Westward Dreams Read Online Free

the blanket Mikey handed him.  He didn’t really need it, but he didn’t want to hurt the boy’s feelings by refusing it. 
                  Mikey settled in and curled up under his blankets.  “Uncle Owl?”
                  “Yes?”
                  “Will you please tell me the story about How People Learned to Fish?” Mikey asked.
                  It was Mikey’s favorite Lakota story.  “Sure.”  Owl was only about halfway through the story when he heard Mikey’s breathing change.  The boy was asleep.  The Lakota brave smiled and closed his eyes, too.
                 
                  Dean gave Owl a fierce frown as they drove into Dawson the next morning.  “He’s not getting a horse and I would appreciate it if you didn’t always fight his battles for him.”
                  “He is old enough.  Mikey take care of a horse good.”  Owl’s English had improved dramatically since he was living among white people full-time now.  He still understood more than he could speak.  It was hard for him to convert Lakota to English, so his sentences tended to be inconsistent.  Sometimes he could say a whole phrase correctly and other times just the main words.  “You treat him like baby.”
                  Dean let out a frustrated sigh.  “Look, I know that Lakota children run wild and do almost whatever they want, but my kids don’t.  I didn’t have my own horse until I was fourteen.”
                  “Well, that stupid.  I was a brave by that time,” Owl said.
                  “I’m happy for you, but my son isn’t a Lakota brave,” Dean said.  “We already have plenty of horses that he can ride.”
                  Owl shook his head.  “But they are not his horse.  Do you not remember what that was like?”
                  “Yes, I remember, but I just told you that I was older.  Pa didn’t let me have a horse until I was old enough to be responsible for it,” Dean said.
                  “Maybe you were not ready, but he is.  If you not give him horse, I give him one of my ponies when family comes with them,” Owl said.  “And there be nothing you can do about it.”
                  “Like hell there isn’t,” Dean said.  “You’re really pressing your luck, Owl.”
                  “Why are you so stubborn?” Owl asked.
                  “Why are you so annoying?” Dean countered.  His curiosity about a Lakota pony got the better of him.  “What kind of pony would it be?”
                  Owl smiled internally.  He had Dean right where he wanted him.  “Hmm.  I think my black and white pony.  He is a little older so some of his…um…fire is gone and he is tamer.  About fourteen hands tall.  Just right for boy Mikey’s age.”
                  Dean swore.  “How do you always get your way about everything?”
                  “It is a gift from the Creator,” Owl said with a grin.
                  “Yeah, well I wish He wouldn’t have given it to you,” Dean said.  “You’re a pain in my rear end.”
     
                  They rolled into town and made their way toward the feed mill.  Owl was a known figure around town now and some of them waved as they passed by.  He smiled and waved back.  The rain had let up for the moment but the streets were still very muddy.  The team of horses went a little slower because their big hooves sank down into the muck.  If they hadn’t needed the grain so badly, Dean would have waited to pick it up until things had dried out a little more.  As it was, the going was going to be harder on the way home due to the added weight on the wheels.
                  At the square, Owl jumped out of the wagon while it was still