Читать книгу Black Raven's Pride - Aimee Thurlo - Страница 15

Eden took a tissue from a small packet and began to dab a cut above Thomas’s eyebrow.

Thomas seemed content to accept Eden’s care, but Nick knew what was going through his mind. His uncle was weighing his options and looking for a way to avoid answering questions.

“Have you been by the ranch lately?” Nick asked. He took his uncle’s arm as Eden finished, and led him toward the tribal vehicle.

Thomas slowed down imperceptibly, then matched Nick’s pace again. “Why that particular question?” Thomas gave Nick a speculative glance and, as Nick opened the rear door of the tribal unit, got inside.

Thomas hadn’t denied it. More than ever, Nick suspected that Thomas had the diary. Thomas wouldn’t have been so cagey if he hadn’t had something to hide.

“I owe you one, nephew, and Eden, too,” he said as they got underway. “Things could have gone very badly for me in that arroyo if you hadn’t come along. So tell me straight out what I can do to repay you.”

As they reached the developed area of the pueblo, Nick glanced back at Thomas. His face had been bruised in several places and his left eye was starting to swell shut, but he’d be okay. “What I can always use from you, uncle, is information.”

Thomas wiped his face clean with a handkerchief and straightened his shirt. When they entered the Plaza, he gestured toward the soda machine in front of the Cultural Center. “Let’s stop there. You can buy your old uncle something cold to drink, and we’ll talk.”

Nick pulled into an empty parking space, parked, then led the way to the covered porch by the Center. Placing several quarters in the machine, he pulled out three cans of soda, tossed one to his uncle and handed another to Eden. “Tell me, Uncle, did you come to my niece’s naming ritual last month? It was a big day for our family, but I don’t remember running into you then.”

Thomas smiled. “Yes, I was there with Theresa.” He glanced over at Eden, then lapsed into a lengthy silence.

Eden stood. “I’m going to go to the trading post across the street and see if I can pick up the postcards for my class’s project there.”

Nick nodded, grateful that she’d sensed he and his uncle needed a few minutes alone.

As Eden walked away, Nick continued. “Tell me, did you get a chance to…look around the place now that Jake’s family has taken it over? Curiosity and old habits can be a powerful incentive.”

Thomas shook his head. “The past is over and done with. I’m not much interested in Black Raven Ranch these days.”

“It still holds the things that defined your sister—our mother.”

“If you’re talking about her art, I agree. But if you mean the diary…” He shook his head. “That should have been destroyed a long time ago—burned to a crisp and the ashes strewn into the wind—if you ask me. But I guess you and Jake couldn’t bring yourselves to do that.” He suddenly stopped speaking, studied Nick’s face, then exhaled softly. “It’s missing again, isn’t it?” The question was rhetorical. “You boys should have expected that to happen, you know. But don’t come looking to me. I haven’t got it. You two should keep better track of that thing.”

His response had seemed candid and not at all what Nick had expected. Now he wasn’t so sure that his uncle had it. Then again, his uncle had survived for decades conning others. “That diary is our property. It’s a record of our mother’s past, and belongs with me and my brother.”

“Tell me something, nephew. Did you ever really read it?”

Nick hesitated, unwilling to lie but not wanting to give his uncle any more information. Instead, he glanced over at Eden who was crossing the street on her way back.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” he said, accurately interpreting Nick’s silence. “Take my advice. Don’t. Sometimes it’s better not to disturb the past.”

Seeing the way Nick was watching Eden, Thomas smiled. “She’s a real sharp lady, but she’s another one who needs to learn that same lesson. Eden just came back, and already that old issue about half whites living on the pueblo is creating a stir. Then, there’s the matter of those ceremonial objects that her parents are accused of taking. If she’s come here looking for the truth about that crime, she’s in for a few surprises. I doubt those things will ever turn up. And, to make things worse, she may not be able to live with what she uncovers, or the price it’ll exact.”

“Just what do you know about Eden and her past?” Nick asked.

Thomas slowly grinned. “So you’re in love with her again after all these years. Or did you ever stop loving her in the first place?”

Nick’s face became as neutral as he could manage. His uncle was an old poker player and could read every nuance in his expression. He’d have to be more careful. “There’s nothing between Eden and me. We’ve just been trying to catch whoever has been harassing her.”

Thomas shook his head. “Don’t kid a kidder, nephew.” He smiled at Eden as she came back and joined them.

Eden gave Thomas a worried look. “Are you going to be okay? You look like they punched you pretty hard.”

“I’ve taken worse.” Thomas looked at Nick, then back at Eden. “It’s great to see you two together again. I remember when you’d both sneak off so you could be alone down by the river. Wasn’t your favorite meeting place by that big old cottonwood?”

Eden’s face turned crimson. “How did you know that? We were always so careful.”

“I saw you two there a few times after school, but I never said anything because I thought you were good for each other.” He looked directly at Eden and held her gaze. “I still do. You have a history together, and that binds you in its own way.”

Eden froze, barely breathing.

Nick glanced at her, sensing her fear, but not understanding why she was afraid. There was so much he didn’t know about her. And, right now, he just couldn’t figure out why she felt so threatened by Thomas.

“Your mother, Isabel, and Nick’s mother, Saya, were very good friends,” Thomas said. “You two were just kids then, but I remember overhearing them making plans to fix you up someday.”

“Did my father know about that?” Nick asked, surprised.

“No way. Saya’s friendship with Isabel irritated him to no end because he seriously believed that no pueblo man or woman should ever marry outside the tribe. He really disapproved of Eden on principle, and that’s why he tried to so hard to discourage you from dating her when you were both in high school. He changed a lot in his last few years, but back then he drew a hard line.”

“I knew that Nick’s dad didn’t approve of my friendship with his son, but I never could blame him for wanting what he thought was the best for Nick,” Eden said.

“But now you want to prove that you’re as good as anyone else here,” Thomas observed. “I can understand that, but consider everything carefully before you act. If you insist on digging up the past, you may uncover more than the secrets you were after.”

“My parents were innocent. They didn’t deserve what they got. I realize I can’t change what happened to them, but I can affect the legacy I’ll be leaving for my son. Because of him, I’m going to do whatever it takes to clear my family’s name.”

“If you’re wrong about your parents’ innocence, you’ll lose far more than a reputation,” Thomas said, shaking his head.

“What do you mean?” For the first time, Eden’s voice held a trace of uncertainty.

“If you uncover proof that your parents did commit a crime against the tribe instead of proving them innocent, the house you’re living in will be taken away from you immediately, and both you and your son will be banned from the pueblo forever. Remember that this has nothing to do with white man’s laws. It’s all about our way of doing things. You will be held accountable for what your parents did. The reason your father fought so hard to clear his wife was because he knew they would have lost their land and the right to live here if he didn’t. He was fighting for more than justice. He was fighting for everything he held dear.”

Eden paled. “My parents were framed and the truth needs to come out.”

“Are you prepared to gamble that the ones who framed them won’t also frame you?” Thomas took a final swallow of his soda, and set the empty can down on the table with a flourish.

Eden stared at the man’s battered face, this time unable to reply.