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“You need me to do anything?” Trigger asked cautiously.
Smiling, I glided over to the loveable brother, placed my arm around his shoulder, and squeezed. “Oh, Trigger, you are most definitely needed. You are on Hellraiser watch today.”
Trigger flinched, then groaned.
Laughing, I took my coffee and headed upstairs to get ready for my day as I passed Payne in the hallway. I knew of the brother from my time in New York City, and though we only conversed a few times, he was always sweet and kind to me.
I still didn’t know why he was here, not that I really cared. I liked all the brothers of the Soulless Sinners M.C. and if Montana sent him to Oklahoma for a reason, then that was good enough for me. My only concern was that he seemed out of place. Almost as if he’d rather be anywhere but here.
“Good morning, Payne.”
“Kali.” Payne muttered, “Kansas up?”
“He’s already downstairs having coffee.”
“How have you been? He treating you, okay?”
Odd question, I thought, but answered anyway. “Yes. Yes, he is. Did Montana send you to make sure Kansas is behaving?”
He smirked at that, then quickly schooled his face. “No but making sure he does right by you is a plus. Heard you are shopping for a building that can house several kids. That true?”
That stopped me short.
I nodded. “Yes. Like the city, Lawton has its fair share of homeless. I want to have a place where those kids can sleep safely and hopefully get the resources they need. Most of the kids on the street are runaways. Though they have families, they won’t return for their own reasons. They run from Social Services because they put them in homes where neglect and abuse run rampant. These kids need a home where they are safe and loved, regardless of their situation. Only, finding a building big enough to do what I want to do is becoming harder than I thought.”
“Why?”
“Lawton is a decent sized city. Not as big as New York City but spread out. A lot of the neglected buildings have become dilapidated and run down. The cost to refurbish is too much. It would be cheaper to build new, but I don’t want to do that. I want to help make this city great again. The city’s become stagnant”
“Call Montana. He’s got connections everywhere. He might have a building close enough to do what you need.”
I smiled. “You think so?”
Payne nodded.
“I’ll call him later. Now, we have a lot going on today. Hope you’re hungry because after the cleansing ceremony, we’re having a big barbeque.”
Payne nodded before walking away.
Heading for my bedroom, I quickly removed my clothes before heading for a quick shower. By the time I made it back downstairs, Kansas and the rest of the club brothers, minus Trigger, had left for the clubhouse. Payne rode along with them. Kansas left me a note saying they’d all be back in time for the cleansing ceremony, so that gave me a little over five hours to help Cassidy and Mrs. Worthington get the house ready.
I was so excited about Chief Longfeather coming over today to do this ceremony for me. I did a lot of research about Native Indian ceremonies and while I didn’t understand the significance of it all, I wanted to learn everything I could.
While Mrs. Worthington and Trigger corralled the kids outside and helped set up for the cookout for later, Cassidy started preparing the horde of food to feed everyone. Vivi needed to make a run to her house, saying she had forgotten something for the ceremony and would be back shortly. That left me to go from room to room, making sure everything was in order. Today was going to be the first time Chief Longfeather had seen the reconstruction of the old schoolhouse, and I wanted everything to be perfect.
I knew from my research that there was a possibility of Chief Longfeather doing a healing ritual.They often did a Healing ceremony to bring harmony within themselves, the other tribes’ people and nature. It was also sometimes a way to bring harmony to large tribal groups. Their healing also combines religion, healing rituals, herbal medicine and spirituality. And considering what the government used the house for, that made sense to me. Not only for the surrounding tribes, but for the spirits of those who never left.
Not that I’ve encountered a spirit of any kind.
Then there was something called a Smudging Ceremony. This was the most common ceremonial ritual among indigenous people, to purify, spiritually cleanse, rid physical spaces of negative energy and bless. I learned that smudging was, in fact, the most popular ritual used to clear people and places of negative energy they would rather not surround themselves with.
Smudging is the bridge between mortal life and higher realms, bringing in good spirits and eliminating any negative, stagnant ones. This ceremony lifted away any sadness, impurities, anxieties and remediated poor health, leaving nothing but peace and harmony for all individuals and the environment after the cleansing.
Regardless of which ceremony Chief Longfeather decided on, I was excited to watch and learn.
Hearing a vehicle pull up, I walked out onto the front porch and smiled. Waving happily, Charity and Hope from the Farmer’s Market arrived. Rushing down the steps to greet them, “Hi Ladies!”
“Wow,” Charity gasped, eyes wide as she looked up at my massive house. Even I had to admit, it was big. Even more so, with the small additions Angel and Ashe talked me into. Overall, the home officially boasted thirteen bedrooms, seven bathrooms, two living rooms, a family room, a library and a brand new, state-of-the-art kitchen. Oh, there was much more, but I didn’t think about it much. For me, this was my home.
