Brave Beginnings (12 page)

“I do recall you mentioning the bow and arrow
before.”

“I don’t think Ernest would ever do something
like that.”

“To be fair, he works at the bank. He has no
need to play with a bow and arrow.”

“It wasn’t playing,” Julia replied, aware the
warning tone had found its way back into her voice. “He taught me
to hunt rabbits. If I ever get stuck somewhere, I can catch my own
food. Then I can rely on myself to do things instead of having to
depend on others to do them for me. It’s not a bad idea, Millicent.
I could teach you if you wish.”

Millicent laughed. “Why ever would I need to
hunt rabbits? I have my parents to provide for me. When I marry,
then my husband shall do that for me.”

“What if that never happens? Up until a week
ago, I thought I would never marry. There are no guarantees.
However, should you marry, you might find yourself in a situation
where you have to rely on yourself.”

“Oh, I live here in town. I won’t venture off
into the great unknown.”

“I’m just saying that sometimes things happen
that you can’t anticipate. It never hurts to be prepared.”

“Maybe. But now is not a good time. We have
the winter quickly approaching.”

“So? If we bundle up, I could still go out
and teach you. Your parents have the horse and buggy, and you don’t
have to go far to find something to hunt. There’s plenty of land
around us.”

“Oh.” Millicent’s smile faltered. “I don’t
know. I realize that a few women have done activities suited for
men, but I’m not comfortable pursuing those things.”

“I understand.” Before her journey across the
state over a year ago, Julia had felt the same way. She couldn’t
fault her cousin for being apprehensive about hunting. Trying to
decide the best way to settle matters so there wouldn’t be the
lingering tension between them, she said, “I hope you will welcome
Chogan into the family. He’s my husband, and I want us all to get
along. Alright?”

Millicent nodded. “Yes. It was a shock,
that’s all. I honestly believed you would marry Ernest.”

Feeling better about things, Julia relaxed
and picked up her cup. “Thank you.” She’d hoped to avoid an
argument. “What will you do for the rest of the day?”

“Oh, I planned to do a little sewing before I
helped Mother with the evening meal. Afterwards, my mother and I
will retire to the parlor while Father plays the piano. Mother and
I are working on a quilt for Aunt Erin. It’s her Christmas gift,
but you must not tell her.”

“I won’t,” Julia promised with a chuckle.
“Aunt Erin will love it. She gets a chill even though there is a
box stove right by her bed. She gets cold easily.”

“Oh, good. Then we chose well. We must decide
on something appropriate for you and your husband.”

“I should start on Christmas gifts. I haven’t
given that day much thought. Usually, I start on Christmas gifts
after Thanksgiving. Is there anything you and your parents
need?”

“I can’t think of anything. Whatever you give
us will be fine.”

Considering how little Julia knew her
cousin’s family, this wasn’t an easy task. Perhaps Aunt Erin would
have some ideas.

“Thank you for a lovely time,” Millicent said
as she stood. “I must be on my way.”

Julia joined her and walked her to the door
where she retrieved her cousin’s coat and hat. “Thank you for
coming by.”

“Next time, I hope Aunt Erin will be here
too. I must visit her or she’ll think I’m ignoring her.”

“It’s not your fault she went to the general
store.”

Millicent smiled and gave her a big hug.
“Congratulations, Julia.”

As Julia opened the front door and watched
her leave, she decided that Millicent might be someone she could
enjoy future visits with after all.

~~********~~

It was the day before Thanksgiving when
Chogan took Julia outside the town limits of Bismarck where they
hoped to catch a wild turkey. Julia could barely contain her
excitement on the ride out of town, and her continual shifting on
the seat of the buggy seemed to amuse him.

“You will let me try to get it, won’t you?”
she asked for the third time since they left Bismarck.

He laughed and shook his head. “I said you
will catch it.” He squeezed her shoulders affectionately. “I do not
lie.”

She’d been looking forward to hunting for
their Thanksgiving meal ever since he suggested it, and she
couldn’t have asked for a nicer day. It was cloudy but there was no
threat of snow. The breeze was light so the cold air wasn’t as
bitter as it could be. In her excitement, she hardly noticed the
snow that made a thin blanket over the ground.

He stopped the small buggy and applied the
brake. Turning to her, he grinned at her enthusiasm and stopped her
before she could jump out. “You need to be warm,” he slowly said as
he tucked the scarf securely around her neck. “Do not get
sick.”

“You worry too much,” she playfully
admonished him while he made sure the hood of her coat wasn’t
loose. “I don’t get sick easily.”

“We keep it that way.”

She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised that
he fussed over her like he did, especially considering his first
wife’s bouts of frequent illnesses and untimely death. “I love you,
you know.”

He smiled. “Then it is good I love you too.”
He kissed her before he handed her the bow and arrows. “We do not
sit still for long. We move and keep warm.”

With a cheer, she stepped down from the buggy
before he could assist her. She took off her gloves and stuffed
them into her pocket. She scanned the area he’d picked and saw a
couple of turkeys that were spread a good distance apart from each
other. Biting her lower lip, she tried to determine which one to
shoot. All they needed was one.

She glanced at her husband when he reached
her. “Should I practice aiming the bow at something else
first?”

“No need. I will help. Which turkey do you
want?”

“That one is pretty.”

Looking amused, he replied, “We will eat it,
not look at it.”

“I want the feathers. Those feathers aren’t a
dull brown.”

“That is the male. Females have brown
feathers.”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “All of them?”

He nodded.

“I don’t understand why the males look better
than the females. Male peacocks are prettier too.”

“Males need to attract females. It is better
to hunt males. Females have the babies.”

“I don’t think you’d be so eager to think
that if humans were hunted.”

“It is a fact when hunting. You want to make
sure the animals don’t die out.”

She sighed. “It makes sense, but it seems
like a bad thing to be a male if you’re an animal.”

“You want male anyway. The feathers are
pretty.”

“Yes. I do.” She hoped to make him a
headdress from the feathers, and she wanted the best feathers for
that.

“Do not worry. There are more turkeys.”

Nodding, she lifted the bow and arrow.

“You need help.”

She looked at him. “I think I got it.”

“No. You do not.”

“What do you mean, I don’t. The one I want is
right there, and I know I can shoot it from this distance.”

With a smile, he softly answered, “You get
upset. But I mean this.”

He stood behind her and closed the distance
between them so that their bodies touched. Even through the layers
of clothes, she became acutely aware of him. Her face grew warm
when he brought his lips to her ear.

“You have to bring your arms up,” he
whispered.

A shiver raced up her spine. “You can’t do
that.”

“What?” She noted the amusement in his
voice.

“I’m trying to focus.”

“Then look at the turkey.” He put his hands
on her head and gently turned it so that she was facing her prey.
“There. Now lift your arms.”

He guided her movements with a grace she
envied. He was very much in tune with the nature of the hunt and
made the process seem easier than she knew it was. It was a shame
Jed Wilson didn’t hire him.

“You shoot when? Tomorrow?”

Chogan’s joke broke her out of her thoughts.
She pulled the arrow through the bow and aimed it at the turkey. He
settled his hands on her hips and kissed the skin right beneath her
ear.

“Good luck,” he whispered.

Another thrill raced through her and she shot
him a scolding look. “You’re distracting me on purpose.”

“I am teaching you.”

“Nonsense. I know how to shoot a rabbit. I
even shot that horrible man. What makes you think I need help with
a turkey?”

“You will learn to hunt in spite of
distractions.” A sly smile crossed his face and he chuckled.

She rolled her eyes but grinned. “Right.
Every hunter has to deal with someone groping them while they try
to get food.”

“I not grope.”

“I do not grope,” she corrected and giggled.
“And you are groping, Chogan. Your hands are everywhere.”

He sighed but removed his hands from her
breasts and placed them back on her hips. “I enjoy touching
you.”

“You are not a man. You’re an octopus,” she
muttered as she lifted the bow and arrow again.

“That is impossible. Octopus do not live on
prairie.”

“Is octopus
octopi
when it’s plural?”
she suddenly wondered.

He laughed. “Who cares?”

“Fungus is fungi when it’s plural. I remember
the teacher having a big to-do about Gary not getting that right in
the school house.”

Her comment only made him laugh harder.

“I don’t see what’s so funny about fungi.
Now, hush. I need to focus.”

He immediately quieted.

She shook her head and concentrated on the
turkey that was hobbling away from them. She gasped. If she wasn’t
careful, it’d go out of her range, and she’d miss her shot. As it
was, the other turkey had walked off. This one was her big chance.
But when she pulled back on the bow, she could feel Chogan’s body
vibrate as he tried to hold in his laughter. She couldn’t hold back
her giggles anymore and burst out laughing with him.

The turkey, of course, hustled away from
them.

She threw her hands up in the air, still
holding the bow and arrow, and turned to face Chogan. “Now I lost
him!”

“You are upset?”

She couldn’t tell if he was teasing her or
not. His eyes were wide in innocence, but she thought she detected
a sly smile on his lips.

“We will get the next one,” he said, leaning
down to kiss her. “I promise.”

“I will get the next one,” she corrected. “I
really want to get this one.”

“I know.” He rubbed her back and nudged her
to the buggy. “You will get us a turkey. A good one.”

She relaxed. “I don’t want you to help me. I
want to do it myself.”

“I will not help.”

“And you can’t distract me either. You can
touch me all you want after I get him but not before.”

“You are nice to touch.”

“Chogan,” she warned and stopped just three
feet shy of the buggy. “I mean it. This is important to me.”

“I know.” He chuckled and motioned for her to
get into the buggy. “I will be good.”

A bit hesitant, she got into the buggy and
waited for him to sit next to her. After he urged the horses
forward, she snuggled up to him and rested her head on his
shoulder.

“I cannot touch you but you touch me?”

“I’m not hunting right now.”

“Oh. In that case...” He pulled her closer to
him and led the buggy to another area where several turkeys waddled
through the prairie. “You want one of those?”

She sat up straight and tightened her hold on
the bow and arrow. “There’s a good one. Right there.” She used the
arrow to point to the pretty male one.

As soon as he stopped the horses, she jumped
down and made her way over to her target. She tried to keep her
steps quiet and was relieved when Chogan kept his distance. When
she reached her destination, she held the bow and arrow up. She
released the arrow and it hit the turkey.

Jumping in excitement, she pointed to the
fallen turkey and shouted out, “I got him! I did it!”

She caught the amusement in his eyes as he
walked past her and went to the animal. She went along with
him.

“I did it on the first try,” she
unnecessarily added. “It was an amazing experience! Not as amazing
as when I got Hothlepoya, but it was just the second most amazing
experience I’ve ever had.”

He knelt down and checked the turkey. With
pride in his voice, he said, “You will be expert hunter.” He lifted
it. “We will eat good tomorrow.”

“I can’t wait until Aunt Erin sees this. It’s
a beautiful bird.”

Julia brushed some of the feathers, noting
the array of red, purple, green, copper, bronze, and gold colors
that seemed to show through depending on how the light hit them.
She imagined how they’d appear in a headdress. Chogan would look
wonderful with it on his head. He turned to carry the turkey back
to the buggy, and she couldn’t help but plea with him to be careful
so that he didn’t crush any of the feathers.

“And can you position him on those papers so
that he doesn’t bleed all over his body?” she asked as he settled
the game onto the pile of papers they’d placed in the buggy.

“Yes. I do that.”

“Just wait until Gary sees what I got. Has he
ever caught a bird this big?”

“He does not hunt.”

Her eyes grew wide. “He doesn’t?”

Chogan’s smile widened. “If you two get stuck
out here, you will fend for him.”

“Well, he can use a gun, so I’m sure he’d
manage fine.”

“Guns are easy. Real hunters use bow and
arrow.”

“You’re right. Guns are easy. My brother’s a
wimp,” she joked. “Let’s get home so I can show off what I
caught!”

***