"May," he repeated. It was a beautiful name. He opened the dictionary. He slowly thumbed through the pages looking for a way to bridge the chasm between them. He found the word horse and pointed to it, then gestured toward the barn.
She nodded, a small smile touching her own lips for the first time. He pointed to water, then to the creek. She nodded again. For the next hour they communicated like this. He would point to a word and she would nod or shake her head.
She took the book from him and began to scan the pages herself, her finger tracing the strange English letters. She pointed to to word home. She looked at him, her expression a question. He put his hand over his heart, then swept it in a gesture that took in the small cabin, the barn, the whole valley. "Home. " He said.
He tapped his chest again. "My home. " Then he looked at her and gently tapped her shoulder. "Your home. " He added. "If you want it. " Tears welled in her eyes. She quickly blinked them away, but not before he saw them.
She closed the book and pushed it back toward him. Then, using her hands, she began to tell him a story. She made the shape of a boat on a rolling sea. She made the shape of a tall mountain of gold. Then showed hands digging.
A railroad. She pointed east toward Nevada. Then made a gesture of a man signing a paper. She drew a snake in the air and pointed in the direction of town. Leaving no doubt she meant Bishop.
Finally, she held her hands as if they were bound. Caleb began to piece it together. San Francisco. The railroad. A debt.
Her father. Bishop hadn't won her. He had taken her as collateral on a debt her father couldn't pay. Promising she would be safe until it was paid off. But Bishop was a snake.
The poker game. It wasn't a whim. It was a performance. He had intended to lose her to one of his own men. A way to launder his ownership of her before selling her on.
Caleb winning had ruined his plan. The red dress wasn't a mark of shame. It was her finest possession, worn with the desperate hope that her father would come for her. The dictionary was her tool, her weapon, her one link to this new harsh world. A cold, hard anger settled deep in Caleb's bones.