The Spirit Path by Madeline Baker Page A

had happened, and yet, after that night, the nightmares that had intermittently haunted her dreams faded and she felt an inner sense of peace and acceptance.
    Hawk had won Veronica’s affection, as well. She cooked his favorite dinner, steak and fried potatoes, at least once a week, and because he had an insatiable sweet tooth, there was always chocolate in the house, be it cake or brownies or pie, and sometimes all three.
    Bobby idolized Hawk, imitating the way he walked, trying to copy the soft way he spoke, following Hawk around the ranch whenever he went outside.
    So quickly, Maggie thought, so easily he had become a part of all their lives. How would she ever let him go?
    * * * * *
    It was on a cool cloudy morning when Bobby left on his vision quest. Clad only in a clout that his brother had sent him from the reservation, he vaulted onto the back of a long-legged gray gelding and rode off toward the Hills, carrying nothing but a small sack of corn pollen and a blanket.
    Shadow Hawk stood outside watching Bobby ride away.
    Maggie sat at her bedroom window watching them both. For a moment, she closed her eyes, praying that Bobby would find what he was looking for.
    When she opened her eyes again, Hawk was still standing outside, his arms raised toward heaven, his head thrown back. Quietly, she opened the window, listening unabashedly to the sound of his voice, deep and rich, as he offered a prayer to Wakán Tanka .
    “He, the Father of us all, has shown His mercy unto me. In peace will I walk the straight road. He has made the earth and the trees, the rocks and all living things. This day is good. May this be the day I consider mine. Let all creatures be glad. Let all the earth sing.”
    After a moment, he lowered his arms to his sides and then, slowly, he turned around to face her.
    Maggie blushed, embarrassed to be caught eavesdropping on something as personal as a prayer. But Hawk didn’t seem angry to find her watching him. Instead, he smiled as he walked toward her bedroom window. Opening it all the way, he climbed over the low sill.
    “Hawk, what are you doing?”
    “Taking you to breakfast,” he said, and lifting her from her chair, he carried her down the hall into the kitchen where Veronica was scrambling eggs and frying bacon.
    “Morning,” Veronica said, apparently unconcerned at the sight of her employer being carried into the kitchen in the arms of a man who was not her husband. “Breakfast is ready.”
    Shadow Hawk placed Maggie in one of the kitchen chairs, then sat down across from her. She looked especially pretty this morning. Her hair was unbound, falling free over her shoulders just the way he liked it, and he wondered fleetingly, hopefully, if she’d left it down to please him. She wore a flowing robe of some soft blue material that matched her eyes, and he thought he might willingly give up all the battle honors he had earned as a warrior if he could look upon her face each morning of his life.
    Maggie felt the heat wash into her cheeks as Hawk smiled at her, his dark eyes warm. She smiled back at him, thinking how much more pleasant mornings had become since Hawk had arrived. He took such pleasure in eating that it made her enjoy her own food more. He seemed to have a limitless appetite and it had become a contest to see if Veronica could prepare more food than he could eat. This morning he wolfed down half a dozen pancakes, five strips of bacon, three eggs and three cups of coffee.
    Veronica grinned as she began to clear the table. “I thought that boy Bobby ate a lot,” she mused, “but Shadow Hawk takes the cake.”
    “Cake,” Hawk said. “You are baking again today?”
    “Seems like I bake every day since you showed up.”
    “And it’s beginning to show,” Maggie said, patting her stomach. “I think I’ve gained ten pounds in the last couple of weeks.”
    “Looks good on you,” Veronica retorted. “You were too thin.”
    Maggie made a soft sound of disagreement. “You