Brave Beginnings Page 16

  “What are you thinking?” she asked.

  He blinked and turned to her. “Five years ago, I led the buffalo hunt. This was the buffalo I caught. Some said it was impossible to get one that big, but I did it.”

  “I wish I had been there to see it.”

  He laughed. “Knowing you, you would have beat me to it. It’s good you weren’t there.”

  Chuckling, she walked over to him so she could feel the soft fur. “This is a lovely robe. It’s a shame you never got to wear it here. Will you put it on so I can see you in it?”

  He obeyed and draped it over his shoulders.

  “I don’t recall you looking so formidable before,” she whispered, for the first time seeing him the way others did and understanding why they experienced a momentary flicker of apprehension when he walked into the room. He’d been a hunter, and a most impressive one. With a regretful sigh, she touched his hair. “It’ll take forever to grow this out.” She recalled how his dark hair had hung down his back. “Promise me you’ll never cut it again.”

  “I refuse to let it grow too long. I can’t be tripping on my hair.”

  She sighed but grinned. “You are silly.” He opened his arms, so she slipped into them and snuggled against him. “Do you remember the last time you wore this robe? It was the night Gary and I found you by the campfire, and we married shortly afterwards.”

  “That was a good night.”

  She closed her eyes and recalled how he’d looked back then. Over the months, she’d forgotten how Mandan men dressed. It wasn’t that she intentionally put it from her mind, but she got used to seeing him with short hair and wearing suits. “It’ll be nice to see you as you were back then. My strong Indian hunter who’ll hunt another buffalo so I can have my own robe.”

  “You mean you will not insist on hunting the buffalo?”

  She noted the amusement in his voice. “No. I want you to do it, so every time I wear it, I’ll think of you.”

  “I like that. I want you to think of me.” He brushed her cheek with his fingers.

  “You’re always on my mind.”

  “And you’re on mine.”

  She looked up at him and said, “I believe this is the part where you kiss me.”

  He lowered his head and did as she wished.

  Slipping her arms under his, she encouraged him to deepen the kiss. She knew she came up here to help him pack, but there was something about being in his arms that made her forget everything but him.

  When their kiss ended, he whispered, “I want to take you hunting with me. We can take a teepee and go out to the open land.”

  “Oh, that would be wonderful!” She jumped up and flung her arms around his neck. “What will we hunt?”

  Laughing, he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her so that her toes were a few inches off the ground. “I think you’re ready for deer.”

  She gasped. “Something that big?”

  “You can do it.”

  “It will be fun to try.”

  He gave her another kiss on the lips before he left a trail of kisses to her ear. She squirmed in delight against him. He carried her to the bed and enveloped her securely with him in the buffalo robe.

  “Chogan, we can’t make love right now. Supper will be ready in a half hour and Millicent’s coming over tonight,” she protested, even as she pulled him closer to her.

  “We won’t take our clothes off. We will take a break from packing to rest.”

  “Rest? You call this resting?” she mused, noting the way his hands caressed parts of her she found most exciting.

  “I often touch you when we are in bed.”

  “Yes, and that often leads to not resting.”

  “We rest well afterwards,” he said with a mischievous glint in his eye.

  “You’re awful, Chogan.” She giggled when he sprinkled more kisses on her neck, and then she let out a soft moan when he cupped her butt in his hands and rolled on top of her so that he was between her legs. “You’re horrible. You know I want to be with you right now, but I can’t. Millicent will be here in ten minutes.”

  “This is to get you ready for tonight. It is innocent.” He brought one hand up so he could touch her breast.

  “Innocent? I’d hate to see what wicked is with you if this is innocent!” She laughed and gave him a solid kiss, brushing her tongue with his and intentionally shifting her hips against his. “I can be innocent too, you know.”

  “You are full of fire. I like that.”

  From downstairs, she heard someone knock on the door. Gasping, she said, “Millicent’s early!”

  “Erin can get the door.” He kissed her again.

  Forcing the kiss to end, she groaned in frustration. “I can’t do that. Aunt Erin is in the kitchen cooking.”

  With a reluctant sigh, he released her from the robe and watched as she straightened her dress. “This robe is empty without you.”

  Shooting him an amused look, she replied, “We have tonight. Like you said, that was to get us ready for later.” Her lips turned up into a sly grin. “Are you ready?”

  “I will be in pain until then.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You are a brave hunter who camps in the middle of winter. You’ve learned to deal with pain.”

  “But not this bad.”

  Another round of knocking came from the door.

  “You’ll survive,” Julia assured him.

  He grimaced, but the slight smile betrayed his joke. “Barely.”

  Giggling, she headed on out of the room to answer the door and to help her aunt finish making supper.

  ***

  After supper, Millicent asked to talk to Julia, so Julia led her to the kitchen where they got ready to wash dishes.

  “What do you want to discuss?” Julia asked as she set a pot of water on the range to boil.

  Millicent pumped water and rinsed a plate before setting it in the sink in front of Julia. Then she picked up another plate to repeat the rinsing process.

  “Millicent?” Julia asked as she reached for the soap and washcloth.

  Her cousin bit her lower lip and finished rinsing another dish. “Please tell me the truth. Why are you leaving?”

  “Chogan’s been treated horribly here. Haven’t you heard what job they gave him?”

  “I don’t listen to gossip.”

  Julia sighed. “This wasn’t gossip. It was the truth. They knew he did a good job at the Tribune and gave him the lowest job they could. They did it to insult him. I can’t let it continue.”

  “I feared that was the case,” Millicent said. “And Ernest is the one who insisted this occur?”

  “I don’t know the details, but he’s a part of it.”

  “Can no one stop this from happening? Must it come to you and Chogan leaving?”

  Noting that the water in the pot was simmering, Julia pumped cool water into the sink and rolled up her sleeves. “Chogan’s not happy, and how can he be? He had a prominent position in his tribe. He was one of their best hunters. When he worked at the Tribune, he was promoted. But Ernest wouldn’t let Chogan advance and found a way to make sure that people would ostracize Chogan.”

  “This is because you married Chogan instead of him?”

  Julia shrugged and added the hot water to the water in the sink. “I understand Ernest is upset that I didn’t marry him, but I wonder if there’s more to it than that. He doesn’t like Chogan. Part of it is that Chogan’s an Indian, but my gut tells me there’s something else.”

  “You don’t know what that something else might be?” Millicent rinsed a plate and set it in Julia’s sink.

  Julia rubbed the soap into her wet washcloth and picked up the plate. “No.”

  “Certainly Ernest can’t get away with this. People must understand the unfairness of it?”

  “If they understand, they aren’t doing anything about it. No one wants to upset Ernest by standing up to him.”

  “I hope you’re wrong. I’d like to think that
someone has the courage to oppose injustice when they see it.”

  Julia washed the plate and set it on the dish rack to dry. “It would be nice if that were the case.”

  Millicent smiled. “Conrad is not so impressed with Ernest. Conrad is due to visit me tomorrow evening. I can talk to him on behalf of Chogan. Ernest might know some important people, but Conrad’s brother knows some who are just as prominent.”

  “No. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and concern, Millicent, but this is for the best. I want to go to Chogan’s tribe and live there.” She smiled at her cousin. “Chogan’s a hunter. He was happy doing that, and I want him to be happy again. Even if they offered him the job back at the Tribune, I can’t ask him to stay.” Seeing him in the buffalo robe earlier that day gave her a new perspective of her husband. “I rather fancy the way he looks when he dresses in his Indian attire.”

  Millicent nodded. “Then you must go to the tribe. I shall miss you.”

  “I’ll miss you too, but I can still visit.”

  “This is true. I look forward to when you do, and maybe some time, I may venture out there to see you. It’d be fascinating to see a tribe.”

  Julia recalled the time she’d been there with her aunt. “It’s different, that’s for sure. They do not insist on fully dressing all the time. In fact, I’ve seen one of their ceremonies where men wore nothing but undergarments.”

  Millicent’s eyes grew wide and she stopped rinsing a dish. “Oh, you didn’t!”

  “It scared me. I’ve had to realize that their ways are not ours. To them, this was proper given their customs. The men do not always wear a shirt.”

  “And they don’t think anything of it?” Millicent seemed as baffled as she was intrigued.

  “No, they don’t.”

  “I suppose if you are used to it, it’s normal.”

  “You are ever the proper lady,” Julia commented. “But I admit, I’m relieved that they dressed fully attired most of the time. It was really just that one ceremony where they weren’t.”

  “That is a relief. Perhaps I ought to visit when the weather is cold and they have to be fully dressed, to be on the safe side.”

  “It’s not a bad idea.”

  Millicent resumed rinsing the dish before she gave it to her. “It’s still a shame that things happened as they did at the Tribune. Something should be done about it.”

  Julia shrugged and washed a cup before setting it on the dish rack. “It doesn’t concern me or Chogan anymore. I just want to go to the tribe and live my life with him. If I never have anything to do with Ernest again, it’ll be too soon.”

  “I can’t say I blame you on that note.” She finished rinsing the last dish and gave Julia a hug. “Don’t be a stranger?”

  Julia let the washcloth and plate fall back into her side of the sink so she could hug her back. “I won’t.” She giggled. “This is hard to admit, but when I first met you, I couldn’t fathom one thing we had in common. You’ve become a good friend since then.” She pulled away from her and held onto her hands. “I am very glad we met.”

  “I’m glad we met too, and I confess I was most terrified of coming over here when you first married Chogan.”

  “Yes, I picked up on that.”

  “And I made a great effort to be brave.”

  The two women laughed before they returned to the dishes.

  ~~********~~

  Chapter 19

  Julia’s hand tightened around Chogan’s as the Mandan tribe came into view. This was it. The start of her new life. Her stomach tensed in apprehension, and the swaying of the stagecoach didn’t help. A part of her still couldn’t believe it was happening, but she didn’t regret leaving Bismarck. She glanced at Chogan and recalled the first time she saw him. Except for the short hair and buffalo robe, he looked very much like he did back then.

  Chogan put his arm around her shoulders and drew her close. “Stay with me, and you’ll be alright,” he whispered, probably noting her nervousness.

  “I shouldn’t be worried. I mean, my brother and Woape are there. It’s not like I don’t know anyone but you.” She took a deep breath and felt a little better.

  “It is a different way of life.”

  She glanced at her clothes and knew it was a matter of time before she wore deerskin dresses like Woape did. Just as Chogan embraced her world, she would now embrace his.

  As the stagecoach got closer, someone came out on horseback to greet them. It took her a good five seconds to realize it was Gary. A wave of excitement replaced her fear.

  “Is that part of his job here? To welcome people?” she asked Chogan.

  “Since we’re in a stagecoach, they assume we’re white and don’t speak the language.”

  “Well, they assume half of it right.” She was glad she took the time to learn some words but realized it wouldn’t be enough to understand everything. “I’m glad I have you with me. I wouldn’t be able to do this without you.”

  “You would. Your fiery spirit would embolden you.”

  The stagecoach came to a stop.

  “I’ll go tell Gary we’re coming,” Chogan said and got ready to open the door.

  “I want to come,” she insisted.

  He laughed. “See? You’d do just fine without me.”

  She gave him a playful shove. “Go on, silly. I want to see the look on my brother’s face when he realizes I’m coming here to live.”

  He got out of the stagecoach and helped her out. Her feet settled on the thin covering of snow. Pulling her hood tighter around her head, she followed Chogan to where her brother waited on his steed.

  Gary’s eyes grew wide. “Julia? Chogan? What are you doing here?”

  “We decided to live here,” Julia called out. “Are you going to hug your big sister or just sit there like a statue?”

  Grinning, Gary led his horse to them before he slid off of it and gave her a big hug. “That’s my sister. Barking out the orders.”

  “Hey,” she lightly protested. “If you give me a hard time, I’ll have my husband talk to you.”

  Chogan put his arm around her waist and smiled. “She’s right. Be good.”

  “What about Aunt Erin?” Gary asked her.

  “She’ll be coming later this year after she sells the house.”

  He nodded. “I didn’t think there was any way the two of you would stay separated for long.”

  Chogan gave her waist a playful squeeze and told Gary, “Our things are in the stagecoach. We will be going to my family’s lodge.”

  Julia’s stomach fluttered at the thought of seeing his family again. It’d been over a year since she last saw them, and back then, she wasn’t their daughter-in-law.

  “I’ll tell Woape you’re here,” Gary said and then hopped back on his horse. “She’ll want to see you.”

  At the mention of Woape’s name, Julia felt much better. She was sure the transition would be easier since Woape could teach her what Mandan women did. She wouldn’t have to fumble through this alone.

  “Tell her I look forward to seeing her and Penelope,” Julia said before she joined Chogan back in the stagecoach. She sat beside him and rubbed her hands together. She took a deep breath and forced a brave smile. “What will your family think?”

  “They knew I didn’t want to marry any of the women in the tribe, so they will be happy I found you.”

  The stagecoach lurched forward so she held onto his arm. “Will they mind that I’m not Mandan?”

  “No. My grandmother advised me to follow my heart. My mother and aunts would agree.”

  “You have no males in your lodge?”

  “A couple of uncles, but they’re not good hunters.”

  “Because you didn’t teach them?” she teased, her eyes twinkling. “You’re a good teacher.”

  “You say that because you love me.”

  “No. I mean it. You were patient, and when I was ready to quit, you refused to give up on me.”

  “I had a plan,” he whispe
red, leaning closer to her. “It allowed me to be with you without your aunt right there.”

  She gasped. “So you didn’t really want to teach me how to hunt?”

  “I was hunting you.” He kissed her cheek.

  “And here I assumed you thought I could hunt.” She shook her head but was unable to hide her amusement. The truth was, she was flattered. Turning to face him, she asked, “Did you ever take any other woman hunting?”

  “No. You were the only one.”

  “So there were no other women in the tribe who appealed to you at all?”

  “Nope.” He kissed her. “You are the only woman for me.”

  Her face flushed with pleasure. “You’re the only one for me too, Chogan.”

  “I know, and I like that.” He kissed her.

  She snuggled closer to him and returned his kiss, enjoying this peaceful moment before the flurry of activity that would likely ensue from their arrival at the lodge where he grew up. He’d told her about his upbringing. Part of her felt as if she already knew his family, but she realized she had much to learn.

  He pulled a few inches away from her and whispered, “Thank you for coming here.”

  “I’d do anything for you,” she confessed.

  “I know, and I love you for that.” Cupping the side of her face with one hand, he kissed her again, this time letting his lips linger on hers. “You are the best wife a man could ask for.”

  “Other husbands may disagree with you on that,” she teased with a slight chuckle.

  “Other husbands don’t know better. They don’t have you.”

  She laughed harder and hugged him. “Then it’s good I am yours.”

  “It is good.”

  The stagecoach pulled through the entrance of the Mandan village and Gary led the driver to where Chogan’s family lived.

  She took a look out the window and saw the snow covered mound. The interior of the earth mound was hollow to provide shelter for Chogan’s family. This was her new home. It was vastly different from the wood house she and her aunt lived in, but even as she noted the differences, she realized that beneath her nervousness was a sense of adventure. Sure, she’d been here before, but her focus had been on her brother and Woape, and she knew her stay would only be a visit. Now, she’d be living here.