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surrounded by music and happy chatter.
    Entering the kitchen, Tab saw her grandma remove a tray of cornbread from the oven. The wrist brace was nowhere in sight.
    “Don’t worry,” Grandma said as she set the cornbread in the center of the kitchen table. “I can lift this. It’s not too heavy.”
    “Smells good.” Tab wasn’t in the mood to argue. She hugged the rounded shoulders of the small woman whose long white hair was fastened at her nape with an ornately beaded barrette. “Do you know the one they call Buffalo Man?”
    “A crazy old badger. He lives down by the river.”
    “Just to warn you, I kind of invited him to drop by anytime for dinner.”
    “That’s my Tabitha.” Her grandma chuckled. “From the time you were a little girl, you were always bringing home strays.”
    “His real name is Wally, and he’s willing to work for his supper as a handyman. Having him drop by might be useful. The barn roof needs patching.”
    “How did this new friendship happen?” Grandma sat at the kitchen table. “You left the house to deliver a baby, and you picked up an old man in a buffalo robe.”
    “Long story.”
    “The stew can simmer for a while.”
    Not holding back, Tab told the whole story of Misty and the murder, the possible serial killer connection, the chopper and Aiden. When she mentioned his name, she heard a breathless change in her voice. She pictured the tall, lean cowboy, and a rush of excitement went through her. In an attempt to hide that reaction, she turned her back on Grandma and opened the refrigerator door to take out a pitcher of cold water.
    “Aiden Gabriel,” her grandma said. “He’s a handsome man.”
    “Is he?” Her tone pitched to a higher octave. “I didn’t notice. I was more concerned about his sister.”
    “You don’t fool me. When you were a girl and spent the summer at the Gabriel ranch, you liked him, liked him very much.” She sang a little song about sailing away with the man of her dreams. “Didn’t you ask me for a totem to cause a man to fall in love with you?”
    Tab didn’t deny it. “I was a silly teenager then.”
    “And now, you’re both grown up. Could be good timing. From what I hear, Aiden broke up with his long-time girlfriend. She lives in California and doesn’t care about ranch life.”
    Tab poured cold spring water into a Mason jar and took a sip. People who lived on the rez seemed isolated, and yet the gossip grapevine relayed information more quickly than cell phone texting. “How do you know so much about Aiden’s love life?”
    “His mother and I see each other often. I bring her baked goods, and Sylvia gives me beef. She’s happy about the blessing of a new baby.”
    “It doesn’t bother her that Misty is so young and so unmarried?”
    “If anyone understands about unexpected pregnancy, it’s Sylvia Gabriel.” Grandma leaned back in her chair and folded her hands on her lap, a signal that she was about to tell a story. “Sylvia nearly died in childbirth. She had a difficult labor, ending in Caesarian section and a serious loss of blood. But after she had Aiden, she wanted more children. She and her husband tried everything. I know this because she came to me and asked how to increase her fertility.”
    Maria Spotted Bear not only had a reputation as an excellent baker but also for healing and cures. Tab had learned young how to locate, harvest and prepare many herbs for teas and salves. “Red clover, squaw berry and yams. Those are all good to promote fertility.”
    “Nothing worked and she gave up—satisfied to have a healthy son and a good marriage. Fourteen years later, when Sylvia was thirty-seven years old, she had Misty. A happy surprise.”
    Her cell phone buzzed. The screen showed Aiden was the caller. As soon as she saw his name, she remembered that she’d promised to call him when she reached her grandma’s house.
    “I’m home,” she said when she picked up. “We’re just about to sit down for