Fire Moon

Chapter 6

Jade’s POV

I’ve been driving for 3 days and am now in Colorado. Thanks to a Good Samaritan named Clara that I met at a rest area in Kansas, she gave me the name of a small town where I would find work and a cheap place to stay. She said the town even has a midwife to help me deliver the baby when the time comes.

While I desperately want to keep the baby, I have a lot of questions as to whether I’m doing the right thing. The reality of it has finally hit me. I am single, I have some job experience but not enough to support a child. There is rent, food, other things to worry about. My mother struggled a lot, though she partied a lot of our money away too. I am giving considerable thought to asking the midwife when I get to Fire Moon about the possibility of adoption. That way, if the worst happens and David finds me, the baby is safe and far from his reach. The possibility I may not be able to see my child grow up is an indescribable pain.

Fire Moon, I wonder what it will be like. Carla told me it was deep in the Rocky Mountains and not too far from Yellowstone National Park. I bet it’s beautiful and look forward to seeing what it has to offer. Though from what I’ve heard of the conversation Carla had with the town’s leader, Amos, it doesn’t sound like he really wants me there. But she said he’s like that and not to worry. I just hope he has work I can do so I can earn some money and find a place to stay.

I saw the “Welcome to Wyoming” sign and pulled into the welcome area. I took out the map Carla gave me and looked at the route she highlighted, even though I’ve looked at it probably five times. I wanted to make sure I had it right since I had no way to get a hold of Clara or anyone else if something happened to my car on the road.

Several hours later and crossing halfway through Wyoming, I come to the road I’m supposed to take for Fire Moon. Sometime later, I pull up to a white gate and a small building, and see a young man step out.

“Good evening miss. Code word?”

“Hoonoo.” The code word wasn’t hard to forget.

“Amos is expecting you, please wait while I call him.” The guard went back into the building. Seconds later, he comes out and directs me to a small parking lot. I parked my car and waited beside the guard.

A few minutes later, a very tall muscular man approached us. He was easily one of the most handsome men I’ve ever seen. Covered in tattoos, I take a quick look at his brown eyes and see they appear bright, almost amused.

“So you are hooknoo. Welcome to Fire Moon. I’m James Olmstead, Amos’s officer.” He offers his hand to me and I shake it.

“I’m Jade Starr. Nice to meet you.”

“Come with me please.”

We walked on the path towards the town. I noticed several small stone cottages, some with flowers and other decorations. I smile when I see pink roses, my favorite.

“Where are you from Jade?” James asks.

“Kentucky.”

“How did you end up here?”

“A long story. What does hoonoo mean?” I asked, changing the subject.

James chuckles and I can’t help but smile. He seems so friendly and easy going, so much like Katie. “It means little mother in Arapaho.”

I have to smile at that. “It fits, I am really short. I guess Arapaho is a Native American tribe?”

“It is, the language is pretty much obsolete now. Me, Amos and several members of the town are of the tribe. Aunt Clara is too.”

“Your aunt is an amazing person. She is a guardian angel.”

“She is. So is black hair your natural color?” James asks.

“Nope. I dyed it at the rest stop and made a real mess. The custodian came in when I was trying to clean it up with paper towels and screamed at me”. That made James laugh.

We arrived at a large brick house. In the background, I notice the Rocky Mountains. If the view just from here is spectacular, I can’t imagine what it’s like from the back of the house.

“Amos is in his office waiting for us. Please follow me.” James directed, and I followed him into the house.A large U-shaped staircase with a balcony is in the center with several rooms. The walls are a deep maroon red with paintings of various Native Americans. I notice a painting with a large midnight black wolf and can’t help but stare at it.

“I painted that.” James said.

“It’s so real looking. It gives me chills.”

“Wait ‘til you see one of these in real life.” He replies.

“There are wolves this large around here!” I exclaimed. He has to be joking, right?

“You’ll see”, James said and grinned. We reached the end of the hallway and he knocked on the door at the end of it. I heard a voice inside saying to come in.