Axel agreed. “Okay, Titan boy, see where we are now? Decent-size area. There’s lots of solid ground beneath us here, and out into those little snippets of land. Don’t try to bite an alligator if you see one. And give a wide berth to any snake you see. Most of the time, they’ll slither away from you, and there’s been a lot of activity going on here, so any of the big guys should be off. That leaves the rattlers and the pygmy rattlers and little coral snakes and the moccasins. Sometimes they bask in the sun, so walk around them, too, huh?”
Titan barked as if he’d understood, word for word.
“Let’s do this. We’ll check back with the hospital as soon as we’re through. The doctor said that he may be talkative soon after he’s brought out of the coma—or it may take some time. But we may be taking a drive back tonight.”
“I’m up for anything,” Raina assured him.
And so they started out.
* * *
An hour later, Raina was hoping they didn’t have to go anywhere in public anytime soon. She surely smelled worse than any living creature.
She thought she’d done fairly well, ignoring the heat, swatting away mosquitoes and even managing not to scream when she was convinced a low-hanging branch was an evil reptile.
They did see a large snake sitting in the middle of a path, but she and Titan dutifully skirted it and all was well. The snake just continued to bask.
They searched, and they searched. And there was nothing. They finally reached the spot where they were to meet back up with Andrew.
Titan let out a little growl, but just settled at Raina’s feet, close to her, as if uncertain. Axel didn’t notice; he was looking for Andrew.
She looked around but didn’t see anything. Then she felt a touch. Soft as the breeze against her cheek. She closed her eyes tightly, not afraid, but trying to understand.
Jennifer Lowry?
Andrew met them along the road, shaking his head as he approached them. He looked tired, hot and worn, as well.
“Nothing,” he said simply. “Nothing I could find.”
“I think that’s good, isn’t it?” Raina asked. She looked from one man to the other. “Do you think that maybe, just maybe, Brandon Wells is still alive?”
Neither man replied.
Axel sighed. “Let’s head back, see how the setup is coming along.”
“What’s the possibility of a shower?” Raina asked. “Not that I have clean clothes, but...”
“If you can live with the jeans, we have some fantastic Indian blouses,” Andrew said. “And skirts, too, but out here, I tend to suggest pants for everyone. Mosquitoes can bite through denim, but it’s a little better than simple cotton.”
“I’m down with that. I love the patterns and the colors and the beading,” Raina assured him.
When they arrived back, there was a fire going in the pit just outside Jeremy Gray’s chickee. Folding chairs had been brought out. Frank and Loretta and Jeremy and a few of the other Miccosukee volunteers had joined them.
“Hey there!” Loretta said, lifting a glass of something as they walked up. “I heard you all were out here, making sure the grounds were safe.”
“Walking—and sweating,” Andrew said. “It was great.”
“Hey, you live out here,” Loretta reminded him.
“So I do. In a house. With air-conditioning.”
“They just redid the village a few years back,” Jeremy told them, “making the gift shop bigger, with entry tickets being bought there. But way back, the village was more open and we did our crafts and slept in the same chickees where we were selling our goods. New is nice, old is—”
“Must have been hot,” Loretta said, laughing.
“Miccosukee kids all learn the old ways,” Jeremy said. “Sons go with their fathers and learn to fish and hunt. Daughters learn to farm and cook and sew, and families matter.”
“Which is wonderful,” Loretta said quickly. “Just curious—what if a daughter happens to be a great fisherwoman? Or wants to grow up to be a doctor?”
“Then she fishes or goes to school and does well and heads on to college and med school and becomes a doctor,” Jeremy said. “The past isn’t about stopping the future—it’s about remembering culture and valuing it.”
“Oh, of course,” Loretta said.
“Raina would love a blouse, Jeremy,” Axel said. “Would you mind? She’s going to take advantage of the showers first.”
“Sure.” Jeremy studied Raina, then hopped up to the platform of his chickee to go through a rack of clothing he’d set there. He chose a blouse, beautiful with rows of different colors and designs and