Silent Falcon snorted loudly, and Eliza fought to keep herself calm. He was infuriating, but she had to remember that he was feeling hurt and betrayed. It was a tense situation, and she kept glancing over at their sharp weapons.

  White Bear wasn’t there to protect her anymore, and if she didn’t manage to convince them to talk about peace, then she would be responsible for Sam’s death too. His trust weighed heavily on her shoulders. She couldn’t let anything happen to him.

  “Silent Falcon, please talk to us,” Eliza said. “Look, we’re not here to cause trouble. We came out here with good will and left our weapons behind. There is no trap. Please, for the sake of my father, White Bear, please talk to me.”

  The birds were chirping all around them, blissfully unaware of the drama that was unfolding. Eliza thought absently that it was just another ordinary day for most people. While her world was on the brink of utter destruction there were people who were only just beginning to wake up. What she wouldn’t have given to be one of them.

  Silent Falcon jerked at the mention of White Bear’s name. For an awful moment, Eliza thought that she had angered him, but to her relief, he nodded and dismounted his horse. One of his men tried to stop him, but he shook his head and walked over to them.

  “Hi there,” Sam said nervously, “my name is Sam.”

  Silent Falcon eyed Sam for a moment before sighing and inclining his head toward Sam. “Silent Falcon.”

  Eliza fought the urge to beam at them both. The last thing she needed was to embarrass either or both of them. Men could be tricky to deal with.

  “What is your plan?” Silent Falcon asked Eliza.

  “What if we negotiated a treaty so that we could all use the land?” Eliza asked. “We all need the land, and none of us are going to leave, so we must find a way to live in peace.”

  “This was our land first!” Silent Falcon protested. “Why must we give up any of our rights?”

  “The men of this tribe killed my family as well as his,” Eliza said raising an eyebrow.

  Silent Falcon’s mouth dropped open and he looked at Sam uncomfortably.

  “That’s right,” Eliza said firmly. “His family died in the attack too. White Bear ordered the attack against both of our families, but I still love him as a father. Would you be standing out here talking if you were in his position?”

  Silent Falcon grimaced and shook his head. “No.”

  “I didn’t think so,” Eliza said triumphantly, “and now you see the risk that he is taking. He has every reason to hate us, but he is taking a chance.”

  “For you,” Silent Falcon pointed out.

  “Aren’t you doing the same thing?”

  Silent Falcon let out a heavy breath and looked away. She continued watching him evenly and finally he gave a terse nod.

  “You’re being very difficult,” he said, “but I know your mother would have been proud of you. She predicted that you would be a great leader one day.”

  Eliza felt her cheeks heat up.

  “Is he flirting with you?” Sam asked, narrowing his eyes at Silent Falcon.

  “No,” Eliza chuckled, “he just told me that my mother would have been proud of me. I think we’re making progress, but it doesn’t help when you glare at him like that.”

  Sam snorted and looked away in annoyance.

  “Does he care for you?” Silent Falcon asked, tilting his head slightly as he watched their interaction.

  Eliza’s blush turned deeper, and Sam snorted. “Yes.”

  “Ah,” Silent Falcon said, nodding slowly, “I see now why you chose to follow him. You’re found your partner. I’m happy for you, Running Willow, but I do wish that you hadn’t chosen one of our enemies. I think you can do much better.”

  Eliza shook her head at him.

  “We don’t need to be enemies, you know,” Eliza said softly, “we could live together in harmony. My goal is to see us make peace with each other. I will not choose one or the other.”

  “I don’t know if I can trust you,” Silent Falcon admitted, “you say that you want peace and that you don’t want to pick sides, but you have clearly chosen him. If things became unjust, how do I know that you would keep your word? We have made treaties with his kind before, and they never ended well. We always ended up cheated out of our land.”

  Eliza put her hands on her hips and shook her head at Silent Falcon.

  “How long have you known me?” she asked, lifting her chin defiantly.

  Silent Falcon grimaced.

  “Don’t get angry with me, I am asking a good question,” Silent Falcon said defensively.

  “I asked, how long have you known me?” Eliza repeated.

  He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Since you were a child, more than ten summers.”

  “More than ten summers!” Eliza emphasized. “Don’t you remember what would happen when the other boys tried to steal your training weapon?”

  The tips of his ears went red, and he looked away.

  “I would always get it back to you,” Eliza reminded him. “When you were chosen to become the next chief, I was with you every step of the way. I helped you when you were frustrated, and I practiced fighting with you when you were afraid. You became like a brother to me.”

  Silent Falcon’s expression softened, and he looked at her earnestly. “These aren’t children’s games anymore, Running Willow. I appreciate everything you did for me, but this will affect my tribe for years. I need to put their best interests at heart. Look what happened the last time you two tried to talk to us, one of our warriors got hurt. He’s doing fine by the way, thanks for asking.”

  “So is the man who got hit with a spear,” Eliza said, “we could all talk about what we’ve lost and how we hurt each other, but somewhere along the line we need to admit that we’ve all had a part to play in this fight. What if we didn’t fight anymore? What if our children could grow up in peace? I would like very much if my children could be friends with your children.”

  Silent Falcon listened intently, his eyes brightening when she mentioned children. She could see that he was intrigued by the prospect.

  “I don’t want to have to choose between you,” Eliza said sincerely, “and I only want what is best. What if we all met each other as equals? Sam is a good man. You can trust him.”

  Silent Falcon looked over at Sam who was studying the terrain with a watchful eye. When Sam sensed Silent Falcon’s gaze on him, he gave the chief a small, tentative smile. Eliza watched breathlessly as Silent Falcon returned the gesture. It was a tiny step in the right direction.

  “Are you sure this could work?” Silent Falcon asked carefully.

  The sun had slowly risen over the horizon, painting the scene with vivid colors. It was already heating up, and Eliza couldn’t believe that they were only a few weeks away from winter. Her dress clung to her back, but it had nothing to do with the heat. She was so nervous that she was sweating like a pig.

  “I give you my word,” Eliza said, “and so does Sam. Why don’t we talk about some of the things you want, and we’ll tell you what we want? We’ll work from there to find a middle ground.”

  Silent Falcon hesitated and studied Sam carefully. “Will you look out for our interests as well as theirs?”

  Eliza felt hope soar inside her chest, and she nodded eagerly. Her goal was closer than ever before. In the back of her mind, the screams and terror from the attack that changed her life slowly quietened. She hadn’t realized that the screaming had stayed with her until it finally started to go away.

  “I promise,” she said solemnly. “Silent Falcon, I know you’re hurt that I decided to leave the tribe but know that I did it to find peace. Although I loved my parents, they were still responsible for the worst thing that ever happened to me. They would have wanted me to find a way to heal from what happened. I didn’t leave because I didn’t love the tribe.”

  Silent Falcon nodded slowly; his face apprehensive. “I will go and talk to the warriors. I, like Sam, am willing to put my weapons down in a show of good faith. I will follow you to the gates of the ranch. We can meet there.”

  “What happening?” Sam asked, looking between Eliza and Silent Falcon with a hopeful expression.

  “He’s willing to negotiate with us,” Eliza said, beaming from ear to ear. “We can tell the townsfolk that we’re making progress.”

  Sam nodded and looked at Silent Falcon gratefully. Silent Falcon reached out his hand as he had seen White Bear do with John. Sam took Silent Falcon’s hand and shook it firmly. The two men smiled at each other.

  “Alright,” Sam said enthusiastically, “I’m impressed we made it this far, now all we need to do is convince the townsfolk to negotiate too.”

  Chapter 23

  When Eliza and Sam walked back onto the ranch, she could feel the townsfolk watching them with bated breath.

  “What happened out there?” Jackson asked, his youthful face tight with anxiety.

  “They’re willing to negotiate,” Sam said, beaming with pride.

  A sigh of relief went through the crowd and Bradley stepped forward with a worried look. “Now, hold your horses everyone. If we can’t come to an agreement, this whole thing could still turn ugly.”

  “You’re not a very optimistic person, are you, Bradley?” Eliza asked, shaking her head at him.

  “I prefer to keep myself alive,” Bradley told her. “Besides, when you’ve been around the block as many times as I have, you learn a thing or two. We have to be careful otherwise they might still bamboozle us.”

  “Thanks for the warning,” Sam said good-naturedly. “I’d like it if you went with me to negotiate. We could do a lot of good for this community.”

  Bradley’s eyes shone, and Eliza could tell that he was touched by Sam’s words. Eliza watched Sam choose a handful of other men to accompany them and felt a thrill go through her. Her dream of peace was finally being realized. Now she didn’t have to worry about Sam finding out about her past or about never seeing the tribe again.

  Life was good, and she felt happier than she could ever remember being. However, Bradley’s words put a real damper on her joy, but she also recognized the value in what he said. It was still too early to celebrate properly.

  “Do we know what our terms are going to be?” Bradley asked.

  As Eliza moved to join the conversation, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Mary.

  “I’m sorry about what I said earlier,” Mary said, her expression sheepish. “I never meant to insult you or Sam. I know y’all are good people. And I’m so glad that he found you again after all these years.”

  Eliza smiled brightly at Mary. “I never held it against you. I know you were just scared, and if I had been in your position then I would have done the same. Is Richard doing alright?”

  “He’ll be just fine,” Mary said, clearly relieved. “The doctor gave him something for his pain. Poor Richard was trying to get out of bed so that he could join the fight. When he found out what y’all were doing, he just about fell outta the bed. I’ll be honest with you, none of us thought that this was possible.”

  “I know,” Eliza said, “it was a tall order, but I think we’re making a lot of progress. It might take time, but if we’re all willing to play our part then this could really work.”

  Mary nodded, but she bit her lip nervously. It was clear that she was holding something back.

  “What’s bothering you?” Eliza asked gently. “You know you can talk to me.”

  Mary looked at Eliza warily then sighed.

  “I know this might make you mad, but a lot of us are still afraid. We grew up learning to fear the Indians, I just don’t know if this is gonna last. What if they’re tricking us so that they can hit us when we least expect it? You wouldn’t believe the stories I’ve heard.”

  “I would,” Eliza said grimly, “I grew up hearing those stories too. You know, they have their own stories about us, and if even half of ‘em are true…”

  She trailed off and shook her head. It wouldn’t do good to dwell on the fear.

  “Mary, listen to me, fear is normal. I know it’s going to take some time, but I believe that we can get through this. This is a lot to process right now, but this all starts with us. If you’re confident, then others will follow your example. If you want, I can introduce you to some of my friends,” Eliza suggested.

  “Perhaps when you see that we aren’t so different after all, this could be a lot easier on you.”

  Mary grimaced and shook her head. “I don’t know…”

  “Well, you took me in without even thinking twice about it,” Eliza pointed out.

  “Hey now,” Mary said with a frown, “that’s different and you know it.”

  “Is it?” Eliza asked with a smile. “You took one look at me and decided to take care of me.”

  “Seems like that’s a pattern,” Mary said with a chuckle. “It’s different, though, because Sam vouched for you. We all trust Sam a lot around here.”

  “And now he’s vouching for the Indians,” Eliza said, nodding to where he was talking to Bradley and a few other men.

  His eyes shone and he looked like he was in his element. Eliza was amazed by what a capable leader he was, and her heart swelled with love when she looked at him. Although she knew he was a good man, she had doubted that he would want anything to do with her once he knew about her past.

  And now she knew just how good he was. Not only was he willing to move past everything, but he had joined her in taking a huge risk. He had vouched for and believed in her. Eliza knew there was no one else out there for her except for Sam.

  She may have lost a lot when she was a child, but she was immensely grateful that Sam had been returned to her. She didn’t know what she would have done without him. If another man had been in his shoes, the outcome would have been extremely different.

  “You’re right,” Mary said thoughtfully, “I suppose you have a point. I’ll tell the others that we should give the Indians a chance. I hope the negotiations go well…”

  “They will,” Eliza promised, “and thank you. A lot of people look up to you around here, and it will be a big help knowing that I have you in my corner.”

  “You sure do,” Mary said with a bright smile. “Now that you’re one of us, we’ll always take care of you.”

  Eliza was touched, and she was going to say more when Sam called her over.

  “We’re ready to leave, Eliza,” Sam said, “we need you to come with us.”

  “Coming!” Eliza replied before turning to Mary. “Thanks, Mary, I’ll always take care of you too.”

  She gave Mary one last smile before hurrying off to where Sam and the others were waiting. Sam had chosen Bradley, Roger, and a few other men to join them. When they left, the atmosphere on the ranch was much better, and some of the people even climbed onto the wall so that they could watch the negotiations.

  Silent Falcon and the other warriors were waiting about a mile away from the ranch. Most of the warriors had been sent further back, and only a small group met Eliza and Sam. Everyone had put their weapons away, but they still looked at each other with suspicion.

  “Tell them that we’re going to write down everything we say, and they have to sign it,” Bradley said, eyeing Silent Falcon carefully.

 

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