Bound by Honor Bound by Love by Ruth Ann Nordin Read Free Book Online

the sleigh neared, he waved, hoping to get the
driver’s attention. It slowed before turning in his direction. He
tried to make out the people in it, but from the distance, it was
still too hard to tell. Pressing forward, he trudged through the
snow.
    Who in their right mind would make the
trip out in the middle of nowhere in a sleigh? Sure, it wasn’t
snowing today, but it was too cold to be enjoying a ride. As he
came within shouting distance of it, he realized there were four
people huddled together under blankets. It took him a moment to
realize there was a man, woman and two children. That, in itself,
wasn’t odd, but the man and woman were white and the children were
Indian. He judged the boy to be about seven and the girl to be
about four.
    He stopped as the sleigh pulled up to
him. Upon closer inspection, he realized he’d seen them before.
They were with Woape after she ran away from the tribe because she
didn’t want to marry him. He had joined her brother and father to
find her, and when they did find her, she’d been with this white
couple. He never thought he’d see them again, but here they
were.
    The man halted the horses. Citlali
expected him to speak but it was the woman who spoke, and when she
did, Citlali was surprised she spoke Mandan.
    “ Can you understand me?”
she asked.
    “ Yes. I speak white man’s
language, too,” he replied, his gaze returning to the two children
who seemed familiar. “Who are these children?”
    “ The boy is Etu and the
girl is Yepa.”
    No wonder he recognized them. They
were Motega and Takchawee’s children. He recalled when Hothlepoya
invaded the tribe the first time. He and the Sioux with him caused
a lot of destruction in their search for Woape. Motega died while
defending the tribe, and as for Takchawee… She never should have
left the lodge the men were protecting. But she did and she took
the children with her. Only, while they found Takchawee’s body,
they never did find the children.
    Turning his gaze back to the boy who
was the oldest, he asked, “How did you end up with these white
people?”
    The boy’s lower lip trembled and tears
filled his eyes. The woman hugged him and sighed. “He has
nightmares,” she explained. “We thought they would go away, but
they haven’t. He won’t tell us how he and his sister ended up on
the orphan train. You see, we adopted them two years ago, and for a
while, everything was fine. It wasn’t until three months ago that
the nightmares started. He used to talk all the time, but he
doesn’t say much anymore. Yepa was too young to remember anything.
We hope that by going to the tribe they came from, we can find
answers to help him.”
    “ Etu and Yepa come from my
tribe,” Citlali told her. “I knew their parents. Their father was
honorable. A good hunter.” He looked at the boy. “Your father was a
good man. Your mother was a good woman. They are missed. You and
Yepa have been missed, too.”
    The boy remained close to the woman as
he turned his tear-filled eyes in Citlali’s direction.
    Knowing nothing he could say would
bring Etu’s parents back, Citlali patted his shoulder and turned
his attention to the white man and woman. “You will want to go to
my tribe. I will go there tomorrow. You are welcome to stay with me
tonight. You look too cold to keep going.”
    “ Thank you,” the woman
replied.
    The woman and children scooted over to
make room for him. Since the way back to the teepee was a good
distance, he accepted her offer and sat in the sleigh.
    “ My teepee is in that
direction,” Citlali said, pointing north.
    As the man urged the horses forward,
the woman turned her attention to Citlali. “My name is Penelope
Hunter, and this is my husband, Cole.”
    Citlali nodded to them. “I’m
Citlali.”
    “ It’s nice to meet you,”
Cole called out.
    Citlali looked at the children who
remained huddled on either side of Penelope. They stared up at him
with wide, brown eyes. Though it wasn’t