A Different Blue(165)

Ethan,” Stella insisted again, almost pleading. “I was afraid. She was so angry, talking about

getting even. I even called Ethan and warned him. I didn't like Ethan Jacobsen, or his parents,

for that matter, but I didn't want him hurt, for Winnie's sake as much as for his own.”

“She didn't find Jimmy in Oklahoma, but maybe Jimmy's brother told her about Cheryl,” I said,

chewing on possibilities. Stella frowned at me, clearly puzzled.

“Cheryl? Cheryl was quite a bit younger than Jimmy. She was only about twelve when Jimmy and I

met, and she didn't live on the reservation. Her mother was a white girl who had an affair with

Jimmy's father. I only knew about her because Jimmy had a lot of hard feelings toward his

father, and the affair was a big part of it.”

It was hard for me to imagine Cheryl at twelve. She was in her late forties now and didn't wear

her age well.

“Cheryl lives in Nevada. She raised me when Jimmy died,” I supplied, hoping Jimmy's death

wouldn't come as a shock, but my grandmother nodded as if she knew.

“Jimmy's brother sent me a letter when they found Jimmy's remains. He never mentioned anything

about you,” Stella said tearfully.

“Why would he? I never met any of them. They knew nothing about me,” I explained.

[page]We sat in silence, each of us mentally unwinding the tangle of secrets and supposition

that had led us to this point in the story.

“Jimmy said he found me in a restaurant booth. I'd been asleep. He waited with me until my

mother returned. He told Cheryl that that my mother acted strange, but he thought it was because

he was a stranger, sitting with her child. Maybe it was because she recognized him, and he had

taken her by surprise.”

“We know Jimmy didn't hurt your mother, Blue. The police found the man who did,” Wilson

offered emphatically, as if he knew where my thoughts had wandered.

“Jimmy would never have hurt a soul,” Stella agreed. “But I don't understand how you ended up

with him.”

“He said I was asleep on the front seat of his truck the next morning.”

“Then that's what happened,” Stella said firmly. “Jimmy Echohawk wasn't a liar. Winona must

have followed him and left you with him. Maybe she planned to come back. Maybe she wanted to

force him to acknowledge her. Maybe she was high on drugs, or desperate . . .” Stella offered

up excuse after excuse before her voice faded off. Whatever her reasons, Winona had done what

she'd done, and no one would ever really know why.

“Jimmy was my grandfather,” I marveled, suddenly arriving at the conclusion that had been

obvious since my grandmother had shown me his picture. “My name really is Echohawk.” And all

at once, I didn't feel like crying anymore. I felt like laughing. I felt like throwing my hands

up and dancing, praising and praying. I wished I could talk to Jimmy. To tell him that I loved

him. To tell him how sorry I was for sometimes doubting him. Wilson and Stella were watching me,

and Wilson's jaw was tight and his eyes were bright with emotion. I leaned in and kissed his

lips, right in front of my grandmother. She would have to get used to it. Then I looked at her

and spoke directly to her.

“When Cheryl told me Jimmy wasn't my father, it was the worst day of my life. I had lost him,