Jacob was headed to Henry Standing Bear's bar, driving through the dusty Wyoming roads that led away from his house on the outskirts of the rez. He'd called in a burger before leaving work.
A song came on the stereo that only went for a few bars before he changed the station. Once, the song had come on the radio at home, and Cady had jumped up and tried to get him to dance to it.
He protested, but eventually she convinced him. Cady was a lawyer, after all, and winning arguments was technically her job. And so Jacob had begrudgingly wrapped his arms around her and stepped in a small circle, but after a few moments he was singing the words quietly into her ear. He'd done it to satisfy her, but in reality, it had been nice. Not that he would ever admit it.
All in all, it wasn't a memory Jacob was interested in reliving today. As he moved further down the road the bar resided on, he couldn't help but notice Cady's Jeep in the parking lot. He'd passed the legal aid center and saw it had been empty all day. That must have been her way of trying to stay under budget.
Gravity drew him to pull off and cruise slowly down the drive leading to the red building. Slowly sauntering through the front door of the bar, Jacob clenched his jaw.
Cady was sitting at the far side of the bar, and next to her was a man. A lanky but handsome employee of hers. Jacob knew he recognized him, knowing he was recently at the career fair. He couldn't put a face to the name, although he was fairly certain he was responsible for his hiring a couple years ago. Mason? Yes, that was his name. And Cady's head was resting on Mason's shoulder. Bitterness flowed through him as he saw that this man had an arm around Cady, seemingly comforting her.
Jacob looked away before stepping off and walking up to the bar, wanting to get the damn burger he ordered and leave.
"Order for Jacob," he said to bartender shortly.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cady lift her head off Mason's shoulder and look his way. Must have heard his voice. Their eyes met, her expression doe-eyed and vulnerable. Jacob knew his expression was stone-cold, and he didn't really care. For more than a moment, they took each other in. Jacob ground his teeth as Mason's arm was still around her.
He broke her gaze as a paper bag was brought to him and he passed cash to the bartender. "Keep the change."
Glancing at her one last time, he saw her shrug Mason's arm off and mutter a few words to him. He turned his back as he walked back to his car and opened the door, tossing the bag of food haphazardly in the passenger seat in his fuming state. The sound of soft footsteps behind him told him Cady was following him out.
"Jacob."
He shut his car door louder than intended. Cady was looking at him precariously.
Jacob knew Cady always had suitors, that wasn't really what bothered him. Obviously, people would want her. That made sense, why wouldn't they? What bothered him was the realization that there was nothing stopping her from one day being with someone else. He couldn't even allow himself to entertain the thought. He found himself grinding his teeth every time. Little did he know how deeply he was held captive by this woman.
"Mason Running Bear?" His voice was callous.
"Don't."
"You appeared rather cozy in there." He crossed his arms and waited for Cady's response.
She paused, her eyes searching his face. "What do you want to know?"
He furrowed his brow. "Are you… moving on?" he asked slowly.
Cady shook her head. "I hope that's a joke. He was just being nice to me. You can't seriously believe I'd sleep with my employees."
"No, just your boss."
Pain flashed in Cady's eyes, and Jacob knew then that his comment had crossed a line. She shook her head at him.
"You're a real bastard." Her fists were clenched at her sides and tears were welling up in her eyes.
All the bitterness that previously occupied him had diffused, and now he was watching her with regret over his poor choice of words.
"Okay. I admit, that was harsh. I-"
But Cady was already turning around and walking toward her car to leave.
"Hey. Just wait." She ignored him and he took off walking behind her.
"Leave me alone."
"Cady."
Only silence in return. She opened the door to her Jeep but only made it a couple of inches before Jacob reached over shoulder and shut it. A heavy sigh left her lips.
Her back was still to him. "Just leave me alone," she said over her shoulder.
His hand was still on the window of the door where he had pushed it shut, causing him to be rather close to her back. "I just want to make sure you're alright," he murmured.
She threaded a hand through her auburn hair and turned to him, their bodies only inches apart. Her face was flushed and her eyes were red. Their eyes locked and her heart sank.
"No, I'm not alright. Okay? Are you satisfied? Because I'm not alright," she said. "You made me give you up. You put me through hell. And at the bar - I can't breathe when you look at me like that. So just stop, okay? Let me go home. I'm really trying hard to be happy here."
Jacob sighed and lowered his head.
"And what if I was moving on, Jacob? What then?" she asked.
He swore under his breath. "Do you always have to be this stubborn?"
He stepped in, and she looked down between them like an offense had just been committed.
"What are you doing?" she said.
"If you were moving on, I'd ask you to give me more time," Jacob muttered in a low voice. "I'd ask you not to walk away."
And in that moment that was exactly what he was asking her to do. This wasn't hypothetical. A lump formed in the back of Cady's throat and she swallowed hard.
"You used to be bold. Whatever you've been lately – I don't recognize it. And if I thought you were ever going to claim me, we'd still be together. But I lost hope on that a long time ago."
The sting of rejection hit him square in the chest. Jacob wasn't a vulnerable man, but for Cady, he was trying. And it was thrown back into his face.
"That's wrong. We both know it's more complicated than that."
"It's bullshit. It's a bullshit excuse." She poked him on the chest.
"You don't understand. I've had to fight for every scrap of respect I have in the Cheyenne community. People don't respect me, not the way they do Henry," he said. "To some I'm just a white man play-acting as an Indian. Others see me and they see a bad man who's merely pretending to be good."
"You don't think I understand, but I do. Clearly. It's about you and your obsession with perception. What will they perceive when they hear you're with your younger white employee? Maybe something you can't handle."
He gave out a mirthless laugh, completely taking Cady off guard. He backed up a few steps, shaking his head at her.
"What are you doing?" Cady asked.
"Leaving. You've done it, you should recognize the gesture."
She groaned and got into her jeep, slamming the door loudly, hoping he felt it in his bones.
