Wind That Knocks Down Lodges loves his Apache mother Shining Waters, his grandfather Chief Strawberry Moon, his baby sister Cactus Flower and the wildness of the desert canyonland they call home. He has even developed a rough-hewn trust for Cactus Flower’s father, the pale face soldier from the fort that their mother loves. In one night of gross misunderstanding and novice mistakes, Knocks Down and Cactus Flower’s innocent young world is broken and shaken before they find themselves locked in the soldier fort with the pale faces and their mother’s lifeless body. With no one to lean on but each other and the fragile balance between the Apache and the soldiers irreparably upset, Knocks Down and Cactus Flower must make their way as children of The People in the pale face world – pale faces who have now become the enemy.
Excerpt:
Something wasn’t right. The night animals ceased
their songs in unison, and another troublesome cloud shrouded the moon. An icy
shiver trickled down my backbone to the tune of silence. The happy drumming
coming from the camp, telling the world of the birth of Red Lake’s firstborn
son, had slowed to a stop. I froze, pulling Cactus Flower back onto her bottom.
She rose from the hard-packed earth, her bottom lip puffed out and her inky
eyebrows knitted together above her eyes. Before she could open her mouth to
speak, a flock of beating wings sent me cowering, nose first, into the dirt
beside her.
“Knocks
Down, why did those birds –”
Instinctively,
I slapped my hand over her mouth, taking care enough to be gentle. No sooner
had she quieted, than another sound echoed through the solemn night air.
“Halt!
Who goes there?”
I
slipped my finger over my lips, wordlessly instructing Cactus Flower to remain
silent. She nodded and I removed my hand from over her mouth.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR—SARA BARNARD
Sara Barnard is the mother of four
beautiful children and wife to a handsome Texan. She earned her BA in European
History in 2006 is now pursuing her MA in her spare time, as well as her
teacher certification.
Sara has been struck by the Indian
Em'ly legend since her first visit to Fort Davis, Texas at the tender age of 8.
Some of her other writings include Christian fiction, Amish fiction, children's
fiction and children's nonfiction, as well as Civil War romance. Look for the
three other books in the Indian Em'ly series; On the Colorado Trail, The
Orphanage, and Coming Home, all coming soon from Painted Pony Books!
Sara and her family make their home
in the far reaches of west Texas with three rescue dogs (two from Italy, one
from Texas) and three rescue cats (one from Colorado, one from Oklahoma, and
one from Texas) amid the jackalopes, tumbleweeds, and of course, lots and lots
of oil.
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