Chapter Ten

Hotah walked Kola from the barn. The morning was warm, and with it came moisture that hung in the air. He swept his forearm across his forehead to rid the sweat. He shaded his eyes against the bright sun to look at the house, and his heart sank when he did not see Ivy there. After they’d been taken into Gabe and Fern’s home yesterday, Ivy had been rushed off to a room and he hadn’t seen her since.

The loaded rifle hung from the side of the saddle and he tugged on it to make sure it was secure. The quiver slung across his back held only two arrows left. He’d had no time to make more.

The busy chatter of Fern and Kimimela toiling in the garden brought a sad smile to his lips. His niece would be well cared for here. The Montgomerys were kind people; he knew this because of his time with Ivy. He glanced at the door again. She was not there, and his heart sank.

Poppy walked across the lawn in denims and a cotton shirt, her guns draped on her hips, and Hotah doubted the woman went anywhere without them. She held a basket of clean laundry to hang on the line. The women were very different in looks, and when he saw them together yesterday it was difficult to see any resemblance between them. It was in their traits he’d seen similarities. Fern was soft-spoken and mild-mannered with a giving nature. Poppy was hotheaded and a bit crass, but underneath her tough exterior lay a gentle woman. Ivy held some of those traits, but her courage and determination were what attracted him to her.

The sisters had found their mates in Noah and Gabe, both skilled with a gun. Another sense of relief at leaving Kimimela came over him. But knowing they’d be safe did not make it any easier to walk away. He sighed. It was for the best. He needed to do this.

“You don’t have to leave right away. You can stay another night,” Gabe said, coming to stand beside him.

Hotah didn’t reply, and again his gaze fell on the veranda.

“You gonna say good-bye to Ivy?” Noah asked as he walked out of the barn.

Hotah shook his head and grabbed the reins, when the front door opened and Ivy appeared. Hotah’s breath caught in his throat. Her blond hair braided down her back, a light-blue dress that hugged her curves perfectly. His groin tightened. Beautiful woman.

Ivy walked to the edge of the porch, and before she could step off Fern was running toward her. Poppy dropped the basket and followed.

“Ah, hell,” Gabe said.

“Shit.” Noah sighed.

“You know the rules, Ivy,” Fern said.

“Get back into the house,” Poppy demanded.

Ivy hung her head as the sisters, one on either side of her, ushered her back toward the door.

Hotah growled low in his throat, dropped the reins, and walked toward the women. He pulled Ivy from their grasp and placed her behind him.

Poppy drew the colt from her hip. “Release my sister.”

“Wiwasteka is not ill. Do not treat her as such,” he said.

“I don’t know who in the hell you think you are, but that is my sister. So hands off, renegade.” Poppy cocked the gun, and the click echoed across the field.

“It is okay, Hotah,” Ivy whispered from behind him. “It’s who I am.”

He turned toward her and cupped her face within his hands. “You are better than this.”

She shook her head.

“Yes.” He tipped her chin up so she could see him. “I know this, wiwasteka.”

“But I am not. I cannot see.” A tear dripped from her lashes.

“Yes, you can.” He placed his hand over her heart. “You see from here.”

“Oh, Hotah.” She sucked in a quivering breath.

He wiped the tears from her cheeks with the pad of his thumb. “Le mita,” he whispered and gently brushed his lips across hers.

“Well, son of a bitch.” Poppy pushed her way toward them.

“Hold on, hellcat,” Noah said, yanking his wife back into him.

“What is going on, Ivy?” Fern asked.

“I believe your sister is in love,” Gabe said, coming up the steps.

“Nonsense!” Fern said.

Hotah ignored them as his lips gingerly caressed Ivy’s cheek. “Le mita—you are mine,” he whispered into her ear before he turned to face the overbearing sisters. “I have brought Ivy home to you, but I will take her with me if you continue to treat her like she is not worthy of living a normal life.”

“You don’t tell us how to raise our sister!” Poppy shouted, going for him again, but Noah grabbed her arm.

“Hear what he has to say, darlin’,” Noah said.

“Wiwasteka is mine.” Hotah growled.

“I beg to differ,” Poppy argued.

“If you do not see her as equal to you, I will take her from you.”

“You’ve got a lot of nerve!” Poppy pulled her arm back to clock him, but Noah swung her around.

“Stop, Poppy,” Noah growled, “Hotah is right.”

“The hell he is!” she yelled.

“Hear the man out.” Noah gave Poppy a shake.

“Ivy is mine, and the baby is ours.” Hotah felt his heart swell at the words he’d spoken. It was right. It was what he had longed for all this time: a wife, a family, and Ivy to be his. No one would harm her, or Chaska, or Kimimela. Not even the Montgomery sisters.

Ivy stepped around him to face her sisters.

“He is right, Poppy. If you do not accept this, then I will leave and not return.”

“But, Ivy, you cannot…see,” Fern said with tears in her eyes.

“You refuse to look past the blindness to see what she can do.” Hotah reached for Ivy’s hand.

“I am the mother to that baby.” Ivy pointed to the house where Chaska slept. “Kimimela is mine also.”

The girl came running up the steps to wrap her arms around Ivy’s waist.

She hugged the girl. “Will you have me?”

“Yes, Ina, I will!” Kimimela shouted.

“She calls you mother,” Hotah whispered into Ivy’s ear.

“And as for Hotah”—she reached for him, and he took her hand—“I love him.”

The sisters stood, mouths gaping, and Hotah couldn’t help the chuckle that erupted from his lips. He wrapped his arm around Ivy, and, drawing her close, he kissed her temple. “I am proud of you, wiwasteka.”

Ivy’s face lit with joy, and she leaned into him.

“Well, hell.” All the fight gone from Poppy, she stepped back and smiled.

“It seems our little sister has found a family of her own,” Fern said. She reached out her arms to embrace Ivy in an exuberant hug before moving on to Kimimela and then Hotah. “You take care of my sister,” she whispered in his ear.

He nodded.

Poppy approached him next, and when she opened her mouth he was surprised to hear her speak to him in Lakota.

“Do you love my sister?” she asked.

Hotah looked at Ivy, a wide smile spread across her beautiful face, and her blue eyes more clear than he’d ever seen them. His chest expanded, and his heart soared.

“I do.”

“And you’ll keep her safe for all eternity?”

“I will give my life for hers.”

“If you don’t, I’ll hunt you down and kill you myself.”

Hotah didn’t doubt the redhead would. “I promise to keep her safe.”

“Well, all right then.” She was back to speaking English. She looked at Fern. “He will do.”

“There has to be something we can do to help.” Fern poured coffee into the six mugs on the table.

Ivy had told them of General Davis and his men hunting Hotah. Relief settled on her shoulders at their insistence to support him.

“Damn right there is—we fight.” Poppy slammed her fist onto the table.

“You’ll have to excuse my wife—she’s been itchin’ to shoot at something for a while.” Noah said.

“I cannot ask this of you,” Hotah said.

Ivy sat next to him, her hand upon his knee. She gave a light squeeze of assurance. The smile had not left her face since Hotah had expressed his feelings to her and the family. She felt alive for the first time since going blind. There was no way she’d allow Hotah to go against the evil general on his own. They had just found each other, and she’d fight for their love. The cavalry would not take him from her.

“Hotah is our family now,” she said. “Whoever comes for him comes for me also.”

“No, wiwasteka.”

She turned toward him, seeing every inch of his handsome face. “I go where you go.”

“No.” He looked at Fern, Gabe, Poppy, and Noah. “Tell her no. Tell her she cannot do this.”

“Ivy is her own person,” Fern said. “We have treated her poorly these past years, and if not for you, Hotah, we would still be doing so.”

Ivy blinked back tears at the words of admiration from her sister.

“She is capable of fighting right along with us,” Fern added.

Hotah faced her, and she inhaled shocked at how much love she had for him.

“I could not bear it if something happened to you,” he whispered.

“Ain’t nothin’ gonna happen to her,” Poppy said. “Ivy will stay with me.”

“My sister is one of the best gunwomen around. She will keep me safe,” Ivy said.

Hotah sighed. “Promise me you will stay with Poppy.”

She placed her palms to his cheeks and kissed him. “I promise,” she murmured against his lips.

He leaned his forehead against hers. “Know that I love you, wiwasteka, with all of my heart.”

“Ah, hell,” Poppy whined.

Ivy giggled, dragging herself from Hotah’s kisses to face them.

“You are family now, and family sticks together,” Gabe said.

“Can’t argue with that.” Noah placed an arm around Poppy.

“How much time do we have?” Fern asked.

“Until Dawn.” Hotah answered.

“We best get planning,” Ivy said.