Tykota's Woman(33)

She rushed back into the cave and went to the inner cavern, thinking it would be safe there and perhaps she wouldn't be able to hear the thunder. She stared through the opening at the top, watching as the sky grew darker and darker. Soon the blackness became so deep, so frightening, that she welcomed the intermittent flashes of lightning that gave her a moment's reprieve from the black void.

Makinna clung to the walls of the cave, her fear becoming like a living thing that could pounce on her at any moment. She was sobbing as she dropped to her knees, so frightened that she couldn't stop shaking. Just when she thought she could stand it no longer, strong arms came around her, and she was pulled against a hard chest.

"Makinna, it's all right," Tykota said, holding her tightly. Her fear struck at his very soul. "The storm will not harm you. You are safe in here."

She buried her face against his chest, trembling. "I have... always feared storms," she gasped between sobs.

Tykota had never seen her cry, so he knew her fear must be unspeakable. "It will not harm you in this cave. The lightning cannot penetrate solid rock."

That thought calmed her. Or was it being in Tykota's arms that made her feel safe? She drew on his strength and was comforted by it.

"I thought you weren't ever coming back."

He brushed tumbled hair out of her face and spoke as a father might to a frightened child. "I would never desert you, Makinna."

She looked up at him just as a flash of lightning illuminated his face. She was stunned by the softness she saw in his expression. Or was it a trick of the shadows?

The emotions between them were as electri fying as the lightning that tore the sky. But now, instead of fear, desire rippled through her in waves. "Hold me. Hold me tight," she pleaded.

Tykota's arms tightened about Makinna, and he felt her melt against him. She trusted him, and he was waging a war within himself, trying not to think of her softness, her curves, her lips pressed against his neck.

He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. Gently, he guided her through the narrow opening to the outer cave. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Then let me show you and tell you about the storm you are frightened of. An Indian learns at an early age that if he understands his enemy's strength, it diminishes his fear."

He led her out into the rain and turned her toward the valley. Her heart was still pounding furiously.

"Take a deep breath, Makinna. Feel the rain. Smell the rain. Become part of the storm. Feel its power. Respect its strength, and do not try to ignore it or take it lightly. Become as one with the storm. Then there is nothing in the storm that will harm you."

She did smell the rain being absorbed by the dry earth, and that scent somehow reminded her of home. It was the same cleansing smell that came right after an April shower.

Tykota gazed down at her. "Do you feel the force of the storm bringing the earth renewal, Makinna? Listen. Listen to the song of the earth as it responds to the storm. Where there was desolation, the rain brings life."

She felt the heat of his body, and it was definitely bringing hers to life. "Yes," she whispered through trembling lips. "I feel it."

His gaze went beyond her to the rumbling sky. "Think of the storm like a man giving life into the body of a woman. The land would die without the storm." His gaze fastened on her lips, and he felt as if his soul was on fire. "And a man will die inside without the love of his woman."

Rain pelted against her, plastering her hair to her face and her gown to her body. "I don't believe I shall ever fear a storm again," she said, as he turned and led them back into the cave. "I don't know if it is because you are with me, or because of what you said, but the fear is gone now."

He wanted to pull her against him. He wanted to ask her to be his woman and to walk through life with him. But where he must go, she could not follow. Where he went, she did not belong.

"Fear, like every other emotion, can be conquered, Makinna. It takes only the will and the need."

"Can love be conquered as easily, Tykota?" Tears began mixing with the wetness already on her cheeks. "Can love be cast aside like something unwelcome and unwanted?"

He stared at her for a long moment and then said harshly, "Love is the easiest of all emotions to conquer." He glanced away, since he couldn't look into her eyes, knowing he was wounding her, wounding himself. "Make ready to leave. We ride out tonight."

"Ride?"

"That is right. We ride."

Her eyes widened. It occurred to her that the only way he could have acquired horses in this desert was to take them from the Apache warriors. "They are Apache horses, aren't they?"