In Your Arms (Montana Romance) Read Free Page B

cold of winter. Thin trails of smoke rose from most of the chimneys.
    Red Sun Boy climbed out last, still silent and sullen from his scuffle at school. The young man who came to greet Lily and take charge of the wagon frowned at the sight of the boy. He swerved from the horses to inspect Red Sun Boy’s wounds.
    “What happened?” he asked.
    “Good afternoon, Two Feathers,” Lily greeted him, climbing down from the wagon. “I’m afraid the boys got into a scuffle at recess today.”
    Two Feathers finished his inspection of Red Sun Boy’s face. “Was it a fair fight?”
    Red Sun Boy shrugged. “Yes.”
    Lily frowned.
    “Did you fight back?” Two Feathers asked.
    “A little,” Red Sun Boy mumbled, glancing to Lily.
    Two Feathers nodded. “Go see mother.”
    Red Sun Boy dashed off without another word.
    “Thank you for bringing them home, Miss Lily,” Two Feathers addressed her, softening his stern expression. “I am sorry for any trouble my brother caused. He is a spirited boy.”
    “He is,” Lily agreed.”
    “Our mother will heal his wounds.”
    Lily did her best to smile. “Thank you.”
    She circled around to the back of the wagon to fetch the satchel of books she’d brought before Two Feathers took the wagon away. He was a bright and handsome young man, too old for school, but not quite a man. It was his mix of western trousers and vest with a buckskin tunic that unsettled her. Not quite from one world, not truly a part of the other. She knew too well how that felt.
    She hugged the books to her chest and took a deep, steadying breath before marching toward the first small dwelling beside the big house. Her anxiety pitched higher as she reached the door. She forced her back straight and her chin up, then knocked on the door with her mittened hand.
    “Come,” a woman said from inside.
    Lily gathered her courage and opened the door.
    “Good afternoon, Snow In Her Hair,” she greeted the woman who stood hunched over a counter, kneading bread.
    “Good afternoon.” Snow In Her Hair nodded. She too wore a combination of western and native clothing. There was nothing unfriendly about the woman’s posture or smile, but Lily felt awkward and small in an instant.
    Three brown-skinned, dark-haired children jumped up from the game they were playing and rushed to greet her.
    “Miss Lily! Miss Lily! What did you bring for us?” The children jumped around her, bubbling with excitement.
    “Books,” Lily told them. A smile spread from her lips to her heart. She handed the bundle over to the oldest of the children, a girl of eight named Meadow. “I hope you don’t mind,” she said to Snow In Her Hair.
    Snow In Her Hair shook her head. “The children need books. You are kind to bring them.”
    “I wish you would let them come to school with the others,” Lily ventured.
    Snow In Her Hair stared from Lily to the children with a stoic expression. “They are not ready for what comes with school.”
    Lily’s heart sank. The children searched through the new titles with awed giggles. They were so happy with so little. Each leather-bound volume was handled carefully and passed from one set of tiny hands to another. Even little Brook, barely two, touched them with reverence. Lily thought of Martha and her joy of learning. She thought of Red Sun Boy’s wounded face. Perhaps these dear ones weren’t ready for what came with school.
    She grasped for something to say, some way to connect with the woman whose house she stood in. Snow In Her Hair had the same dark hair and eyes that she had, the same brown skin, but they were worlds apart. The woman had lived in Montana her whole life. Her life had been a hard one, but it had been filled with family, with love. Family was something Lily knew nothing about.
    “ Would you like me to read to you?” She turned to the children for relief from the gaping void inside of her.
    The children whooped in excitement.
    “Of course they would,” Snow In Her Hair said with a