10

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“I wish I could take you through the Tetons,” Freya said as they hit US 91 going south. “Unfortunately, the passes are still closed with snow, so we’re going to have to go around. I’m still planning to avoid the Interstates to reduce the chance of people figuring out that we’re of any interest.”

“Too bad on the snow. I’d love to see the Tetons!”

“Yeah. I love them too. Maybe next time.”

Tanya didn’t reckon there would be a next time with Freya. Maybe she’d be lucky and get to drive through them next summer… She’d love to show the girls.

The back seat was no longer quiet. The girls bickered and complained.

“Hey, quiet down back there,” Tanya censured.

“Rose is taking my doll!” Skye tattled.

“You’re going to need to share and be a peacemaker. We will be home tonight.”

“With my bed?” Skye asked hopefully.

“Our new home!” Tanya corrected.

Skye looked more depressed again. Tanya wondered for the dozenth time whether she’d done the right thing.

“Look for horses,” Freya suggested.

“I’m tired of horses!” Skye complained.

“Wolves then. Watch out for wolves.”

Skye’s eyes grew large. “Are we really going to get to see wolves?!”

“You won’t see any if you don’t watch for them!” Freya replied. “Wolves, bears, cougars, buffalo… watch for buffalo too.”

Tanya grinned, suspecting that Freya had largely made that whole thing up.

“I’m serious!” Freya insisted. “Yellowstone is overrun with them!”

“I thought that was tourists,” Tanya quipped.

“Those too! But not in March. It’s closed in March.”

Eventually, they turned onto US 30 and resumed their eastward trek through the hills which grew more plentiful in this part of Idaho. They wound through hills, and drove across bridges that spanned narrow, but deep ravines. There were fewer fields now. For miles, the only signs of animal life were some cows or horses. Stands of pine trees became more prominent as well, like it had been going into the Blue Mountains in Oregon the previous morning.

“You look tired this morning,” Freya commented as they drove along. “Didn’t you sleep well?”

“Not really.”

“Nightmares?”

“How did you know?”

“Because it’s a normal part of the healing process.”

“It didn’t seem very healing to me!”

“It never does at the time,” Freya said as they pulled into a gas station. “Look, the bairns are asleep at last. Mind, they won’t want to sleep at all tonight!”

Tanya watched Freya get out.

“Do you want to go in and buy something?” Freya asked.

“No thanks,” Tanya replied, remembering her dream. Her dark hair wouldn’t fool Frank. It was safer just staying in the car.

Someone pulled up to the pump across from them and got out. Tanya saw him and did a double-take. He looked like Frank! Her heart beat faster and her breathing grew rapid and shallow. Surely, it couldn’t be him, a whole state away… even if he’d driven solid the correct direction of travel for the two days, he couldn’t have caught up to them already! He looked at her. She could feel herself growing paler. He would see her, he would know… then he would kill her. She wanted to hide below the window, but moving now would draw attention to herself. If there was any chance he hadn’t noticed her dyed hair, then she was best where she was. Finally, the man stopped fueling and sauntered inside to pay. Tanya let out the breath she had been holding. Then she looked at the vehicle the man was driving… a white mini-pickup. Frank didn’t drive one of those… he thought they were stupid. It couldn’t have been Frank!

“Are you okay?” Freya asked as she got in and tossed her a bag of chips. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost!” She put sodas in the holders as well.

“I’m okay,” Tanya insisted. “I just thought…” She saw the man coming back out. Now that she looked again, he had the wrong nose and wrong eyes. How could she have thought that?!

“He looks like your abuser?” Freya asked, noticing the direction of her gaze.

“Yeah… like a twin or brother… neither of which he has.”

Freya grabbed Tanya’s hand and squeezed it. “You’re going to be fine. He’s not going to find you and even if he looked at you, you’re going to look so different by the time Dancing Bear is done with you that he’d never recognize you!”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I’m certain! Stop worrying about ghosts and start enjoying the magnificent scenery. Plenty of snow on the mountains all around us and there’s only more of that to come. Now, let’s get out of Idaho and into Wyoming!”

Tanya smiled in spite of her fears.

She watched out the window as the landscape changed yet again, as they began the climb into the Rockies.

“Something you need to know about the Neme’o’ng before we get to Swan Valley...”

“Neme what?” Tanya asked.

“The name of their tribe – in their language. Neme’o’ng. Compared to anywhere you’ve lived, they are very, very poor. The government has treated them poorly and gave them commodity foods as “payment” for all they’ve done to the tribes. Their typical accommodation would get CPS on your trail in almost any other situation – but that’s what the tribes have.”

“That’s terrible. I feel bad...”

“They don’t want or need your pity!” Freya censured. “They need your understanding, that is all. The Neme’o’ng are different from many tribes. They survived where they are because they adapted better than most. They’ve applied their spontaneity to other areas of their lives, and have lost most of the government support they were getting. One thing the government doesn’t like is someone who does things differently – especially those with brown skin who were here long before white man.”

“Makes me wish I had brown skin rather than white,” Tanya replied.

“None of us choose our skin color. It’s okay to be the color you were born as. It’s not okay to treat someone different because of that. Neither is it okay to blame all white people for the crimes committed against the brown people – when there were only a small number of white terrorists.”

They were silent a few minutes.

“Look! There’s the sign. Welcome to Wyoming!”

♥♥♥