Savage Beloved

“Father—”

“Candy, for heaven’s sake, go on,” he finally said through the door. “Go and tell Malvina I’ll be there soon.”

Having heard the same response countless times before, knowing that “soon” meant perhaps another thirty minutes, which would be the ruination of Malvina’s delicious meal, Candy started to say something else, but decided not to.

It wouldn’t matter.

Her father was set in his ways.

If he wanted more time before eating, he would have that time, no matter that it would also make Candy eat the same cold food as he!

Disgruntled, she went back to the dining room and settled in a chair just as Malvina came and poured her a cup of tea.

Candy admired Malvina’s patience so much. Even though her many hours of slaving over the stove might be for naught, Malvina said no more about the absence of Candy’s father.

“Father will be here soon,” Candy offered, then looked up in surprise as he came into the room and took his place at the table, opposite Candy.

She always admired how neat he looked in his blue uniform. He even kept the brass buttons on his jacket polished. And his thick, golden hair, worn to his shoulders, framed a handsome face that sported a small sliver of a mustache.

Although he had proven to be calculating and cold at times, even cruel, as evidenced by the way he had treated the elderly Indian, he had kindness in his blue eyes. She would never forget how they’d softened with love and pride when she was a small child and loved sitting on his lap.

Even now he could give her a look that melted her heart.

Candy smiled softly at Malvina as she began ladling food onto her father’s plate, then served Candy.

To try to make Malvina feel better about the rapidly cooling food, Candy ate several bites, then smiled at her. “Delicious,” she murmured.

“It’s too cold,” Malvina fussed, as she poured Candy’s father a cup of hot tea.

“Malvina, I believe you’ve made your point,” Candy’s father grumbled. “I’ll try not to be so late next time. It’s just that I have a lot on my mind with the upcoming move.”

“Do you have your trunk packed and ready, Malvina?” Candy asked as she stabbed beans onto her fork.

“Yes’m, I do,” Malvina said, frowning. “But I must say, I do hate this movin’ ’round from place to place. I just get used to a kitchen and then I’m gone from it.”

“I’ll make sure you have the best kitchen in Arizona,” Candy’s father said, giving Malvina a grin.

“That’d be nice,” Malvina said, then left the dining room.

Candy and her father ate in silence for a while, but after a few minutes Candy just couldn’t help speaking her mind. What the old Indian had endured ate away at her heart, and she was scared to death to think of the Indians retaliating.

“Father, I just can’t forget that old Indian and the condition he was in as he was taken from the fort,” Candy blurted out. “Just think of how he must have looked to his people when he arrived home. They surely will be out for blood. We should all leave here as soon as possible.”

Her father paused before taking another bite of turkey. He glared over the table at Candy. “Yes, there could be repercussions over what happened to that old man,” he said thickly. “And I was a fool to have abducted the wrong man. How was I to know that the chief had a brother who looked exactly like him? It was an honest mistake, Candy, but intolerable.”

“Don’t you think you should tell everyone to hurry their packing so that we can leave soon?” Candy said. “I just have a feeling that something terrible is about to happen.”

“Am I to guide my actions by your feelings?” her father spat out. He slammed his fork on the table. “Just leave it be, Candy. Do you hear? Leave it be.”

“Well, I have one more thing to say about the matter,” Candy said, shoving her plate away. She had suddenly lost her appetite. “I’m just so glad you aren’t planning another abduction. I was afraid that you would decide to go and abduct the new chief.”

“I’ve lost interest,” her father said, sipping his tea.

“Father, do you know anything about this new young chief?” Candy asked. “I’ve heard that Indian chiefs are like our president, and that the Indian people can’t do anything without them.”

“Yes, that’s how they are looked upon and treated,” he said. “That’s why I abducted the man I thought was the chief. I wanted to gain control by showing that I could abduct him from right beneath his people’s noses.”

He shrugged. “But that’s water under the bridge,” he said. “I couldn’t care less now what that band of Wichita do. I made a mistake and must learn to live with it.”