“No sweat. They’re a mystery to every outsider.”
Outsider! By now, she hoped she was more than that to him. She let it pass, knowing how he truly felt about her. “So, what’s up for tonight?”
“Buffalo stew, for one thing. I’m hungry. Have you eaten—?”
Her eyes winced. “Buffalo stew! That sounds so…well, not appetizing.”
He pulled her toward a food stand. “No different from the buffalo burger you had the other night.”
“I suppose that’s safe to say.”
“Don’t knock it until you try it. It’s just as good as anything made with cow meat. They’re both animals. We honor the buffalo by partaking. Come on, you’ve gotta try it. Besides, I’ve been waiting to have dinner with you all day.”
Darrius led her to a secluded little picnic table and went to get their food. He returned with two heaping bowls of stew, sodas and corn muffins. Savoring the stew’s rich aroma, he told her it had been made with Indian ingredients he had grown up on. “My mother makes it all the time.” He handed her a spoon. “Eat up.”
He watched as she tasted her first spoonful of stew, expecting to see signs of distaste on her face. To his surprise, a pleasant smile appeared instead.
“You like?”
“Surprisingly. I thought it would taste—”
“Bland and gamey?”
“Yeah!”
“It can, if it’s not made correctly, as would be the case for any food, right?”
“Right, and it goes well with the bread.”
They ate in silence for a while. And then Darrius’s eyes met hers, locked in position as if reading them. “What did you see out here today? I know you’ve taken great pictures for us to develop in the morning.”
A coy little smile appeared on her face. “Would that mean I would have to get up early and drive to your house to develop them or—”
“I think you know the answer. You will stay the night, won’t you?”
She rolled her eyes playfully. “I don’t know. Any man who makes out on a horse might not be trustworthy.”
A slight hint of tongue moistened his lower lip. “Umm, I’ve been thinking about that all day, too. It was a blast.”
“I’m not afraid of horses anymore, if that’s any consolation.”
“It is.”
“Good, so you know I’ll stay the night, Darrius. To answer your question, I did a few things. I went to a few buffalo dances and—”
“The spirit of Famine scared you, didn’t he?”
His abruptness took her aback. “Yeah, he did. I’ve never seen a famine character look so—
“Scary?”
“Yes. I’ve seen people play that character at the Arizona powwows, but this guy was something else.”
“That actor is Anderson Healy, a very well-known actor in this area. He’s actually had bit roles in native movies like Dances with Wolves and Geronimo.”
“Really?”
“Yes. He’s very good, because I can see uncertainty in your eyes.”
Is it fear from Famine or the damn mountain that she was so curious about? Whatever the case, she definitely had been scared of something. Keeping quiet about going up the other side of Red Rock was her only choice. To avoid any more talk of the terrifying character, she took another sip of her drink.
“Anything else?” he asked.
“I took more stills of dancers, walked around, ate a little, watched more shows.”
“What else?”
His eyes were penetrating hers as though he were reading her soul. “Nothing else.”
“You did something else, Justine.”
“I haven’t had time to do anything else, Darrius. After being scared by the famine dude, I just settled back and took it easy.”
“He is a hard act to swallow; beautiful young women are usually frightened by him. You could have called me. I’d have come sooner to comfort you.”
“Who would have watched your store?”
“Derrick. He hung out with me today. He was taking it easy because he’ll be doing a lot of dancing for the main powwow over the weekend.” He studied her a little closer. “You sure you didn’t do anything else?”
