Montana Summer Ch. 12

"Well, I promised him that if the DNA test came back saying that we were related, that we would go our separate ways."

Jessi buried her head into Ryan's chest. "Oh, God, Ryan. What if we are wrong? What will we do?"

The strength returned to Ryan's voice. "We aren't wrong, Jessi. I know what Spotted Owl told us is the truth. Trust me in that."

The conviction in Ryan's words made Jessi feel a little better. "I do trust you and I believe you."

Jessi lay there with Ryan. He just had to be right, and there could be no other option. There was no way that she could be without him. Her love for Ryan was total and complete. His strong hands on her naked flesh comforted her. She was about to doze off when she remembered that Becky was supposed to come for her. "I hope Becky hasn't forgotten about me."

"I've been meaning to ask you. Is Becky okay? She just doesn't seem like Becky."

"Oh, Ryan." Jessi hugged him hard. "I'm not supposed to say anything. You need to promise me that you won't say a word to her or to anyone else if I tell you."

"You have my word," Ryan promised.

Jessi's voice got very serious. "Well, Becky thinks she's pregnant."

Ryan's jaw dropped. "What?"

"Yeah, just before we went to Missoula she used one of those home pregnancy tests and it came back positive."

"Holy crap!" Ryan couldn't believe what he had just heard. "Well, that explains a lot then." Almost as an afterthought Ryan asked, "Who's the father?"

Jessi had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Well..." She didn't know if she should tell Ryan or not.

"Did she tell you?" Ryan pressed.

Jessi nodded her head in the dark tent. "Yes, she did." She took a deep breath. "She said it's Stan."

"Stan? Her brother, Stan?"

"Yeah, her brother." Jessi waited for Ryan's reaction.

"Oh my God. I can't believe she..." Ryan stopped in mid-sentence. "Well, I guess I shouldn't say anything. Especially after what you and I have been through."

"I know. Becky reminded me of the same thing when I said pretty much what you were going to say."

Ryan shivered for a moment. It was the kind of moment where superstitious people mention that someone has just stepped on your grave. "Well, we never grew up together and you never really felt like my sister to me. What is she going to do?"

"I dragged her butt into the clinic at the school to have a pregnancy test done. She should get the results back after we get back to Missoula." Jessi felt Ryan's arms hold her even tighter.

"What's she going to tell her mom and dad?" Ryan thought out loud.

Jessi just shook her head. She had no idea what Becky was going to tell her parents. She was about to say something when they heard someone rustling with the flap on the tent.

"Jessi?" Becky whispered

"Yeah," Jessi replied.

"You ready to go?" Becky asked.

"Give me a sec." Jessi reached for her pajamas.

"Be quick," Becky urged. "It's damned chilly out here."

---

The sky was still dark when Bill opened the door to Ryan's tent. "Ryan, time to get up."

Ryan opened his eyes. It felt like he had just fallen asleep. "What time is it?"

"Just past five. Get up and give me a hand saddling the horses. Your aunt is up cooking breakfast and the coffee is ready."

"Okay, I'll be right out," Ryan replied, his voice still groggy.

Ryan found his uncle, Walter and Charlie all gathered at the corral getting horses ready for the day's ride.

"Good morning, Ryan," Walter called out.

"Morning to you too," Ryan replied. "It will be a better morning once I get a cup of coffee in me."

Ryan slipped the saddle blanket over Bernie's back and then set the saddle on top of the horse. "Easy there," Ryan calmed Bernie down. "I know it's early for you, too. You were probably dreaming of apple snacks when you got woken up."

After Bernie was saddled and tied to the corral rail, Ryan looked around for Jessi's horse. It was the last of the horses that needed to be saddled. Jessi and Becky came out of the cabin as Ryan was getting the saddle on Jessi's horse.

"I would have done that," Jessi said as she walked up to Ryan. "Good morning, cowboy," she whispered. "How ya feelin' this morning."

Ryan winked at her and whispered back. "Much better!"

"Which one am I riding?" Becky asked.

"Mom's." Jessi pointed to the dark brown gelding with the star on his forehead. "You've ridden Duke before."

Becky laughed. "Indeed I have. The first time I rode him, he dumped me into the creek, and then I swear he stood there and laughed at me."

Ryan looked around. "Where are your wives?" He asked Charlie and Walter.

"Keeping the tipi from flying away." Charlie answered with a deadpan look on his face.

It took Ryan a second to catch on to Charlie's joke. "Oh, I see!"

"They think that this is supposed to be a relaxing weekend," Walter interjected.

Suzanne's voice rang out from the porch. "Breakfast is ready!"

The sky was just turning grey in the east as everyone sat down for a breakfast of ham, eggs, and sourdough pancakes. The large, blue, enamel coffee pot steamed on the old wood stove, filling the cabin with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. Ryan heaped his plate with food and sat down at the table. No words were exchanged as everyone busied themselves with breakfast.

Ryan hadn't realized how hungry he was until he had finished his meal. He took his plate and placed it in the dish tub and then he gave his aunt a kiss on the cheek. "That was delicious, Aunt Suzanne."

Suzanne beamed happily at Ryan. "Thanks, Ryan, I appreciate that. If you're done with breakfast you might want to take the stuff for lunch and the water out to the horses and pack it into the saddlebags."

"We'll give you a hand." Becky came over and picked up some of the food that had been packed in plastic bags.

Jessi grabbed some of the water and then the three headed to the corral. The rest of the group joined them about the time the saddle bags were packed and closed. The eastern horizon was a pinkish glow when they mounted the horses and headed out.

At first the trail moved gently up the slope, meandering through the tall trees. Ryan could see no logic to the trail, he could only assume that it was an old game trail made by generations of animals that made the mountains their home. They had to ride single file, with Charlie in the lead and Bill bringing up the rear.

It was a cool, clear morning as the sun broke over the mountains to the east. The creaking of the saddles and the muffled sounds of the horses' hooves on the trail were all that broke the silence of the morning.

Ryan spent a lot of time lost in thoughts of William McFayden, Spotted Owl, and Runs With Elk. There was a good chance that they had ridden these very same trails. He remembered the dream where he was riding with Runs With Elk, when they came across a very young William McFayden. Although the young boy had been lost in the mountains, he had shown no outward fear toward the Lakota hunters.

He watched Charlie as he rode, his long grey braids hanging down on either side of a battered cowboy hat. He felt a strong bond with Charlie now, a bond that seemed to go outside the bounds of time. There was a fire that burned within Charlie that Ryan found addictive. He had a zest for life that Ryan never knew existed. Ryan had never met anyone before that was so comfortable with who they were. It inspired confidence in Ryan to just to try to be who he was.

The trail got steeper as the began to climb the mountain in earnest. Ryan looked up at the blue grey rock of the mountain top. The white of the snow contrasted with the dark rock. He felt small and insignificant in comparison to the majesty and grandeur of the mountain.

When they came upon a small stream, Charlie halted the group. "Stretch your legs and let the horses take a drink."

"It's beautiful up here," Ryan commented to Charlie.

Charlie nodded. "Yes, it is."

Bill looked at Becky. "How are you doing? I think it's been a while since you've been riding."

Becky rubbed her butt. "Oh, I'm going to be sore tomorrow, I just know it. It's worth it though."

Jessi's horse finished drinking and she turned to Becky. "Yes, it is worth it."

Bill asked Charlie. "Are we making any progress?"

"Just up ahead the trail forks. We will take the right hand trail. It's not as steep. The trail follows around the mountain and stays pretty flat. We should be there in a couple of hours, maybe less."

"I haven't been riding up here in years." Bill remarked. He thought for a minute. "You know, Charlie, I don't think I've been up here since Jessi was a baby. I used to come up here elk hunting with granddad, but we used to stay on this side of the mountain. I think I remember the fork you are talking about, but we always stayed to the left."

They remounted and continued following the trail as it wound its way up the mountain. The sun had begun to warm the riders and the forest became more alive with the sounds of birds and insects. The narrow trail soon crested and the riders began to move around the mountain.

Charlie halted his horse while Walter kept leading the group. Charlie was waiting for Ryan to catch up to him. The trail was wide enough for two horses at this point.

"I wanted you to see this," Charlie commented as he rode beside Ryan. He pointed to an almost obscure trail as they rode past it. "That would have been the trail down to the Lakota village in the time of William McFayden."

Ryan strained his eyes, trying to find something familiar from his dream.

"It's probably three hours riding from here," Charlie explained. "There's a nice sized creek that flows in the bottom of the valley. Some time you and I will have to take a ride down there. You can still see the rings from where the tipis were."

"I'd like that," Ryan said as he followed the trail Charlie pointed out with his eyes. He remembered what the small Lakota village looked like from his dreams. He wondered if it was the same place. He was sure that he would recognize the area.

It was late morning when Charlie called another halt. "We will have to tie the horses and hike in from here."

"How far of a hike is it?" Bill asked as he studied the mountain. There wasn't even a sign of a creek or stream, let alone a waterfall.

"About half hour, not that far," Charlie replied.

Ryan and Walter strung a line between two trees and made sure the horses were tied securely to the line. Walter reached into his saddle bags and retrieved a pair of flashlights. He handed one to Ryan, along with some fresh batteries. "Never hurts to have spare batteries."

Bill was still studying the forested slope of the mountain. He had given up trying to guess where they were going.

Charlie led them a few hundred yards up the steep slope. He stopped and pointed behind a tall pine tree. "We have to enter here. I have to warn you now, it's pretty narrow in there but, it's not that long. Twenty minutes and we will be out of it and at the falls."

Ryan was glad he had one of the flashlights. He got down on his hands and knees and followed the girls through the low opening to the cave. Once inside, he shone his flashlight around the narrow cave. "How do you think this was formed, Charlie?"

"I don't know," Charlie replied. "My guess is that it was an earthquake thousands of years ago or longer."

"It's kind of creepy," Becky laughed nervously.

Jessi shivered. "I hope there are no spiders in here. I hate spiders."

They followed Charlie for what seemed to be an eternity for some of them but, in reality, was only about ten minutes. They moved slowly, guided by Charlie and his flashlight. They rounded a corner and daylight could be seen from the exit.

Bill was astounded at what he saw--two waterfalls each about twenty feet high running over a rock ledge and into a pool. "I'll be damned!"

Ryan stood in awe of the sight. He looked at Charlie. "I've been here before. I just know it, I can't remember when, but I know I've been here before."

Charlie nodded. "This is where men came to have for hanbleyapi, the vision quest. It is very wakan. This is where I came after..." Charlie stopped for a moment and looked at the ground. "This is where I came after I found my self respect."

Ryan put his arm around Charlie's shoulder. "What was it like for you?"

"I was scared." Charlie's mind traveled back through time. "I had quit drinking by then. I didn't know what to expect, I had never paid much attention to the elders when they had tried to teach me the Lakota ways. Danny Little Bear was my teacher then." Charlie's eyes looked moist as he thought of man that had probably saved his life. "I wish you could have known him, Ryan."

Charlie stared at the pond. "I remember coming up here, I didn't expect anything to happen. For the first couple of days, I just went through the motions. I prepared a sweat lodge and I cleansed myself. I would spend the days chanting and singing but, in my heart, I wasn't really putting forth any effort."

"I remember sitting here and wondering how many days I should remain before going back. What would I tell Danny? Should I tell him the truth that nothing happened or should I make something up? I felt ashamed of myself at that point. Danny had put so much effort into trying to make me a man and I was not even trying. I vowed that the next day would be different. My whole life changed. I refocused my mind and my hanbleyapi was successful. I had my first real vision."

"What was it?" Ryan asked Charlie quietly.

"Tatanka came in my vision. He showed me what I could be." Charlie stopped for a few seconds and collected his thoughts. "I think he showed me you that night."

Ryan was surprised. "What?"

Charlie nodded his head. "Yes, he showed me a white man and told me that, one day, I would meet a waŝicun that would be like a son and a brother to me. I had almost forgotten that part of the vision. The first day that I met you, I knew you were the waŝicun from that vision."

"I wouldn't have even been born when that happened." Ryan tried to grasp the magnitude of what Charlie had just told him.

"No, you wouldn't have." Charlie hadn't thought of that before.

The pond that the water from the falls flowed into was about a hundred feet across and there were no visible signs of where the water flowed. Bill studied the pond and looked over at Charlie. "Where does the water go?"

"I think it's part of an underground stream and I think whatever caused the cave to open up caused this to open up, too," Charlie replied. He was glad he had brought them here, especially Ryan. He had wondered if Ryan might remember this place from one of his dreams.

Jessi walked over to Ryan and held his hand as she gazed at the two waterfalls. "It's beautiful."

Ryan nodded his head in agreement. "It really is."

Becky was standing by the pool and looking into the water. She looked back at Ryan and Jessi. "The water is so clear."

"Let's see how far we can climb up there." Ryan pointed to a ledge near the top of the falls.

"Amazing little spot," remarked Bill as he looked at Charlie.

"Yes, it really is." Charlie sat down on a large rock. "It's been quite a few years since I was last here." He looked at Bill. "I really wanted Ryan to see it."

Bill sat down beside Charlie. "Remember our little talk at the hospital?"

Charlie looked directly into Bill's eyes. "Yes, I do."

"Would you mind if I asked a few more questions?"

"No, feel free to ask me anything." Charlie thought he had a pretty good idea of what was coming.

Bill looked at Walter, who had stretched out in a small patch of sunlight and appeared to be taking a nap. He removed his hat and began to toy with the brim. "I'm not sure how much you know about Ryan, and Jessi, and I'm not too sure how to start this out."

"Ryan has told me everything," Charlie replied. "And about Jessi, too."

"Well, Ryan told me something yesterday," Bill started. He watched as Ryan and girls made their way up towards the waterfalls. "He told me that he talked to Spotted Owl and that Spotted Owl says that Jessi isn't related at all, well, by blood."

Charlie looked down at the ground. "They are in love." He looked at Bill. "I guess a man would have to be blind not to see it."

Bill only nodded. He knew what Charlie said was right. "Do you think what Spotted Owl told Ryan is true, that they aren't related?"

"Ryan asked me the same thing," Charlie answered. "I don't think Spotted Owl would have intentionally misled Ryan and Jessi. I don't have much experience with the Wanagi, but after what they did for Ryan, I think they are here to watch over him."

Bill set his hat back on his head. "Yeah, I kinda thought that was the kind of answer I was going to get."

"I'm sorry you didn't get the answer you were looking for." Charlie watched Ryan as he helped the girls get on to the small ledge.

Bill shook his head. "No, it's not that. I hope what he told Ryan is true. I'm more worried about how Suzanne is going to handle this."

Charlie was surprised at Bill's comment. It wasn't what he expected. He wondered just who Jessi's father really was.

The view from the ledge was breathtaking. Ryan could see that Charlie and his uncle were deeply engrossed in a conversation and that Walter looked like he was catching up on some sleep that he had lost this morning. "What do you think?"

"Amazing!" Becky looked down at the pool below.

"It's beautiful." Jessi squeezed Ryan's hand. "It feels—special here." Jessi couldn't quite put into words what she felt at this moment.

Ryan looked at Jessi. He had felt the same thing the moment they had emerged from the cave. It was a special place and, even more than that, he felt a deep spiritual awakening inside of him.

---

The ride back to the cabin seemed to take less time, and probably did, as the trail was mainly downhill all of the way. Ryan was lost in thought for most of the ride. He knew some day he would return to the waterfalls and have his own hanbleyapi.

By the time they got the horses into the corral, fed and brushed down, the sun was beginning to set. The growling in Ryan's stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten much since breakfast, just one of the sandwiches that Suzanne had prepared when they had started back down the mountain. When he had peeked into the cabin to see what was on the menu for supper, he had been chased out by his aunt. "You will see when it's ready." That was her only comment.

Esther Red Elk had put the run on her husband and son when they had tried to peek into the kitchen. Jessi and Becky were welcomed into the kitchen with open arms and immediately put to work.

Bill started a campfire and the men gathered their chairs around the crackling blaze. He pointed towards the cabin. "Looks like we aren't welcome in there. Any idea what they've got cooking in there?"

Ryan shook his head. "No idea, I just stepped onto the porch and got hollered at."

Walter chuckled. "Well, I think I know what's cooking, but I'm sworn to secrecy."

The sun was just beginning to set behind the mountain to the west. Already there was a chill in the air. It didn't take long in the autumn for the temperature to drop with the setting sun. Ryan stared at the sunset and at the mountains. One of the mountain's secrets had been given up today. He wondered how many more secrets there were in the surrounding mountains.

Pointing at the mountains, Ryan addressed Charlie, "A fella could probably spend his entire life in these mountains and not learn everything there is to know about them."

Charlie looked up at where Ryan was pointing. "Well, I have spent my life in these mountains and I sure don't know everything there is to know."