The Whippoorwill Trilogy - Sharon Sala Page 0,223

death that she’d back out.

“You sure you want to do this?” she asked.

“Yes, lord, yes. Have mercy, love. Have mercy on me.”

She touched his face with her hand, then lowered her head and for the first time in all the years that she’d known him, kissed him squarely on the lips.

Much later, and after the passion of the moment had passed, Letty lay within the shelter of Eulis’s arms and slept. And as she slept, she dreamed of a little brown bird that kept calling to its mate. She’d dreamed the same dream her entire life, but tonight the dream was different. Tonight, she heard the whippoorwill’s call, and then the answer that had been so long in coming.

A week later, Eulis was cursing the taste of elk and swearing that if they ever got out of this valley, he would never eat elk meat again. Letty let him gripe without comment, because it did her good to see him up and moving around.

It hadn’t snowed in days, and what snow there was wore a two-inch crust of ice. Herds of elk were visible from the doorway, as were small herds of buffalo. The mules had suffered the most, having little to no shelter, and Eulis feared that one of Blackie’s ears had frozen so badly that he was going to lose the top half. Still, the animals had been able to stomp down the snow enough to graze and they’d made a path to the waterfall and back.

Eulis came in the doorway with an armload of firewood and set it against the wall.

“That oughta’ be enough for today. I’ll bring more in before dark,” he said, and then took the rifle down from the mantle.

Letty tried not to let her uneasiness show, as she realized he was determined to go hunting.

“You sure you’re ready for this?” she asked.

“I’m fine,” Eulis said. “I’m sick of elk. I’m goin’ rabbit huntin’, and that’s that.”

“All right,” Letty said. “Just watch out for wolves.”

“There’s plenty of game in the valley. They ain’t gonna bother me.”

She thought of the wolf she’d encountered just outside their door and frowned. She had yet to tell him, only now she felt obligated to do so, so that he would be vigilant.

“I was bothered by one when you were sick,” she said.

Eulis was all the way out the door, but something about the way she said that turned him around. He walked back into the cabin and shut the door.

“What do you mean… bothered?”

“Um… it uh… I—”

“Damn it, Letty.”

“You cursed.”

He sighed. “I told you that you were bound to drive me to it again, and you have, so you should be happy. Now talk to me. What happened to you while I was sick, and why am I just hearin’ about it now?”

She threw up her hands and then pulled the box with the moccasins that she’d made out from under the bed.

“I wanted to surprise you. I was saving them for Christmas, but for all I know, it’s already come and gone. So… Merry Christmas.”

Eulis stared at the moccasins in disbelief.

“Where did you get these?”

“I made them.”

“From what?”

Letty rolled her eyes. “From the wolf.”

“You shot a wolf.”

“No. The rifle was in the cabin.”

“So… what did you do… talk it to death? For God’s sake, Leticia. Quit beatin’ around the bush and tell me what happened.”

The tone of his voice pissed her off. He wanted to know what happened. Fine. She’d be happy to tell him.

“Well, it was like this. I’d just finished washing the poop off your butt and went outside to dump the water. When I turned around, the wolf was standing between me and the door.”

Eulis’s face paled. She didn’t know whether it was from the fact that she’d washed poop off his ass, or been attacked by the wolf, and right now she didn’t care.

“I waved the poop pan at him, but it didn’t seem to faze him. His foot was bleeding and he was missing some toes. Looked real hungry. It seemed obvious that he wasn’t about to get picky about what to chew on. He was willing to settle for me or the elk hanging in the lean-to.”

“God All Mighty,” Eulis whispered, and sat down on the bed. “Did it hurt you?”

“No.”

“What happened?”

“I brained it with a stick of firewood and skinned it out. I cured it like you showed me, then measured your foot while you were sleeping, and made these for you. If you don’t want them, I do.”

Eulis clutched