Rain Shadow(9)

There was never enough time, and that's probably what made him feel so  angry-and helpless. The crops were barely in, and preparations needed to  be made for winter. When he had a wife, she could take over some of the  tasks, and he'd have more time for his son.

He should have been the one to take Nikolaus hunting, rather  than-inadvertently, he watched the snug seat of her leather pants as she  moved silently ahead of him-rather than the gun-toting, curvy...

He'd been outdone by a woman. No, a mere snip of a girl. Rain Shadow had  none of the qualities necessary to snag a husband. She compared  unfavorably in all areas to his sisters-in-law-well, almost all areas,  he conceded, and wrenched his gaze from her rounded backside. Lydia and  Annette dressed demurely, moved with ease and comfort in a kitchen and  wouldn't know the first thing about shooting a turkey.

When he found a mother for Nikolaus, she for sure wouldn't be digging  his father position out from under him. She wouldn't be proud or show  off her shooting skills.                       
       
           



       

From the top of the bank, Nikolaus squealed with delight and hopped up and down. "Pa! Pa! Hurry!"

Realizing he'd lagged behind, Anton limped toward them, wondering what his son found so thrilling.

"Look, Pa! It is him, ain't it, Rain Shadow? It's Buffalo Bill, Pa!  Look!" Nikolaus dropped the bag with the game and raced toward the yard.

Eight or ten riders approached the house on prancing horses. Ahead of  the party, astride a black horse with white socks and blaze, in  thigh-high black boots and wide-brimmed sombrero, was, indeed, the famed  Buffalo Bill Cody.





Chapter Three




Closing the distance to the house, Rain Shadow paused near a rope swing  hung from the bough of an ancient oak. A squirrel disturbed from its  ruthless gathering scampered into the branches overhead and chattered  down at her. Ignoring it, she watched Will and the other riders approach  the house. Nikolaus raced past her, intent on reaching the  bigger-than-life Buffalo Bill first.

Anton walked around her, and she shot into step behind him. As they drew  near, she observed his expression. He took stock of the horses with  their hand-tooled silver and turquoise-studded saddles, as well as the  opulently dressed men who rode them. They're show people, she bit back,  as if their finery required explanation or excuses.

"Princess!" Will caught sight of Rain Shadow and doffed his wide-brimmed  hat, waving it in enormous arcs. His magnificent black horse raised its  forelegs and stood for impressive minutes on powerful hind legs.

"Gosh." Slack-jawed, Nikolaus stared at the extraordinary sight.

"Will! Hank!" Caught up in the excitement of seeing her extended family,  Rain Shadow waved. "Come on, Nikolaus! Let's greet Will."

They covered ground rapidly, Anton at their heels. Will Cody slid from  his saddle and swung her up and around in a bearlike embrace. She clung  to him, a bittersweet emotion aching in her chest. The show was leaving  tomorrow. She was staying behind.

Will seemed to sense her distress. "How's Slade?"

"He'll be fine, but he can't be moved for a while yet." She released him  and they strolled arm in arm a few steps from the others.

"Two Feathers told me," Will replied, genuine concern in his voice.  "That's why we came out before the train leaves tomorrow." He smiled his  handsome smile, his once-dark mustache and goatee shot with streaks of  white. Though from time to time Rain Shadow resented him for not  agreeing with her own aspirations in the show, his magnetism and her  love for him made it difficult to stay upset.

She understood his position. He had Annie Oakley. Annie was his big  draw, and wisely he played her up. She was the little lady, or as  Sitting Bull had dubbed her, Little Sure Shot. Will referred to her as  little Missy.

Rain Shadow was his Princess-his Indian Princess. She drew audiences,  too, billed as Princess Blue Cloud. Will preferred that she keep her  performance centered on knives, hatchets and bareback stunts on Jack,  playing on her uncanny Indian appearance and abilities.

She'd been cast in this role, and no one would ever see her differently  unless she broke loose from the mold. Sometimes she wasn't certain who  she was. Was she white or red on the inside? She was white, but she'd  been raised by an Indian in an era when the Indian's home and culture  were rapidly being destroyed. She loved Two Feathers and respected his  heritage, but for Slade's sake she wanted recognition as a white.

Remembering her manners, she broke away and introduced Anton and  Nikolaus to Will, six-foot-five-inch Buck Taylor, King of the Cowboys,  Johnny Baker and the other well-wishers.

Hank Tall Bear, dressed in his usual leather vest and fringed pants,  grinned like an ornery brother. "Princess, your beauty grows with each  setting sun. I will have to offer your father many more horses for you  next time."

She laughed spontaneously. The brawny-chested Indian was a fellow actor.  In the show they enacted a marriage proposal and wedding ceremony,  complete with the exchange of goods and ponies, Two Feathers decked out  in a father's headdress and she in white ceremonial garb.

Johann appeared on the porch, and introductions began again. The entire  Neubauer family gathered for the momentous occasion of having the  illustrious Will Cody on their property, and Annette ushered everyone  into the enormous kitchen. Franz and Annette's oldest, five- year-old  Clara, was in competition with Nikolaus for the seat with the best view  of the famed Buffalo Bill.                       
       
           



       

Rain Shadow watched Jakob's pregnant wife, Lydia, a tall, dark-haired  beauty, produce biscuits, jams and jellies, and serve them to the  guests. Annette made pot after pot of coffee. The two women moved with  grace, perfectly at ease in their wifely roles. She tried to imagine  herself performing the same task, entertaining company in such a  kitchen, but the thought unnerved her. Gingham dresses, starched white  aprons and hair arranged in upswept knots caught and held her attention.  The two women spoke softly to each other as they effortlessly made the  guests welcome. Rain Shadow decided she'd just as soon look a bobcat in  the eye than test her own domestic ability.

The consummate storyteller, Will needed no encouragement to elaborate on  stories of his days as a scout, including working for Custer. A famed  buffalo hunter, he'd led royalty on glamorous hunts. With the children's  undivided attention, he told how his beloved son, Kit Carson Cody, had  been captured by Gypsies. At the tender age of four, he had marked the  trail and escaped.

"Where is Kit?" Nikolaus wanted to know.

Will did his best to keep his expression from revealing pain. "He caught scarlet fever a year later and died."

Having heard the stories dozens of times, Rain Shadow watched the rapt  expressions of those listening. Johann's faded blue eyes misted over  with the telling of Kit's death. Lydia rested her hand on his wrinkled  one, and Rain Shadow was intrigued by the interaction between father-in-  law and daughter-in-law. Johann gripped Lydia's fingers gratefully.

The tale of subchief Yellow Hair snared the family's attention. DeWitt's  Ten Cent Romances had called the Indian Yellow Hand, which Will assured  them was not so. Poor Yellow Hand had died so many times in so many  places and in so many different accounts that the truth ran a sorry last  for legend material.

Truth of it was, Cody assured them, eight hundred Sioux and Cheyenne had  bolted from their reservation. Will and Hayowei, Yellow Hair, rode  face-to-face, surprising one another. Both fired. Will's bullet went  through Yellow Hair's leg, killing his pinto pony. Yellow Hair's bullet  went wild. Cody's horse stepped in a prairie dog hole and stumbled.

"Looked pretty bad for me," Will said, "but I managed to jump clear. On  my knees, I took aim and fired Lucrezia Borgia-that's my buffalo gun."  Both arms lifted in pantomime, he squinted down the barrel of an  imaginary rifle. His enthralled audience held their breath. "Hayowei  fired, too, but he missed me. My bullet went clean through his head."

"Did ya scalp 'im, Bill?" Nikolaus asked, and Anton looked decidedly uncomfortable.

"I did," Will replied. "I sent his scalp, war bonnet, shield, bridle,  whip and arms home to St. Louie, and a friend put them in his clothing  store window."

Annette and Lydia exchanged looks of thinly veiled horror.

Will quickly changed the subject, relating his days with Texas Jack,  Bill Hickok and Sitting Bull. Will Cody was a master showman, whether  commandeering hundreds of whites, Indians and animals in a street parade  or Wild West performance or just sitting around a campfire or the  Neubauers' kitchen table.