She ran her fingers over the pendant. “Thank you.”
“It looks good on you.” There was one other thing. “It will be hard to manage on your own here. You should call Chaska and Naomi. Now that Doug and Star are gone, they have room. You can stay with them for a while.”
“They’ve got Shota, and Naomi isn’t healed yet. I don’t want to bother them.”
“I’m sure they wouldn’t be bothered. Promise me you’ll think about it.”
“I will think about it.”
He started to rise, but she stopped him.
“I don’t know when I’ll see you again. I don’t know how to be without you now. But I do know one thing.”
“What’s that?”
She touched a hand to his cheek. “Tecihila. I love you, Jason.”
Her words put an ache in his chest. “I love you, too, Win.Te amo con todo mi corazón.”I love you with all of my heart.”
“Say it in O’odham.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “We don’t have a word for ‘love’ in O’odham. We try to show our love through actions.”
“You’ve done that.” Her smile couldn’t quite hide the anguish in her eyes.
This was hell.
Reluctantly, he stood. “Stay in bed. Stay warm.”
“I’ll walk you to the door.” Winona reached for her crutches, stood, followed him to her front door, where his duffel waited. She disarmed the security system. “Do you want to pack a lunch or something, take an apple, some carrot sticks?”
“I’ll be fine.” He drew her into his arms, held her close, savoring the feel of her. “I don’t want to go, Win. You feel like a part of me in a way that no woman ever has.”
“I’m going to miss you so much.” She held him tight, finally breaking down, her body shaking as she wept.
He held her for a time, then drew back, tilted her face up to his, kissed her tears away. “Don’t give up on us, angel. We’ll work this out somehow.”
She nodded, smiled through her tears. “Text me along the way. Let me know when you’re home again. Good luck tomorrow. I’ll pray for you.”
“I will.” He willed himself to let her go. “Goodbye, angel.Tom ñei.”
She smiled again, laughed. “There is no word for ‘goodbye’ in Lakota.”
Jason laughed, too. “Then let’s just say, ‘until I see you again.’ Stay safe. I’ll let you know when I’m home.”
He must have been stronger than he knew—or incredibly stupid. In the next moment, he did the impossible. He turned away from her, shouldered his duffel, and walked out into the cold, snowy morning.
* * *
Winona watchedJason’s truck disappear down the street as he made his way toward the highway, her heart feeling like it had been ripped in two. When he was gone, she shut the door, made her way back to her bed, and sobbed into her pillow. But there was only so long a person could cry.
She made herself get up, take a shower, brush her teeth. Then she went into the kitchen to make breakfast. It wasn’t easy to do when she needed both hands on her crutches to move around.
A knock.
“Chaska?”
He stood at her back door, concern on his face.