Paloma and the Horse Traders Read Online Free Page B

where he played in the wet sand beside his only
slightly older cousin, the one he called sister.
    “ We’ll teach them to swim, when they
are older,” Paloma told Eckapeta.
    “ Teach me, too,” her friend
said.
    “ I thought you knew everything,”
Paloma teased.
    Eckapeta shuddered. “Not this! Don’t you fear
what might swim below the surface?”
    Paloma shook her head, secretly pleased that
there was one skill—probably only one—that she could offer
Eckapeta. “You might brush against a sleepy turtle or have your
toes nibbled by minnows. There aren’t any bad spirits.”
    The Comanche woman’s expression told Paloma
everything she needed to know about The People and water. “Well,
never mind. If you fall in, I will save you,” she said.
    A few more minutes and Soli began to yawn and
tug at her eyelids, which meant sand in her eyes. She shed a few
tears until Eckapeta silenced her with no more than a stare. They
stripped the children, washed them, dried them, and took them to
the shade of a cottonwood back from the bank. New clothes went on,
and then bread and cheese found its way into eager hands. Soli
sighed with pleasure at the peeled cactus bits.
    Eckapeta lay down and put her hands behind her
head. The little ones snuggled on either side and soon slept.
Paloma unbuttoned her bodice. “If I won’t frighten you, I’m going
to swim.”
    Drowsy, Eckapeta moved her hand to show
approval. Paloma stripped and walked to the water. In another
moment, she was floating on her back. Since the current of August
bore no resemblance to the current of June, which roared from the
Sangre de Cristos full of snow melt, she drifted along, always
staying in sight of the tree.
    She remembered the July haymaking afternoon
that turned into baby making, and wondered why neither of their
children seemed to want to start life in a bed. Why, indeed? she thought. All I ever need is Marco, and he is
portable.
    She laughed out loud, perfectly content , until she started thinking about all there was to do before the
official end of summer. She had an excuse now to take life easier,
but she knew the monumental effort required by everyone to prepare
for winter. I do hope you find me some more help for the babies,
Marco , she thought. She floated along and touched her belly,
recalling with no regret her much slimmer waist.
    The days of starvation were over and she was
fertile. Throw in the loveliness of a husband like Marco, and a
woman could not ask for more, especially in the royal colony of New
Mexico, where life was hard. She was truly blessed, and she knew
it.
    “ And I have friends,” she said
softly, as she saw Eckapetta hurrying toward her.
    Paloma stopped, and let her feet swing down to
the shallow river bottom. Eckapeta was running now, looking over
her shoulder. Alert, Paloma started toward the shore at a half
swim, half run. Eckapeta had a towel in her arms, which she wrapped
around Paloma as soon as she clambered up the slight
rise.
    Eckapeta pointed with her lips, and Paloma saw
the dust cloud—one not created by the fickle wind, but by many
horses. She grabbed the towel around her and dried herself as they
ran back to the trees, where the babies still slept.
    Paloma threw on her clothes, grateful her hair
was still confined by a ribbon. She scuffed her feet in her shoes,
her mind a blank. Better not to even think about who this might
be.
    “ Have they seen us?” she
whispered.
    “ I don’t think so,” Eckapeta
replied, her face stern. “We would only attract attention if we
mounted our horses, so I will lead them into the bosque . Get
the little ones.”
    The single cottonwood had been a prime location
for a nap, but it offered no protection. Paloma glanced toward the
growing dust cloud then resolved not to look again. With a hand on
each small chest, she pressed lightly and spoke softly, waking her
little ones and warning them at the same time.
    She didn’t think Claudio was old enough to
understand, but she