Brave Beginnings Page 17

  The stagecoach stopped, and Chogan asked, “Are you ready?”

  She took another deep breath and nodded. “I think so.”

  “I won’t leave you until you’re settled in.”

  “Is this before or after we go hunting alone?”

  “After.” He gave her a wicked smile and squeezed her hand. “We have to hunt for a good dress for you.”

  “You are much too happy about going out to find women’s clothing. This wouldn’t have anything to do with being alone in a teepee with me, would it?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe a little. Come. I see people are already gathering around to welcome us.”

  Still holding her hand, he led her out of the stagecoach where, sure enough, a group of Indians surrounded them while Gary explained what was going on.

  “My brother takes his job seriously, doesn’t he?” she whispered to Chogan who grinned.

  “He’s enthusiastic,” Chogan replied. “Plus, he knows we’ll kick him out of here if he’s not useful.”

  Julia laughed at the imagery his words brought to mind. She let go of his hand so he could turn to the stagecoach and gather their belongings.

  Woape broke through the crowd so she could hug Julia. “What made you decide to live here? I thought Chogan was happy at the printing press.”

  “I’ll explain later,” Julia promised. “It’s a long and complicated story.”

  “You two are obviously happy, so that is what matters. Did your aunt come with you?”

  “Not yet. She needs to settle some matters back in Bismarck first.” Julia glanced around the group of people. “Where’s my niece?”

  “My sister is watching her. As soon as I heard a stagecoach was coming, I had to see who was on it.”

  “And my other nephew or niece?” Julia motioned to Woape’s stomach, realizing it was too soon for Woape to show yet. “Are things progressing well?”

  “Yes, and the sickness has finally passed and my energy’s returned. So, do you have news for me of a more personal nature?” Woape asked, looking at her expectantly.

  Refusing to give into the urge to mope, Julia shook her head. “Not yet.”

  Chogan came up to them with a trunk in his arms. “I paid the driver. We can go into the lodge now.”

  Gary came up to them with Julia’s carpet bag and rolled his eyes. “Did you leave anything with Aunt Erin?”

  Julia pretended to be appalled by the question. “Really, Gary. You think we brought too much? It’s just one trunk and a carpet bag.”

  “Is the carpet bag too heavy?” Chogan asked her brother. “We need to toughen you up. Julia can carry it just fine. She’s stronger than you.”

  “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” Gary said with a wry grin. “Lead me to where this thing belongs. I have better things to do than carry a woman’s bag around.”

  Chogan glanced her way. “Do you want to come?”

  “I better.” Julia turned to Woape. “We’ll talk soon?”

  Woape smiled. “Of course.”

  Julia gave the onlookers a nervous smile before she joined Chogan and entered his lodge, aware that four women stood near the doorway.

  “Chogan!” the woman she recognized as his mother cried.

  He set down the trunk, and his mother gave him a big hug. Then they spoke in Mandan. He motioned to Julia before he turned his attention back to the others surrounding them. Since they spoke fast, Julia couldn’t make out everything, but she understood he was explaining why they decided to come here to live.

  His mother smiled at her and spoke to Chogan but pointed to Julia.

  He smiled at Julia. “My mother says you need no introduction. No one can forget how you killed Hothlepoya. She said I married a brave woman.”

  Julia blushed at the unexpected compliment. “Thank you,” she told his mother, unsure of what the words for ‘thank you’ were in Mandan.

  She hugged Julia and patted her on the back. “We happy you here.”

  “Thank you,” Julia said again, unable to think of anything else to say.

  She scanned the rest of the people who watched them and took a deep breath to settle her nerves. She could do this. They were smiling at her, and she sensed the silent welcome in the air.

  Chogan drew her close and spoke to them in an excited tone. Whatever he said made them laugh, and then the old woman pointed to one of the rooms along the perimeter of the lodge.

  Julia looked at Chogan.

  “Our bedroom will be there,” Chogan told her.

  He turned to the trunk and picked it up. Gary, who’d been standing off to the side and watching the whole thing, passed her. She jerked. She’d forgotten he was there with them. Deciding to follow their lead, she gave another tentative smile at her new family and hurried to check out her new bedroom.

  The area was smaller than she was used to, but there was room for a bed, a trunk, a crib, and a dresser. Julia wasn’t sure what the exact furnishings would be, and the room was bare except for a bed without anything on it. The bed didn’t look as comfortable as the mattress she was used to, but that was a minor issue.

  Chogan set the trunk in the corner of the room and said, “My mother and aunts will bring more items in here. The women own the furnishings.”

  “Really?” Julia asked, intrigued.

  Gary put the carpet bag on the trunk and nodded. “All that the men own are their clothes, hunting supplies, and horses. You women make out like bandits in this tribe.”

  “It is not like Bismarck where the men are the primary owners,” Chogan told her. “The lodge belongs to my mother and her sisters. This is why men often move into the lodge of their wife’s family.”

  Gary grinned and nudged her in the arm. “You can kick him out of the lodge if you get tired of him.”

  “Don’t give her ideas,” Chogan admonished and pushed Gary toward the door. “You are a bad influence.”

  Julia laughed. “I’ll never get rid of him, Gary. If I get rid of anyone, it’ll be you.”

  Her brother groaned. “I’m not so sure having you two here is a good idea.”

  “You’ll survive.” Chogan patted him on the back and winked at her.

  She giggled and turned to her carpet bag. She opened it and took out the embroidered wedding gift her aunt had made for them. It was a picture of a bridal veil and a feather headdress with their names and the date of their wedding underneath. Erin had then put it in a frame so Julia could hang it up. Looking around the room, Julia didn’t see any nails to hang it on.

  She looked at Chogan who was watching her. “Is there a place to put this?” She motioned to her aunt’s gift.

  “I will hang this above our bed.” He took it from her and asked, “What do you think? Will that be good?”

  She scanned the room again and smiled. “Yes. It’s good, Chogan.”

  Looking relieved, he headed for the doorway. “I will get a hook to put on the wall for your aunt’s present. I will bring in buffalo furs for the bed.”

  She took that as her cue to wait, so she remained in the room, aware that Chogan’s mother was talking to his aunts. From the excited tones in their voices, Julia deducted they were happy to see him again. Rubbing her hands together in the cool room, she wondered how long it would take until she could understand more than a word here and there.

  She didn’t appreciate how far Chogan had come in learning the English language. He worked harder than she realized, and now she’d have to work just as hard, if not harder to learn his. Learning another language seemed like a daunting task. But it wasn’t impossible. She would learn to be fluent in Mandan. It was a matter of time. That was all. Thankfully, she had people who would teach her. Taking a deep breath, she decided this place would suit her and Chogan just fine. With a sense of adventure, she turned her attention back to the carpet bag.

  ~~********~~

  Chapter 20

  Woape waited for Gary to enter her family’s lodge before she asked her sister to watch Penelop
e so she could talk to him. He was putting his steed into the stall by the front entrance, and though he didn’t appear as if the sudden development shocked him, she knew it did. Despite her best effort to look serious, she found that she couldn’t stop chuckling.

  He glanced over his shoulder and rolled his eyes.

  She burst out laughing. “You shouldn’t let Chogan frighten you. He’s harmless.”

  “Only to women,” Gary replied.

  After he secured the stall, she put her arms around his waist and kissed him on the cheek. “You have no need to worry. I’ll protect you.”

  “Just what a man wants. His wife coming to his aid.” Though he shook his head, she caught a flicker of amusement on his face. “It’s not that Chogan is mean to anyone, but he has that way of looking at someone that unnerves them. It’s spooky. And it’s not just me who thinks that. Even your brother’s made a comment about it.”

  “Chogan won’t bother you as long as you leave his loved ones alone. So just be nice to Julia, and you’ll be fine.”

  “It’s hard to know who’s more intimidating when you put those two together,” he joked. “I’d rather take my chances with Chogan, now that I think about it.”

  She giggled. “You exaggerate.”

  “Maybe a little.”

  “Why are they here?” she asked in a lower voice so the others assembled around the fire in the center of the lodge wouldn’t hear them. “I thought Chogan was glad to get out of here because Citlali kept bothering him.”

  “I don’t know why they’re here. They didn’t say. But there is some talk in Bismarck about the Indian who threatened a few men. The owner of the mercantile warned me to be careful. He said the Indian hates white people.”

  “You can’t be serious. Chogan married Julia, and she’s white.”

  “They think he forced her into it somehow.”

  “How absurd.”

  “I know. She couldn’t marry him fast enough. You should have seen the way she ran to him. If there was ever a woman who wanted to marry someone, it was her.”

  “So why would people spread those lies?”

  Gary shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe next time I’m in town, I’ll try to figure out how the whole thing started. That tobacco store owner is a loud mouth. I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to tell me all he knows.”

  “That’s a good idea. In the meantime, I’ll see if Julia will tell me anything.”

  At that, he was the one who laughed. “Good luck getting her separated from him. Those two stood so close to each other that you couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began.”

  “They’re still newlyweds. Not old married people like us,” she teased.

  “Nonsense. We’re still newlyweds.” He grinned at her and gave her a lingering kiss. “And the best part is, Chogan’s lodge isn’t close by so I can sleep safe at night.”

  She sighed. “You need to talk to him and get to know him. Then he won’t be so scary.”

  “Maybe.” Gary shrugged.

  Realizing the chances of Gary actually doing that were slim, Woape gave up on the topic. “I will return to Onawa and Penelope. You go help my father.”

  Gary patted the small of her back and headed to her father’s room so he could help her father put up a new covering for the door.

  Woape went over to her sister and sat beside her. Onawa was showing Penelope some beads from her basket.

  Onawa rolled the red and orange beads in the palm of her hand and told the one-and-a-half-year-old girl, “I will make you a necklace.” She glanced at Woape. “Penelope seems to like these colors the most.”

  “Penelope likes them because you wear them a lot,” Woape said. “She wants to be like you.”

  Onawa’s dark eyes twinkled. “She has good taste.”

  “Of course, you’d say that.” Woape brushed her daughter’s black hair from her eyes and tucked the fine strands behind her ear. “In a couple more months, we can braid her hair.”

  “I’ll weave some beads into the braid. She’ll like that.” Onawa placed the beads back into her basket. Still sitting, she took Penelope’s hands so the girl could stand up and dance. “She is adorable. I hope I have a girl so I can put her in dresses and play with her hair.”

  “You’re looking forward to marrying Citlali next year?” Woape asked, studying her sister’s face.

  “Yes.”

  “Has he been by to see you?”

  “Not since he brought over the white buffalo robe.”

  “A white one? That probably made his family proud,” Woape muttered.

  Onawa glanced at her. “What?”

  Clearing her throat, she asked, “Has he talked to you?”

  “He did for a bit.”

  “Really? What did he say?” Woape was surprised he took the time to say anything to her sister. He was so closed off from Woape during the time Woape had been engaged to him. She couldn’t recall him saying more than the casual greeting.

  “He asked if I will go to his family’s lodge when we marry.” Onawa winced when Penelope grabbed her braid and pulled on it. As she gently pried Penelope’s fingers from her hair, she continued, “His cousin will move into another lodge when he marries next month.”

  Woape breathed a sigh of relief. Even if Citlali didn’t seem to hold any ill will toward her, she was glad he wouldn’t come to their lodge to live. Having to see him as she went about her business in the tribe was awkward enough.

  “I’ll miss being here with you and Penelope,” Onawa softly admitted.

  “Thankfully, we’re in the same tribe,” Woape replied.

  And thankfully, Citlali’s family was friendlier than he was. Woape honestly didn’t know how her sister could be excited about marrying him, but she hoped her sister wouldn’t be disappointed after the wedding. She decided to keep her misgivings to herself. Maybe Onawa saw something in him that she didn’t. Maybe he showed her a flicker of emotion.

  “If you want to help our aunts prepare supper, I’ll keep a watch over Penelope,” Onawa said. “I can take her for a walk.”

  Woape nodded. “She needs to run around. Alright.” She figured that later on, she’d go to Chogan’s lodge to help Julia get settled in. In the meantime, she had her chores to tend to. She stood and got Penelope’s blanket and moccasins ready for the walk.

  ***

  Larry slammed the newspaper on the table in the printing room and shook his head. He glanced at Mike who let out a low sigh and shrugged.

  Lips set in a firm line, Larry made his decision. Turning to Mike, he said, “I don’t care how good of friends Noah and Ernest are. Noah’s not working here anymore.”

  “I don’t think anyone will mind if you fire Noah,” Mike replied as he walked over to the table and picked up the paper. “Is it possible he was drunk when he did this?”

  “Drunk or not, he’s incompetent and lazy. Chogan never did shoddy work.” He placed his hands on his hips and took a deep breath. “I’m going to hire him back.”

  “But the boss won’t allow it.”

  “If Wilcox can’t handle it, then he can fire me. I’m sick of Ernest Freeman getting whatever he wants in this town. He thinks that just because he snaps his fingers, the world has to run to do his bidding. I won’t lie down and play dead anymore.”

  Mike winced. “You’re right. We can’t let people like Ernest bully us into going against our principles. The Tribune won’t sell any papers if they look like a child printed it.”

  “So are you saying that Wilcox can fire you too?”

  Mike paused for a moment before he glanced at the paper in his hands and nodded. “Yes. If we get fired, we get fired for doing the right thing.”

  Relieved, Larry led the way out of the room and to the potbelly stove where Noah was dozing off in a chair. Resisting the urge to kick the chair from under Noah, Larry cleared his throat. Noah didn’t budge. Larry nudged Noah’s legs with his foot, and Noah jerked awake.

  Mike threw th
e paper onto Noah’s lap. “Get your belongings. You no longer work here.”

  Noah’s eyes grew wide, but he didn’t say anything or move from his spot.

  “Do we need to pick you up and toss you out?” Larry asked.

  “What did I do wrong?” Noah replied, looking incredulous.

  “You can look at the paper in your lap and ask me that?” Larry took the paper off his lap, grabbed Noah’s hand, and slapped the paper into it. “Take a good look at your work.”

  Noah turned his gaze to the paper but didn’t respond.

  “We gave you two chances. We’re not keeping you here just because you know Ernest. Now, get out of here and don’t come back.”

  After what seemed like a long time, Noah finally stood up and went to gather his coat and hat. Larry breathed a sigh of relief, glad they’d no longer have to deal with Noah anymore. If Wilcox ended up firing him and Mike, then so be it.

  He waited until Noah left the building and then turned to Mike. “I’ll go find Chogan.”

  Before the day was over, he was determined that Chogan would have his old job back. He shrugged into his coat and put on his hat. He left the building and tried to decide where to find Chogan. The bitter wind lashed against him, so he turned the collar of his coat up.

  The first thing he did was check with Jasper Mathias who was in charge of cleaning the streets. When Larry learned that Chogan had quit his job, he went to Chogan’s residence and knocked on the door.

  The middle-aged woman who opened the door looked surprised to see him. “May I help you?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He took off his hat and continued, “My name is Larry Bleier. I believe an Indian by the name of Chogan lives here. I have business to discuss with him.”

  She furrowed her eyebrows. “What kind of business?”

  Noting the protective instinct about her, he said, “I work at the Tribune, and I came to offer him his job back.”