Like fate. Or God." Heat flushed her cheeks when she realized how this must sound to him, as if she had him figured out because of the things he'd said that day. "You said Kitan To-wet had plans for you, and that I'd messed up those plans."
"Kit-tan-it-to'wet," he corrected. "It's Algonquian for Great Spirit. It's our name for God."
She nodded, relieved that, although she hadn't pronounced the name perfectly, she hadn't completely mangled it beyond recognition.
"And you seemed very passionate," she continued, "about repaying the debt you felt you owed me. All that led me to believe you were —" again she shrugged "— a spiritual man."
He was silent as they left the interstate, the exit ramp winding around to a bridge that crossed Yellowstone River.
"I owe you an apology." His gaze connected with hers for a fraction of a second. "In my business, I sometimes come into contact with . . . people. People who tend to put me in some sort of box, or expect me to fit some sort of mold. Because I'm Delaware. Because I'm Indian."
"White people," she supplied.
His silence was proof that she'd presumed correctly.
" Tell you what," she said. I promise not to stereotype you because you're Delaware if you promise not to stereotype me because I'm white."
The lightness in her tone succeeded in dissolving the tension in him. His shoulders relaxed, and when he looked at her, he was actually smiling. It was the first time she'd seen him smile, and the curling at the corners of his wide mouth made his already striking features downright mesmerizing. Her pulse kicked into high gear and the interior of the truck's cab became unbearably hot.
"You've got a deal," he told her softly.
The smile she offered was weak, at best. For the first time since approaching him for help, she felt that they'd connected.
And the feeling was darned disconcerting.
Jenna swallowed, broke eye contact and gazed out over the Montana grassland. Her new husband could easily become a distraction. And a distraction was one thing she didn't need. She was going to have her hands full caring for Lily and keeping up with her business. She'd worked hard to build her reputation, and she didn't want to lose it. She'd been dubbed "the Webmaster whiz" by the companies who contracted her to build and maintain their Web sites. And as Jenna figured it, with Lily st ill a baby, she would only be able to work when her niece napped in the afternoon or slumbered through the night. It wasn't going to be easy, but it wasn't any more difficult than what any other new mother experienced juggling a job and a child.
That was how she thought of herself.
Gage steered the pickup onto Reservation Road.
"You want to pick up your niece now?"
She hadn't expected the offer. "Yes. If that's okay with you, I mean. If you have to get back to the ranch to tend to the horses, I can come back for her. I don't want to put you out."
"If it wasn't okay with me, I wouldn't have suggested it."
"Oh." Excitement tickled the pit of her belly. "Okay, then. Yes. That would be wonderful."
No fanfare marked the entrance to Broken Bow Reservation. Just a worn sign with black block letters and a directional arrow. The reservation itself was quite basic. The main road wove through a small village that wasn't even big enough to be called a town, really. There was a general store, a sheriff ’ s office, a post office, a restaurant called Hannah's Home-Styl e Diner, a community center that doubled as an information office for the odd tourist who happened by for a visit and the Council building that Jenna had become so familiar with over the past couple of months. Small, neat homes lined both sides of the street. Anyone else would describe the place as plain, but at this moment she thought it was the most beautiful place on Earth. She was going to see Lily, and she would be taking the baby home with her at last.
Well, not home, exactly, but it was close enough for now.
Joy made her feel featherlight. She was