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Even more than that.
She had seen interest in his eyes. She believed that he was having feelings about her much like her own about him.
She felt as though she had finally found a man whose every thought and move showed a deep sense of caring, not only for his people, but also . . . for her!
She felt so ashamed that she had mistrusted him, but knew she must move past her embarrassment.
She felt as though she had been given a reprieve, a new beginning, a second chance, with Blue Thunder.
Shirleen cradled the tiny doll in her left arm, while with her right hand she gently touched Little Bee’s face. “My daughter’s name is Megan,” she said, her voice breaking at the very mention of her child. “She is four years old, and as beautiful and giving as you.” She swallowed hard. “You will be the best of friends.”
Blue Thunder felt keen relief wash through him. Finally, the barrier between himself and Shirleen had been broken, and all because of the sweetness of a small child.
Yes, children were the future, and his daughter’s generous behaviour today was proof of that!
Her innocence, her sincerity, were all that was needed to win Shirleen’s trust.
He stepped closer to Shirleen. Placing a hand on his daughter’s little shoulder, he smiled at Shirleen. “Can you not see how sincere I am in wanting to help you find your daughter?” he asked gently. “Tomorrow another search will be made for her. If you feel strong enough, you can go with me and my warriors.”
Before Shirleen had a chance to answer, a woman came into the tepee and carried Little Bee out with her.
“That is my aunt,” Blue Thunder said. “She is called Bright Sun. She is a widow. Since my wife’s death, my aunt cares for Little Bee. They have a strong bond between them. It is a good thing, this love my aunt gives my daughter. At first, when Little Bee realized that her mother would never hold or love her again, she cried for many sleeps. But once she got past the initial shock of loss and sadness, she
accepted my aunt as a substitute mother.”
“I’m so glad,” Shirleen said, having seen the love in his aunt’s eyes as she had swept Little Bee into her arms and carried her from the tepee. “The loss of a parent can be horrible, especially a mother.”
“You have not said anything about your husband,” Blue Thunder said, settling down on some of the rich pelts beside Shirleen as she seated herself near the fire.
Shirleen stiffened at first. The question made her uncomfortable, because she had hidden the ugliness of her husband’s treatment of her from everyone she knew.
But now?
Yes, she felt that it was time to tell someone about this horrible man, or tell at least enough to let Blue Thunder know that she no longer considered Earl as her husband.
She was beginning a new life without him, and she was not going to worry that she had not been given a legal divorce.
To her, Earl was no longer her husband, even if it was written on paper that he still was.
In her heart she was now totally free of this man.
She would never look back and wonder whether she had done the right thing by planning to take Megan from her father.
He was not a fit husband, or father!
“Yes, I have a husband, yet I no longer consider myself a wife,” Shirleen said. “If the Comanche renegades had not come, I would have fled the heartless, cruel man. As it is, the end result is the same. He . . . is . . . no longer a part of my life, nor my daughter Megan’s.”
When Blue Thunder saw that Shirleen had said all that she felt comfortable saying about her husband, he did not press the issue. She seemed uneasy and bitter at the very mention of the man, so he would not question her further about him now.
But in time he would know everything about her and the man she apparently loathed with every fiber of her being.
Now that he understood her circumstances, Blue Thunder was beginning to see the promise of many tomorrows with this woman. The more he learned about her, the more he cared for her.
No wonder she had evaded his questions and seemed uneasy in his presence. He knew now that her behavior was the result of how she had been treated by another man.
He could understand her hesitance to trust him. Her husband had apparently given her cause not to trust any man.
But Blue Thunder had finally broken down the barrier she had placed between them, and he was oh, so happy for it!
