There were summery sunny days and cool starry nights on the mountain homestead. It was becoming easier for Lucas to imagine his place was insulated from the world and those who would cause trouble. He hoped to shield Ruth and her daughter from what was inevitable, for a time, if not a season.

Anna Beth grew fond of following Ayanna the Indian girl into the garden where she dug with her for carrots and potatoes. The mother, Ruth, slept in every day while the pair found gardening to be a bonding experience.

Luke watched Anna Beth and Ayanna from the lone kitchen window. Pressure to converse alone with Ayanna threatened to burst from inside him. He inhaled the aroma of fresh coffee in his cup, awakening his senses. He placed the cup down on the counter and quietly walked over, snatching his hat by the door. He carefully unlatched the door so not to wake Ruth asleep in the private room once meant to be shared as his bride. He paused and wondered what dream owned her sleep.

Walking outside, Luke tucked the brim of his hat and squinted in the sun to see Ayanna and Anna Beth venturing over to the creek to wash off the vegetables and clean their hands. As Luke walked the worn path between the garden and creek, he watched them dangling their bare feet in the water sharing secrets. He stopped for a moment to admire how at home the little tyke Anna Beth seemed to be. He wondered what would happen if she and her mother attempted a perilous journey west over the mountains to escape the law. It bothered him how desperate and dangerous it would be, especially when winter treads early among the high peaks.

Anna Beth hugged Ayanna around her neck and whispered something in her ear. Luke felt flushed in the face, as if he'd intruded on their privacy. But the urge to speak to Ayanna couldn't contain itself any longer. He stepped toward them as Anna Beth wandered near the tamed falls where she put her hands out and let the water shower her with pearly beads of spray.

Cole tripped over himself to get to Ayanna on the flat rock. "Little Bird," as he affectionally called her. "You must wonder if there's word back east from your uncle on the news your mother lives among the mountain Crow. It will certainly be big news back east, the kind they write books about."

"I'm not so sure I belong in a white world. The more I see, I know they are not all like you. You have been my bridge between two worlds."

Luke wasn't sure how to respond. He feared she could see through him into his heart. "Anna Beth has taken a shine to you. What did she say to you just a moment ago?"

"She..."

"I mean, if it's a secret, you don't..."

"She asked me," Tears welled in Ayanna's eyes. "She asked me if it might be okay to call you Papa."

It made Luke step back and almost slip on the rocks protruding from the water.

"She needs a home."

"You must have figured out I called the marriage off." He looked over at Anna Beth playing in the spray from the falls. "Ruth won't be able to stay here long with her daughter, once they figure out, she matches the wanted poster."

Ayanna looked at Luke with her blazing blue eyes. Honor does not always treat love the same."

Luke's tongue stifled his words for a moment. "Ruth sought a means to escape when she killed her husband in self-defense. She hadn't told me about a daughter neither."

Ayanna turned away and looked toward Anna Beth who was chasing a tadpole in the water's edge. "I know what its like to be her, someone who doesn't belong."

Her words stabbed Luke's heart. "You think I should handle it differently?" He wished he could read her heart.

"Best not to make promises you can't keep to Anna Beth or yourself."

"I reckon your no accident coming into my life. There must be a reason God brought us together."

Again, Luke hoped for a spark in her eyes, a clue that she cared about him as much as he cared for her.

She turned and studied his hazel eyes, reflecting in the sun. "I will pray the great Spirit through Jesus gives you wisdom. A man who prays for wisdom, the Lord blesses."

Luke's heart thumped hard in his chest. "I thought maybe it was God's way of showing me that a marriage should be for love and not convenience. I've been a loner my whole life. I...I thought loving another woman was a weakness I couldn't afford in my way of life."

Luke wanted to tell her more. He wanted to tell Ayanna that she taught him how to love, how to be vulnerable.

Then Anna Beth splashed them both before more words could pass between the pair.

Anna Beth smiled. "I very much like it here."

Luke took Anna Beth by the hand. Sugar, his dog barked and circled them. Ayanna Placed the rinsed vegetables into a burlap sack, threw it over her shoulder, followed the pair. Luke tossed over in his mind, wondering when grace ends and the long arm of the law comes calling.