Christmas Kisses with My Cowboy - Diana Palmer Page 0,22
“Do you speak Crow?”
He nodded. “A lot of us do.”
“Is it hard to learn?”
“Compared to Dutch and Finnish, it’s simple. Compared to Spanish or French, it’s hard.” He glanced at her whimsically. “We have glottal stops and high tones and low tones, double vowels, even a sound like the ach in German. It’s difficult. Not so much if you learn it from the ground up as a child.”
“I’d like to study languages in college,” Teddie said.
“In between flying F-22s?” he teased.
She laughed. “In between that. I could go in the Air Force and go to college, couldn’t I?”
“You could.”
“Then I’ll study real hard, so that I can get in.”
“That’s not a bad idea.”
She fingered the reins gingerly. “Do you like my mom?”
He hesitated.
She glanced at him and saw his discomfort. “Sorry. I just meant she likes you. I hoped maybe you liked her, too.”
“I do like her,” he said. He sighed. “But you guys are getting over a big loss, a really big loss.”
“She misses Daddy,” she agreed. “But he wasn’t the sort of person who’d want her to grieve forever or spend the rest of her life alone. He was always doing things for other people. Always.”
“I wish I could have known him, Teddie,” he said solemnly.
“Me, too.”
“You’re doing very well at riding, you know,” he said after a minute.
“I am?”
He smiled at her enthusiasm. “Very well, indeed.” He grimaced. “But you may not think so when we get back.”
She didn’t understand why, until they were at the stable and he reached up to lift her down. She stood on her feet and made a terrible face.
“You need to soak in a hot tub,” he told her. “It will help the soreness.”
“Mom never said it was going to hurt so much,” she groaned.
“It only hurts when you haven’t done it for a while,” he explained. “Riding takes practice. You’re using muscles you don’t normally use, so they get stretched and they protest.”
“I see.”
“It will get better,” he promised.
She drew in a breath. “Okay. If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure. Go on in. I’ll unsaddle Bartholomew for you and rub him down, okay?”
“Thanks!”
“No problem.”
She walked like an old woman all the way to the house. Katy was waiting on the porch and she made a face.
“I’m sorry, honey,” she said. “I should have told you.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered. Honest. I’d have gone anyway. Parker said I’m doing great! I didn’t fall off or spook Bart even one time!”
She laughed. “Good for you.”
“He said I should soak in a hot tub, so I’m going to.”
“Good idea,” she replied. “Want me to run the bath for you?”
“I can do that. Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome.”
She hesitated and grinned wickedly. “He likes you,” she said, and walked away before her mother had time to react.
* * *
Parker stopped at the steps where Katy was standing. “I’ll be over Thursday about six to take you guys trick-or-treating,” he said. “That okay?”
She smiled. “That’s fine. Teddie will be looking forward to it. She loves Halloween.”
“Me, too,” he said with a grin. “I like anything to do with fantasy creatures, although I’m partial to dragons. But giant spiders and bats are okay.”
She rolled her eyes. “You and Teddie,” she mused. “I always decorate for all the holidays, but my favorite is Christmas.”
“I like that one also,” he said. “My mother was traditional. She didn’t celebrate regular holidays, but my cousin’s parents were Catholic, so they always had a Christmas tree and presents. It was great fun.”
She cocked her head. “Crow people have a proud tradition,” she said softly. “I grew up reading about them in Montana.”
“I forgot that you were raised there as well. Where?”
“Near Hardin, where the battleground is.”
He whistled. “The rez is close to there,” he reminded her. “That’s where I was raised.”
She laughed. “I’m surprised that we didn’t know each other then.”
“I’m not. I didn’t venture off the rez until I was in my late teens. When I did, I got into all sorts of trouble. I’ll bet you never put a foot wrong.”
She shrugged. “My parents were strict.”
“My mother died in my formative years. My cousin’s parents were lenient; they pretty much let us do what we pleased,” he confessed. “Probably not the best way to raise a child. But we’re not big on heavy-handed discipline.”
“I had a friend whose grandfather was Crow,” she recalled. “I learned a lot from her.”
His dark eyes searched hers. “Teddie wants to learn to speak it.” He laughed. “I told her it was a lot harder than it looked.”