Read Online Red Mesa by Aimée & David Thurlo - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Aimée & David Thurlo
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risk Dawn.
Tenminutes later, Ella put her daughter to bed, and sometime during Ella’s reading of The Little Lamb, Dawn fell asleep again.
Rose met Ella out in the hallway. “Why do you make the child sleep when she doesn’t want to?”
“I don’t think you can make a child go to sleep if she’s not sleepy. But if she takes a nap now, she won’t be as crabby later. Kids get tired, but they don’t always know it untilthey’re put to bed.”
“Spoken like an Anglo.”
Ella closed her eyes and opened them again. “Mom, if you don’t start agreeing with me on some rules, she’s going to be hopelessly spoiled.”
“You and your brother seem to have turned out all right,” Rose shot back, annoyed.
Ella smiled grudgingly. “But we’re not talking about me or Clifford. Mom, Short Stuff’s a very active kid. If you’d set regularhours for her, it would be easier for you, too.”
“I know what she needs,” Rose said flatly. “That child needs to be raised like a Navajo.”
“She is. But learning a few things from the Anglos wouldn’t hurt.”
Rose sat down slowly, and grimaced as she settled against the chair cushion.
“Mom, are you okay?”
“Some days are better than others. My legs can still ache from time to time.” Rose reachedaround and removed a crocheted shawl from atop the back of her chair and draped it over her legs.
Since the accident when a drunk driver had smashed into her mother’s old pickup, Rose often had difficulty getting around. She could go for several days without pain, but when the weather turned cool as it was doing now, her joints seemed to give her a lot of problems.
“You really have to let mehire someone to come here to help you with my kid. She’s almost too much to handle some days, Mom.”
“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of her when you’re at work. Don’t insult me.”
Ella knew that to Rose, bringing someone else into her home to help with the work was tantamount to admitting she was growing old. Ella had no desire to hurt her mother’s feelings, but she had to find a way toget her to face facts.
“Mom, we could hire a young woman from a traditionalist family.”
Rose shook her head. “They would never come to work for us.”
Ella took a deep breath, then let it out again. Rose was right. Their “legacy” had made them pariahs to many. “But not all the traditionalists feel that way. Many of the clans see our family as a force for good.”
“Since the time of Mist Eagle,our family has been feared and shunned by others. But now that you and your brother have each had only one child, many are afraid that both children will turn to evil. It was always believed that two children in each family would keep the scales balanced. With only one, the balance is gone, and they’re afraid of what two evil forces will do if they combine. They’re watching all of us carefully tomake sure we don’t attempt to hide anything that could endanger the tribe.”
“I’m not evil and neither is my brother, so why do they think the kids will be?”
“That’s just it, daughter. They believe one of you has already chosen evil, and the remaining one might be persuaded to follow. If that happens the children will be corrupted. They already know what gifts you and your brother have, but thechildren still represent an unknown, and that terrifies many. Just be careful what you do or say.”
“Are you sure about this?”
Rose nodded once. “It started when people saw you push your brother off the roof during the confrontation with those terrible people. Since no one could prove your actions saved your brother’s life, people are waiting and watching, looking for a clearer sign. They haven’tpassed judgment yet, but that could come at any time.”
Ella nodded slowly. “That will complicate things. Finding someone to come and help you won’t be as easy as I’d hoped.”
“I’ll take care of my granddaughter. I don’t want a stranger in my
Tenminutes later, Ella put her daughter to bed, and sometime during Ella’s reading of The Little Lamb, Dawn fell asleep again.
Rose met Ella out in the hallway. “Why do you make the child sleep when she doesn’t want to?”
“I don’t think you can make a child go to sleep if she’s not sleepy. But if she takes a nap now, she won’t be as crabby later. Kids get tired, but they don’t always know it untilthey’re put to bed.”
“Spoken like an Anglo.”
Ella closed her eyes and opened them again. “Mom, if you don’t start agreeing with me on some rules, she’s going to be hopelessly spoiled.”
“You and your brother seem to have turned out all right,” Rose shot back, annoyed.
Ella smiled grudgingly. “But we’re not talking about me or Clifford. Mom, Short Stuff’s a very active kid. If you’d set regularhours for her, it would be easier for you, too.”
“I know what she needs,” Rose said flatly. “That child needs to be raised like a Navajo.”
“She is. But learning a few things from the Anglos wouldn’t hurt.”
Rose sat down slowly, and grimaced as she settled against the chair cushion.
“Mom, are you okay?”
“Some days are better than others. My legs can still ache from time to time.” Rose reachedaround and removed a crocheted shawl from atop the back of her chair and draped it over her legs.
Since the accident when a drunk driver had smashed into her mother’s old pickup, Rose often had difficulty getting around. She could go for several days without pain, but when the weather turned cool as it was doing now, her joints seemed to give her a lot of problems.
“You really have to let mehire someone to come here to help you with my kid. She’s almost too much to handle some days, Mom.”
“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of her when you’re at work. Don’t insult me.”
Ella knew that to Rose, bringing someone else into her home to help with the work was tantamount to admitting she was growing old. Ella had no desire to hurt her mother’s feelings, but she had to find a way toget her to face facts.
“Mom, we could hire a young woman from a traditionalist family.”
Rose shook her head. “They would never come to work for us.”
Ella took a deep breath, then let it out again. Rose was right. Their “legacy” had made them pariahs to many. “But not all the traditionalists feel that way. Many of the clans see our family as a force for good.”
“Since the time of Mist Eagle,our family has been feared and shunned by others. But now that you and your brother have each had only one child, many are afraid that both children will turn to evil. It was always believed that two children in each family would keep the scales balanced. With only one, the balance is gone, and they’re afraid of what two evil forces will do if they combine. They’re watching all of us carefully tomake sure we don’t attempt to hide anything that could endanger the tribe.”
“I’m not evil and neither is my brother, so why do they think the kids will be?”
“That’s just it, daughter. They believe one of you has already chosen evil, and the remaining one might be persuaded to follow. If that happens the children will be corrupted. They already know what gifts you and your brother have, but thechildren still represent an unknown, and that terrifies many. Just be careful what you do or say.”
“Are you sure about this?”
Rose nodded once. “It started when people saw you push your brother off the roof during the confrontation with those terrible people. Since no one could prove your actions saved your brother’s life, people are waiting and watching, looking for a clearer sign. They haven’tpassed judgment yet, but that could come at any time.”
Ella nodded slowly. “That will complicate things. Finding someone to come and help you won’t be as easy as I’d hoped.”
“I’ll take care of my granddaughter. I don’t want a stranger in my
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