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She smiled at Runner as he eased into a chair not that far from her. She melted when he returned her smile, even though somewhat guardedly.
Her gaze was quickly drawn to Sage.
“You have come without proper invitation to my hogan?” he said, breaking the strained silence as he sat down in a leather chair on the far side of the fireplace. Adam had sat on the same blanket on the floor with Pure Blossom.
“You know how badly I wanted to see Leonida,” Adam said. He accepted a cup of coffee Leonida handed to him. “And I was anxious to meet the rest of your family.” He looked over at Pure Blossom. “And this is your daughter?”
“Yes, this is Pure Blossom,” Leonida said, placing a hand on her daughter’s thin shoulder. “Pure Blossom, you’ve heard me speak of Adam. Darling, this is he.”
Pure Blossom extended a slender hand to Adam. “Yaa-eh-t-eeh, hello and welcome. It is good to meet you,” she said, her voice so soft it sounded hardly more than a breath of wind.
Adam’s hands tremored as he circled his fingers around hers. “It is nice to make your acquaintance, also,” he said.
So quickly taken with her, he felt awkward in her presence. He held her hand for only a moment, then slid it away and gripped the saucer and took another sip of coffee from the cup. Yet his eyes were still on Pure Blossom.
Hers were drawn away when her mother spoke to her.
“And, Pure Blossom, this is Stephanie,” Leonida said, nodding and smiling over to Stephanie.
Pure Blossom and Stephanie smiled cordially at one another.
“Our son, Thunder Hawk, attends school each day,” Stephanie said. She settled down at the foot of Sage’s chair and rested an elbow on one of his knees. “I’m sorry he wasn’t here to meet you. But in time, you will make his acquaintance.”
“Leonida, they have not come solely to make acquaintances,” Sage said dryly. “Adam, Runner did not get the opportunity to question you yet about this private spur that is planned to reach Fort Defiance. You tell us now. What are your connections with this new railroad line? Why is it being laid except for purposes of exploiting my people?”
Adam was momentarily at a loss for words. He had not expected to be thrown into such troubled waters so soon. In fact, he had not planned to get into this discussion at all today with Sage. He had yet to get Runner alone first, to encourage him to be his ally. He cursed the very idea now of having come to the village today.
Yet would it be any different tomorrow, or the day after? he despaired to himself.
He now realized that it wouldn’t be. He had to face the music today, and perhaps it was best to get it over with, after all.
Runner eased to his feet and loomed over Adam, his eyes narrowing at him. At this moment, Stephanie was the farthest thing from his mind. Her brother, Runner’s boyhood friend, was the main concern now. Runner doubted that Adam had any answers that would please him, or his father. Too much pointed to Adam being guilty of having come to Arizona Territory for all of the wrong reasons.
“I truly came today only out of friendship,” Adam said. He set his cup and saucer aside and slowly rose to his feet. He edged away from Runner and went and stood behind Stephanie. “But if you insist, I do have things that need to be said.”
“Continue,” Sage said, nodding.
Runner folded his arms across his chest. “But be warned that you best carefully guard what you say,” he said. “The private spur. It is yours, is it not?” He ignored Stephanie’s steady gaze and that his sister was showing too much interest in Adam. He gave Adam a steady, unnerving stare, as though daring him to continue.
“In part, yes,” Adam stammered.
“Either it is, or it isn’t,” Runner said stiffly. “Which is it?”
“If you put it that way, it belongs entirely to the Santa Fe Railroad,” Adam said, his jaw tightening.
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bsp; “Then explain your connections to the railroad,” Runner said, taking a step closer to Adam. “Stephanie once referred to the private spur being yours. Explain how it can be yours one day, and it is not the next?”
“It’s too complicated to explain in detail,” Adam said. He shuffled his feet nervously when all eyes became intent on him. “To make it short, the spur is being built at my request, but at the expense of the Santa Fe Railroad.”
“And why would they agree to such an exorbitant, wasteful expense?” Runner prodded.
Sage allowed his son to continue with the questions, since he was succeeding at putting Adam at a disadvantage. He smiled smugly as Adam noticeably became more uneasy.
“If you must know,” Adam said tightly, “the private spur will go past Fort Defiance and farther still into Navaho land, for the development of a town for tourists. This town would be run by me. It would bear my name.”
“That cannot be allowed to happen,” Sage said, unable to keep quiet. He stood to his full height, towering over Adam. “The Santa Fe Railroad right-of-way closes off further Navaho advance.”
