Brave Beginnings Read online

  Brave Beginnings

  Ruth Ann Nordin

  Ruth Ann Nordin’s Books

  Springfield, Nebraska

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  Brave Beginnings - Smashwords Edition

  Published by Ruth Ann Nordin at Smashwords

  Copyright © 2011 by Ruth Ann Nordin

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes:

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold. If you would like to share this book with another person, please do. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Cover made by Bonnie Steffens

  Cover Photo images Copyright Shutterstock Images LLC. All rights reserved – used with permission.

  Cover Photo images Copyright iStockphoto LP. iStockphoto.com/eyecrave LLC All rights reserved – used with permission.

  Cover Photo images Copyright Getty Images. All rights reserved – used with permission.

  Ruth Ann Nordin Books

  http://www.ruthannnordin.com

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  Dedicated to: Christina Busby and Sabrina Pascua whose many conversations I’ve enjoyed. Thanks for making the writing of this book a great memory!

  And a special thanks to Bonnie Steffens who made the cover for me!

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  Other Books Written by Ruth Ann Nordin

  Nebraska Historical Romance series (chronological order)

  A Bride for Tom (novella)

  A Husband for Margaret (novella)

  Eye of the Beholder

  The Wrong Husband

  His Redeeming Bride

  South Dakota Historical Romance series (chronological order)

  Loving Eliza

  Bid for a Bride

  Bride of Second Chances (coming soon)

  Native American Romances (chronological order)

  Restoring Hope

  Brave Beginnings

  Bound by Honor, Bound by Love (coming soon)

  Contemporary Romantic Comedies

  With This Ring, I Thee Dread

  What Nathan Wants

  Time Travel Romantic Comedy

  Meant To Be

  Historical Romance

  Falling In Love With Her Husband

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  Chapter 1

  September 1899

  (a little over one year since Restoring Hope ended)

  Chogan divided up the corn and squash in the wagon as Gary Milton, a member from his tribe, spoke to the mercantile owner.

  “You think having him here makes a difference?” Chogan asked Citlali, speaking in their native tongue.

  Citlali glanced over at Gary who said something that made the owner laugh. Turning back to the squash, Citlali replied, “He manages a better price because he’s white. They trust their own kind more than us.”

  Chogan’s jaw clenched. What did being white have to do with trust? He hated being in Bismarck. He’d wanted to stay closer to their tribe. At least the white people in their immediate area were friendly.

  Citlali sighed. “You can’t let your emotions override good judgment. We are doing this for our tribe. Once we are done, we’ll go collect two good stallions. They’ll make good sires for our mares. We’ll have stronger horses.”

  “Yes, I know.” And it was those better prices Gary was in the process of obtaining from the mercantile owner that would make the purchase of Harry’s prized horses possible. “Harry’s charging us more because we’re Indian.”

  “You don’t know that,” Citlali argued.

  “And you think having Gary here means we’ll get an honest price?”

  “It’ll make a difference. Even a small one is worth the effort.”

  Chogan bit back a reply. Why did Citlali have to remain unaffected by the reality around them?

  Gary walked over to the wagon, looking as happy as a man could get. “I got him to raise the price on the crops,” he said in their language. “We will get those steeds without any problems.” Motioning to the store owner, he continued, “He wants the crops in the storehouse out back.”

  “We’ll take them there,” Citlali told Gary.

  Nodding, Gary returned to the owner.

  Chogan picked up a bushel of corn and joined Citlali in carrying the crops to where they were directed, surprised that none of the white men felt it prudent to watch them. It must have been because Gary was with them. Gary was white, and even if he wore a deerskin tunic and moccasins, he was still welcomed because of his skin color. Citlali knew this and used it to their advantage. And that was why Citlali would one day be the chief. He understood how the world worked and utilized this knowledge to the benefit of the tribe.

  Once he and Citlali finished the task, Gary collected the money and returned to the wagon that was practically empty. Chogan grudgingly admitted that Gary did a good job of haggling for a higher price. He only wished he or Citlali were able to do this.

  Chogan got on his horse and waited for Citlali.

  Once Citlali led his steed in front of Chogan and Gary, he said, “We’ll go to Harry’s farm and then home.”

  Chogan waited for Citlali to head out before he followed. Gary, who drove the wagon, took up the rear of the small caravan they made. As they trotted down the busy district, Chogan half-heartedly noted his surroundings. Buildings, sidewalks, buggies, people, a familiar woman... He halted for a moment and turned his attention to her. But as quickly as he caught a glimpse of the pretty blond, she slipped into a bank and vanished. Just like that.

  He looked at Gary and thought to ask if his sister was supposed to be in Bismarck, but then he decided against it. No. It wasn’t her. It was a figment of his imagination. A ghost from his past...and nothing more.

  ***

  Julia Milton entered the bank, carrying the sewing kit under her arm. She spotted her aunt and her aunt’s brother sitting at the desk where they were setting up a bank account for her and Julia. Julia hesitated to join them since there were no other chairs at the desk where the bank employee talked to them.

  “Julia?”

  Startled, she turned to the familiar voice. Her eyes grew wide. “Ernest?” Of all people she expected to run into in Bismarck, he was the last one. “I thought you went to Fargo.”

  Ernest Freeman closed the distance between them in the middle of the bank and smiled. “I was for several years, but then I got a job here.”

  “Here? You mean at this bank?”

  He nodded. “I’m the vice president.”

  “Oh.” She couldn’t believe it. Shy, awkward Ernest Freeman really made something of himself. She noted his dark brown hair that was neatly combed, the spark in his light blue eyes, the confident smile on his lips, and the way he stood upright in his dark gray suit. Yes. Ernest did, indeed, make something of himself. “You look good.” Then she blushed, wondering if that came out wrong. “I mean, you look professional.”

  “Thanks. You look good too. Of course, I always thought you were pretty.”

  She was sure her face grew a darker shade of pink from the compliment. Nothing short of awkward could adequately describe this situation. They had once courted, and she’d turned down his proposal when he got the job in Fargo. At the time, she needed to stay with her aunt to help
raise her little brother. Now, as she scanned the large bank, which he was the vice president of, she wondered if she should have said yes.

  “Did you move here?” Ernest asked.

  “Yes. My aunt and I did, actually.” She cleared her throat and motioned to where her aunt sat. “My brother married a Mandan woman and lives at her tribe. My aunt thought it would be nice if we could be nearby. He has a one-year-old girl. I think my aunt likes seeing her great-niece. She’s always had an attachment to babies and children.”

  “Gary is old enough to be married?”

  “He’s twenty-one.”

  Ernest laughed. “I can’t believe it. Time’s sped by, hasn’t it? Last time I saw him, he was a boy. It’s been...what? Ten years? It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long.”

  “It is hard to believe.” How much things had changed for Gary. Her brother, seven years younger than her, was no longer a child. Part of her missed that. He used to come to her to take care of his scrapes and bruises, but now he had his own family. While she... She glanced at her aunt. No. She wouldn’t think it. She had a good life.

  “You moved here with your aunt?” Ernest asked. “Then I take it you never married?”

  “No.” She experienced unease at the admission but pressed forward. “I’ve stayed with Aunt Erin and...” And what? Time passed? The seasons changed? Life continued on while she remained in one place?

  “So now you two are moving here,” Ernest said. “Do you have any other family in the area, besides your brother?”

  “My other aunt and uncle. Uncle Clarence is my aunt’s brother. He helped us buy a house.”

  “Really? Where are you living?”

  “7th street.”

  “That’s not too far from where I am. I’m down on 3rd. You’re a couple of blocks away from me. It’ll be nice to see more of you.”

  She wondered if he said that because it was one of those things people said without really meaning it. “I’m sure we’ll bump into each other from time to time.” Bismarck, after all, wasn’t that big. It was bigger than where she and her aunt came from but apparently not big enough to avoid an old suitor.

  Her aunt and uncle finally left the desk, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Your aunt hasn’t aged a day,” Ernest commented with a slight chuckle.

  “Yes. She grows old gracefully.”

  Erin caught sight of Julia, patted her brother on the arm, thanked him, and went over to them. Her eyes grew wide and she let out a cheery, “Why, if my eyes don’t deceive me, it’s Ernest!”

  Ernest nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I hear you’ve moved to town.”

  “Yes. We’ve only been here for a week. We’re still settling in.” She clasped her hands in front of her waist and asked, “How have you been?”

  “Good.”

  Julia cleared her throat. “Yes. He’s the vice president.”

  Her aunt’s eyes twinkled. “Oh, you don’t say! You’ve done your ma and pa proud, son.”

  “Are they still in Fargo?” Julia asked. Last she heard, his parents decided to go with him.

  “They remained there for awhile after I left and then bought a house down on 9th street,” he told Julia.

  “He lives on 3rd,” Julia quickly filled in for him so Erin wouldn’t have to ask.

  “Well, we must have you and your wife over some time,” Erin said. “It’d be nice to catch up on old times.”

  Julia tensed, not sure she liked that idea. Running into him was one thing. Having him in her house was another. She wished her aunt wouldn’t take the ‘let’s be neighborly’ thing too far.

  Ernest grinned ruefully. “I’d be happy to accept the offer, but I’m afraid it’ll just be me. I’m not married.”

  Julia didn’t hide her surprise. Ernest had done a lot of changing from when she last saw him. He’d grown from the lanky schoolboy into a full-grown man with a great job, and no woman had snatched him up? What was wrong with the females in the area? What had been wrong with her?

  Nothing. Nothing was wrong with me. I had duties. Responsibilities. I couldn’t leave Aunt Erin to take care of Gary all by herself while I ran off to Fargo.

  But Gary wasn’t in the picture this time. She shifted from one foot to the other as she tried to recall why it hadn’t worked out between her and Ernest back then. Was it really because of Gary and her sense of duty to him? The years had passed and that time in her life almost seemed as if it was someone else’s past. She wrapped her shawl tighter around her shoulders.

  Erin shook her head and asked, “You’re pulling my leg, Ernest. Surely, you have a woman. Are you courting?”

  Ernest glanced Julia’s way before he returned his attention to her aunt. “Not yet.”

  Julia’s throat grew dry. She was reading more into that look than she ought to. After all this time and the way she rejected his proposal, he couldn’t possibly consider her for courting.

  “Well, we’d be delighted to have your company,” Erin said, most likely oblivious to Julia’s discomfort. “Give us another week to unpack and come by next Friday at six for supper.”

  He smiled. “I’m looking forward to it.”

  And so was Erin, if Julia accurately understood the thrilled expression on her face. Leave it to her aunt to be overly enthusiastic about everything. Julia nodded a polite good-bye to Ernest before she followed her aunt out of the bank.

  She shouldn’t begrudge her aunt’s cheerful nature, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to see Ernest again. It was one thing to bump into him. That would limit their conversations to a few minutes. But a supper... That would be hours. What woman wanted a man she’d rejected to spend that much time in her house? It was due to be an awkward night, even if he didn’t seem to hold any ill will toward her.

  “Wasn’t it nice to see a familiar face?” Erin asked as they strolled down the sidewalk.

  “Your brother and his wife live here,” Julia replied.

  “True, but they moved here as soon as they married, and that was a good thirty years ago. I hardly recognized him just now. But I remember Ernest. I always liked him.”

  A smile tugged at Julia’s lips. “You like everyone.”

  She seemed to think about it and finally nodded. “You have a point.”

  They paused at the end of the sidewalk to wait for a horse and buggy to pass before they crossed the street. Once they reached the other sidewalk, her aunt put her hand on Julia’s arm.

  “I want to send your brother a letter to let him know we’re here,” Erin explained. “Let’s stop by the post office.”

  Seeing no reason to object, Julia traveled with her down the block until they reached the building and entered it. When she realized her aunt was writing about them going to the tribe, Julia clutched her arm. “No,” she whispered. “Have him and Woape come here.”

  Erin frowned. “Why? It’s easier for us to travel than for them. They have a child to worry about.”

  “I know, but...” That was all she needed. Two men from her past to deal with! She couldn’t go back to that tribe, not after the way things ended with Chogan. Didn’t her aunt realize how uncomfortable all of this was for her? First Ernest and now this? Scrambling for a good, solid reason, she said, “Bismarck is not that far, and they know the area better than we do.”

  “I’ll ask what he prefers,” Erin relented and turned back to the piece of paper in front of her.

  Julia knew that was as much as she could expect from her aunt, so she released her grip and sighed. Even if Gary asked for them to go there, she wouldn’t. The knot twisted in her gut. If she knew Ernest was going to be here, she wouldn’t have moved to Bismarck. She knew Chogan would be close by but figured as long as she never ventured to the Mandan tribe, she’d be fine. The world, it seemed, was way too small, and she had a nagging suspicion that parts of her past were going to return and demand she settle things once and for all.

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  Chapter 2

  Chogan picked up a few buf
falo bones from the pile at the center of the lodge and took his knife so he could make his first fish hook. Fall was coming. He could feel the chill in the air, and he noticed the scent of autumn. The time for decision was fast approaching, and he was no closer to making it than the day Citlali came to him with the proposal.

  He carved into the bone, careful to begin forming the hook. For the moment, things were quiet. Most of his family was outside, busy working and enjoying the sunny day. The hole in the ceiling of the earth lodge allowed enough sunlight to come inside and light the place, but he sat further from it. Across the round dwelling, his grandmother worked on her next earthen pot. Of all the people in his family, he liked his grandmother the most because she understood when he needed time alone to think.

  Chogan wasn’t like Citlali. For Citlali, the decision was easy. Whatever was best for the tribe was what needed to be done. There was no question of whether or not he wanted to do it. Maybe last year, Chogan would have found the answer easy as well. But then he met Julia and it changed the way he looked at things.

  The knife went too deep into the bone and cracked it. Chogan muttered an admonishment for his carelessness and chucked the bone to the side. He selected another one and began working on it.

  It’d been a year since Julia left. He hadn’t seen her or heard from her. Why couldn’t he let the past go? He wasn’t a youth, but he was acting like one. Heartbreak was for boys, not grown men. Maybe he had trouble forgetting her because every time he saw her brother, he saw the same golden hair that she had.