Donners of the Dead

He blew out a ring of smoke so that it floated up to the ceiling. He watched it in silence. The cabin was deafening, suffocating, because of it. I needed to know.

“Your father,” he said slowly, “was a great man. Very generous, very friendly. If you ever had a problem, you could go to Yahuski. He would help you. Perhaps because he was nice and giving and everyone liked him, there were a few that did not. When he met your mother, a few members of the tribe were angry. They told him he could never come back. He chose your mother—he chose love—instead of those who would rather see him banished, despite all the good he had done. And so, he left. He went to go live with your mother. He then had you. From the reports of a few of his tribe who would go into town to barter, he had a good life.”

“He was happy,” I told him as lush memories of my father rolled through me.

“And some people don’t want other people to be happy,” said Dicutta. “Your father went on an expedition through these mountains, looking for lost cattle. He was ambushed by a couple of his tribesfolk. Men who were bitter. Angry. Jealous. They took everything he had and killed him. I am very sorry, Eve. Very sorry for your loss.”

I was stunned. I sat there, blinking, trying to take it all in. Avery squeezed my arm again, and though I was glad for his comfort, I wanted Jake to provide it instead.

“So he never became a monster?” I asked.

Dicutta shook his head. “No. Men are the real monsters here. They often are.”

I needed time to process all of it, but I was already feeling a strange sense of relief. I had never believed my father would come waltzing back into my life; in my own way I had already grieved for his death. But now I knew. Now I had answers. As sad and unfair as it was that his life was taken out of jealousy, I could put my aching heart to rest.

Dicutta watched me closely for a couple of long minutes, the fire crackling between us, before he finished up his pipe then slowly got to his feet, making his way over to Jake to check on him.

I was about to inquire how he was when Dicutta silently waved me over.

Avery helped me to my feet, and I went to Jake’s side, already feeling stronger thanks to the venison and pine nuts.

I stood beside Dicutta, finding out that I was nearly a foot taller than the old man. We peered down at Jake who was slowly moving his mouth back and forth, eyes fluttering and brows pressed together. Dicutta took my hand and placed it on Jake’s heart.

“This is where you belong,” he said. I felt the heat of Jake’s skin and the steady beat of his heart underneath my palm. “He is your tribe.” I looked down at Dicutta. His eyes twinkled. He walked away, leaving me and Jake alone. I could see him motioning to Avery to give us space.

I kept my hand to Jake’s heart, the steady pulse bringing me more peace. With my father gone and my heritage mixed, I never felt like I belonged anywhere. Now I knew—I belonged with Jake. We were a tribe of two, but a tribe all the same. Two broken people looking for their place in the world and finding each other. Dicutta could see that. It was time I saw it too.

Jake’s head rolled to the right and his mouth opened. I couldn’t make out what he was saying, but I was thrilled he was in some form of consciousness.

I leaned down and whispered in his ear while pressing lightly on his heart, “Jake, it’s Eve. Can you hear me?”

He mumbled something.

“Jake? Do you know where you are?”

“Pine nuts,” he murmured.

“What?”

He turned his lips toward my ear. “You smell like pine nuts. Pine Nut.”

I pulled back and saw him grinning lazily at me, his eyes tired but shining.

A huge smile stretched across my face. “You’re going to be okay. You collapsed but these nice Paiutes took care of you. Avery is alive too!”

“Well I’ll be…” he remarked. He took his hand, and with some effort placed it on top of mine. His heartbeat tickled my fingertips. He stared up at me, his eyes searching mine, filled with something I couldn’t describe but felt all the same. “I wasn’t ready to leave you.”

“And I wasn’t ready to leave you.”

He managed a sly grin. “I imagine it would be hard to leave me after that time in the cave.”

I gasped, trying not to laugh, and smacked him lightly across his taut stomach. With burning cheeks, I looked over my shoulder to see if Avery or Dicutta had noticed but they were busy talking to the others on the far side of the cabin and preparing some food.

I looked back at him, shaking my head. “Jake McGraw, you are incorrigible.” I quickly gave him a kiss on the forehead.

He coughed with a wince then said, “If being incorrigible is what it takes to get you to kiss me, you may have a problem on your hands.”

I let out a small laugh and reached for his hand. I squeezed it and looked deeply into his eyes, hoping I could tell him how I felt without saying it.

From the soft nod he gave in return, I knew he understood me.

Chapter Fifteen

“You won’t believe your eyes, Eve. I’m serious,” Avery said as he yanked at my arm, pulling me out of the cabin and into the golden sunshine.

“All right, all right,” I told him with a smile, picking up on his strange enthusiasm. It was the third day of us staying in the cabin with Dicutta and the Paiutes. Jake was almost good as new but Dicutta wanted him and I to rest up for another day. We had a long walk ahead of us to get down to River Bend and we needed the extra care and nourishment to feel better.

I had just been having a bowl of broth with Jake and Dicutta when Avery burst into the cabin, telling me he had something to show me. I exchanged an inquisitive glance with Jake but got up and followed Avery.

“What is it?” I asked. It was late afternoon and we were finally having a bout of good weather after two days of drizzle and mist.

“Winneca found something,” he said, pulling me to a stop. Winneca ended up being the name of the unsmiling arrow man. I still didn’t know what to make of him, but it was apparent that he and Avery were on a first name basis.

“What did—” I began. I trailed off as soon as I smelled her.

Sadie!

She whinnied at the sight of me as Winneca led her out of the aspen trees and toward us. Behind him were Ali the mule and Avery’s horse, Pigeon. Though it was heartbreaking what happened to Trouble, I assumed the same thing had happened to my horse. I was absolutely overjoyed to see her, and from the way she nuzzled me, I think she felt the same.

I suppose she was on her way back home when she found the other horses, and then together Winneca found them. Though he never smiled when I thanked him, I’d forever be indebted to him.

The next day, the three of us set out to find our way back home. I gave Jake Sadie, despite his insistence that I shouldn’t pander to him, and rode Ali instead. Dicutta and his men gave a heartfelt goodbye, and I promised him to keep myself safe during the journey. I also wanted to promise that I’d see him again, but the truth was I knew I wouldn’t. If the three of us got back to River Bend, there was no way I would stick around the town, let alone head back into the Sierra Nevadas. Though I hadn’t discussed it further with Jake, I knew that my life belonged with him, and our lives would be led somewhere far away from this land.

The thought of starting my life over was exciting. As we rode away from the Paiute camp and found the wagon ruts heading east, I wanted more than anything to talk to Jake in private. Though I knew we weren’t out of the woods yet—so to speak—we hadn’t had a real, moment of time together since we were alone in the cave. Everything after that special moment was a race against time, a battle against death.

But with Avery riding in front of us, it just didn’t feel right. Avery quite rightly knew there was something between Jake and I now. Even though we weren’t too physically affectionate with each other in the company of others, that didn’t stop us from trying to say everything with our eyes and body language.

It also didn’t stop Avery from addressing it midway through the day.

He cleared his throat and said over his shoulder, “So I take it you two are courting now, is that correct?”

Jake turned around in his saddle to look at me, waiting for my response. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of his ruggedly handsome face. My goodness, I was lucky to have such a man when I used to not know what a man was. Jake had been such a surprise.

He smiled right back, white teeth against his dark beard, and said, “I reckon you’re correct, Avery. I hope you don’t have a problem with that.”

He shook his head. “No. I don’t trust you, Mr. McGraw, but I do trust Eve. Anyone she desires, she is fit to have.”

I changed the subject. “And Avery, with that question in mind, will you be courting Rose as soon as we get home?”

He shot me a smile over his shoulder. “Your uncle will fire me over it, but yes, I will be. Doesn’t matter since we still have those gold bars in Ali’s pack. I’ll buy Rose and me a new life.”

Just as me and Jake will, I thought. And my mother, of course, if she wishes to come with us. I started imagining the greener pastures ahead, the books I could read, the schools I could go to. A life with the bravest Texan the world has ever known. These thoughts kept me going during that long ride until the trees turned to grass and the grass turned to desert, and there was the civilization of River Bend before us.

I wanted to cry. As much as that place had been my prison, it had also been my home, and after everything I’d gone through, it shimmered in front of me like Mecca.

“There she is!” Avery announced. He spurred his horse into a trot, and we followed behind him, eager to reach our destination. I rode with the silliest grin on my face, my hair blown back by the wind.

But, as we rode, the more my grin began to fade.

There was something wrong. Even though Uncle Pat’s was at the outskirts of town, there was something so still about the place. No sign of life there or at the Millers across the way.

As we got closer still, I saw the doors to both houses were open and chicken and livestock were wandering freely on the streets, looking lost and agitated. Those were Uncle Pat’s animals—even with Avery gone, he would have never let that happen.

“Something is wrong,” I whispered. I wasn’t sure if they heard me, but from the way they were slowing down and reaching for their guns, it was obvious they felt the same way too.

The horses were raising their heads and prancing underfoot as well, picking up on something. I breathed in deeply, trying to get my tracking skills back to the way they were. I wasn’t picking up anything, but that didn’t mean there was nothing there.

We dismounted by the gates and hitched our horses to the fence, not willing to let them run off. From the way Sadie was showing me the whites of her eyes, I knew that’s exactly what she would do.

“Guess we should find out where everyone is,” Jake said gruffly, eyeing the house suspiciously. I looked up at my mother’s window but the blinds were drawn.

“They could be inside,” I offered meekly.

He shook his head. “Nah. You know and I know it. Even Avery here knows it. There’s no one here. No human, anyway.”

He handed me the revolver. “Try not to set this one on fire.”

He gripped his axe and nodded at Avery who had his pistol in his hand.

As much as I liked that Jake was including me in this ambush, a part of me wanted to stay back by the horses and hide. But I couldn’t do that, not after everything we’d been through. This was still my house, my mother and family were in there, and I had to have a part in uncovering the truth.

We crept toward the porch, our footsteps echoing loudly on it. Jake raised the axe and nudged the door open with the toe of his boot. It opened wider with a loud creak. If there was anything in there, they definitely knew we were there too.

We stepped inside. The house was completely empty. There was no sign of a struggle, no nothing. There was an overwhelming smell of vinegar hanging in the air, and it was hard for me to get my bearings through it. We walked around the main floor while I kept an eye on my mother’s door. It was nearly closed and I swear I saw it open just a crack.

Was my mother in there? Did she know what was going on? It would be so like Uncle Pat to leave her behind if they suddenly up and left.

I broke away from Avery and Jake while they checked the kitchen and the room downstairs. I quietly ran up the stairs, hoping that my mother would come out if she saw me.

I stopped at her door and breathed in deep, filling my lungs, before I pushed it open.

It was empty and dark with the curtains drawn.

I stepped back into the hallway when Jake yelled from below, “What are you doing up there? Get back here goddamn it!”

I ignored him and looked at my aunt and uncle’s room at the end of the hallway. I walked toward it, the revolver getting slippery in my hands.

This room too was completely dark, the curtains also drawn. I could barely see a thing. I took a few steps into the room, heading toward the bed when I slipped and fell. I landed on the ground with a thunk as the smell of blood filled my head. I cried out, suddenly aware of what I had slipped on, and tried to get to my feet, only to slip again.

A half-eaten arm rolled out from under the bed.

I screamed.

A rusty creak sounded behind me.

I turned around, leaning back onto my elbows in time to see the doors of the giant armoire opening and Hank coming out of it. I barely had time to realize how badly he reeked of vinegar and how it had covered up the rotten flesh smell before he was upon me. This time, instead of snapping jaws, he was clumsily holding a knife, fierce hatred in his grey, dead eyes.

He stabbed downward and I rolled out of the way. He was moaning something that sounded like English but didn’t make any sense. Even if it did make sense, I couldn’t comprehend anything except that I had to fight back. I had to survive.