Brave Beginnings Read online

  But she couldn’t jump to conclusions. She had to talk to a woman who’d had a child. Though Chogan’s female relatives were most welcoming, the personal details of expecting a child seemed best reserved to someone closer to her.

  She turned from her lodge and headed in the direction of Woape’s lodge. When she walked around one of the lodges along the way, she almost bumped into someone.

  She made a quick apology in Mandan before she looked up and realized she’d bumped into Sarita. She caught the smirk on the other woman’s face and frowned.

  Sarita scanned her up and down and sneered before she said a word in Mandan.

  Julia gritted her teeth. That wasn’t the first time she heard that word come from Sarita’s lips, and she knew it wasn’t good. Unable to think of a proper retort, she settled for glaring at Sarita.

  Sarita shrugged as if Julia didn’t bother her and brushed past her, purposely bumping into her again.

  Without thinking, Julia shoved her so that Sarita almost fell face first into the snow. “I’ve had enough of you!”

  Sarita stood up and adjusted the robe. She spouted off a couple of sentences in Mandan, and Julia was sure some of those words were “Chogan” and “lodge”. Then she walked off in a huff.

  “Well, I could say the same to you!” Julia screamed after her.

  Grunting, Julia shoved her hands into her pockets and stormed in the opposite direction. So much for her good mood. She knew she was scowling by the time she reached Woape’s lodge, but she couldn’t bring herself to give her brother a polite greeting as he, Citlali, and another man got a wagon ready to take into Bismarck. Her eyes narrowed at Citlali. He’d love nothing more than to see Chogan marry Sarita. She had to force her gaze away from Citlali. She didn’t want to make things worse than they already were. Chogan made it clear to him that he’d never have a wife besides her, so Julia had nothing to worry about. Still, it would give her great pleasure to put Citlali in her shoes and let him know how hurtful his suggestion was.

  “Morning, Julia,” Gary called out.

  “Morning,” she grunted, not even looking in his direction.

  “Is something wrong?”

  She glanced at Citlali and muttered, “No. I’m fine.”

  Gary patted her on the shoulder. “Alright. I’m heading into town.”

  “I know.” Sighing, she continued, “I came to see Woape.”

  “Oh, she’s right in there.” He motioned to the entrance of the lodge. “Have a good visit.”

  She offered a half-hearted nod and went into the lodge. As long as she was away from Citlali and Sarita, she should be able to calm her anger. Her gaze settled on Penelope who tried to run over to her but stumbled and fell to the ground. The cute girl with her dark hair, wide brown eyes, and her brother’s awkward nose immediately made her feel better.

  She went over to her niece and picked her up. “You have to be more careful.” Smiling, she hugged her, remembering that before the year was over, she might be holding her own child.

  Woape stood up from the group of women who sat around the fire and walked over to them. “Did something bad happen on your way here?”

  “Oh, the usual,” Julia replied as she brushed Penelope’s hair from her face.

  “Sarita?”

  “Yes, and then I saw Citlali.”

  “Ah,” Woape said. “Neither one are my favorite people either.”

  “Sarita keeps calling me something.” Julia struggled with the proper pronunciation of the word and finally managed a suitable imitation of it. “What does it mean?”

  Wincing, she said, “Whore.”

  She gasped, her face flushing from embarrassment. “She’s been calling me a whore?” Quickly glancing around the lodge to make sure no one overheard the awful word, she continued, “Why would she say such a horrible thing? I’m not a whore. I’m a married woman.”

  “She’s just saying it to be mean.”

  “It works quite well. I hate her.”

  “She’s only upset because Chogan loves you instead of her. Her parents are looking for someone else she can marry.”

  “She ought to marry Citlali,” Julia sourly said.

  Woape giggled. “It would be a better match, but Onawa’s promised to him.”

  “We ought to get poor Onawa out of that arrangement,” she whispered.

  “Onawa wants to marry him.”

  Julia waited for Woape to give an indication that she was joking, but Woape was as serious as a person could get. Julia knew that Onawa was due to marry him, but she had assumed Onawa was being forced into it. Shaking her head, Julia asked, “Why?”

  She shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine, but she adores him.”

  Penelope wiggled so Julia set her down. Penelope ran over to Onawa and sat on her lap.

  Julia sighed. “Onawa doesn’t know what she’s getting herself into.”

  “It certainly seems that way,” Woape replied, smiling at her daughter before she turned back to Julia. “I thought you were going to hunt today.”

  “I was.” Recalling her earlier enthusiasm, Julia said, “I think your herbs worked. I haven’t had my monthly flow for a week, and I’ve never missed one before.”

  “That’s wonderful! What did Chogan say?”

  “I haven’t told him yet. I wanted to talk to you. You know, so I could be sure?”

  Woape laughed and hugged her. “I’d say it’s a sure thing, but there are symptoms you might experience to assure yourself it’s real. I have something I can give you for any nausea you might get.”

  “Is nausea common?”

  “Just for the first couple of months. Then you start to feel the baby kick.” Woape pressed her hands on her belly where she was showing in her fifth month. “I don’t feel anything right now, so I can’t show you what I mean, but you’ll get the joy soon enough. There’s nothing as wonderful as feeling a new life moving inside of you.”

  “I can’t wait.” Now that Woape had confirmed what she hoped, she forgot all about her earlier agitation with Sarita and Citlali.

  “Take off your coat, and we’ll sit by the fire and tell you what you can expect.”

  Unable to hide her excited grin, Julia rushed to obey her.

  ***

  As soon as Chogan returned from hunting, Julia ran to the entrance of the lodge and checked out the rabbits he had caught.

  “I didn’t have you with me to bring me luck,” he told her with a wink. “If you’d been there, I would have gotten a nice buck.”

  She laughed. “This is good.”

  He shrugged but seemed reluctant to agree with her.

  “You said it was good when you were teaching me to hunt. Were you telling me the truth or just trying to make me feel better?”

  “You’re a woman. Rabbits are good for you.”

  She gasped, pretending to be upset. “I happen to be good. Why, I got Hothlepoya, and that was with one shot.”

  He wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her. “You hunt better than men and much better than women. You are my equal. But with Achai…” Letting out a heavy sigh, he looked up at the ceiling and asked, “What else could I hope to get with him?”

  “You really like hunting with me?”

  “The scenery is a lot better,” he replied with a suggestive smile.

  She giggled. “I’ll go with you next time.”

  His mother, who’d been with the other women who were putting food into the pot over the fire, went over to them and said, “Tell him good news.”

  Julia nodded and motioned to the room they shared. “I have something important to tell you!”

  Chogan smiled. “Who am I to argue with women?”

  She took his hand and led him to their room. Though she’d already told his family, she’d always imagined telling her husband when they were alone. She set the robe across the doorway and happened to glance at the women in time to see them smiling at her, just as excited as she was by this news.

  “Sit d
own,” she told him.

  “Don’t you sit when there is bad news?” he hesitantly asked.

  “This isn’t bad.”

  He obeyed and settled on their bed.

  She sat beside him and took his hands in hers. “I’m in the family way!”

  His eyes grew wide. “What? But how did this happen?”

  Surprised, she gave him a good look and then saw the teasing spark in his eyes. “Oh you! You know exactly how.”

  He shifted over her so that she fell onto her back on the soft furs. “I need reminding. My memory is…what’s the word?”

  “Really, Chogan. We can’t make love right now.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because your relatives are out there.” Then for emphasis, she added, “Awake.”

  Shrugging, he said, “But they know how you got with child. Besides, we’re married. They expect us to do it.”

  She tried to think of a proper response but couldn’t think of anything to say. She knew he was joking, and even as he leaned forward to kiss her neck, he was chuckling. Sighing, she smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “Are you happy about this?” she asked.

  He stopped kissing her and let his gaze meet hers. Brushing back a stray strand of her hair from her forehead, he softly said, “Of course, I am. I knew this would happen sooner or later.”

  “Do you worry about losing this one?” She recalled the hollow tree where his stillborn daughter had been placed after being wrapped in a small robe.

  “No. You’re tough.”

  “Good. I hoped you wouldn’t think something bad would happen this time. I know your first wife suffered through a lot.”

  He caressed her cheek and whispered, “She was sickly. It was to be expected.”

  “Except you didn’t expect it?”

  “Not at first. But after the second miscarriage, it became clear.”

  “I’m sorry. It must have been horrible to keep losing your children.”

  “God has a reason. What I lost, He’s given me in abundance. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and you will give me children to make up for those I lost.”

  She blinked back her tears and swallowed the lump in her throat. “Maybe we’ll have a houseful of children.”

  “Knowing you, you’ll make it happen. Nothing stops you when you put your mind to something.”

  “Well, I am very determined to get my way.”

  “That you are.” He leaned forward and kissed her, letting his lips linger on hers for a long moment. “I am happy about the baby, Julia.”

  “I love you, Chogan.”

  “I love you too.”

  She pulled him closer to her so that she could kiss him again. Everything was perfect. Everything she’d wanted ever since she was a little girl was now coming to pass, and she couldn’t think of anything to add to her life.

  ***

  Chogan winced in his sleep. The images running through his mind were, for lack of a better term, disturbing. Julia labored hard and nearly died in giving birth to their daughter.

  When he was allowed into the lodge, Woape looked up from Julia’s pale and sleeping form. “He took her.”

  “Who?” Chogan asked.

  “Citlali. He took your daughter.”

  “What?! Why?”

  Woape touched his arm and pressed her finger to her lips. “Don’t wake Julia. She needs her rest.”

  He rubbed his temples and lowered his voice. “Where did he take her?”

  “I don’t know,” she replied. “But you have to find him. And fast.”

  Before he could ask how he was supposed to do that, he found himself standing by a hollow tree in a place outside the tribe. He recognized it immediately. It was where he’d placed his stillborn daughter years before. After the miscarriages, his first wife thought their daughter would live, and maybe the child would have lived had the cord not gotten wrapped around her neck.

  He closed his eyes, not wishing to relive that day or the tears that came with it. His first wife was never the same after that. She’d been sickly before, but after that, she couldn’t stand to be alone. She claimed she heard their baby crying whenever she was by herself.

  Timidly, he peered into the hollow tree and found it empty. He released his breath and said a prayer of thanks.

  Then he heard a baby cry. Instinctively, he knew it was his and Julia’s child. Spinning around, he saw Citlali walking toward the tree. Citlali held the baby in a robe, and though Citlali didn’t speak, Chogan knew his intent.

  He marched up to Citlali and said, “Give me my daughter.”

  Citlali shook his head. “She is not a full-blooded Mandan. She has no use in our tribe.”

  “That’s not for you to decide.” Chogan reached out to take her but his hands went through her.

  “She is not a real child. She cannot be a real child because she’s half-white. You will marry Sarita and have real children with her.”

  Chogan lurched forward but Citlali disappeared. Anxiously scanning the prairie, he saw Citlali gently placing the crying baby into the tree. Chogan tried to move forward but his feet were strapped to the ground.

  “It’s better this way,” Citlali called out. “You’ll see the wisdom of my decision in due time.” Then he disappeared again.

  Chogan clawed at the ropes binding his feet to the ground, but each time he managed to rip one off, another one wrapped around his foot and secured him to the spot. After several attempts, he screamed in frustration.

  The sound of a gun’s click caught his attention. Turning his head, he saw Ernest aiming a rifle at him.

  “I always wanted to hunt animals,” Ernest sneered. “You and that…”—he pointed his rifle to the tree—“thing will make nice trophies over my fireplace.”

  Ernest pulled the trigger, and Chogan’s daughter stopped crying. Then he pointed the rifle at Chogan and smiled.

  Chogan’s eyes flew open and he gasped. In the darkness, he couldn’t make out anything except the rapid beating of his heart and tingling in his feet. He remained still for a long moment, anxiously trying to figure out where he was.

  A dream. It’d been a dream.

  He sighed with relief, and when he could move, he rubbed his eyes. Just a nightmare. Julia’s safe. The baby is safe. Everything is alright.

  Julia shifted in the bed and snuggled against him. Though the dream had made him break out into a sweat, he reached for her and drew her into his arms. She snuggled closer and let out a contented moan before she drifted back off to sleep.

  Thank God it was just a dream. His breathing slowed as he repeated this sentence over and over in his mind, still feeling the effects from it and recalling each image in disturbing detail.

  Citlali wouldn’t get rid of Chogan’s child. Citlali was willing to marry Woape and raise her child even though Penelope was half-white. Citlali was many things that irritated Chogan, but he did value children. As for Ernest…

  Chogan swallowed and closed his eyes, unwittingly seeing the look of intense pleasure on Ernest’s face in the dream. There was something wrong with Ernest. It wasn’t anything obvious. More of a sensation Chogan felt, and perhaps something in the man’s eyes, as if he had no soul. Chogan shivered and tightened his hold on Julia. Chogan had never been more relieved to be back at his tribe.

  He rubbed Julia’s back. “I love you, and I love our child,” he whispered.

  Unable to go back to sleep, he spent the rest of the night reassuring himself it was all just a dream and that Julia and their child would be safe.

  ~~********~~

  Chapter 26

  Julia stepped out of the lodge in the brisk March air and tightened her coat. Her gaze fell upon Sarita who was three lodges down. Sarita was laughing at something a couple of women were telling her.

  Julia inwardly groaned. On some days, the tribe seemed much too small. She headed off in the opposite direction, not in the mood for a confrontation today. Though the ginger Woape
had given her took care of the nausea due to the pregnancy, it didn’t take care of the exhaustion she experienced throughout the day. But even with the groggy feeling, she was overjoyed. She was going to be a mother!

  After she got around the corner of a lodge and Sarita was out of sight, she breathed a sigh of relief. Her boots crunched through the snow that had frozen over because of the low temperatures and wind from the night before. Thankfully, the wind had died down and the sun warmed things up a bit. In no time at all, the snow would start to melt and spring would come. Woape had told Julia she was lucky to have a baby born in November when it was cold because there was little else to do but care for children. The spring meant planting, summer meant tending to the crops, and fall meant harvesting. Winter, it seemed, was a time of rest.

  This would be the first year Julia would experience this aspect of life. She had no idea how to grow crops, and even as she experienced apprehension at the task, she knew Chogan’s female relatives would show her how to care for their plot of land. Ever since she met Chogan, she’d done things she never thought she’d do before. She considered how her life would have been had she married Ernest when he courted her all those years ago. It would have been predictable, safe…and boring. But with Chogan, things never got boring. He was predictable and safe. He loved her and would always do whatever he could to protect her. That, however, didn’t make him boring. She smiled to herself as she recalled the passionate kiss he’d given her that morning. No one would ever accuse Chogan of being boring. And she found that she was beginning to like the tribe. She had much to learn, but everyone was gracious about teaching her what she needed to know.

  She glanced over her shoulder and noticed that Sarita was watching her from several yards away. Her steps slowed and she frowned. Well, almost everyone was gracious to her. Julia stopped and turned around. Sarita didn’t move from her spot. Julia narrowed her eyes. It couldn’t have been her imagination. Sarita was following her. But why?