”
“The artist?” Gage propped the metal rake he’d been holding against the stable door. “I knew he lived on the rez, even met him a couple of times. I’ve seen some of his work. Very abstract-looking. Canvases that incorporate paint as well as three-dimensional material.”
“It’s called mixed media.”
“He’s very talented.” His tone lowered an octave as he said, “I guess I should say was. He signed his works Foxfire, didn’t he?”
Jenna nodded.
Gage continued, “I think I read somewhere that his wife was an artist, too.”
Jenna nodded. “Amy was a painter. She met David in Chicago when she attended a showing of his work. They got married shortly thereafter.”
Gage shook his head. “I hadn’t heard about the accident.”
From what she’d learned of this man’s solitary existence, Jenna wasn’t surprised.
“They left behind a baby,” she told him. “Lily. My niece. She’s just over six months old.”
Emotion softened the harsh angles of his handsome face. Could that be sadness?
His reaction took Jenna aback. She hadn’t expected his compassion. Not at all. She’d anticipated he would be completely unemotional. Relieved that she’d been wrong, she hoped his empathy might impel him to help her.
Reaching up, she tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear before she spoke again. “The night of the accident, Lily had been with David’s parents. I thank God every day that Lily wasn’t in that car. Health problems make it impossible for Mr. and Mrs. Collins to care for my niece, so she’s been staying with a sitter here on the reservation. A woman named Arlene Johnson. I went to collect Lily, but Arlene refused to allow me to take Lily home with me. Arlene said I’d have to get permission from the Council. I had no idea at the time what she was talking about. Amy and David left no will. But I’m family. I didn’t need anyone’s permission but the state of Montana’s to take custody of my niece.
“A lawyer in Billings told me he couldn’t help me,” she continued. “He said the residents of Broken Bow aren’t held accountable to the laws of the United States. That Native Americans govern themselves. That I would be at the mercy of the Council of Elders overseeing the tribe.” Her voice went hoarse as she added, “He didn’t offer me much hope of getting Lily.”
Gage’s chin tipped up a fraction. “Everything you were told is true. We are managed by the Elders. There are eight men and women on our—”
“I know. I’ve met them.” Her response was flat, but she couldn’t help it. Those people had made the past eight weeks of her life utterly miserable.
Evidently, he took exception to the impudent implication in her tone. He crossed his arms over his broad chest, and she wondered just how hard his pecs might feel beneath her fingertips.
Gage shifted his weight.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured, embarrassed by her inability to suppress her feelings about the Elders—but probably more so that she’d become too aware of his physique.
She looked him in the eye. “I don’t mean any disrespect. Honestly, I don’t. It’s just that…well, I’ve spent the past two months feeling terribly frustrated. I’ve done everything the Council has asked of me. I’ve answered a battery of questions. I’ve opened myself completely. Revealed my past. My present. My dreams for the future. I’ve confessed that I’ve spent my whole life building my e-commerce business, maybe to my own detriment since I have no husband or children of my own. I’ve revealed my financial situation. I’ve proved that building commercial Web sites is profitable. I’ve submitted to a physical. I’ve laid out my philosophy of life. I’ve told them all they want to know. I’ve pleaded with them. Told them that I’m willing to change my whole life in order to raise Lily. Explained that losing Amy and David has opened my eyes to what family means. I begged them, Gage, during meeting after meeting. For two long months. Yet they continue to thwart me at every turn.” Her tone grew nearly frantic. “I need some help. I need an ally. And I need one now.”
Suddenly, the sympathy Gage had shown for her situation seemed to have evaporated like morning dew under the heat of the sun. At some point during her explanation of her dealings with the Elders of his tribe—she couldn’t say exactly when—his entire body had gone rigid.
He’d transformed back into the hard-hearted man she’d met the day of the storm. This was the response she’d been expecting when she first thought to seek him out.
“The only reason you came here,” he accused, “is because I’m Indian. You think I can influence the Council in some way.”
Nearby, she heard one of the horses whinny. She didn’t dare break eye contact with Gage. Doing so would send the message that she was somehow ashamed of coming here.
Well, she wasn’t ashamed. Obtaining custody of Lily was her only concern. And she’d face a bevy of Councils to get what she wanted. She’d face one angry Lenape Indian, too.
Her niece needed her. And Jenna needed to raise her sister’s baby.
An ache wrenched her heart when she pondered the notion of forever losing the guardianship of Lily. But Jenna swallowed the pain. She had a cause to plead. And she’d better come up with a damned good argument.
She squared her shoulders. “I’m not going to lie to you, Gage,” she began quietly. “I am here because you’re Native American. Lenape, specifically. David was the only man from Broken Bow that I knew. I’ve done some work for Cheyenne-owned businesses. But I don’t know any of those people well enough to ask for their help now.”
“And you know me?”
“No. No, I don’t. But I’m desperate, Gage. One of the reasons the Council won’t let me have Lily is because I’m white. I might not like the position I find myself in, but I need help from someone of Native American ancestry. Someone from the Lenape tribe. Someone from Broken Bow. And you fit all those criteria.”
His expression turned stormy, and Jenna began to feel the first pangs of hopelessness. But she plowed ahead. “Lily and I need to be together. That baby is all I have left of Amy and David. I’m the only maternal relative Lily’s got left. And David’s parents aren’t able to care for her. Like I said, they haven’t been keeping Lily. She’s been living with the sitter, for goodness’ sake!”
Despite her determination not to look weak, utter frustration made her eyes well. A huge, watery tear rolled down her face. Feeling it tickle her skin, she lifted her hand and dashed it away.
“Please try to understand,” she whispered. “I love that baby!”
The muscles in his jaw constricted. Reaching up, he rubbed his hand over his chin, then scrubbed the back of his neck, his gaze drifting off toward the horizon.
Finally, he turned his gaze to her again. “Jenna, it’s not that I don’t want to help you. It’s just that…” He shook his head and looked away again, dragging his fingers through his long, glossy hair.
His hesitation lifted her spirits the merest fraction. Was there a chance she could make her plan come to fruition? Was there a chance she’d