She was Aina's aunt, or at least that was the closest English word for the bond between them. Sari was one of the most respected women in Aina's Apache community, and she had come to meet the man Aina had chosen to return to. Ran stood quietly in the yard. He did not step forward. He did not try to make himself appear more welcoming or more impressive than he was.
He simply let Sari look. There was nothing he intended to hide. Sari spoke rapidly in Apache. Aina answered. The older woman said something else and raised one eyebrow.
Aina replied again with the calm expression of someone who had already answered the same questions many times before. Sari's eyes then settled on Ran. She spoke three Apache words slowly, clearly. Ran looked at Aina. She wants to know if you understood.
Ran shook his head. No. Aina translated while keeping her eyes on Sari. She says you are to take care of me. Ran looked back at the older woman.
Then he nodded slowly. Not the careless nod of a man agreeing because it was easier than arguing. It carried the weight of a promise, the kind a man intended to keep for the rest of his life if life allowed him to. Sari watched him for several more seconds. Whatever she was searching for, she seemed to find enough of it.
She said a few more words to Aina. This time, the exchange was brief. Then, Sari turned her horse toward the trees. Aina watched until the older woman disappeared among the pines. Only then did she turn back toward Ran.
"She'll come again in the spring," Aina said. Ran lifted an eyebrow. "Why?" "To see if you told the truth." Ran looked toward the trees where Sari had vanished. "Then I reckon I'd better make sure it is the truth." Aina studied him. It was almost the same way she had looked at him that first day from the forest floor beside the iron trap, measuring him, reading him, trying to decide what sort of man stood in front of her.
But now there was something different in her eyes, something warmer, something that had not been there before. Aina dismounted. Ran held out his hand. For one brief moment, she only looked at it. Then she placed her hand in his.