Naomi let out a relieved breath. “Thank you.”
A muscle clenched in his jaw, anger still on his face. “I should have punched him. Iwantedto punch him.”
That made Naomi laugh.
“What was that ruckus?” Old Man asked when they returned to the table.
Chaska answered in Lakota for Naomi’s sake, Doug adding his perspective.
Grandpa listened, nodding and eating his fries. “I’m proud of you, grandson. You were a warrior for your woman. That’s how it should be.”
Chaska sat next to Naomi. “Do you want to go home?”
She shook her head. “I won’t let them ruin this evening.”
Doug reached across the table, pressed his hand over hers. “They won’t bother you again. We’ll make certain of that. There are legal remedies we can pursue, but we’ll talk about that some other time.”
They stayed for another hour until Old Man had gotten his turn on the dance floor with Winona and Doug had taken a shot at the climbing wall, making it to the top on the easiest route with Sasha coaching him and Naomi cheering him on.
“This is a fun place,” Old Man said, waving goodbye to the Team and getting a kiss on the cheek from Sasha. “Friendly people.”
Naomi stopped on the way out to give Bear a hug. “Thank you. You were my hero tonight.”
The small part of Bear’s face that was visible—that band from his upper cheeks to his forehead—turned bright red. “Those people were no good. I don’t like them.”
Neither did Chaska. They’d been even worse than he’d imagined, the fear he’d seen on Naomi’s face the moment she’d recognized Peter making Chaska want to take the bastard apart—or at least give him a taste of his own belt.
Chaska watched for them and their vehicle on the short drive home, some part of him worried that Peter might be crazy enough to try to take Naomi against her will, but was relieved to see no sign of them.
It wasn’t yet nine o’clock when they got home—too early for Chaska to head to bed with Naomi, which is what he wanted to do. They’d had little time alone this past couple of days. While Winona went out to feed Shota and make sure he was safe for the night, Chaska did what Old Man told him to do and got out the games.
“You seriously want to play Chinese checkers?”
“What’s wrong with that? We can sit and amuse ourselves and talk.”
Okay, fine—whatever it took to get through the next hour.
They played without Doug, who disappeared into Chaska’s office to call his wife again. Winona went first and took the green marbles. Chaska was black, while Old Man was red and Naomi was yellow. By the time Doug returned ten minutes later, the game was almost over, Old Man on the brink of winning—as usual.
Doug sat across from Naomi. “I’ll be driving home in the morning.”
Naomi’s head came up, disappointment in her eyes. “So soon?”
“Star and I want some time to talk about what to say to the kids. We’ll tell them on Sunday. I have to be back at the office in Pine Ridge on Monday.” Doug clearly had something else he wanted to say, his gaze fixed on Naomi. “I can come back down next weekend, drive you and your SUV up to our house. You’re free to stay with us while you recover. It would give you time to get to know us. We can get you enrolled, introduce you to the rest of the family.”
His words hit Chaska in the chest.
What did you expect,kola?
He’d known she had to leave Scarlet eventually. She had an apartment in Rapid City, an online business to run, jewelry to make. She couldn’t stay here forever.
“I… I really hadn’t decided what I want to do next. I had thought I might stay here until I’m able to drive myself home.” Her gaze met his, questioning.
Chaska didn’t want her to go, not now, not ever. But it would be selfish of him to try to keep her here when she had a new family and a new world to discover.
He willed himself not to show emotion. “You’re welcome to stay here as long as you like, but I’m sure your family is going to want to meet you sooner rather than later. You have a lot of catching up to do.”
There. He’d said the right thing.