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"For everything to come right. For all of us to have a life."
"And if it were over, what would you do?" he asked.
She looked at him suddenly, enjoying the way he looked in his white clothes, enjoying the way he looked at her.
"I don't know? I guess I'd have to get a plan, figure out where to go from here."
"Walk with me," he told her and took her hand. They walked away from Jack and the wolves, as they often brought them here. After Jack built the fire, the wolves played with him and he wrestled with them and laughed.
"Lissa, I brought you here as I did not know where else to take you. But you should have a choice. Your disguise is working well. No one has suspected." He told her. "For now, you are safe. I don't know for how long, but at least you are not in immediate danger, as long as you continue the disguise."
"Yes, I suppose I am. But how long will it last? How long do I have to be a man?"
"I do not have the answers. Are you happy here with Jack and I?" he asked.
"Yes, but even that cannot last forever. I know that. I'd turn myself in if it would do any good. But it would expose you and I won't do that." She told him.
"Jack and I think that story you came up with will work. We must stick to it. Do you want me to turn myself in, for killing Earl?" he asked.
"No, what good would it do. Earl deserved what he got. But I am wondering what to do with myself. I am used to working, teaching school. But I can't expose myself to others like that. And there would be too many questions to answer to consider doing it elsewhere."
"It is too soon, you cannot change things. Your disguise is good. No one has bothered you here. Even though we know they are looking for you, they have not seen you. I know it is hard, but you must be patient. God will answer your prayer."
She looked at him moving away so she could see his reactions. "Moon, your life is here, with Jack. This is your home. But I'm an intruder."
"You are not an intruder, you are welcome to be with us. What happened in your barn, threw us together, and we must stick together and see it through, no matter the outcome. Do you understand this? I know it is hard on you. I know it sort of puts your life on hold. But circumstances threw us in this mess together. And together we will live."
"What if it takes a lifetime, Moon?" she wailed.
"Would it be that bad if it was a lifetime, here with me and Jack?"
"A lifetime of being a man? Are you serious?"
"Not a lifetime of that, but with me and Jack."
"It's not you or Jack I object to, it's this disguise, I can no longer be myself. I feel like hiding if anyone comes near. If someone does discover me, it could get bad, and I don't want anyone hurt because of me. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have come with you."
"No, it is not! We both made decisions. When I protected you from Earl. You felt duty bound to protect me from your father and who he sent. We are bound by our decisions to help each other. And no matter what happens, we must stick together and protect each other. We have discussed this before, why go over it again, nothing has changed."
"You can't be responsible for me all my life, Moon. At some point we have to live our own lives. The story you dreamed up will work if you are caught. You found Earl dead in the barn, your father was drunk, and you were scared of him, you ran. You came here to hide out away from your father. It would clear me, and you of any wrong doing. The other man, they'd have to find his body first and I don’t think they will. But if all was well, where would you live your life, if you had a choice?"
She turned away, "I don't know. After all I've done, I'm not sure I have a right to have a life of my own."
"Is there someone you favor from your home?"
She whirled around, "You mean someone I care about?"
"Yes." He answered simply.
"No, my father wouldn't allow anyone but Earl around me. I had very few friends. I want a life of some kind, a future, but how can I have it. I feel like I'm a prisoner of my fate. You deserve the same. I am sure you had some kind of life before I came along and interrupted it."
"Believe it or not, I am like you in this!"
"How can you be?"
"I have left my tribe. I am not accepted as a white, but I live like one with Jack, to make it easier for him. I have no home either. So, I made this my home. But a woman is a nester, and without a nest she is lost. Do you not want a husband and children?"
"I do, but I don't see it happening. I am a murderer. Who would have me? Look at me, I look like a man!"
