Free Savage Winter by Constance O'Banyon

down to her stomach. Suddenly, he became fully awake. It was a woman all right, but it wasn’t Joanna! Joanna’s waist was tiny, and her stomach was smooth and flat. This woman was much larger.
    “Windhawk,” Red Bird whispered in his ear. “Long have I seen you from a distance and wanted to feel your hands on me.”
    Windhawk tried to push Red Bird away, but she laughed and bent her head to find his lips. He stiffened as her mouth covered his.

Chapter Six
    The unbearable summer heat continued to parch the land. Rivers that usually ran full to their banks were now dangerously low and mud-colored. The grasses were dry and spindly, causing the herds of buffalo to move out of the area in search of grazing land. The Blackfoot warriors, as always, followed the trail of the buffalo.
    Windhawk had been away from the village for almost two months. Joanna continued to feel restless and irritated because he hadn’t come home. She had thought that by now he would, at least, have come back for a visit, but that hadn’t been the case. She still watched many of the other warriors come and go as they took time out for brief visits to their families, but her husband hadn’t come to her.
    At one point, Windhawk had sent word to Joanna that he and his warriors were following the trail of the buffalo.That had been over three weeks ago. Since that time she had heard nothing from him.
    At first she had felt extremely lonely without Windhawk. That loneliness had now turned to anger. If the other husbands could visit their wives, why then couldn’t Windhawk come to see her?
    She wanted to tell him about the child she was carrying, but that wasn’t the kind of news a woman sent to her husband by a messenger.
    Windhawk had sent his kills back to the village with several of his warriors. By now all the meat had either been cured or made into pemmican, which was dried and stored for the winter months when food was scarce. The hides had been tanned and made into soft robes or stored away for future needs. The lodge was spotlessly clean, and Joanna felt time weighing heavily on her hands.
    She had been so proud of the fine shirt Sun Woman had helped her make for Windhawk. Sun Woman had given her some blue beads and Joanna had attached them to the front of the shirt. It had been fun embroidering the beads onto the shirt in the shape of a hawk with a wide wingspread, as if the bird was in flight. As the weeks passed and still Windhawk hadn’t come home, Joanna had angrily packed the shirt away.
    It was a scorching hot day as Joanna and Windhawk’s sister walked toward her lodge. Joanna had been suffering from morning sickness and was trying to cover it up, not wanting anyone to know about the baby she was carrying until she could tell Windhawk.
    Morning Song watched Joanna out of the corner of her eyes. She could tell Joanna was upset by the way she bit her lower lip, and she wanted to comfort her.
    “I am very angry with your brother, Morning Song. Am I his wife or just a convenience that he notices when the mood strikes him?”
    “You are upset becase Gray Fox brought you no word from Windhawk?” Morning Song inquired.
    Joanna neared her lodge and angrily threw the flap back, then went inside and sat down on a buffalo robe before she answered. “No, I am angry because Gray Fox could come home to see his family and Windhawk stays away from his. He is treating me as if I don’t even exist!”
    “Joanna, as chief, Windhawk must make many sacrifices. I know he would rather be here with you, but he must put himself last. He feels he must set an example for his warriors to follow,” Morning Song defended her brother.
    Joanna faced Morning Song angrily. “I doubt that the village would fall into ruin if Windhawk were to come home for at least a day to visit his own wife. It would serve him right if I weren’t here when he did return!”
    Morning Song sat down and took Joanna’s hand. “I know why you are upset. You have heard about the