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FRIDAY. STILLWATER, WYOMING:
It is nearly 7:00 PM when Alex drives under the sign for the Okana Land and Cattle Company. It’s been a pleasant drive south on the eastern side of Yellowstone, though he is still dreading his meeting with Okana’s cousin. He will be polite, indulge in the general chitchat, and pretend not to be bored.
He parks next to a red SUV and a small girl with wavy dark brown hair runs over and stares up at him through his open window. As he slowly opens his door, she smiles.
“Are you the caveman?”
Alex laughs. “I suppose I am. What’s your name?”
“Halona. Uncle Okana saw you coming up the road and told me to bring you up on the porch.”
When she holds out her hand, Alex hesitates for a second before accepting it. What’s Okana up to this time? He must be softening the blow for meeting his ugly cousin.
Halona leads him around the side of the house and keeps asking questions about where he is from, where he works, and why his name is Caveman. He answers all but one of her questions. “It isn’t Caveman. It’s Alex Cave.” When she giggles, he smiles.
“Uncle Okana is funny, just like Uncle Richard. He’s up in the sky with the white buffalo now.”
Alex finds it odd she would use a Native American Indian Philosophy. When they walk around the corner of the house, he sees three people sitting in chairs on the porch. Okana, an older blond woman who he assumes is his mother, and an attractive woman with long black hair. When he and Halona stop at the bottom of the steps, all three give him a puzzling stare. He quickly lets go of Halona’s hand, thinking he might be doing something improper, though he feels he hasn’t.
Halona runs up the steps, laughing. “His real name is Alex Cave, Uncle Okana.”
When the three of them smile, Alex relaxes his shoulders as he climbs the steps.
Okana stands and gives his friend a hug. “Glad you could make it.” Okana indicates the blond woman. “This is my mom, Judith.”
Alex steps forward and reaches down to shake her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, and I’m sorry it isn’t under better circumstances”
Okana puts his hand on the black-haired woman’s shoulder. “This is my cousin, Fala.”
The woman stands and smiles, and Alex holds out his hand. “Hello.” She accepts, then stops smiling, and he wonders if he has done something wrong.
Fala suddenly has the strangest sensation. “You’ll have to forgive me, Alex. Have we met before?”
Alex grins and shakes his head no. “I’m sure I would have remembered.”
Fala smiles. “My mistake. I was surprised my daughter took to you so quickly. She’s usually very shy around strangers.”
Now that she mentioned it, he did feel unusually comfortable meeting Fala for the first time. Now he realizes why they had stared at him and Halona. “I just thought she had a friendly personality.”
Judith stands. “Have you eaten yet, Alex? I have plenty of leftovers.”
“Actually, I haven’t eaten since breakfast. That would be great.”
“Have a seat and I’ll bring it out for you.”
“Thank you.” As he sits down, Halona suddenly sits down beside him, smiling. He glances over at Fala, who is grinning at his uneasiness. “I’m not used to being around young children. I’m more used to college students.”
“Okana told me you’re a geology instructor in Bozeman.”
“Geophysics, actually.”
When Judith returns with a plate of food, Halona jumps down to chase a calico cat, and the four of them talk while Alex eats. When they talk about Okana’s father, Alex notices Judith’s faraway look. Reminiscing, he supposes.
Alex gets up to take his plate into the house. “That was wonderful, Judith. Thank you.”
Fala stands. “I’ll take it in for you, Alex.”
“All right. Thanks.”
Okana notices Alex staring after Fala. “You two seem to be getting along nicely.”
Alex looks at Okana’s smirk. “Yes, she’s a very nice lady.”
“I thought you two might hit it off.”
Alex grins and stares out across the desert as the sun is dipping over the mountains. For some strange reason, he feels a sensation of familiarity with Fala. He hasn’t felt this way with any other woman but Sevi.
Alex turns when he hears the screened door open and smiles when Fala steps out onto the porch. When she smiles in return, he wishes he could sit out here with her for the rest of the evening, instead of driving to the motel in Stillwater.
Judith notices how Alex and Fala look at each other and smiles to herself. From what Okana has told her about Alex, he’s a good man. Fala has been through so much pain with her bastard ex-husband, she hopes she and Alex will enjoy each other’s company. “Why don’t you stay here with us, Alex?”
Alex is caught by surprise. “Oh, ah. I don’t want to impose, Judith.”
“Nonsense. Halona can sleep with Fala in the guest bedroom. You can sleep on the fold-out bed in the den.”
“All right. I guess I’d better call the motel and cancel my reservation.”
Fala was thinking she wouldn’t see Alex again until the service tomorrow and is pleased he will be staying here at the ranch. “I’ll take care of it, Alex. My parents own the motel.”
When Alex feels small fingers curl around his hand, he looks down at Halona’s grinning, dirt-smudged face. She reminds him of his niece in Washington, and he smiles. I’ve missed so much enjoyment by not being around her when she was this young. The idea of having his own family someday had been his and Sevi’s dream, but ever since he lost her, he’s given up on the idea. Perhaps Okana is right, and it’s time to get on with my life. I’ll just have to wait and see how things develop with Fala.
“Mom says we have to sit down and be still to watch the sunset. You can sit next to me, Alex.”
When he looks over at Fala, her lips form a soft smile. “I think your mom is right. Where should we sit?”