Luke tossed and turned over on his feather bed. From his perch in the loft, the moon shed a sliver of light through the window. He thrashed around in his bed until his mind caved into the darkness. Sleep came over him like the lid on a deep well.

Hours later...

There was a creak on the steps. A shadow formed on the stairs and moved toward Luke. His fingers curled around the revolver under his pillow. His heart hammered in his chest until it hurt. Aiyana!

Luke froze. He couldn't slip the gun toward her and shoot. His insides churned. Aiyana crawled into the bed and spooned with him. She breathed into his ear. "One day, they will find me. Then they will kill you."



*********

Morning light from the loft pricked Luke's eyes. He bolted upright. His hand gripped the revolver under his pillow. His other hand slipped over the bed, but she wasn't there!

Luke stumbled over the edge of the bed in his red long johns and stood over the railing, looking down where it appeared Aiyana was sound asleep. His dog rested her snout over Aiyana's ribs near the smoldering remnants of heat from the fireplace. "It was just a dream. One whale of a dream," he told himself.

Sugar wagged her tail in Aiyana's face, waking her. Without a word, she slipped outside with Luke's robe. Unsure where she'd go, Luke scaled down the stairs in his bare feet and only took enough time to find his bar of soap and gun belt. With the belt over his shoulder, he opened the door and watched her on the worn path between the Cyprus trees and craggy pines. She appeared to be headed toward the creek.


As Luke approached, Sugar barked and broke the silence between the pair. She discarded her robe and slipped into the stream, heading for the waterfall. It made Luke about as uncomfortable as sandpaper to his skin. He sat on the flat rock with soap in one hand and then set the holstered gun down.

Aiyana disappeared behind the falls. Luke respected her privacy, as he slipped into the icy waters, long johns and all. Dipping into the water, he rubbed himself down with the bar of soap, creating a healthy lather to skin and skivvies. His toes curled around the silt and sandy bottom where he sat with one eye on the valley. He needed to tamp down the feelings he was having toward the Indian girl.

Luke's eye caught a speck in the foothills from town. Two riders appeared on the horizon coming toward him. Lifting and stumbling, he raked his toes on some sharp rocks fighting to get to his gun on the boulder. As the pair of riders drew closer, he recognized them from town.

It's been a sleepy town, with a population of one hundred and forty-seven. It would be plus one, should they consider a misplaced Indian girl in their mists. How would the town handle an Indian girl? He figured some of the same emotions would run like a riptide through most folk, like it did him. They'd probably wonder if Indians were poised for an attack. There have been a few times Indians wandered into town looking to trade for food. But would Aiyana even want to be a part of this town?

While Luke had his hand on the revolver, he recognized the pair as Mr. and Mrs. Rayburn. It was too late to hide himself. At least his reddened face should match the cold, wet underwear stuck to his skin.

The pair rode toward him, dipping their heads under the branches that marked an entrance to the creek. "Here comes the gossip posse," he said to himself under his breath.

His heart skipped. He figured Aiyana watched from behind the falls, as the couple rode up to Luke.

"I... I wasn't expecting company so early." Luke ran his fingers through his knotted hair.


Mr. Rayburn tipped his head with a laughable smile. "Seems like we caught you without your pants. The Mrs. thought you'd be running low on some garden varieties since, well..." Mr. Rayburn looked over at his sorry excuse of a garden where his corn wilted and yellowed. "Since your garden, should we say is not too promising."

Sweat formed on Luke's brow, as he looked back toward the falls where Aiyana must have submerged herself to hide. Mrs. Rayburn turned red as a radish when Luke faced her. "Thanks, Ma'am."

She Looked at her husband, who shrugged his shoulders. She looked again, then cupped a gloved hand over her mouth and pointed toward the falls, as if about to let out a scream.


The young Indian stood behind the falls, crossing her arms over her breast. She disappeared again under the swirling pool.


"Land sakes!" cried Lilian Rayburn. "Indians!" Her horse raised up and kicked its front legs, as if to flee.


Luke put up his hands. "Hold on now, easy does it."

Mr. Rayburn stretched for his rifle. Luke held on to Lilian Rayburns horse. "Easy now. She was lost. I found her wandering the other day further down where the stream meanders. It was just an Indian girl who needed help."

"She spent the night with you?" Mrs. Rayburn's mouth gaped open.

"Just hospitality Ma'am. It was the Christian thing to do. Couldn't leave her where the wolves form a circle."

Mr. Rayburn took his hand off his rifle, reared his head back and laughed. "Well now, maybe she can teach you how to farm this rocky soil of yours, or help you dig out the rocks. Those squaws can be useful in more ways than one."

Mrs. Rayburn stiffened in her saddle. "You don't intend to keep her, do you?"

Luke boiled inside over their poor choice of words, as if she could be owned.

Mr. Rayburn smiled wide, but Lilian didn't seem to mind showing her change from shock to disdain.


Luke wrapped his gun belt around him with his shirt half-buttoned. "What was I supposed to do? I figured the Christian thing was to give her a meal and a place to spend the night. It's not what you think. I'm not shacking up with her."


Mrs. Rayburn's contorted face spoke in place of her words. She dipped to the side and pulled out her modest sack of vegetables, where she had some potatoes like rocks in the bottom and some carrots sticking out. She swung the sack over to Mr. Cole.


Mr. Rayburn spoke up. "Well, I suppose we ought to get back, and let you work out your situation with the squaw."


"Names Aiyana," Luke said.


Lillian pulled away on her horse but craned her neck back. "Mr. Cole, you should have brought her into town. We would have all done the Christian thing. Surely, we would not have turned her away without a meal and place to lay her head."


"Yes, Ma'am." Cole scratched his head and itched his nose, still leaking icy water from his short splash in the stream. But now his thoughts leaked. No way that Lilly gal would keep a lid on his Indian discovery. The Lord knows those town folks have been bored, ever since the mine played out months ago. Now they found themselves trying to figure out how to get a new spur from the railroad to cut that way.


Riding out, Mrs. Rayburn ducked beneath the arm of a pine tree. Bill Rayburn turned toward Luke and leaned down so only the men could hear themselves. "Say, I wouldn't mind having an Indian girl to help around our place neither. Don't fret yourself none, Luke." Then Bill rode off to catch up to his worried wife on the path between the trees.


Fretting was all Luke could do, as he turned to spot Aiyana hiding behind the falls. "It's okay!" he yelled. "It's safe to come out now." He turned away, so not to shame her. He hoped she understood his words, as he left for the cabin.

Luke fumed over town folk coming up uninvited. He preferred not being a conversation piece.