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Dancing Snow Feather smiled broadly as she sat down. Nicole sat beside her, while the brothers seated themselves beside each other.
“I did not prepare all of the food by myself,” Dancing Snow Feather admitted reluctantly. She had seen the admiration in Nicole’s eyes and realized that the white woman thought Dancing Snow Feather had cooked everything on the tray.
She hated for Nicole to know that she was not all that skilled with food preparation. She seemed so clumsy. Soiled spots on many of the bulrush mats in her lodge proved it. She was always spilling something or other.
This clumsiness embarrassed her and she was glad that her husband had accepted her failings.
Dancing Snow Feather pointed to the meat. “My friend Tiny Fawn prepared the mutton,” she murmured. “Another friend made this corn.”
Nicole accepted a delicious-looking piece of corn on the cob. She passed the tray on, and soon they all had chosen what they wanted and were eating and talking and smiling.
Nicole felt quite comfortable with everyone and hoped this was something that they would do often. She felt at ease with Eagle Wolf’s brother and wife. In fact, she looked forward to having the beautiful Navaho woman as a good friend.
After all the food was gone, and Nicole was caught yawning by Eagle Wolf, he stood up, reached for the empty wooden tray, and handed it to Dancing Snow Feather.
“It was good sharing with you and my brother,” he said, smiling into her eyes. “We shall do this often.”
Dancing Snow Feather beamed at the suggestion. She glanced up at Eagle Wolf, then smiled at Nicole as she rose to stand beside Eagle Wolf.
The two brothers embraced; then soon Eagle Wolf and Nicole were alone. He caught her yawning again and rubbing her eyes.
He turned to her and drew her into a gentle embrace. “It is time now for you to sleep,” he murmured. “It has been a long day.”
Nicole could not help it. She yawned again, then laughed softly as she gazed into Eagle Wolf’s dark eyes. “I guess I do need a wink or two,” she said, noticing a look of confusion on his face.
She realized that he did not understand what she meant.
“When I say a wink or two, it means a little bit of sleep,” she murmured, loving the fact that she could make him smile as he was smiling at her now.
“You shall have as much sleep as you need, and then tomorrow I will take you all around our stronghold and introduce you to each of my people. I will show you our animals, as well as our garden, which fed us tonight. I think I can already guess your favorite vegetable…corn on the cob,” he said softly.
“Yes, I guess I did make a pig of myself eating more than one piece of corn,” Nicole murmured, then realized that she had said something else that puzzled him.
She immediately knew what it had been. She had said that she’d made a pig of herself, an expression her father had always used after eating too much of his wife’s cooking.
She explained this phrase to Eagle Wolf, too, and they laughed together as they went to the pile of blankets and each chose one to sleep on for the night.
After the blanket was spread for Nicole, she enjoyed one more embrace from Eagle Wolf, then stretched out beside the fire while he made his bed on the other side.
Nicole was soon asleep, yet Eagle Wolf found himself unable to close his eyes so quickly. He could not take his eyes off this woman who he knew would soon be his wife.
He could not believe that he had found a woman to love. Not only someone to bear him children, but to truly have and hold and love.
Ho, his feelings for this woman were very different from those he’d felt for his departed wife. Theirs had been a marriage of convenience, with much admiration for each other, but not the strong love he felt for Nicole.
Since he was chief, he knew the importance of having sons, and so he had married. But his wife had been taken from him before she could have even one child.
Eagle Wolf knew that Nicole would be the mother of his children. Even better, she would bring joy to his heart because of the deep love they shared for each other.
He smiled and stretched out on his back, watching the stars blinking back at him through the smoke hole overhead.
“Daltso-hozhoni. Ho, daltso-hozhoni, all is beautiful in the world now that I have found the woman who was sent to me from the Great Spirit above,” he whispered to himself.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Nicole was so glad to have finally gotten a good night’s rest, in a place where she felt safe, and loved.
It was early morning now and she had been given a basin of water for bathing. While she had washed herself, Eagle Wolf had gone down to the river where he had bathed with several of his warriors, and talked over the upcoming day’s activities.
