Free Bound by Honor Bound by Love by Ruth Ann Nordin Page A

parents died. If it weren’t for me,
Hothlepoya wouldn’t have ever come here.”
    “ It’s not your fault,
Woape. You didn’t know what would happen when you left the
tribe.”
    “ No, I didn’t, but I was
selfish and irresponsible.”
    “ You can’t dwell on the
past. Nothing’s going to change it.”
    “ I know, but I still get
sick to my stomach when I think of the way I ran away from the
tribe. Citlali wouldn’t have married me if he knew how much I
opposed it. I should have talked to him and his father. The chief
had a lot of respect for Citlali’s father. Citlali’s father was a
good man.” She closed her eyes and rubbed them. “I could have
prevented so much heartache and death if I’d done it. The final
time Hothlepoya came to this tribe, Citlali’s father died defending
us.” She opened her eyes and looked at Penelope. “There are so many
things I’d do differently if I could.”
    “ Don’t blame yourself,
Woape. Hothlepoya was responsible for his actions. You couldn’t
control what he did any more than Etu could control the fact that
his sister ran out of the bushes. From what their aunts said, the
attack happened so suddenly that no one had time to prepare. It
must have been horrible.”
    “ Hothlepoya showed no
mercy.”
    Recalling the things Hothlepoya had
done to Woape, Penelope knew this was true. She glanced at Etu and
kissed the top of his head. “I’m sorry, Woape. I’m glad Gary found
you when he did, and I’m glad I got to see you again.”
    With a smile, Woape rubbed Penelope’s
back. “It’s good to see you, too. And you’re happy with
Cole.”
    “ Very happy. He’s
wonderful.”
    Woape’s gaze went back to Etu. “Do you
think he’ll be alright?”
    “ For the rest of the night,
yes. But tomorrow night…?” She shrugged. “I thought coming here
would give him something he needs to be at peace. I thought it
would answer some questions he’s had but couldn’t ask me since I
didn’t know his past or his family.”
    “ I think he just needs time
to work through his past. He could have been suppressing the past
and now it refuses to be pushed away anymore.”
    “ That could very well be
it. I just feel so sorry for him. If I could take the pain for him,
I would.”
    “ I know you would. You’re a
good mother, Penelope.”
    “ Thank you. Being married
to Cole is wonderful, of course, but I could never see my life
without children, and Cole was willing to adopt them so I jumped at
the chance. They might be a lot of work, but they’re worth
it.”
    “ Yes, they are.”
    Still holding Etu, Penelope stood up.
“I should put him back in bed. The poor thing has been through an
ordeal in coming here.”
    Woape nodded and got to her feet. “You
all have. I hope you’ll sleep well for the rest of the night. In
the morning, we’ll make the children’s favorite meal.”
    “ They’ll like
that.”
    After saying goodnight, Penelope
tucked Etu into bed and kissed his forehead. For someone so young,
he’d dealt with too many hardships. She’d do whatever she could to
make sure he was safe.
     
    ***
     
    In April, Onawa confirmed she was
expecting a child. This would please Citlali and the chief, and
Citlali would undoubtedly prefer her to the chief now because she’d
be the mother of his child. Then Ukiah couldn’t claim that she
wasn’t important to Citlali.
    She didn’t have the patience to wait
for Citlali to be done talking to the chief, and she didn’t want to
tell his family, not even his sister, until she told him. So she
spent a lot of time walking along the village, noting the melting
snow and the sun which warmed her enough so she didn’t have to hold
her buffalo robe so tightly around her. She already decided that
Citlali could name their child whatever he wanted. She was sure he
might choose the chief’s name, his father’s name, or a name that
held some significance to the tribe.
    She passed by the chief’s lodge,
wondering if Citlali was