The excitement of the cougar was only diminished by the planning of the Halloween party. Justin had talked to Miss Gordan, Elian and Aaron's teacher, and after a short discussion, she told Justin to do whatever he would like as a party theme as long as it wasn't scary. Justin and Griff decided it would be fun to use the inside of one of the barns. It had been insulated just before the family had moved to Spirit Pass. At first Justin thought they would use it for their studio, but they had decided to use the big barn since they had gotten the big commission.  

Griff and Justin started painting scenes of famous cartoon characters from different countries since it was an international class. They started with Scooby and the gang along with the van, and then added Casper. Soon the walls were covered with characters from all over the world.

They planned to have pony rides and trips to meet Big Gus. There would be a table where students could make simple dream catchers and Griff and Justin would take turns sketching each child. 

Emma was already preparing the food for everyone. She couldn't wait to have about forty first graders enjoying the ranch. They would arrive around 10:00 a.m. They would have the three ponies available for rides, as well as a petting zoo of goats and miniature cows. She had been trying to talk Joshua into getting miniatures for years, so this was the perfect reason to get some on the property and in a week or so she would tell Joshua they were staying. By that time, the children would be in love and won't let them leave.

Even though Joshua never showed much emotion, Emma had seen a glint in his eye. He was going to tell the children stories after lunch. She had heard him practicing while he did some of his chores. She already knew he would catch their attention and by the end of the afternoon, all of them would be in awe of him.

Just so it would be a surprise for Aaron and Elian, they had been kept out of the barn. Jessi gave them a couple hints but actually seeing it would be far different then a six-year-olds description. The day of the party, Jessi couldn't stop talking as the kids climbed into the SUV and Willow drove away to drop them at school.

As soon as the car was out of sight, all the adults on the ranch met in the barn. Willow and Dusty set up the petting zoo area while the other men set boards across sawhorses to make tables and lined them with bales of hay. The only father who wasn't able to help was Terry.  There was an emergency on one of the reservations, but he had left early and had texted Griff that he was on his way back.

When they were doing some final touches, Brian walked up behind Justin and cocooned him in his arms. "It was a lot easier on the island. The pool and ocean were already there."

Justin turned and kissed him, "You didn't help with all the food." 

"You're right. I know I have always left you to a lot of the kids stuff, but I am trying to change that."

Justin put a hand on either side of Brian's face and kissed him slow and deep and then said, "I love that you are trying to help out more, but Bri, our kids all know you love them and you would do anything for them. Face it, you can heat a pizza, but other than that, the kitchen isn't your happy place, but I enjoy it."

Brian's mouth claimed his and it was several moments before Dusty cleared his throat near to them. "Excuse me," he waited for them to separate a little bit. "We just got word the kids were leaving the school, and Mom was wondering if you could help her with the food." The comment was directed to Justin. He then looked at Brian, "Dad could use your help in the stable to move something. I need to check on Big Gus and set up his food close to the fence so he can be seen easier."

"I think they will see an animal that weighs 3000 pounds," Brian winked. "I know what you mean.  They will want to see his face." He bent to kiss Justin and then saw he was already out the door. He puckered his lips toward Dusty who raised his hand and shook his head as he jogged away himself. Brian laughed as he turned to find Joshua.

When Justin arrived in the kitchen, Willow and Griff were already helping Emma. "Oh, good!  I want you men to start hauling food over to the barn."

"You know, Emma, that could be considered sexist."

"In my day it was called chivalrous for a man to do the heavy lifting." She patted his cheek as she walked past him and then handed him a cooler. 

"Where's Terry when we need him?" Griff said as he and Justin carried a large cooler out together.  

As they set it down on the cart, arms came around Griff as Terry turned him around to kiss him.  "I'm right here and it's always good to know you need me."

"How's the patient?" Justin asked as the three men got on the cart and drove to the barn.

"I'm concerned. It seems like some kind of influenza. I am a little later than expected because I dropped the blood samples at the lab. I always worry about something like this spreading through a tribe that is still very isolated. They don't have the immunity to things the way we do."

Justin stopped the cart and all three of them grabbed a load from the back. "It isn't contagious is it? You aren't going to get sick, are you?"

"My love, I was careful. I wore a gown, gloves, and mask, and then showered before I left the clinic." He dropped a kiss on Griff's mouth, "I would never risk bringing anything home to you and El. Well, I wouldn't want anyone to get it. You know what I mean."

"We better go grab the last load. The kids will be here any time."

Before they could drive back, Emma and Willow arrived with the last of the food. Soon everything was ready and they could hear the bus coming up the road.

As the students entered the barn they were in awe, and soon all of them were running from one image to another to check out the art covering all the walls. After about 30 minutes Justin was looking for Joshua to tell his story.   

"Brian, have you seen Joshua? He is supposed to tell his story in a little while and no one has seen him."

"He told me he would be back in 15 minutes." Brian looked at his watch, "That was about five minutes ago.

"What is he doing?"

"I think he is getting into some costume."

"I don't think he would like you to call it a costume."

"What would you call it?" Brian asked.

Justin thought for a moment, "I'd probably call it native dress."

"Damn, you always come up with something better." Brian winked at him.

Moments later Joshua walked in in full regalia. He was dressed in bison hide from neck to toe and on his head he had a full eagle feather headdress. As he walked in the children grew silent and the school staff rounded up the students and everyone sat on hay bales in a semi circle around the chief.

Joshua started his tale. "Years ago, before the time of tatanka and antelope hunting, the people of the Southern Plains Indian tribes were hungry. That included my ancestors, the Comanche and the Apache. One day, Coyote, who was a shapeshifting trickster, was out looking for food."

"You mean like a transformer?" one of the students asked.

"Not exactly." Joshua had to cover his smirk. "Have you ever seen a magic show? Coyote is a magical being." He then continued, "He climbed a high ridge to look around. He saw a small house in the distance with a fenced-in yard. Inside was a large herd of tatanka.  

Coyote was shocked, thinking that someone had hidden the tatanka. He felt that hiding the tatanka was unfair because his people were hungry, so he decided to share the tatanka.

He laid down and watched the house for hours. He saw a man, his wife, and their son coming and going, doing chores and taking care of the tatanka. Late in the afternoon, he ran back to the village, told the people what he'd seen, and offered to help them release the tatanka.

The chief's son from the village said he would go with Coyote. The next day Coyote and the chief's son walked back to the high ridge. They lay down in the brush and watched the family in the house. The tatanka were still there, but the fences around were too high to climb and too strong to knock down. The chief's son didn't know what to do." The tone of Joshua's soft voice had drawn all the children in.

"Then, Coyote thought of a plan. He and the chief's son would go to the house to release the tatanka by tricking the young boy. Coyote would pretend to be a dog so that the young boy would let him in. When the family was asleep, Coyote ran amongst the tatanka in his dog form, barking loudly and nipping at their legs. The tatanka were frightened and ran towards the house. They smashed the back door down, charged through the house, smashed the front door, and stampeded out to where the chief's son was waiting to herd them on.

The family woke up and tried to stop the tatanka, but couldn't. The father then realized that his son's dog was not a dog but, Coyote, the trickster."

Joshua wrapped up the tale, "From then on, tatanka scattered all over the earth. Native Americans relied on tatanka for everything from food and clothing to shelter and religious worship. Today, tatanka are still central to many Native American traditions, spiritual rituals, and healthy diets, and more than 60 tribes are bringing their sacred bison back to their families, lands, and ways of life."                                                                                                              Story adapted from:https://parktrust.org/blog/the-native-american-legend-of-how-the-buffalo-were-released-on-earth/

After a second of silence, the children started applauding and made comments like, "Tell us another one." "Do you have tatanka here?" "I would have helped save the people."

Then Aaron raised his hand and Joshua smiled at the young boy, "Yes, Aaron?"

Softly, Aaron said, "Coyote may have tricked them but he helped save a lot of people so I don't think he was bad."

Joshua nodded, "You're right, Aaron. In this story Coyote did a good thing. Sometimes, however, what he did wasn't as good."

One of the teachers took advantage of the break and announced that lunch would be served in about 15 minutes so the students could spend that time using the restroom, looking at the pictures, and washing their hands before they each would be directed to collect their food.

Griff and Terry had been sitting on a bale of hay listening to the story and observing the children.  As they sat there, Griff's eyes kept getting drawn to a little dark haired girl that looked like she could be indigenous herself. He had finally pointed her out and said to Terry, "She isn't happy. In fact, she is deeply affected by something."

Terry responded, "I noticed her, too. We need to find out what her situation is. Her clothes are clean but they're well worn. She definitely isn't one of the diplomat kids that board at the school." When the story had ended and the kids had gotten up she remained seated. They watched their son walk over and sit next to her. They couldn't hear what he said, but they soon stood and he took her hand, leading her toward one of the cartoon drawings. 

"Well, I guess we know who we can talk to later to find out who she is." Griff smiled at Terry and said, "I love our boy."

Terry kissed him, "So do I, almost as much as I love you." They kissed again, and as they were going to move Elian appeared with the little girl they had been talking about. "Hey, El, who's your friend?" Terry asked their son.

"This is Nova. She wants to talk to Joshua. She thinks he knows her."

"I am sure Joshua would be glad to talk to her," Terry responded. He dropped on a knee so he could look at her, "Nova is a very pretty name. How do you know Joshua?"

"I think he is my Papa." Both Terry and Griff looked at each other with concern.

Elian looked at her, "He can't be your dad. He's Dusty's dad."

"No, not my dad, my papa. My grandfather."

"Oh. I'll go see if I can find him. Why don't you and El go get your lunch? They have it ready for you." Terry moved away and Griff guided the children to the food line. As Terry walked past Brian, by the door, he pulled him out the door with him.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

"What's up?" Brian asked him.

"Did you see the little girl that we were talking to?"

"The one with Griff and El right now?"

"Ya. She just told us that Joshua is her grandfather."

"What? Dusty would have been a teenage father. I just don't see him... I mean I was sure they said Willow was his first real relationship. She must be wrong. Maybe they told her she was related to the Chief."

"Where is Joshua?" Terry asked.

"Let's go find him." 

Terry and Brian headed to Joshua and Emma's home and met Joshua as he stepped out, now dressed in jeans and a plaid shirt. "Is something wrong, gentleman?" he asked.

"Joshua, did you notice the little girl listening to your story that looked Indian?" Terry asked.

"I did. I don't think she ever stopped looking at me and it wasn't that she was that absorbed in the story. It was like she was trying to steal my soul," he said seriously. "It was like she was Coyote, trying to steal my spirit."

"Joshua, she says she is your granddaughter. I know that can't be true but..." Terry said.

Brian saw the color drain from his face. "Joshua, sit." Brian pushed him down on the cart that was parked by the house. "What is it? She is too old to be Dusty's. Well, not biologically but..."

Terry reached for Joshua's wrist and took his pulse. "I'm alright, Terry. I was just... well I flashed back thirty years."

"What are you saying, Joshua?"

"He's saying he had a family before us." Emma came up from behind him and came around the cart. She kissed his cheek. "Tell them. I need to get back." She walked past the men to the house.

Terry and Brian waited. They knew you didn't rush Joshua. "I was a young man when I married an Apache girl. Her name was Nova. We found out we had a child on the way before she was nineteen and I had just turned twenty. Nova died when our son was born, and I disgraced my family. I ran, leaving her family to pick up the pieces. Many years passed before I came back, and by then my child had left the area with his family." He stopped. "I need to go talk to her. May I?"

Now Terry spoke up, "Of course you can, Joshua, however I don't think you should say much to her. She should be with an adult she is comfortable with."

"Yes, of course. Do you know anything about her?"

"I am going to see if I can get through to Luke and see what he knows," Terry responded. "As the school counselor he will have some information."

"Joshua, I will go back with you and if she starts asking too many questions, I will try to distract her. I think the kids are now going to split up and do crafts, see Big Gus, or go to the petting barn, so she won't have a lot of time anyway," Brian said as he drove the cart back to the barn. 

When they pulled up to the barn Emma was waiting for them. "She is meeting Big Gus." She walked over and touched his cheek. Joshua rarely showed affection in public, so when he put his hand over Emma's, Brian knew he was shook.

He got back in the cart and turned to Brian, "I will be fine. I will just say hello."

"Do you want to go with him, Emma? I can stay here," Brian suggested but the cart had already pulled away.

"Brian, you know he is a private man, even with me."

"You obviously knew about the first family." Brian led Emma into the barn out of the chilly wind that was beginning to blow.

"I did, and Dusty knows."

"Did he ever look for him?"

"He spoke to the extended family and was told to leave them alone, so he did."

Joshua stopped the cart on the road and saw Nova standing a few feet away from the other children looking through the fence at the bison. He walked over and stood next to her. After some moments of silence he saw her glance at him so he said, "I hear you want to talk to me."

"Are you my papa?" Nova asked simply.

"I might be." Joshua said.

"Ok," she said in a flat tone so similar to his own.

Before the conversation could continue the children were told to go to the bus immediately and Nova walked away.

The teachers had been notified a storm was moving in much faster than expected and snow would arrive before nightfall so they rushed the students to their last activity and a half hour later, the bus was on its way back down with its valuable cargo.

The bus had barely left the property when Matt texted Justin. They said they would grab Gus and Jessi at school and he and Luke were leaving town in a few minutes so if they got hit hard with the storm, they could work on the project. Justin spoke to Emma and asked them to stop for a couple grocery items before they started up the mountain. Brian and Justin were thankful they wouldn't have to head into town to get him since there was a lot to do on the ranch.

Terry texted Luke and said they needed to talk once they had arrived and then he left to make sure his plane was ready for a snow storm. Everyone else started checking on the animals and making sure all of them were warm and secure to ride out the storm. Dusty went into Big Gus'  enclosure with a pickup full of hay bales and built a shelter for the large bison to get out of the wind. The young boys, along with Willow, decided to spend time with the new miniature cows and goats that had been put in the stable along with the horses and ponies.

Elian walked across the stable and said softly. "Willow?"

"Yes, Elly?" She looked at him.

"What is a snowstorm like? I saw some snowflakes a couple weeks ago but what is a blizzard like? The way everyone is acting is making me a little scared."

Willow gave him a big hug. "Sweetheart, you are perfectly safe in the house. I think everyone will come to the main house because we will be able to keep everything running in here. We have another generator for the stables to keep these guys warm."

"I saw Dad putting a rope up. What was he doing that for?" Aaron asked.

"I don't think we will need that but just in case it snows or blows so hard we can't see the next building, we can follow that rope." She gave each of the boys a hug as they stepped outside into a now bitter wind. "You two run to the house. Once I see you go in the door, I will run to the bunkhouse and get clothes for Dusty and me so we can stay at the house, too." As soon as she saw Emma let the boys into the house, she closed the doors of the cozy building tightly and jumped on one of the carts heading to the bunkhouse.

The snow started as Terry returned from the plane and just as Brian tied up a line he had strung out to the studio. He knew the artists would want to be out there part of the time. Terry and Brian entered the house, and glancing at the monitors they could see Matt, Luke, and Gus were almost there. Brian patted Terry's back, "Now we can relax. Everyone is where they belong." This is when he saw the look on Terry's face. "Is something wrong?"

"Just the typical doctor's concern. I had a message from the nurse who is staying with the man with the flu. She said he wasn't doing well and another person came in with the same symptoms. I should just grab a bag and fly out but..."

"No, my friend, you belong here with your family. You saw him today and whether you are there or not, he is being watched by a medical professional."

"You're right. And if I left, Griff would leave me."

The door opened and Jessi rushed in with Gus right behind her. Brian opened his arms and picked her up, swinging her around as she giggled. "Daddy, it is starting to snow a lot! I have never seen snow like this!" 

Brian kissed her and nuzzled her a bit. "I am glad you got home safe." He set her down and touched Gus' shoulder. "How was your day?" he asked as Matt and Luke arrived.

"It was good. A couple of the boys got in trouble. They were scaring some of the girls with spooky stories."

"I heard about that," Luke chimed in. "Spooky wasn't so bad, but they were talking about how a ghost would kill them and gave bloody details."

"They're so stupid," Gus said. "I'm going to go put on sweats. My jeans are wet on the bottom."

Jessi decided to change too, so followed her brother out of the kitchen.

As soon as the kids were gone, Terry and Luke slipped out of the kitchen as Justin and Griff arrived, followed by Willow. "Just my men are still out there."

"Joshua and Dusty should be in the house in about half an hour, maybe a little quicker. It is starting to get nasty out there," Willow said, shaking off some of the snow she was covered in.

"What's going on, Terry?" Luke asked. "Your text has me curious."

He told Luke about Nova and Joshua. "Who is Nova? I mean Elly said that she just came recently."

"Nova was raised by her grandmother after her father was killed in an accident when she was three, and about two weeks ago her grandmother died after a bout of cancer. The school is a licensed foster care facility so she was brought here until they can find her family. What do you know?"

"The story you heard actually does make some sense. Joshua said the family told him to stay out of his son's life so he never knew about Nova."

"Do you think Joshua wants to be involved with Nova? That little girl needs someone to grasp onto."

"I would think so, but I can't answer for him and I am sure he and Emma..."

"Oh, I know, but at least I feel like I have a lead. I will talk to Joshua this weekend."

"If these facts fall apart, I can help find her family. I have contacts in the village her father was born in and I am sure Joshua will tell us what he knows and he isn't usually very sociable but he will be stuck inside part of this weekend."

By the time dinner was ready, everyone was in the main house for the night. They had dispersed the bedrooms out among the couples. Since Emma and Joshua's place was attached to the main house, they would sleep at their own place and Willow and Dusty would sleep there, too. By now, Luke and Matt had a room they called their own, so Terry and Griff took one of the spare rooms upstairs. As the wind grew stronger and the snow came down harder, all four kids spent much of the time looking out the window. 

Luke and Matt had picked up the ingredients for s'mores so when they got tired of looking out the window they toasted marshmallows in the large fireplace and then put them with the graham crackers and chocolate. After the treat the boys went upstairs. El and Aaron wanted to play with Aaron's toys and Gus was going to email Fi and tell her about the storm. Emma and her family went to their lodging and Jessi curled up over Brian and Justin's laps as the men sipped hot toddies cider as they talked.  

Justin and Griff started filling Matt in on the progress they had made this week and they talked about Hawkin's Island and their friends back there. It was about midnight when the couples headed to bed. Justin started up the steps with Jessi but she woke up and said, "I want to sleep with you."

Justin looked at Brian and he smiled and said, "Sure, honey, you can sleep with us." 

It was about 2:00 a.m. when Joshua woke and he went to the window to look outside. The snow was piling up in drifts. He realized the electricity was out. The house had power and he could see the stable light glowing dimly, so the generator had kicked in to keep the animals warm. That made him feel better. In the morning, he and Dusty would clear paths to the main buildings.  If they were lucky, it would stop before it got much worse. 

He tried to see how much snow there was further away from the house but without light it was hard to see past the stable. As he stood there he was sure he saw something moving in the distance. As he tried to focus on whatever it was he realized it was an animal. As it came into focus he realized it was the mountain lion. This cat wasn't acting correctly. Wild animals knew instinctively to find a den and hunker down. 

As he stood there, he thought about the Coyote. The story he had told today was about how the trickster could transform to whatever he needed to be. In the tale he told, he used his power for the good of other people. As he watched the animal slink out of sight, Joshua's mind drifted to Nova. He had a granddaughter. He was sure of it.

He put on his plaid flannel robe and went out to the living room. He made himself a cup of herbal tea and added a log to the fire before sitting down and staring into the flames. Nova, he wondered how his granddaughter ended up back in the area. Where was her grandmother? He knew his son had been killed over five years ago, but when he heard rumors from time to time, Nova and her grandma were well and living in California. 

Had he been wrong? Should he have insisted on seeing her? Every Christmas he had money transferred into a fund for her well being. It was the least he could do. He couldn't imagine she had been sent to boarding school. Something must have happened that he hadn't heard about yet. Brian and Terry would help him find out what was going on.

"Joshua, is everything alright? I woke up when you left and I was starting to worry." Her Irish lilt was stronger when she was half asleep. She sat on his lap and his arms went around her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were awake." He kissed her temple.

"Is it the girl?"

"Yes. I need to find out what the situation is. Her grandmother is a good woman. She would not have just sent her away. I fear something has happened to her."

"You're right. We will find out what is going on tomorrow. The men will help us find out, but now," Emma stood and extended a hand to her husband. "Nothing can happen today, and tomorrow, there will be lots of work moving snow."

Joshua stood up and pulled Emma close. "Em, if something has happened, if the child is alone..."

"Then I think we will be needing to redecorate the guest room."

"I love you, woman. I know I don't say it very often but..."

"Ah, chief, you show me every day." She kissed him. "But it is very nice to hear once in a while." This time he initiated the kiss and it was much more demanding than she expected.

"Come with me, woman, and I will see if I can think of another way to show you."