Page 24 of Rawhide and Ransom

She peered around his broad shoulders at the number of children playing barefoot outside in this part of the rez. A few of the little girls were wearing dresses, but most of them were in faded jeans and shorts. Their cheerful shouts and peals of laughter bouncing off the walls of the dilapidated shacks behind them were a testament to the fact that money didn’t make children happy.

Here and there, Annalee spied boarded-up windows. At first, she chalked them up to poverty. However, that didn’t explain the number of ancient trees lying on their sides with their massive roots exposed to the sun.

She scowled through the windows. “What happened here?” The evidence of devastation around them wasn’t recent, but it was extensive.

“Tornadoes,” Hawk informed her bluntly. “A whole string of them a few years back. Entire sections of the rez were leveled. The high school was shut down for repairs for the rest of the school year.”

“That’s awful!” It hurt her heart to think about it. “What did the students do while it was being repaired?”

“They got bused downtown to Heart Lake High.”

“Oh, boy! I bet that was a culture shock.” She blew out a breath, unable to imagine merging the poor students on the rez with the children of doctors, lawyers, and business owners in downtown Heart Lake.

“It was character building.” There was a note of dry humor in his voice.

“That’s a nice way of putting it.” Hearing a snicker from her daughter, Annalee glanced her way.

“It caused a ton of fights, didn’t it?” Miley shot a knowing look at Hawk.

“Miley!” Annalee was aghast at her lack of sensitivity.

“She’s right.” He didn’t look the least bit offended. “Most of the fights weren’t instigated by the rez kids, though. The farm students from the south side of town got uprooted along with them. From what I understand, they showed up with chips on their shoulders, ready to take their anger out on the world…but mostly on the city kids.”

“It sounds like the school administrators had their hands full.” To Annalee, it sounded like outright war.

“And then some.” Hawk turned off the road into the gravel parking lot of the church.

She eyed the familiar clapboard building rising in front of them. The only thing that made its weathered wooden walls look like a church was the shiny silver cross hanging on the front door. It was the smallest, humblest building she and her daughter had ever attended church in before. On the upside, no one on the planet would likely come looking for them this far out in the boonies. There were literally no other buildings in sight, nothing but trees and stretches of tall, unmown grass waving in the breeze.

Hawk pushed the door open and leaped to the ground. Then he reached into the vehicle to give her a hand. “Nice dress.” He gave her an appreciative once over.

“Thanks.” The woman inside Annalee was pleased that he’d noticed. It had been a long time since anyone had, well, noticed her that way. She’d pulled it from the borrowed clothing from Caro. It was a sage green color and had a halter top with a pair of thick straps. She’d tied them in a bow behind her neck. To better showcase the bow, she’d braided her hair into an upside-down French braid and secured the ends in a loose bun on top of her head. A few ringlets had come tumbling back down like they always did, but she’d just left them there.

Whoever Caro was, she had great taste in clothing. She’d included a pair of strappy silver sandals and oversized silver earrings shaped like butterflies. She’d really gone to a lot of effort to put together entire outfits.

Though Miley had changed into a pink, flowy blouse, she’d kept her jeans on.

Typical teenager.

Annalee hid a smile while Running Bear assisted her daughter to the ground. Together, the four of them strolled into the church building together.

As usual, she and Miley were the only non-Comanche attendees present. Their blonde hair and blue eyes stuck out conspicuously.

Hawk either didn’t notice or chose to ignore that they were still getting curious glances. His expression didn’t budge from its usual stoic lines as he herded them into the first row they came to with enough room to seat four people.

Running Bear stepped into the row first with his face set in similar impossible-to-read lines. Hawk waited until she and Miley were seated to claim the seat closest to the aisle, essentially hemming her and Miley in. His tough, don’t-mess-with-me-or-mine attitude was comforting in the midst of all the hardships she and her daughter had been facing.

Another family crowded into the left side of their pew. Running Bear shimmied right to make more room for them, bringing the four of them knee-to-knee like they’d been in the truck.

Hawk unjammed his left shoulder from hers by loosely slinging his arm around the back of the pew. While it gave her a little more room, it brought her even closer to his side. His strength and the scent of his aftershave surrounded her. It was so distracting that she worried she might not hear a word the minister said this morning.

However, she shouldn’t have worried. A trio of singers led the congregation in an old hymn acapella style. Their voices blended so beautifully that Annalee found herself hanging on their every word. Then another Comanche appeared with an acoustic guitar and led them in a second hymn. It was filled with angsty, minor notes. Even so, it was one of the loveliest pieces she’d ever heard.

While the last notes were still fading, the minister stepped onto the platform and took his place behind the podium. She was impressed all over again by how a young man in his early twenties was so dedicated to the ministry.

“Welcome!” Like it always did, his dark gaze landed warmly on her and Miley. “For those who may be visiting, I’m Pastor Josh Chavez, and I’m glad you’re here.”

Annalee hid a smile, sensing that his words of welcome were aimed at her daughter more than anyone else in the room. Maybe it was her mama spidey senses working on overdrive, but her instincts told her that the young pastor was very glad indeed that Miley was attending another one of his sermons.

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