worried about the baby becoming chilled, so she took the rabbit furs out of the cradleboard and covered her with them.
The baby cooed and lifted her tiny hands, entranced with Serena’s long, tangled red hair. Little fingers touched the burnished hair, and Serena’s smile deepened.
“You’re a pretty colleen.“ Serena leaned down, pressed a kiss to her brow and inhaled deeply. Babies always smelled so clean, so fresh. Serena’s heart blossomed with a fierce feeling of motherly concern over the vulnerable child. The months of hell Serena had endured with Blackjack subsided as the baby’s bowlike lips broke into a smile, her fingers happily investigating strands of Serena’s hair. For the first time in a long while, Serena felt an unparalleled peace flow through her. In amazement, she realized it was due to the baby in her arms, who was studying her with so much adoration and trust.
The elkskin hide across the entrance to the tepee was pulled open. Serena tensed, her eyes widening. It was the same warrior. He was dressed in a buckskin shirt and leggings. The breechclout was made of red wool and hung to midthigh. There were porcupine quill designs on the shirt in vivid red, yellow and blue. His thick, black braids were wrapped in glossy, dark brown otter fur, with bright red cloth above and below the sleek fur. He wore a white bone choker around his neck, which held a round, pale pink shell in the center of it. Below the choker was another necklace displaying a single, large tooth.
Wolf halted halfway into the tepee. He saw Cante Tinza sitting there, tense, holding Dawn Sky. The woman’s eyes were huge with vigilance. Realizing he was holding the flap open and the warmth was escaping from the tepee, Wolf quickly shut it and moved inside. Where was Deer Woman? She had promised to take the baby with her. Had she left the infant behind again?
Wolf carefully held on to his anger because he realized the red-haired one was able to sense such a thing even if he didn’t show it. He moved slowly to his pallet, a mere five feet from her. The driving need to reach Cante Tinza, to make her understand that he wasn’t going to hurt her, overwhelmed Wolf. He set the freshly killed rabbit aside and devoted his attention to her.
Pointing to himself, he said, “Tashuunka, Wolf.“ Then he pointed at her and asked, “Suna?”
Mouth dry, Serena clutched the baby to her breast. The dark look in the warrior’s eyes made her uncomfortable. Yet when he spoke his name, Wolf, her heart slowed its frantic beating. Again, he repeated his name and her name.
Gathering up all her courage, Serena whispered, “Wolf?”
A pleased look came to his face, and he nodded gravely. “Han, yes. Wolf. You, Suna?”
She shook her head. “Not Suna. Serena.”
Wolf scowled and quickly looked down at the moccasins on his feet. The deerskin leather was wet from his foray into the woods and he needed to change into a dry pair. Her voice, trembling and husky, sizzled through him. English was not an easy language to speak. The r sound wasn’t used by the Lakota, and he found it difficult to even form the sound on his lips.
Looking up, he slowly met her wary gaze. “Sunan?”
A part of Serena relaxed as she saw Wolf’s face lose its hardness. She saw him trying to move his lips into the correct position to say her name. It was his eyes, a curiosity gleaming in them, that kept her on guard.
“Serena.”
Snorting, Wolf shook his head. He lifted his hand in a gesture of patience. He pointed to her and said, “Heart,” and he thumped his chest where his heart lay. “I not say other name. Cante Tinza, Brave Heart,” and he touched his chest again.
The baby cooed happily, her attention and fingers lost in the array of Serena’s red hair. Sensing Wolf’s effort to communicate with her, Serena repeated, “Heart?”
“Yes, Cante, chonteh. Heart.“ He gave her a slight nod and added, “Brave. Tinza, tinzah.”
“Tinza? Brave?”
Wolf grunted, pleased. “Han. Yes!” He pointed to her. “You Brave Heart. Cante Tinza, not Suna.”
“I’m Cante Tinza?”
“Yes!”
The pleasure radiated from Wolf’s rugged features, and for an instant, Serena felt his joy over establishing communication with her. Brave Heart. It was a beautiful name, a courageous name. She watched his facial expressions closely. Deer Woman had had trouble pronouncing her name, too. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to let them call her whatever they wanted. And then Serena realized it didn’t matter, because she was a prisoner.
She looked down at the baby. “The baby’s diaper was wet. That’s why I took her out of the cradle.”
The English words came too fast, and there were too many of them for Wolf to understand. Frustrated, he opened his hands. “Eh?”
Serena pointed to the baby.
With a grunt, Wolf said, “Dawn Sky.”
“Dawn Sky.”
“Han.”
Serena pointed to the baby’s bare bottom and the discarded diaper in the cradleboard. “Wet,” she said.
“Ho,” Wolf muttered. Showing her he understood, he unwound from his crouch and moved to locate the parfleche that contained several folded fawnskins and dried cattails. He heard Cante Tinza gasp. Realizing he’d moved too quickly, that she still was highly mistrustful of him, Wolf halted. Cante Tinza sat there, the baby clutched to her breast, her eyes narrowed. It wounded his pride that she continued to fear him. Hadn’t he shown her he was her friend? That he’d just honored her with a sacred and powerful name? To be given a Lakota name by a medicine man was considered the highest of honors. Wolf admitted she knew nothing of his people’s customs. But surely Cante Tinza realized he had treated her in a friendly fashion.
Lifting his hand, he murmured, “Safe. Cante Tinza, safe. No hurt.”
No hurt. Serena stared up at Wolf, his bulk filling her vision, the shadow of his form dancing against the skin of the tepee behind him. Shadows frightened her even more because Blackjack would often appear out of the shadows of the night after silently entering her bedroom and rape her. Forcing herself to relax, Serena placed the baby in her lap as Wolf moved with deliberateness to the rear of the tepee, behind the cradleboard. He brought forth a rawhide container and placed it in front of her.
Crouching down, Wolf opened the container. “Look,” he invited, and gestured for her to come and investigate the parfleche. She eyed him and didn’t move. Understanding all too clearly how much she continued to fear him, Wolf stood up and backed away.
Keeping one eye on the warrior across the tepee Serena peered inside the container. Delighted to find the dry diapers and cattails, she realized Wolf was trying to help her take care of the baby. Licking her dry, chapped lips, Serena nodded. “I understand.”
Again, moving slowly, Wolf knelt nearby and removed the damp fawnskin from the cradleboard. Taking out a clean, dry skin, he laid it on the robe between them and placed a handful of the dry cattails across the surface. Looking up at Cante Tinza, Wolf held out his large hands, silently asking her to pass Dawn Sky over to him.
Serena nodded and gently lifted the baby toward Wolf’s outstretched hands. The baby’s fingers were twisted among several
