Free Lakota Honor by Kat Flannery

away."
    He slammed his fist onto the table. Plates rattled against their forks.
    She jumped.
    "The money you talk of is mine. I work for it. I hammer every day for hours to put food on the table, and this is the thanks I get?"
    "No, no I appreciate all of those things, I do." She knelt in front of him. "But, Pa, you're drinking more and more every time."
    "Sheriff Reid mentioned that he spoke with you yesterday."
    The damn lawman was a boot-licker.
    "I...I went for a walk. I wandered a little too far. It was nothing." She fidgeted with her skirt.
    "You broke the rules, Nora, and at the end of the month we will be moving."
    "No, Pa. I thought it best to get some fresh air, that's all." She stood and walked to the counter.
    "What do you know about what's best? You're still a child."
    "That is not true, Pa. I am almost nineteen. Most women my age are married with children to care for." When he rolled his eyes and threw his fork onto his plate she knew this conversation wasn't going to go well. I'm in it now, no sense turning back.
    "Marriage will never be in your future, Nora. I've told you that time and time again. You are different, and you need to accept that."
    "I know I'm different. But I can still have a normal life—I can still be a normal girl."
    "No, Nora, you can't."
    "Mama could heal, and she married you." Bringing her mother into the conversation was a sure fire way to anger her father. Prepared for battle, she waited for him to say something.
    "Your mother didn't tell me until it was too late, until I found her hanging from a tree with a rope around her neck." He pushed his plate away.
    Tears filled her eyes, as she leaned against the counter. She knew how her mother died. Accused of being a witch, the townspeople broke into their home while her father was away and hung Hannah Rushton on the tree in their yard. Nora was a baby. Her father found her hours later nestled in the trunk in their bedroom. Afraid the angry posse would come for Nora, Pa took her and they fled in the middle of the night.
    "I am not Mother. No one here knows about my gift."
    "Gift?" he sneered. "You call what you have a gift ? It's a damn curse."
    "I can't change who I am."
    "No, you can't. That's why you must obey the rules I have set for you." He tapped his fingertips on the table, a sign he was frustrated and needed a drink.
    "But I—
    "I know, Nora. You want to be normal. But you're not," his voice grew louder. "You are different, not by choice, but different just the same."
    Desperation pulled at her sanity. She needed him to understand. "I have no friends. I want to get married some day. How can I do any of those things if you keep me locked up in the house?"
    He stood and raised his voice, "Are you not hearing me, daughter? You will never have those things. There will never be anyone who can be trusted enough to know. They will kill you." He ran his hand along his red face. "Do you understand? They will kill you." He slumped into his chair and murmured, "I could not bear finding you hanged from a tree, too."
    She went to him. "Please, Pa, I've been good. I promise. Let me have a little freedom."
    "No."
    Nora's cheeks flushed and she frowned. "I've met your end of the bargain. I stayed in the house," she yelled. "But you haven't kept yours. We have no money. You've gambled and drank it away."
    His face twisted and he glared at her.
    Nora stood her ground. She would not back down.
    "I'm the head of this house. I say where the money is spent." He grabbed her arms and leaned in so close she thought he would fall on top of her. "Do you hear me?" He shook her. "I am tired of you accusing me of not giving a damn. If I didn't, I'd let you roam the hills using your curse on who ever needed it."
    She looked into bloodshot eyes. There was no way to make him see. He was sick, and there was nothing she could do to help him. "I understand," she whispered.
    "I don't think you do." He wrenched her closer. "You want to have friends, and go out, and get