White Owl Read Online Free Page B

from her encounter with the Ute brave.
    “What kind of trouble did you get into today, Rosie girl?” Paddy Adair joked as Rose served him coffee. “Whoa there, that’s enough,” he said as he gestured for her stop pouring.
    “Sorry.” Rose attempted to giggle as the coffee splashed over the top of her father’s cup. “I-I went for a short ride, just down by the creek.” She glanced at her mother and met her unwavering gaze. Her mother’s hair was a light shade of brown, but her eyes were the same vibrant blue hue as her own. Rose looked away quickly.
    “You know how I feel about you riding out there alone. It ain’t safe, even if you are on our own land. Them Ute, they still think they own the entire country.”
    “I know, Father,” Rose answered quickly. “I am careful. Believe me, the last thing I want to do is to encounter any Indians.” Her voice trembled slightly, so she quit talking and turned away without offering anyone else a coffee refill.
    The lantern that sat in the middle of the long wooden table cast a golden haze on Paddy Adair’s pale red hair as he shook his head and added, “I heard Agent Meeker has them Injuns all stirred up again and that he’s been writin’ letters to the army askin’ for help in case of an uprisin’. That couldmean bad news for folks like us. We’d be sittin’ ducks out here in the middle of nowhere if them Ute decided to start a war.”
    Rose set the coffeepot down on the counter but did not turn back around toward the table. Her father’s words spun through her mind. The rest of the conversation about the possibility of an Indian revolt was lost to her as she was engulfed by a deep sense of humiliation. Her foolish actions could put her entire family in terrible danger. She could never allow herself to go to the Ute racetrack again, and somehow, she had to find a way to escape from the strange longings she had felt when the handsome warrior had enslaved her in his strong embrace.

Chapter Four
    It had been two days. White Owl had been so certain that the girl would come back. The fact that she thought she could ignore him made his blood boil. He had come here today because in two days’ time he would begin the
tagu-wuni
, meaning “standing thirsty.” For four days until the end the Sun Dance, the most important ceremony of the year for his people, he would not eat or drink anything. He would not be able to leave the Sun Dance lodge until the end of the festivities. He could not wait that long to see his Wild Rose again.
    Finding her family’s land had not been that difficult once he crossed Milk Creek and headed northeast. He had come upon a block of rock salt that had been put out for cattle—a sure sign that there were white men in the area. Utes did not bother with such unnecessary luxuries for their livestock. When he came across a sizable herd of cattle, he had no doubt that he was getting close to one of the homesteads that were springing up on what used to be Ute land.
    A couple of riders had forced White Owl and his pony to hide behind a cluster of large boulders.As the two men—one older, one younger—had ridden past, White Owl was certain he was on the right property. Both men had red hair and pale complexions, but the younger of the two almost looked like a male version of his Wild Rose. Beneath his wide-brimmed hat, the boy’s hair was the same stunning shade of red and curled around his ears and at the back of his neck in the same manner that her curls tumbled down to her waist.
    Once the men were out of sight, White Owl headed in the direction they had just come from. He had no doubt that he would come across the house before long. His predictions were correct again. After riding a short distance farther, he topped the crest of a small hill and glimpsed the fields of crops that had been planted for food. His mouth drew into a frown.
    Anything to do with farming did not appeal to the Utes, which was one of the reasons they were fighting