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did for me," she said solemnly, but was interrupted before she could finish.
Kirk yanked himself away from her, flinging a hand wildly in the air. "Did you just hear yourself?" he shouted. "Did you hear how you called father your 'white' father? Lord, Jolena, you've never said that before. He is your father in every way. How can you forget that?"
Tired of this arguing and being made to feel ashamed for her natural feelings, Jolena's eyes suddenly glittered mutinously. "Kirk, please leave," she said, her voice and jaw tight. "I would like to stop discussing these things before we say something we might regret. Just leave it be, Kirk. Do you hear? Leave it be."
"Jolena, I will say this one more time," Kirk said stubbornly. "Don't be friends with Indians. They can't be trusted."
The venom in her brother's voice made Jolena leap to the defense of Indians. She leaned into his face. " I am Indian, aren't I?" she said, her eyes flaring angrily. "Can't I be trusted?" When Kirk did not respond and still stood his ground, refusing to budge, Jolena sighed heavily and walked in a huff past him.
Her fingers were trembling as she yanked the door open and began running down the narrow corridor lighted by candles flickering in wall sconces. With Kirk close on her heels, she ran on outside and across the courtyard, angry, frustrated tears blinding her from where she was actually going as Kirk began shouting at her to stop.
"Jolena!" Kirk shouted. "Yes, you are Indian, but it's not the same for you. You were raised in a civilized manner. Indians are raised as heathens!"
His words tore at Jolena's heart. Almost blinded with rage, she sobbed furiously and kept on running, then stopped suddenly when she collided with someone.
Raising her eyes, she swallowed hard and her heart raced when she found herself looking squarely up at the handsome Blackfoot warrior.
And when his hands went to her shoulder to steady her from falling from the jolt of the collision, the melting she experienced deeply within her was so sweet that she feared it.
Kirk's warnings kept flashing on and off within her mind, yet they seemed to be growing dimmer the longer she stood in awestruck silence facing Spotted Eagle.
Spotted Eagle gazed down at her when he saw her eyes all swollen and red from crying; he wanted to draw her into his tight embrace to protect her from her brother's scalding words, which Spotted Eagle had overheard.
But he did not dare cause any more turmoil between a brother and sister and quickly released her as Kirk came in a breathless rush to her side.
Staring at the Indian, Kirk reached out for Jolena and placed an arm possessively around her waist. He fought to keep his voice steady as he began ushering her back toward the fort. "Come now, sis," he said softly. "We must get you back to your room. It is best that you get to bed soon, for we will be leaving before sunrise on the morrow."
Jolena moved in a half-stumble alongside Kirk, stunned by her true feelings for Spotted Eagle. It would be hard to hide them, especially from Kirk. "Yes, I imagine you are right," she murmured. "Suddenly I am so tired."
"And must I remind you again of the true reason we are in the Montana Territory?" Kirk persisted, thinking that perhaps if he hammered it into her brain, she might finally believe it to be so. "The butterfly, Jolena. The rare butterfly. Only the rare butterfly."
Jolena turned soft, dark eyes to her brother. "Kirk, you can say that all you want," she murmured. "But I feel that I am here for a better purpose. I even feel as though I belong here. My dreams have drawn me here, Kirk."
"Hogwash," Kirk exclaimed loudly.
He stopped and drew her into his gentle embrace. "I'm so sorry for battling with you about so many things," he said softly. "And I admit that I was a bit rash in my remarks about the Indians. I apologize." "I understand why you did it, and I accept your apology," Jolena said.
Over Kirk's shoulder she was watching Spotted Eagle as he moved to his haunches beside his campfire. Just the sight of him caused her heart to race. She was filled with anticipation for the coming days, when she would come to know Spotted Eagle better.
She closed her eyes, envisioning him holding and kissing her, wishing it to be true, soon…
Spotted Eagle stared into the flames of the fire, yet did not see it. He was still too caught up in feelings for this woman who had suddenly entered his life like wildfire rushing through his blood to see anything but her image everywhere he looked!
It was not like him to allow a woman to rule his every thought.
Until today he had allowed but one woman to enter his heart, and she was long gone from him.
He had put the importance of learning everything that he would need when he was called to rule his people, as their powerful chief, above all else. He had listened well to his father's instructions about the requirements of being chief.
His father was not a well man, having mourned the death of Spotted Eagle's mother for too long now, so that he had begun ailing himself, and Spotted Eagle feared that it was more from a broken heart than anything else physical. This also had made Spotted Eagle shy away from allowing another woman inside his heart. He did not want to ever feel the same pain again that he and his father had felt over the loss of a woman.
There were many things in life to enjoy besides women!
Yet Spotted Eagle could not grasp exactly what, now that he had met the woman called Jolena.
"She has drawn you inside yourself, has she not?" Two Ridges said, suddenly breaking Spotted Eagle's train of thought. "She is this special to you?"
"The woman who has arrived with the white people on the large river canoe?" Spotted Eagle said, looking guardedly back at Two Ridges. "She is nothing to me. Nothing."
