Journey's End Read online

  Lucas had always been so strong. He’d led their tribe to economic independence in spite of the reservation’s conditions and prejudices of the outside world. He’d fought in wars and would take on any man or beast. Yet three days with a little lady had him defeated. “She’s asleep in the back.”

  “May I speak with her?”

  “Sure.”

  Lucas knocked on the door to the spare room in the back of Pops’ shop. “May I come in?”

  “I guess so.”

  She looked exactly as Gail did at her age. Before he had misspoken because he was grief-stricken, and now all he could do was stare. He sat on the edge of the bed, took her hand and pulled her into his embrace. “I am so sorry, Joy. I’ll never forgive myself for what I’ve done to you.”

  She went rigid in his arms, but he wouldn’t give up. He’d hold her all day, if need be. After a short while she began to cry and finally relaxed in his arms.

  “I love you so much, Joy. Please forgive me.”

  “I’ve missed you so much. I’m glad your back. I love you, Lucas.”

  He wiped the tears from her eyes. He’d forgotten what his name sounded like, coming from her out of love instead of anger. He preferred the loving version much better. “I don’t deserve your love. They took away your parents, but I took away your childhood.”

  “Lucas, please don’t start torturing yourself. I’ve only just found you. I don’t want to lose you again.”

  He caressed her hands. They were so small. She was too small. How many nights had she gone to bed hungry because of his neglect? How had she made it on her own? “Why are you forgiving me so easily?”

  Her eyebrows raised and head cocked to the side. “Easily? Where did you get that? It’s taken me six years to forgive you.”

  “Six?”

  She flashed a nervous grin. “I hated you. You left me. It took me a few years to get over the hate.”

  Listening to her pain worked through his body like a neurotoxin, paralyzing the centers that controlled his respiration and heart action. His shame prevented him from looking into her eyes.

  “But I didn’t hate you. I love you. I’ll always love you. I was young and rightfully upset. I grew up quickly and forgave you. So I thought. I didn’t really forgive you until this morning when I released my anger.”

  She turned his head toward her and kissed his forehead. “You’re more like my brother than my uncle. I just love you. I can’t explain it, but I do. I don’t want to fight, and I’m not mad at you.” She smiled. “I just won’t leave you to care for my kids.” She released nervous laughter. “Oh, I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist.”

  Sobering up, she said, “I know why you left me. You weren’t able to cope with the loss of Ma and Pa. It’s no excuse, but it is a reason. You are a good person, and what you did was not in your nature. I thought you were a god. You needed help. I thought you should be there for me, not realizing you couldn’t be there for me. You kind of knew this and sent me to the Garcia’s. When I ran away, you couldn’t deal with my grief, so you ran away from the pain. The next thing you knew, I was kissing a white man.”

  “I didn’t even know. How did you?”

  “I’ve had nothing to do but think for years. I’m tired. This morning has been three days long. If you don’t mind, I’m heading home to take a real nap. Hand me my things. I’ll see you later.”

  Lucas paid for her items. “Thanks, Pops. Are you expecting more dresses in Joy’s size any time soon?” He fidgeted with the edge of the counter.

  “In a week or two.”

  Lucas drew in a long breath. “I’m a fool, Pops.”

  Pops rolled his eyes. “I have a secret for you. When it comes to women, most of us are.”

  “I really mean it.”

  Lucas proceeded to tell Pops everything from Joy seeing her parents’ deaths to her forgiveness of him abandoning her. Pops chastised Lucas for hours, which actually made him feel much better than her forgiveness.

  “…you’d just better hope Soaring Eagle doesn’t find out.”

  “What does he have to do with it?”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, he has a thing for Joy. You know how protective he is of the women in his life.”

  Lucas recalled how Soaring Eagle had already begun fighting for Joy. “I think he’s falling in love with Joy.”

  “You’re right.”

  “I need to return to Joy.”

  “Get to know her again.”

  “Joy, wake up. When did you grow all of those women curves? You aren’t supposed to be shaped like that. You’re as bad as your mother.”

  Glad she could joke with Lucas again, Joy slowly opened her eyes. “You wouldn’t complain if they were on another woman.”

  “How would you like to see town tomorrow?”

  “I’d love to, but why are you asking me now? I was asleep.”

  “You’ve been asleep all day. I want to introduce you to everyone.”

  With every passing hour, Joy was more impressed with the reservation. First, it was a town. Now that more people were out, she could see it was a community of mostly Indians, which she expected, but it also had a large black population. Lucas told her to think of it as they did, a small town on reservation land. She liked seeing the mix of people. There were also quite a few Mexicans and a few whites around. This was how things should be in her mind. A mix.

  “I want a job,” she told Lucas.

  “What for?”

  “I sleep all day because I’m bored. I need something to do.” Besides dream about Jared. In her dreams they were a loving couple, then she’d wake to the reality of his betrayal. “Now where can I find a job?”

  “Let’s head to the church.”

  Joy had read the Bible several times, but she didn’t think herself qualified to be a preacher. “I’m not sure if I should go to the church, Lucas.”

  He gave her a quizzical look. “Why not? Come on, they won’t hurt you.” He led her into the church.

  Joy hadn’t been in a church in years. The exquisite woodwork told Joy that Lucas had a big role in building the church. Past the pews and pulpit were a few doors.

  “The school is back here,” Lucas said. “The younger children are on this side. The older ones are on the other side.”

  He opened the door and the children became excited immediately.

  “Are we going for a picnic?” several asked.

  “Not today. I need to speak with Miss London for a few minutes. Be good.”

  The teacher followed him out of the classroom.

  “Miss London, I’m sorry I interrupted your class, but I wanted you to meet my niece, Joy. I was thinking maybe she could help you with the children.”

  Joy thought Miss London to be a very attractive woman. Her blonde hair was pulled away from her face into a bun. She was shapely and tall. In Joy’s opinion, this was how a woman should be shaped. Not like her bony frame with a few bumps and curves here and there. She held out her hand. “Pleased to meet you, Miss London.”

  Miss London took Joy’s hand and smiled. “While you’re only a child yourself. Maybe you should be in the class.”

  “I think I’m too old to be in your class.” The oldest child in there couldn’t have been but twelve, and that was stretching it.

  Lucas laughed. “You’ve always been so serious. She’s fooling with you, but she does have a point. Maybe we should see Mr. Hines and sign you up for school.”

  Joy backed away. “I’m not going to school with a bunch of babies. I’m nineteen years old.”

  Miss London nodded her approval. “I like you, Joy. We need more females to continue their education. Mr. Hines teaches the older children. How many years of schooling do you have?”

  “I’ve never been to school in my life. My parents taught me at home.”

  “Then we don’t know what level you should be. Lucas, why don’t you take her on over to Mr. Hines, and he can test her? I hate to run off, but I can’t leave the children for
too long or I won’t have a classroom anymore. It was nice meeting you, Joy. I’ll see you on Wednesday.” She quickly returned to her classroom.

  Joy’s brows drew in. “What is she talking about, on Wednesday?”

  Lucas put his hand in the small of her back and guided her toward Mr. Hines’s class. “Oh, she’s talking about Reverend Richardson. He comes by twice a week. Wednesday and Sunday.”

  “What does that have to do with me?”

  “He likes to meet the students and their parents at least once. It’s nothing big.” He opened the door to Mr. Hines’s room. “Excuse me, Mr. Hines. May I see you out here a second?”

  Mr. Hines joined them in the church a few seconds later. He was a middle-aged, white man of medium height and stocky build. He held his hand out to Joy. “Well, who is this fine young lady you’ve brought to me, Lucas?” He had a very warm and sincere smile.

  Joy took his hand and spoke before Lucas had the chance. “I’m Joy. Nice to meet you.” She stepped back to Lucas’s side.

  “This is my niece. I’d like to have her tested to see what grade she should be in.”

  Joy watched Lucas interact with Mr. Hines as they continued discussing her education. Lucas treated this man with the utmost respect. Lucas had told her all white men were the spawn of the devil. Yet he liked this white man and the other white teacher. She grumbled internally, thinking Lucas must work under a set of double standards.

  Mr. Hines and Lucas asked her a question, but she didn’t answer. Lucas repeated, “Joy, are you ready?”

  Joy snapped out of her trance. “Ready for what?”

  “I’m leaving you here to test while I return to work. I’m behind as it is.” He opened the classroom door and allowed her to enter first. Mr. Hines followed behind them. “Plus, we’re going into the city tomorrow, so I’ll be up most of the night.” The young men in the room all straightened when they saw Joy. He led her to a seat on the edge by herself. “Do you remember where my shop is?”

  “Yes, I know where the shop is.”

  He looked around the room. “Samson.”

  Samson stood tall. “Yes, sir.”

  “Would you mind escorting my niece to the shop when you’re done with school?” Joy tugged on the back of Lucas’s shirt, but he ignored her. “She’s new in town, and I want to make sure she doesn’t get lost.”

  Samson’s smile beamed. “Yes, sir.” He retook his seat.

  Lucas bent to Joy and whispered, “Don’t give Mr. Hines a hard time. You aren’t too old or too big for me to turn over my leg.” He kissed her forehead. She gave him a crooked grin.

  Joy sat quietly and waited for Mr. Hines to gather her materials. It was a nice sized classroom, but only had eight students, not including herself, and only one was female. Joy guessed the young Mexican girl to be around sixteen. She sat off to the side, seemingly intimidated by the boys. The rest of the class was made up of one white boy, one Mexican boy, three Indians and two blacks. She guessed all ranged in age from sixteen to around twenty.

  Mr. Hines placed a notepad and pencil on her desk, then stooped beside her so only she’d hear his voice. “I need to see what level you read and write at. Lucas told me your education ended when you were ten. I want you to write about anything you’d like. Then when we have our break in an hour, I’ll send the others out and you can read for me. Does that sound good to you?”

  Joy gazed into his friendly brown eyes. “Yes, sir.” She worked as the rest of the class continued with their studies. She decided to write about the beauty of her mountain. This was a subject she knew and loved well, so the words poured onto the paper. Eight pages and forty-five minutes later, she was complete. She used the rest of her time before break to draw a few pictures of the things she had spoken about in the paper.

  Mr. Hines dismissed the other students for their break, then called Joy up to sit in the chair beside his large oak desk. He pulled out a history book and handed it to her.

  “Where should I begin?”

  “It doesn’t matter, just open up and read.”

  With that said, Joy opened the book and began reading. Reading aloud was not something new for her. She read to her pets all the time. Her parents loved to read so much that one of the cabin’s rooms was a library. She read their old books over and over again. Wolf also purchased her books whenever he went into town. She’d also taught many of the children in her village how to read.

  “You may stop now,” Mr. Hines said. “Very good. Excellent actually. Let me see your writing.” She handed over the notepad.

  He read through the pages. “I’m impressed. I expected one at the most two pages written, but you’ve written a full report.” He continued reading. “This is so descriptive I can smell, taste, and see everything you’ve written about. Amazing. Simply amazing.” He turned to the next page. “And pictures! Amazing.”

  Flushed with embarrassment, she said, “Thank you.”

  “You are an extremely creative person. You only made a few grammatical mistakes, but they are easily cleaned up. I’d say you are way above all of the children in the school on reading and writing. How are your math skills?”

  “Figuring isn’t my best subject. Can you teach me?”

  He tested her on her arithmetic tables.

  “You’re correct. Math isn’t your strong suit, but I’m sure you’ll learn quickly.” He sat back in his chair and studied her. “How about this? Finish the school year with us and you can graduate in May with Samson and Jose. You need a little help with your punctuation, then you’ll be an excellent writer. While the others are doing their class work, I’ll bring you up to snuff on your arithmetic.”

  “Sounds perfect.”

  At the end of the day, Joy waited until everyone left the classroom, then she stood to speak with Mr. Hines again. “Mr. Hines, where are the rest of the students?”

  He gathered his coat and hat. “This is a small town and most children drop out by the time they’re twelve to help out at home. By then they can read, write and figure.” He held his arm out, gesturing ladies first as he opened the door for her.

  “I’m glad to have another female in the class,” he continued. “It’s been hard on Maria. I see you’ll need a lot of help with geography. Maria loves it, maybe she could help you.” They walked together to the entrance of the church were Samson and two of the other males from her class sat waiting patiently. “I think your escort is ready. Good evening, everyone.” He tipped his hat and left.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Joy looked up at Samson, one of the black students. “Is everyone here tall, or am I short?”

  He looked down at her and grinned.

  Jose and Michael took her books from her. “Allow us.” They all walked to Lucas’s shop together.

  “Do all of you work with Lucas?”

  Jose answered, “Only Samson, but if you’ll be at the shop, I think I’ll ask for a job.” Michael nudged him.

  “I’m supposed to graduate in May with you,” she continued. “What are your plans after graduation?”

  “I’m going back to Mexico and take over my grandfather’s small ranch. He’s getting old and doesn’t want to run it anymore. My parents don’t want to move, so I’ll go down there myself.”

  “What about you, Samson?” Joy asked.

  “I like working with my hands. I think I’ll finish my apprenticeship with Lucas and move on and start my own business. What about you? Get married?”

  “I don’t know. I never considered it before today.” All three males looked at her in shock.

  “Of course she’ll marry,” Michael stated. “She’s a woman, after all.”

  “I’m never getting married.” Ignoring the males’ laughter, she continued, “I’m serious. I’ll never fall in love, so I’ll never marry.”

  Jose took her other arm. “Joy, Joy, Joy, you may not see this now, but you will want to be married. It’s in women’s blood. How old are you, sixteen?”

  “I’m almost twenty.�
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  All three males stared in shock. “No way. I’m asking Lucas.”

  As they entered the shop, Jose asked Lucas about Joy’s age.

  “Yes, she’s nineteen.”

  “Can I start working here also?” Jose asked.

  Joy went straight for the pile of scrap wood. All three young males watched her and Lucas watched them.

  Lucas chuckled. “What about your grandfather’s ranch?”

  Jose grinned. “What ranch?”

  “I think I have enough help for now. Thanks for walking Joy over. I appreciate it.”

  “No problem. Whenever you need something, just call on me and I’ll be there. Especially if it has something to do with Joy. Tell me, Lucas, do you allow Joy to date?”

  “Goodbye, Jose and Michael.”

  Lucas crossed over to the woodpile. “I see you made friends quickly.”

  “You’re not going to start up again, are you?” She returned to sorting through the wood. “Would you hand me the chair, please.” She pointed to a nearby chair. He set it beside her and she sat. “Can I have this piece of wood?”

  “Everything in here is yours.” He sat beside her on the floor. “I was just joking about the boys following you. I thought it was funny. They were like little puppies following you around. I’ll be sure to tease them later. So how was class?”

  She gave him her full attention and retold everything she had done during class. Lucas noticed Samson in the background, watching them.

  “So you graduate in May. I’m impressed.”

  “We were talking about what we’re doing after we graduate, and I was the only one who didn’t have any ideas.” She started smoothing the wood with her hand.

  Lucas hadn’t thought of how to keep her mind occupied. In May she’d graduate, then what? Then it would be warm enough for her to find her mountain again. He needed to find something or someone who would keep her mind away from the mountain.

  He glanced at Samson who was now working on a dresser. Samson was only twenty and he liked him, but thought Soaring Eagle would make her a better husband. Samson wouldn’t be able to handle her stubborn streak. Soaring Eagle had maturity and patience on his side.