Blackening Song Read Online Free PDF Page B

you arrived,” he said.
    “Thanks,” Ella answered. She was glad that her mom hadn’t been alone, but wondered about Wilson’s willingness to come. The cloud of suspicion that rested over her family would make them virtual pariahs and might extend to anyone they associated with—until the truth came out. His presence might havebeen comforting to her mother, but it raised many questions in her own mind.
    Ella and Wilson stood face-to-face for a moment. She’d had a crush on him all through high school, and he hadn’t changed much since then. He was as handsome as ever, tall and broad-shouldered, with a solid, though not overly muscular, build. His face mirrored the inner strength and pride that was so much a part of him.Despite her training, she found him as difficult to read as ever. Although he said the right things, he seemed to be wrapped in an impenetrable shell. She wondered why he needed it.
    “If there’s anything you or your mother need, let me know. She has my telephone number. I teach at the college these days, and I’m usually there or at home. And you can always leave a message on my answering machine.”

    “Thank you,” Ella said.
    Ella watched him walk to an old pickup parked near the rear of the house, get in, and drive away. When she turned to her mother, the serene mask Rose had worn in front of Wilson had vanished. Deep, dark lines of despair framed her face.
    “I’m so sorry, Mother,” Ella managed to say, though her throat had suddenly constricted painfully. “I should have come home immediatelyafter you told me about the threats.”
    “No, don’t take responsibility for this. You’ve always been too quick to shoulder the blame for things that were beyond your control. Come inside. We have to talk.”
    Her mother wore a traditional long skirt and a simple yellow blouse. An intricate turquoise-and-silver squash blossom hung around her neck. It had been a gift from her mother’s mother, and Roseseldom took it off.
    On the surface, everything looked the same. Yet, as often happened, that casual observation was deceptive. As Ella stepped inside the house, sadness overwhelmed her and for the first time tears came to her eyes. What had been taken from them had left a gap that would never again be filled. Even their home seemed changed. A stillness had settled over it as if it waited, listeningfor the footsteps of one who would never return.
    Rose walked to the kitchen, and in what had been almost a ritual for as far back as Ella could remember, began fixing Ella a snack.
    “Mom, you don’t have to do that,” Ella said, drying her tears with a tissue. “Come sit and talk to me.”
    “We can talk, but you need to eat. You look even thinner than the last time I saw you, and you were practicallyskin and bones then.”
    Ella had put on fifteen pounds in the last six years from too much chocolate ice cream. Only her daily running kept more poundage at bay, but in her mother’s eyes she’d always been too thin. “I spoke to Peterson. Dad didn’t say anything to the tribal police about the threats.”
    Rose sighed and poured Ella a glass of a special tea she made from plants from her herb garden.Ella knew the mixture of herbs and water had steeped all day in a gallon jar sitting out in the sun.
    Chilled, it was wonderfully refreshing, with a pleasant, nutty flavor. “I bought some of your favorite ice cream, and made oatmeal-raisin cookies and chocolate cake.”
    “Mom, you shouldn’t have done that.” Hurt flashed in her mother’s eyes and Ella instantly regretted her words. “But I’m glad youdid. I am hungry.” She took a large mouthful of the cake her mother brought, her mind only vaguely registering the rich, buttery taste. “Tell me what’s been happening.”
    “Your father wanted to build his church close to where the new community college is going to be. Some of our people were very angry about it. Both your brother and I could feel danger surrounding him, pressing in