A Promise of Thunder

by his wishes in hopes that he will relent one day and bring their grandson to visit them.”
    “Grady is deeply ashamed of his association with renegades,” Storm said defensively. “He fears his parents won’t find it in their hearts to forgive him.”
    “He is wrong. But who can tell a hotheaded young man what is right and what is wrong? It is something he must learn himself. He also must learn what is important in his life.”
    Storm shifted restlessly as Jumping Buffalo’s keen eyes seemed to probe into her very soul.“Will you take me with you?” she asked, suddenly apprehensive. “If your wife is very ill, we shouldn’t waste time.”
    “I think Thunder has made an unwise decision. I love my daughter, but I know her faults. You must love Thunder and Little Buffalo deeply to be willing to sacrifice your own happiness because of Thunder’s stubbornness. Yes, Storm, wife of Thunder, I will take you with me. But only because you wish it and Thunder needs time to come to his senses. We will leave at dawn.” He turned to leave.
    “Wait! You may sleep in Tim’s bed if you’d like.”
    “I will sleep on the ground. My bones may be growing old, but they are unaccustomed to the softness of a mattress. Thank you, wife of Thunder. I will return at dawn.”
    Storm was up long before dawn, packing food and other essentials for their lengthy journey. When Jumping Buffalo arrived she was writing a note to Grady, telling him where to find her should he so desire. Jumping Buffalo nodded his approval as she placed the note on the pillow in their bedroom, where Grady was sure to find it. She glanced back only once as she rode away with Jumping Buffalo, to take one last look at the cabin where she and Grady had been happy together for such a brief time.
    Grady felt as if his body was on fire. Fingers of stinging heat radiated from his left side,where he was heavily bandaged. A groan of pain slipped past his lips as he tried to move.
    “No, don’t move.” The voice was sweet, low and female. Storm? he wondered groggily. He recalled waking up during the night, asking for water and seeing Storm, her eyes clouded with concern, bending over him. He spoke her name aloud.
    “No, it is Laughing Brook. I will care for you, just like it was always meant to be.”
    Grady frowned as the haze slowly lifted from his eyes and he saw Laughing Brook bending over him. Shifting his gaze, he searched the room. Tim stood slightly behind Laughing Brook, looking anxious. Grady tried to smile at the boy, but his lips twisted into a grimace of pain. Searching restlessly, he saw that except for him the room held only two other people. He knew he hadn’t been dreaming when he saw Storm earlier. Had she stepped out for a moment?
    Suddenly Laughing Brook’s puzzling words penetrated the fuzziness of his brain and his eyes shifted back to the Indian maiden. “What do you mean? Where is Storm? I saw her here earlier. Has something happened to her?”
    “Now is not the time to speak of your white wife.”
    “Now is a perfect time,” Grady said weakly. “Tell me, I want to know.”
    “Storm is gone,” Laughing Brook crowed delightedly.
    “Gone? Gone where?”
    Laughing Brook shrugged expansively. “Does it matter? She no longer wishes to be your wife. She packed her clothes and left.”
    Grady’s brow furrowed in painful concentration. “But I distinctly recall her being here with me.”
    “She was here for a short time only,” Laughing Brook admitted with marked reluctance. “She stayed with you briefly, until I arrived in Guthrie to take care of you. She abandoned you, Thunder. You need a woman who will bow to your wishes and be submissive to you in all things. I am that woman, Thunder. I will not leave you and Little Buffalo.”
    A pain far greater than that caused by his wound brought a groan to Grady’s lips. Storm’s desertion brought him a new kind of anguish. How could she abandon him when he needed her? he wondered, clearly distraught. How could she leave him and Tim without telling them where she was going or what she intended to do? Suddenly a thought came to him, and he motioned Tim forward.
    “Did you speak to Storm before she left, son?”
    “Yes, Papa,” Tim acknowledged.
    “Tell me what she said.”
    “She said she had to leave.”
    “Did Storm say where she was going?”
    Tim shook his head. “I asked her to stay, but she wouldn’t.”
    Laughing Brook watched hope die in Grady’s eyes and was