Free Scars of the Heart by Joni Keever Page A

obsidian chunks. A fire burned within them, and she swallowed the words she wanted to say. For a time neither moved; then Kade turned away.
    “I need to water the black.”
    He moved to gather the animal’s reins, then led him through the trees. Carly’s chest still rose and fell in a heavy rhythm. She stared at the forest in fury, needing a valve for the head of steam building within her. “Why don’t you give your horse a proper name?” she hollered after him. “Sounds pretty stupid just to call him ‘the black.’”

#
    Timid stars twinkled from behind the thick blanket of clouds. The murky shadows moved slowly across the dark sky, covering the moon and taunting the night. An owl hooted somewhere in the distance. Carly stared upward, Kade’s blanket pulled snug beneath her chin despite the warm temperature.
    Occasionally, she glanced to where he slept—head propped against his saddle, hat covering his face, arms crossed over his chest. She could just make out his silhouette in the dim light.
    Kade had stayed away for quite some time, long enough that Carly grew nervous. She kept telling herself that he wouldn’t leave her, no matter how mad he was. Yet he had his horse, his gun, everything but the food and water. Something told her that a man like Kade didn’t need food and water to survive. He seemed to be as much a part of this land as the coyote or the mountain lion.
    With effort, she had managed to act nonchalant when he finally returned, just as the last rays of sun began to slip from the sky. And when he’d built a fire to cook the second rabbit of the day, she’d helped gather wood and collect the tin dinnerware from the saddlebag.
    But sleep eluded Carly. She replayed their heated discussion time and again in her mind. Kade’s accusations of injustice burned within her like embers from the fire. He had a handful of hate and heart full of hurt. He was dangerous and unpredictable.
    She thought of the town they would visit sometime tomorrow. Telegraph or no telegraph, stage or no stage, aunt or no aunt—she had to get away from Kade. She had to escape as soon as possible. Somehow, Carly sensed, she had more to lose at the hands of this man than any who came before.

#
    Kade sat cross-legged on a large, flat rock. His hands rested lightly on his knees. He lifted his face to the warmth of the morning sun. Bright-orange light spread behind his closed eyelids, and he prayed. He beseeched the God of his mother and the Gods of his father.
    Clearing his mind, Kade meditated. He pictured himself in a spiritual place—walking among the clouds, gazing down at the mountaintops, and breathing deeply of peaceful serenity.
    Life, as he knew it, came to an end just over three years ago. Every day since had been like flashes of a nightmare, the type that haunted the dreamer the morning after. Each time he thought he had the answers, felt he knew how to proceed, something happened that caused Kade to falter—a new obstacle or fork in the road.
    He didn’t feel as if he was in control of his life at all. After spending months with his father’s people, having both physical and spiritual life pumped back into him, Kade thought he knew the path to follow. Yet things kept happening to confuse him. Perhaps he’d made a mistake. Perhaps he’d traveled in circles. Perhaps he needed new guidance. That’s what he sought as he walked among the clouds.
    When Kade opened his eyes, he wasn’t sure how much time had passed. The sun, which had only peeked from the horizon earlier, now sat well above the flat terrain. He lifted his face to the heavens. A lone eagle floated in lazy circles. He watched, spellbound. The huge bird glided effortlessly. It spiraled downward, directing its slow flight toward Kade. The eagle cocked its head to the side, blinked one golden eye, then rose with a beat of mighty wings and disappeared into the vast blue sky.
    With a deep breath, Kade thanked the spirits for not denying him. But he hadn’t