62

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The door opened again as the first crash of thunder was heard. Dancing Bear came in with Rose, both quite wet.

“You are pale, Phoenix. Are you all right?”

Phoenix nodded. She was – now.

“Deheyi gave me this piece of felt for your work. I have some glue to help you finish it tonight.”

“Thanks. Do you have some more tea for my ankle?”

“Did you stress it again?”

“A bit...”

“I’ll get you some as I give Rose her lunch. Then we’ll talk.”

Phoenix nodded fighting back her tears again. She thought about taking a hot bath – to wash away any memory of Jade Wolf touching her… touching her like he owned her! How dare he! She sat back in her chair, looking out at the pouring rain and flashes of lightning. Crashes of thunder shook the whole valley and the power flickered.

“We should be okay for electricity,” Dancing Bear reassured, giving Rose her lunch and bringing out a mug of tea as well as the other lunches on a tray.

“Sorry. I should be doing that.”

“But you hurt… Why?” Dancing Bear asked, sitting in her usual chair.

“Jade Wolf was here...”

“As I was aware.”

“He… he made a move on me… touched me where he had no right to touch me… Then he was rude about Kwina! Said that he wasn’t man enough to make love to me, so I may as well let him!”

“What did you do?”

“I kicked him where it counted… as hard as I could! He was so mad at me… said he’d tell Kwina about everything!” Phoenix felt the tears flood her eyes once more. “Why do I mess up everything?”

“I don’t understand how you messed anything up… Did you invite Hooxa to make advances on you?”

“No! I thought you said he’d never resort to rape… yet he nearly raped me!”

“But he didn’t… only nearly.”

“He would have!”

“It is the man’s job to push and the woman’s job to either accept or push him away… Did he fight you after you pushed him away?”

“No… But he was angry!”

“I’m sure he was. I doubt he has been refused very often! It’s good for him to lose from time to time.”

“He’s going to make me look bad to Kwina! After everything that’s already gone wrong!”

“Think about it more thoroughly, Phoenix. Is Hooxa really going to tell Kwina that he was about to score with you?”

“He might say that I rejected him...”

“And you really think that’s going to anger Kwina?!”

“I don’t know,” Phoenix admitted.

“You are quick to assume the worst. For once, you need to challenge yourself to assume the best – and that if Hooxa does say something (which I doubt), that Kwina will see it for what it is – a compliment… and showing him that you’re not going to bed with anyone unless you want him!”

“Do you really think it’s going to be all right?” Phoenix asked, sipping the herbal tea.

“I do. But tonight, you need to finish your beading. I think you’re right that you need to make friends with Kwina without further delay!”

Sighing and taking her last bite of sandwich, Phoenix picked up her beading and carefully prepared to finish the piece that she had worked so hard on. She had to agree that it was a fine piece of work – not perfect, but the best she could do so quickly. Her ankle stopped throbbing as she relaxed.

♥

Jade Wolf seemed to growl as he came into the earthship, soaked to the skin.

“Still raining?” observed Sage Eagle with a grin. He didn’t know what was upsetting his cousin, but it would make for good revenge for all the coffee comments.

“Are we still in Ba’a O’ng?” he retorted.

“Who peed in your Wheaties?” he asked again.

“Phoenix! That’s who! The most irritating, annoying woman around – and she’s now a permanent resident! What do you make of that?!”

Sage Eagle felt his chest tighten. Could it mean that Phoenix rejected his cousin? And what about Pronghorn? He’d seen them kissing – nothing innocent either! But he hadn’t seen her with Pronghorn since. Maybe there wasn’t anything there. Maybe she had more scruples than he’d given her credit for. His father seemed to think highly of her – but then, Nighthawk was known for being kind and generous to a fault. He was also a disciplinarian though; Sage Eagle knew this well – even Jade Wolf knew it from experience.

“What do you think of that, cousin?!” Jade Wolf prodded.

“I think… I think I agree with you.”

“She shouldn’t even be here! She’s not Neme’o’ng!”

Sage Eagle was surprised at the venom. Something must have happened and he wanted to know just what.

“What? She wouldn’t sleep with you?” Sage Eagle finally asked.

“Too good for us! That’s what she is!” Jade Wolf retorted.

“I’ve never heard her say a racist word…”

“I thought that was why you were mad at her – because she was racist.”

“Not racist… ignorant of us. But she’s been working hard to fix her errors – at least, that’s what Da has said.”

“You’re in love with her!” Jade Wolf spat angrily. “Yet, you don’t have the balls to take her to bed and fuck her! She needs to be fucked – so badly!”

Sage Eagle felt the anger spill over into his muscles. Before he completely knew what he was doing, his fist had landed on his cousin’s nose.

“Kwitta! What the fuck did you do that for?!” Jade Wolf demanded, wiping blood off his face.

“Like you don’t know!” Sage Eagle snarled. “Don’t ever say something like that about Coonagwi again – and don’t lay a hand on her – ever! Or I’ll do it again!”

“Then you need to claim her, Kwina… and stop making excuses!” He wiped more blood away from his nose, then went into the kitchen for an ice cube and wrapped it in a clean dishcloth before going to his room.

Sage Eagle felt awful. He had never hit his cousin like that before and hoped he would never do it again. He wasn’t prone to fighting, but there was something about Coonagwi that was worth fighting for. He had been hostile to her almost from the beginning of her stay, mostly to selfishly guard his own heart. Now, he wondered how he should go about making amends with her.

♥♥♥