“I make jewelry.”
Chaska hadn’t been expecting that.
Win looked surprised, too. “What kind of jewelry? Beads?”
Naomi had just taken a bite of chicken. She shook her head, chewed, waiting until she had swallowed to answer. “I work mostly with silver and semi-precious stones, but sometimes gold, too.”
She tucked her dark hair behind her ear. “I made these.”
A silver raven, its wings outstretched in flight, dangled from her earlobe set off by small, irregularly shaped turquoise stones. The detail was amazing.
“Youmade those?” Winona leaned closer. “They’re beautiful.”
Naomi smiled. “Thanks.”
It was the first genuine smile Chaska had seen on her face, and it took the breath from his lungs.
“I have a website if you want to see more.”
Winona’s smartphone appeared in her hand. “What’s the web address?”
“It’s my name and then dot com.” Naomi spelled her name for Winona, who typed the URL into her phone’s browser.
Winona read aloud. “Naomi Archer: Jewelry inspired by the Black Hills. Oh, wow! Look at this, Chaska. This is fantastic.”
Win stood and walked around to his side of the table, bending down to share the images on her screen with him.
He found himself sharing his sister’s amazement. Jewelry wasn’t his thing, but he knew a good deal about metalworking, enough to understand that Naomi had true skill. “You’re good.”
Winona scrolled down the page, images of ravens, eagles, coyotes, wolves, bears, flowers, feathers, and different animal tracks rendered gracefully into silver rings, earrings, bracelets, pendants, tie clips, and belt buckles.
“Oh, wow!” Winona turned the phone to show Naomi what they were looking at.
The silver bracelet was inlaid with lapis lazuli, mother of pearl, coral, and onyx to create a tiny scene of a raven flying in front of a setting sun.
Naomi’s face lit up. “That’s one of my signature pieces. They’re one-of-a-kind pieces for people looking for something special. I really love working in mosaic.”
Chaska shook his head. “I take that back. You’re not just good. You’re an artist.”
Her face flushed at his compliment, her lips curving in a shy smile that made his pulse skip. “Thank you.”
Naomi lookedinto Chaska’s eyes, his words warming her. She’d learned a long time ago not to take other people’s opinions about her work seriously, but what he’d just said had touched her.
Winona turned off her smartphone and went back to her seat. “How did you get into jewelry-making? Did you study it in college?”
“Oh, I couldn’t afford college. I only have a GED.” Naomi hesitated to tell them more. She couldn’t tell them the whole truth without talking about her heritage, so she settled on the partial truth. “Ever since I can remember, I was fascinated by jewelry. I waited tables to earn the money for jewelry-making classes—metalsmithing, inlay, repoussé, enameling, stone setting, wax casting, PMC.”
“PMC? What’s that?”
“Precious metal clay. I’d be happy to show you how it works once I get my tools and things back. They’re still in my SUV.”
She had no idea when the police would release her vehicle.
“So, you took classes and…” Winona waited for the rest of the story.
“I took all the classes I could, buying the tools as I went along. When I felt ready, I started selling my pieces.”
“People must have gone crazy for it,” Winona said.