Funny Business - Chapter 13, A warm welcome on a cold day

by

Samantha Michelle Davies (SamanthaMD)

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From here to the end of the story, I am going to need some 'artistic license'. I'm no expert on Native Americans and their lives etc. I fully accept responsibility for factual errors. I hope those that do appear won't affect your reaction to the story
Samantha

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The next morning was bright, clear and not too hot. Liz thought it was perfect for a nice ride on the bike. Kat decided upon a set of waterproofs to keep the wind out but as usual, Liz wore her leathers.

The three vehicles set off north towards Idaho, the bike soon left the RV & Bill’s rental car far behind.

They caught up at a truck stop nearly 2 hours later.

Kat was invigorated.

“That was great. I really enjoyed that”

“Is that all you are going to do?” complained Liz.

“I thought you’d tire of me being on the back”

“Nope. You are a great passenger. Better than some people around here I could mention,” remarked Liz as they went into the Truck Stop for a coffee.

“Well then, I’ll stay on the back if I may”

“Great. But this time we will be following the guys. They have the Sat-Nav to tell us the way from here.”

*

They ate a typical ‘Truck Stop’ Lunch before continuing north this time in a much closer convoy.

A little after 2pm Bill flashed the lights on the Hire Car and everyone came to a halt seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

The congregated outside the RV.

“According to the GPS, we are there. Over to the east is the National Forrest and to the west of our land, is the Reservation” said Bill.

“There’s not a lot here is there?” remarked Liz in a slightly grumbly tone.

“Don’t be silly, there’s a mall just down the road. Only a 100 miles away” joked Kat.

“What do we do now?” asked Liz.

“Why don’t we see if there is some sort of road or track that will take us away from the road?”

No one disagreed with that. The ‘convoy’ drove on along the highway.

A couple of miles further along the highway there was a gate in the fence. A visible track led away from the road.

Liz stopped the bike and after seeing that it wasn’t locked opened it for the RV & car to enter.

She pushed the bike through the gate and closed it behind her.

About a mile away from the road the mostly barren terrain changed. They came upon a beautiful valley with a small river/large stream running through it. A line of low growth trees marked the path of the stream.

Charlie stopped the RV and got out. Everyone joined him admiring the view.

“This is the sort of place I had in mind when Bill told me about this place”

“It is so beautiful, so idyllic.” Said Liz.

“Just the perfect place to build a home” suggested Charlie.

Without anyone actually saying so, the group began to setup camp.

There was more than enough room in the RV for everyone to sleep. The fridge was full of food so there was no need to ‘go out’ for dinner and this place was certainly well outside the delivery area for the local fast food joint.

The sun was just starting to drop behind the hills when the tranquillity was interrupted by the arrival of a police car.

For no good reason, it drove up and with everyone watching, put on its siren for a few seconds despite everyone standing and watching the car arrive.

A single officer got out.

Everyone was a bit nervous as he kept his hand on the butt of his gun.

“Don’t you people know this is private property?”

Charlie looked at Bill who stepped forward.

“Just stay right where you are buddy”

Bill stopped.

“None of us have any weapons so take it easy” said Charlie.

“We know this is private property. I’m the owner”

“That’s where you are very wrong buddy. This land is part of the Indian Reservation”

“Officer, I have the copy of the land deed in the RV and also a copy of the treaty where my ancestor leased this land to the local Indian Tribe.”

“Now I know you are lying. They’d never agree to lease any land from anybody”

“Officer, I have to ask you to leave. It is you who are trespassing on private property. Plus the fact that if this land is as you say part of the reservation, you don’t have any jurisdiction on the Reservation unless, you are part of the Reservation Police?” said Charles.

“Are you some fancy lawyer?”

“Yes. I am a lawyer, from New York. These fine people with me are British.

William over there is a high ranking politician in the British Government. So unless you want a major diplomatic scene here with the State Department crawling all over your police department”

“We don’t like strangers issuing threats around here buddy”

“We aren’t going anywhere tonight. Why don’t you come back tomorrow with the Reservation Police and someone from the Reservation who will understand what the fuck I’m talking about. Ok?” said Charlie.

This was a new side of Charlie that she’d never seen before. She liked what she was seeing. A sometimes more assertive Charlie would be rather nice to live with.

“You are quite welcome to search the RV & the car for weapons. The only things we have are a few knives for cutting up food.”

The policeman didn’t take up the offer. He returned to his car and spoke for sometime into the radio microphone.

Without another word, he got in, started the engine and left the group alone once more but not without a short burst of his siren for good measure.

He was well out of sight before anyone said anything.

“Why don’t we get the hell out of here before he returns with 20 deputies and guns blazing?” suggested Kat.

Bill started to answer and then realized she was joking.

“Who’s for some rare steaks?” Suggested Charlie

No one could argue with that.

There were no more interruptions that evening. Everyone began to relax in the peaceful surroundings.

The following morning brought with it a big change in the weather.

The sun of the previous day was long gone and replaced by a steady drizzle that wouldn’t have been out of place set in just after dawn.

Everyone sat around slightly depressed in the RV watching the grey clouds scudding across the sky.

It was nearly midday before things cleared up and Charlie took Liz off for a walk.

When they got away from the others, Charlie asked.

“Do you think you could live here?”

Liz looked at him.

“You are really serious about this aren’t you?”

“Yes. Yes I am. This could be just what we need to build a life together”

“The more I think about it, the more I think that we need totally clean start. No baggage from the past living just around the corner or likely to bump into at Wallyworld”

“Wallyworld?”

“Sorry. Wal-Mart”

“Ok. I get the message.”

“Well?”

“Have you ever lived in the countryside? What are the winters like here? What about electricity & water? And? And? And?”

Charlie sighed.

“The ever practical Liz. I honestly don’t know. What I do know is that I’m prepared to give it a try. If we fail then so be it. I’d really like to try”

“Me too” replied Liz quietly.

They walked on a bit further.

“What sort of place did you have in mind?” asked Liz.

Charlie chuckled.

“I suppose you are thinking of something like the one of the Ranches we saw on the journey up from Elko?”

“Nope. Anyways, I was concentrating on the road ahead. What about you?”

“Something like that I suppose”

“I was thinking of something a bit more radical”

Charlie got this sinking feeling in his stomach.

“What sort of thing?”

“A Turf house”

“What the hell on earth is a Turf house?”

Liz giggled.

“They are very ancient. Think back to the days of the Vikings and all that invasion, pillaging and long ships”

They both laughed at the Hollywood films that show a slightly non-PC representation of the Vikings.

“They are very eco friendly and are wonderfully insulated from whatever weather is likely to be thrown at us.”

Liz went on to explain how they were built.

“What gave you the idea of one of those?” asked Charlie when she’d finished.

Liz laughed.

“The year I was adopted by Bill’s family, we all went on a summer holiday to Iceland. We stayed in one of them on the south coast of the island for a few nights. It was so different from the normal concrete box of a hotel room. It was great. There was this river almost right outside the house where we could go swimming. It was so cool”

“Was that all the time you spent in one? Two nights? That hardly seems to be enough?”

Liz smiled.

Charlie knew she wasn’t finished.

“Bill & I built one on the estate the next summer.

We really wanted a tree house but Bills father wouldn’t let us have one. So this was the next best thing. When it was complete, it became our little ‘den’. It’s probably still there. It was really cool in the summer heat. The design incorporates has something called ‘cross draft ventilation’. We didn’t know it at the time but it worked. We spent hours there in the summer holidays for the next couple of years”

“What about in the winter. Did you ever go there?”

“Of course we did. It was our little hideaway. It was quite warm inside even without heat”

“We could never get permission to build something like that”

“Why not?”

“Because the planners wouldn’t understand what we were trying to achieve”

“We can try can’t we? You are a lawyer after all. Lawyers can be very persuasive when they put their mind to it.”

Charlie knew when to shut up.

“Yes. I am and yes we can try” but he didn’t sound very positive.

When they arrived back at the RV, they found that they’d had a visitor. The visitor was from the Indian tribe who lived on the reservation. There was an invitation to meet with a representative of the tribe two days later at the tribal centre.

Everyone seemed to take this as a positive move.

Kat joked,

“At least they didn’t come riding bareback on ponies over the hill with war paint on their faces and firing arrows at us”

Liz replied, “Hollywood has a lot to answer for…”

That got a good laugh from everyone. Underneath, they knew that the meeting would be serious.

The group had a ‘cookout’ that night under a perfectly clear sky. After one bottle of wine had been consumed, Charlie announced.

“Liz & I would like to try to make this place a go. But there is a fly in the ointment. She wants to build a ‘turf house’.”

Bill fell about laughing.

Kat looked on amazed.

“Would someone like to let me in on the joke?”

Eventually Bill calmed down and told her about the place they’d built all those years ago.

“That is certainly different. I’ll say that much. Liz is certainly a one off. Very unconventional indeed” said Kat when she’d heard the tale of the house that Bill & Liz built.

*

Over breakfast the following morning, Liz said to Charlie,

“We are going to have to deal with the local authorities sooner or later. Why not make it sooner?”

“What do you mean?” asked Charlie.

“Firstly, we have to prove that this document relating to the land deal is genuine. Then we have to apply for planning permission for any structure we might want to build out here. We are at the mercy of the local planners or are the planning laws different in the Wild West?”

Everyone got the idea despite Liz’s brevity.

“So, we go back to Elko?”

“Yep. We go to the Police and nip that in the bud. Then we go to the local equivalent of the land registry and validate the documents. Then we see what sort of planning restrictions we might encounter when we announce that we want to build something slightly unconventional”

“Liz, sometimes, you are so frustrating. Sometimes, I want to throttle you,” said Charlie angrily.

Liz smiled and said

“And at other times, you want to fuck me silly”

That did it for Charlie.

He kissed her with a passion that Liz had never encountered before.

*

Two hours later, the convoy arrived back in Elko. Charlie & Bill went to the local Police station while Liz & Kat went shopping for supplies.

A little over an hour later, the two men were finished in the police station and went in search of the women.

They were waiting for them in the parking lot.

“How did it go?” asked Kat.

“So far so good. The local fuzz are satisfied that we aren’t trespassers or a threat to National Security.”

Everyone laughed at the last bit but it didn’t last as Bill looked very serious.

“Bill?” asked Liz.

The local plods are, well not the brightest of people. They had to refer everything to the State Police in Reno. Even there they had no idea about how to deal with us”

“What do you mean?” asked Kat.

“They refused to believe who I was despite my Passport and House of Lords ID. Eventually, and only after a lot of persuasion they Googled me. Only then did it sink in that I might be who I said I was. Pah!” said a frustrated Bill.

“Now for the local government?” suggested Kat changing the subject.

“Yep. I get the feeling that this won’t be so easy,” said Bill.

The team went into the County offices and found the planning department.

Charlie took the lead this time when they went into the planning office.

“We’d like to enquire about the planning constraints on rural properties”, said Charlie to the counter clerk.

“Where in the county did you want to develop?”

“On a parcel of land between the National Forrest & the Paiute Reservation off of route 223”

“I didn’t think there was any land for sale in that part of the county?” replied the clerk.

“It’s not up for sale. My friend here is the current owner. It has been in his family for over 100 years”

The clerk tapped some keys on her computer.

“It says here that the property taxes on that land are overdue”

Bill stepped forward.

“That should not be the case. There should be a regular payment from a bank in Reno”

After some more key tapping the clerk said,

“It was until last fall. Then the payments stopped for some reason. I suggest that you find out from the bank the reason why the payments stopped.”

“Will this have any effect on requests for planning permission on the property?”

“Yes. Until the overdue amount is paid then no changes are possible”

“Can I pay the amount outstanding now?” said Bill getting out his chequebook.

“I’m sorry, we don’t take out of state cheques”

“Are you sure? It certainly won’t bounce?”

“I’m afraid that is the policy of the county. Cash or Cheques drawn on a Nevada Bank or by Money Transfer are the only methods of payment we accept”

It was obvious that the clerk was not going to shift.

“Ok. I’ll be back with the cash probably tomorrow” said Bill.

With that, they left the planning office.

Outside, Bill made a show of banging his head against a brick wall.

“Bloody civil servants. They are the same the world over”

Liz & Kat were waiting for them outside having completed their raid on the local supermarket.

“Bad news girls. It looks like I’m going to have to go to Reno. The bank has not been paying the property taxes on the land for the last 9 months”

Kat looked concerned.

“I thought that there were payment made into the Reno bank every month?”

Bill replied, “Yes. Well there should be. I’ll call the accountant back home tomorrow to check the details from our end but at the moment, I think going to Reno is more important.”

He thought for a moment.

“Why don’t we head back to the RV and then Charlie & I can head off to Reno in the car. That is if you two don’t mind being left alone?”

Liz & Kat laughed.

“Oh, I think we are old enough to be left alone for a while”

With that, they all headed back to the Land and the Rv.

Bill & Charlie soon headed off to Reno hoping to get there before the banks closed for the day leaving Liz & Kat alone.

“Why don’t we go and introduce ourselves to our neighbours?” suggested Liz after lunch. She was feeling a bit bored.

“Great idea. Shall we go on the bike?”

“If you haven’t done enough walking for the day?”

“I’m fine. These new pins are really great. I don’t get sore like I used to with the old ones. Probably due to all the Soldiers coming back fro Afghanistan with limbs missing. The progress in prosthetics has been really fast these past few years”

“Ok. As long as you are ok, we’ll take the bike”

Half an hour later, Liz rode the bike out onto the highway and headed west towards the nearest settlement on the reservation.

Most of the buildings at the settlement were ‘trailer homes’ with a few concrete block buildings. Some of the trailer homes looked anything but mobile given the amount of ‘junk’ that surrounded them.

Liz pulled the bike up in front of one of the concrete buildings that looked the most official.

As she stopped the bike, a man came out of the building.

“Hello can I help you? The main road is back the way you came?”

“We aren’t lost but we came here deliberately. We’d like to talk to someone in charge. It’s about a parcel of land to the east of the reservation”

The man smiled and offered his hand in greeting.

“I’m Bill Three Fingers. I work for the tribal council. You must be the people camping out over there? We were expecting you tomorrow but please come into my office. It will be more comfortable inside. The afternoon breeze is getting up”

He showed them into his office. As he did so, he couldn’t help notice Kat’s slightly erratic walk.

“Do you have a problem with your legs? Perhaps I could call the tribal doctor?” asked Bill.

“No I’m fine,” said Kat.

Then she knocked her legs hard with her hand. They responded with an echo.

Bill looked rather concerned.

Kat smiled back.

“It’s all right, I don’t have any legs. A little argument with a Bull I’m afraid”

As first, Bill looked deeply concerned. Then he saw Kat’s demeanour.

Then Bill smiled as he realised that Kat had come to terms with the loss of her legs.

“I’m Kat, short for Katherine. This is Liz, short for Elizabeth”, said Kat introducing themselves to Bill.

“You accent is a little strange. Are you from the East Coast?”

They two women smiled at each other.

“A little further east than that. Some 3,000 miles further. England to be exact”

“You are certainly a long way from home”, then he added,

“What is this about some land?”

Kat took the lead.

“An ancestor of my Husband bought a piece of land the lies to the east of the reservation and borders the national forest. According to a document that my husband has, the land is leased to the tribe. My sister in law here and her husband are moving out here as we gave them the land as a wedding present”

Bill Three Fingers looked concerned.

“How big is this bit of land? I have to admit that I’ve never heard of this before”

Bill replied.

“The total size is some 36,000 acres. We won’t want to use that amount though. More like a hundred acres or so. I’m quite happy for the present arrangement to continue for the rest of the land”

“We’ve been camping there for the past few days. It is very beautiful”

“I don’t know what to say. I will have to check our records. When was this treaty entered into?”

“1889 I think,” replied Kat.

“That is a long time ago. We may not even have the documents anymore. I know approximately where you are talking about”

“Bill, don’t worry. My husband has a copy of the original. Chief Running Horse signed it. There should be a copy lodged with the Indian Agent as well”

Bill laughed.

“The Indian Agents were disbanded years ago thankfully. They were frankly a joke and an insult to the tribes. We manage our own affairs now.”

“I’m sorry. We didn’t know”

Bill smiled.

“Apology accepted. You are strangers in this part of the world so you could not be expected to know about how the tribes manage their affairs today”

Then Kat asked.

“Bill, forgive me for asking, is that a Harvard Class ring on your finger?”

He smiled.

“Yes it is. How did you know that?”

“Liz here is married to a Harvard Graduate”

Liz was about to say that Bill was one as well but decided not to.

“Is he around?”

“Not at the moment I’m afraid. He on his way to Reno with my Husband on business”

Bill thought for a moment before saying,

“Hold on a moment, I think I remember some legend about a white man who lived around here at the time the reservation was created. If my memory serves me right, there are some pictures of him in our archives”

Without waiting for any reply, he left them alone.

“What do you make of him?” asked Kat.

“He does not like us very much. That is for sure”

“But he seems a nice person”

“Yeah but here we are wanting to take their land away from them. It looks like nothing has really changed since the first settlers came on the scene two hundred or so years ago”

Kat smiled and said,

“White man speaks with forked tongue eh?”

They both laughed.

Their frivolity was cut short by the return of Billy Three Fingers. He carried an old photo album.

“I think this has what I was looking for,” said Billy as he set the album down on the table.

He opened it and started going through the pages of old photographs. Most were typical Victorian formal poses of Tribal Elders & Chiefs.

He stopped at one page.

“Here it is,” he said pointing at one photo.

“The one on the left is my Great, Great, Great, Grandfather, Chief Running Deer”

There was some faded writing beneath.

“The Chief with the Englishman. 1887”

Both Kat & Liz knew it was Bill’s ancestor. He had the family nose that was beyond any doubt”

“That is my Husbands ancestor,” proclaimed Kat.

Billy looked at Liz.

“You don’t have any family resemblance”

Liz smiled.

“I’m adopted into the family. Kat’s husband Bill does look like the man in this photograph”

“Well then there might be some truth in your statement. That does not exactly make me happy. We don’t really want to lose any land. Contrary to modern myth, we are increasing in numbers. Most of the tribal families now want to live on the reservation. At the rate our population is increasing, land will be at a premium in the future”

“I’m sure we can resolve the issue amicably Bill. When my Bill comes back from Reno, we can meet with you and any of the tribe you think appropriate,” said Kat.

“That would be good. In the meantime, there is someone I’d like you to meet, especially you Liz”

“What do you mean?”

Bill smiled.

“Just wait a moment. If you’ll follow me to the Schoolroom next door”

Puzzled by what exactly Billy Three Fingers, was going to do, they followed him.

He led them into the adjoining building, which was as he had said, the schoolroom. As it was holiday time, it was empty apart from some repainting going on in the corridor.

Bill led them into one of the classrooms. There was another man there working on a display of tribal artefacts.

“Al, here are the two women I mentioned”

The man stopped what he was doing and came to meet them.

“Pleased to meet you”.

He shook Kat’s hand. Then as he shook Liz’s hand, he looked long and hard at her.

Then he smiled and turned to Bill.

“You are right Chief. She has the power but she is not she”

It took a few seconds for what he has just said to sink in. Liz began to get worried.

“Are you the Chief?” asked Liz to Bill.

He smiled.

“I’m afraid so. Al here is our Medicine Man. He’s a qualified doctor but uses traditional remedies wherever possible.”

Al spoke to Liz.

“You have magical powers but you don’t know why. Am I right?”

“I think so,” said Liz slightly hesitantly.

“You have used those powers to save your friend here?”

Liz took Kat’s hand and nodded.

“How do you know this? Only five people in the world know that”

“It is in you aura. Only a few people can read your aura.” Then he paused.

“You are not who you want people to think you are” he added.

“What do you mean?” asked Liz.

“You were born a male but your aura is female. We will call you ‘She who is not She”

Liz panicked.

“Come ok Kat. We’re leaving”

“Please stay a moment longer. Please let Al explain”

Al turned to Liz and said.

“In our society we also have people like you. Throughout our history, we have valued people like you. They stayed behind to defend the squaws when the braves went off hunting. They also looked after the children and became teachers or even medicine men. I’m sorry for scaring you. It was not our intention.”

Liz was unable to say anything. It had been a long, long time since she had been read so easily.

Al came to her rescue.

“We will not tell anyone else about this conversation if that worries you. As we are the leaders of the tribe, we can guarantee that”

“Thank you for that Liz does value her privacy”

“I can tell that you have had a troubled past” said Al holding up his hand.

“That past is behind you now. I can see from your aura that she is happy at last. It is not our way to make you unhappy.”

Liz forced a smile onto her face.

There was nothing more to be said. Billy showed them out.

His parting words were,

“I’m sorry for that. I shouldn’t have done that to you. I apologise. I hope that this won’t put you off coming to live here if we can make it possible”

Liz couldn’t say much.

“I’ll look after her. Thank you for your courtesy Bill. When my Bill gets back from Reno, we’ll come again if that is all-right?”

The ride back to the RV was difficult for Liz. Several times she wanted to stop and have a good cry. If Kat weren’t sitting on the pillion then she probably would have.

Kat tried talking to Liz but she made it clear that she was only interested in getting back to the relative security of the RV.

When they did get back, Liz literally threw off her crash helmet and ran through the long grass down the hill to the stream that had attracted her on the very first day they had arrived in such a beautiful place.

She sat on a rock by the water’s edge and had a good cry.

“Why does it have to happen to me?” she sobbed.

“Why can’t people leave me alone?”

Kat thought about following her but didn’t. She walked to the top of a knoll where she could see Liz down in the valley just to keep and eye on her. She knew that she could never be able to keep up with Liz walking let alone if she ran off. This was one of the few times since she’d lost her legs that she cursed that bull for taking them from her.

Liz sat in the afternoon sun for several hours sometimes crying gently and other tiles hypnotised by the running water flowing by her feet.

As the sun began to sink behind the hills and a distinct chill in the air was noticeable, Liz finally stirred and began to walk back towards the RV.

Kat breathed a sigh of relief as soon as she saw Liz walking up the hill towards her.

“I was beginning to get worried about you,” said Kat when she met up with Liz outside the RV.

“It is starting to get cold,” she added.

“Yeah. I lost all track of time. It was so peaceful down there. Just the wind and a few birds calling”

“Geese heading south. Summer is nearly over”

“I know. It is a shame really”

Kat smiled and sighed.

“Yes. This is such a lovely spot. It will be a real shame when you leave here”

“What do you mean leave here? I’m not going anywhere,” said a defiant Liz.

Kat was very shocked by Liz’s reaction.

“What?”

“I’m not going anywhere. I’ve stopped running from who I am and my past. If the tribe accept people like me then I’m willing to accept it.”

“I thought… Well, after the episode earlier that you’d want to move on somewhere else”

“Obviously, I have to talk things over with Charlie but this time I am determined to stay. It is so beautiful here. I think I’d like to start painting again. There is so much to see and do here that I don’t think I could be bored”

Kat remembered the picture that Liz had painted that hung in her dining room, alongside a Constable sketch and a Van Gough.

“Good for you” said Kat putting her arm around Liz.

“Lets go inside,” said Liz as her body gave a little shiver.

They talked long into the night about all manner of things. Two empty wine bottles gave testament to the length of their discussions. They both had a bit of a hangover the next morning when they eventually crawled out of bed.

Outside, an overnight frost had if anything made the place even more beautiful.

“You are going to have to find somewhere to live over the winter. It is too late to start building anything before winter sets in.”

“Yeah” said Liz sadly as she nursed her Coffee staring at the frosty landscape outside.

“I don’t think this think is suitable for a winter”

Kat laughed.

“Not unless you follow those geese south”

“Not going to happen” said Liz with a defiant tone.

“What about going back to New York for Fashion week?” suggested Kat.

“I’m done with all that. I ain’t going back there unless it is to change planes en-route to visiting you”

Kat saw a steely determination that she hadn’t seen in Liz since before she was so badly attacked in London. She wondered if some of the Medicine Man’s magic had rubbed of on her.

Any further deliberations were cut short by the sounds of a vehicle approaching.

Kat looked out hoping that is was the men back from Reno.

“Who’s this? It’s not the hire car?”

Liz looked out as well.

“I don’t know but we are not in a fit shape to receive visitors are we?”

Kat laughed as both of them were in their nightclothes.

Liz leaped up and said.

“I’d better get dressed then. We know how long it takes madam here to get her sea legs on”

They both laughed as Liz hurriedly put on a sweater and skirt.

She had just managed to put a brush through her hair once when the vehicle stopped outside.

She went outside to greet their visitor.

As soon as she opened the door and got a blast of the cold air, she almost slammed it closed again but she saw Al getting out of the fairly ancient pickup with a definite hole in its exhaust.

He smiled.

“I want to apologise for yesterday”

Liz smiled back.

“Good morning Al. I’d invite you inside but Kat is getting dressed”

“It’s ok. Why don’t you get in the Truck? It’s a bit warmer in there”

Liz didn’t need another hint. She got inside.

“I still want to apologise. Billy & I were well out of order. We talked after you left us yesterday and, well we felt we put you in a truly horrible position. It was probably the surprise you sprang upon us. That treaty has really got the elders talking. But you were our guest and we didn’t treat you as we should. Then again, it is not often that we meet someone with the powers you have”

Liz thought for a moment.

“About these so called powers. I don’t have a clue what the hell you are talking about”

Al laughed.

“Some people would call you a Horse Whisperer. You have this way with animals. Does this ring any bells?”

Liz gave him a little smile.

“I can see it does. You just do it naturally but you want to hide it because you think people will just laugh at you. Just like who you really are, She’n’She”

“What did you just call me?”

“She’n’She. Your Indian name”

“Eh?”

“As I said, the Elders have been talking. We talked long into the night. If the treaty is legal and you want to stay, we’d like very much if you were to become and honorary member of our nation. Perhaps that might make up for the hurt we gave you”

“I can’t…”

Al ignored her.

“It was discussed last night at a tribal council meeting and it was decided by unanimous vote. We also decided that you should have an appropriate name”

“What? How many more people know about me now? I suppose it will be on the Six o’clock news tonight”

Al looked sad.

“Liz. Please hear me out”

He looked into her eyes.

“As I said yesterday, we have a special place in our society for people like you. It is a place of honour. To us, you are a special person. A very special person”

Then he paused.

“I’m saying this all wrong.”

Liz was staring straight out of the window not wanting to look at Bill.

“We want you to stay. But we would understand if you want to leave. If you did, we would be prepared to buy this land from you. We found our copy of the treaty and we have the right of first refusal if the land was ever put up for sale. Personally, I hope you stay. We won’t laugh at you. That I promise. Furthermore, with your powers, you would be in demand”

“Eh? Why would I be in demand?”

“Because of your powers with animals. In case you haven’t noticed, this is the country. We have many horses, some cattle and even some sheep and a few goats. The nearest vet is over an hour away. People would come to you for help. I might be the Medicine Man but I strictly treat only people.”

Liz didn’t say anything.

“But this name you gave me. It tells everyone about me?”

Al smiled.

“Why would it? Certainly not if you shorten it to She’n’She? Besides how many white-men would understand our language?”

Liz couldn’t argue with that.

Al decided to change the subject.

“We’ve had the first frost of the new season today. There may well be snow on the tops of the hills before the week is out. You can’t stay here in that RV all winter. What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. I’ll need to talk that over with Charles when he gets back from Reno later today. He went with my brother to sort a few things out”

Before he could say anything else, there was a tap on the window. It was Kat.

“I’ve got some hot Coffee and some butties if you’d like to come into the RV?”

Neither could refuse such an offer.

When they entered the RV, the smell of bacon under the Grill was mouth watering.

Al ate his first ‘buttie’.

“This is good. Why isn’t the bacon crispy?”

Liz laughed.

“We don’t cook all the taste out of it in England. Besides, this isn’t belly slices or as we call it streaky. This is back bacon. A very different cut to what you have over here”

“Well, it sure tastes great. Where did you get it? I’ve never tasted bacon like this before”

“We found this organic farmer in New Mexico about a month ago. We bought a whole load from after he agreed to butcher a pig and cure the bacon our way. Thankfully this thing has a big freezer”

“Perhaps you should raise some pigs here. You know, when you get setup and have somewhere to live.”

“That’s a long way off. We have an idea about the sort of place we want to build but if we can ever get planning permission for it, is another matter”

“Why ever not? Surely you aren’t asking to build a huge mansion?”

Kat chuckled.

“One mansion in the family is enough thank you very much”

Liz glared at Kat.

“No. It’s very down to earth. Probably far too radical for the planners. It’s based on the turf houses from Iceland. Built into the hillside and covered with grass. Keeps it warm in winter and cool in summer”

Al ate some more of his ‘buttie’ and drank some Coffee.

“This is excellent Coffee. Has a bit of a kick in it. Not like the watered down stuff you get served in restaurants these days”

“It comes from our farm in Kenya” Said Kat proudly.

Bill smiled back.

“You husband is a bit of an industrialist isn’t he?”

Kat laughed.

“He has people to run the businesses. He is more concerned with The Lord’s these days”

“Yeah. His Bio on the Internet says much the same. He is into a lot of things. Quite a character. I look forward to meeting him.”

Then he changed the topic slightly.

“How long are you staying here for?” he asked Kat.

She looked disappointed.

“Only a few more days I’m afraid. The house returns next week and Bill needs to be there for a debate”

“I mean it. I really would like to meet him sometime. He sounds the sort of person who is not afraid to roll his sleeves up and get stuck in”

Both Kat & Liz laughed.

They had visions of Bill up to his knees clearing out the piggery when the pig man became ill just before one of their prized Berkshire pigs produced a litter.

“Sometimes, he is far too willing for his own good” replied Kat.

Once Al had left, Kat asked.

“What did he really want?”

“To apologise to me for yesterday. After a bit, I accepted”

“He seems a nice person?”

Liz nodded.

“He is”

“What else did you talk about?”

“Oh, this & that.”

Kat knew when to change the subject.

“What are you two going to do for the winter?”

“I really don’t know. This morning was a bit of a wakeup call. He’s right, we can’t stay here in this thing all winter” replied Liz with quite a bit of resignation in her voice.

“Perhaps we will rent somewhere locally” she added and then paused.

“I’ll have to talk things over with Charlie”

It was Liz’s turn to change the subject.

“It is a shame that you have to leave so soon. Do you have to go as well?”

“Fraid so Liz. I have the Flower Show to open and do the best Jam judging,” replied Kat grinning.

“I thought you entered your jam in the show?”

Kat chuckled.

“I was politely asked not to enter any more. I kept winning best Raspberry every year. Besides, being a judge is much more fun”

“Some of that jam would be nice to have on the shelf”

“I’ll send some over”

“The customs will probably confiscate it. You know how hot the Custom people are on food. I’ve even had some tea confiscated.”

Kat smiled and tapped her finger on the side of her nose.

“Don’t do anything illegal Kat”

“Oh, I won’t. It will come in all nice and legal. Bill knows the Ambassador in Washington. But you are going to have to get a PO Box though. How else can Jake send you the Pulitzer that you are going to get”?

That was a standing joke between them.

The weather had warmed up considerably by the time the two men arrived back from Reno in mid afternoon.

“Was it cold last night?” asked Bill after they’d unloaded the car.

“A bit. The frost on the ground this morning was beautiful but it was really parky out there”

“That’s what we were thinking on the drive back from Reno,” said Charlie.

Liz grinned.

“So what cunning plans have you two concocted on your boys night out?”

The two men smiled at each other.

“Near the Motel we stayed at last night, we saw a small wood business up for sale. They made house frames. Now that the housing market has crashed, they were in trouble. The place gave me an idea about building the frames for our home”

Any trace of a smile quickly left Liz’s face.

She sat down and almost cried.

“I’m not going to like this am I?”

“Nothing in the slightest.”

“What would buying a business in Reno which is god knows how many miles away going to help us to live here?”

“Calm down little Sister” said Bill.

Liz hated being called that but she stopped saying what she was about to say.

“If, and that is a big IF, we build a house here, a lot of it is going to be built out of wood. We could base ourselves in Reno for the winter and basically design & build much of our home read for moving out here in the spring”

Liz grinned at Charlie.

“Aren’t you forgetting one little thing? Planning permission, permits or whatever they call it in this part of the world. How the hell is a Turf house going to get approved especially with us over in Reno?”

The two men looked at each other.

“We wondered if the land could be bought back by the Indians on the reservation and we could lease it back. Then technically, it would be part of the reservation and not subject to the same controls as it is now”

Liz & Kat looked at each other grinning from ear to ear.

Then they burst out laughing.

“Hey, what’s so funny?” asked Charlie.

When Liz could stop herself enough from splitting her sides with laughter said,

“You boys are so slow off the mark aren’t you?”

[Continued in Part 13]