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“When do we go?” he asked, his eyes dancing.
“We will wait for some time, until Damon and his men are off their guard. At least a week,” Sage said. “We will leave under the cover of darkness. We will take as many horses from Damon as have been taken from us.”
There was a sudden commotion outside the hogan. There were many loud, angry shouts. Sage and Runner exchanged looks, then left the building in a rush.
Just as they stepped outside, they saw Adam. He was being half dragged between two Navaho braves, his eyes flashing angrily as he tried to pull himself free.
Sage turned cold when he saw Adam again, recalling how Adam had been in Pure Blossom’s hogan as though he belonged there. It had sickened him then; it repelled him now.
When Runner saw Adam being treated in such a way, he was stunned speechless. He did not want Adam in the village any more than anyone else, but it did seem that this was going a bit too far.
He stepped forward. “Let him go,” he said, finding it strange to defend this man whom he now considered an enemy. “Why are you treating him this way?”
“I forbid Adam ever to enter our village again,” Sage said, stepping up beside Runner. “And it is not because of what he is proposing to do on Navaho land. It is because of your sister, Runner. He shamed Pure Blossom by taking her to her bed.”
Runner paled and turned to face his father. “What are you saying?” he managed out in a gasp.
Pure Blossom stepped forward, her exquisitely long hair blowing in the gentle breeze.
“He went to my bed at my invitation,” she boldly announced, lifting her chin when everyone grew silent and stared at her.
“When he was discovered there, I sent him away,” Sage
mumbled.
Runner recalled seeing Adam on his horse without his boots and shirt. Now he understood why.
He turned to Adam, scowling. “You do this to my sister?” he snarled. “For your own selfish gains you do this?” He slapped Adam across the face, the snapping sound like a vast echo across the land.
Adam turned with the blow, then he stroked the stinging flesh of his cheek as he frowned over at Runner. “If anyone else did that, I would challenge him to a duel,” he said, his voice cold and angry. “As it is you, I shall pass on the suggestion. I have come to apologize, not to fight.”
“Apologize?” Sage said, raising an eyebrow.
“You do not know the meaning of the word,” Runner said from between clenched teeth.
“Please hear him out,” Pure Blossom begged, grabbing her father’s arm. “Please?”
Sage stared down at his daughter for a moment, then drew her against his side. “Speak your mind,” he said, glaring at Adam.
“I did not come to Arizona to make enemies with those of my past for whom I have always felt a fondness,” Adam said, stepping away from the braves as they let go of him. “Please accept my apologies for anything I may have done to cause hard feelings,” he said, his voice drawn.
“Are you saying you will rip up the tracks that are laid farther than Gallup?” Sage tested, his eyes wary.
“I can’t promise you that,” Adam said guardedly. “That, and my proposed town, is still in my plans. But nothing more. I am not asking for more land than the United States Government has already agreed upon. I hope that you will see there will be no harm done your people by that little that I have planned.”
There was a strained silence. Adam looked over at Runner. “Runner, please accept me again as a friend.”
Sage and Runner gave each other wary looks, then Sage nodded. “I understand that there is nothing I can do to stop the progress that the white father of this country approves of,” he said. “But there is one thing I can do.”
“And that is?” Adam urged, seeing a glimmer of hope for his ploy.
“I can accept your apology and receive you again into my heart as a friend, but only if you stay away from my daughter,” Sage said, his eyes intent on Adam. “That one condition must be met, or we will be enemies forever.”
Pure Blossom emitted a gasping sob. She gave her father a wavering look, then turned and fled into her hogan, crying.
“That is not what your daughter wants,” Adam dared to say.
“She does not understand yet that her father is doing what is best for her,” Sage said. “In time, she will learn the wisdom of this decision.”
