Brave Beginnings (46 page)

Chogan’s eyelids fluttered, signaling he was
waking from his slumber.

She got up on her elbow and brought her hand
up to his cheek and stroked it. “How are you feeling?”

He smiled. “Good. You’re here. For a minute,
I thought I was back out on the prairie without you.”

“No. I’m here.” She lifted the blanket to
check his shoulder and chest. The bandages were now off and he
looked better than he had that morning. Gently pressing her hand to
his wounds, she asked, “Does it still hurt when I touch you?”

“I’m a little sore, but it’s not bad.” He
looked at her naked body and sighed. “Your bruises are still
there.”

“They’re turning yellow now.”

“I hate that you even have them. Ernest had
no right to touch you, let alone hit you.”

Letting the blanket fall back onto them, she
blinked back her tears and kissed him. “I want you to make love to
me, Chogan.”

“But your body is still sore.”

“You can be gentle with me.” Her hand
traveled from his chest to his stomach and then to his erection.
They hadn’t been intimate since Ernest abducted her. “I miss being
with you this way.”

“Alright but roll over.”

She settled onto her back, her body ready for
him, her flesh tingling with desire. He rolled onto his side,
cupped the side of her face in his hand, and pressed his lips
softly to hers. Her fingers lightly traced his arm. She loved that
his strength meant protection and safety. When she parted her lips,
she noted his brief hesitation before he followed suit and touched
her lips with his tongue. She caressed his tongue with hers,
encouraging him to explore her more intimately. As he did, she
moaned and ran one of her legs along his.

His hand brushed her collar bone before it
descended to her breasts. He continued to kiss her as he caressed
one breast and then another, working his thumb over her nipples in
soft circular motions that she enjoyed so well. When he shifted so
he could kiss her neck, she brought her free arm around his
shoulders and ran her hand along his hair which now reached past
his shoulders. She loved the silky feel of it and was glad he could
grow it out now that he was back in the tribe.

His hand left her breasts and then went
between her legs. She was aware of his erection as it pressed
against her thigh, and she moved her leg so that he could get more
pleasure from the contact. His groan notified her that he
appreciated it. Smiling, she draped her leg over his to keep him
firmly against her.

Still kissing her neck, he slid two fingers
into her and brought his thumb to her sensitive nub which he then
proceeded to caress with the same lazy circular motions he’d used
with her nipples. She gasped, surprised it should feel this
intense. Their time apart had made her flesh more sensitive and
eager for his touch. Unable to stop herself, she moved her hips in
slow rhythm to his stroking and moaned, aware that her climax was
quickly approaching.

Holding him closer to her, she struggled to
prolong the sweet torment he worked on her but lost the battle. She
cried out when her release came and clutched his arm. He continued
to rub her nub which prolonged her pleasure. When the last of her
climax subsided, she weakly urged him to enter her.

He carefully got on top of her, keeping his
weight on his elbows as he slid into her. Grabbing his hips, she
pulled him deeper into her and sighed with contentment as he filled
her core. She loved the feel of him inside her. Being together this
way always made her feel complete, as if they were truly one unit.
His thrusting was slow and deliberate, and she knew he was holding
back for her sake.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and
whispered, “It doesn’t hurt, Chogan. You can go faster.”

He groaned and obeyed, still keeping his
weight on his elbows as he increased the momentum of his thrusting.
As had been the case with her, it didn’t take him long to climax.
Still holding his weight with his elbows, his body shuddered above
her while he throbbed and spilled his seed into her. When he was
finished, he slid out of her and collapsed onto his side. She
rolled with him and snuggled up against him. He put his arms around
her.

His breathing still heavy, he kissed her
forehead and whispered, “I love you, Julia.”

“I love you too, Chogan,” she softly replied,
her heart and body humming in satisfaction. “It’ll always be you
and no one else.”

He gave her a light squeeze. “For me too,
sweetheart.” Taking her hand in his, he pressed it to his heart and
exhaled. “For me too.”

She closed her eyes and soon drifted off to
sleep.

***

Julia held her youngest niece and smiled at
Woape who was resting in the center of her lodge. Onawa sat on
Julia’s other side and helped Penelope string beads.

Cuddling Woape’s second daughter, Julia
asked, “What will you name her?”

“Gary and I are thinking of Phoebe,” Woape
said.

Julia rubbed her niece’s cheek and marveled
that, come November, she’d be holding her own child. This was what
it would be like. As much as she couldn’t wait, she also loved the
feel of her child moving inside her womb. But even better was the
expectation of seeing Chogan hold their child. After hearing about
the losses he’d been through, he needed to have a child who would
survive the birth.

Turning her attention back to Woape, she
smiled. “What made you decide to name her after Gary’s and my
mother?”

Woape shrugged. “I thought Penelope is a
white woman’s name, so I might as well give Phoebe a white woman’s
name. I wanted the name to have a special meaning. Penelope was the
woman who took care of me and helped me deliver my first child. I
remember her kindness when I see my first daughter. With Phoebe,
I’ll look at her and remember all I’ve received in marriage to her
son.”

Julia laughed. “And here I thought all there
was to naming a baby was liking a particular name.”

Onawa helped Penelope finish the strand of
beads before she picked up another. “We like names to have a
special meaning.”

Julia figured it made sense since their
artwork had a lot of symbolism in it. She wondered if she and
Chogan should give their child a name that meant something special
to them.

Phoebe sneezed and Julia chuckled. Yes, it
would be good to see Chogan holding their child. She couldn’t
wait.

***

In late September, Julia stood by Millicent’s
side as Millicent and Conrad exchanged their wedding vows. She
glanced over her shoulder at Chogan who sat further back in the
church beside her aunt, Gary and Woape. Offering a smile at Chogan
who smiled in return, she turned back to the bride and groom. When
she was a child, she dreamt of marrying this way—standing in front
of her family and friends in a church.

Of course, back then she never imagined she’d
find someone as wonderful as Chogan. She thought she might find a
man she could be content with, someone to have children with and
grow old with. Her life hadn’t turned out the way she thought. In
fact, as she thought on it, she realized it had turned out better
than she ever hoped.

Once the preacher announced that Millicent
and Conrad were husband and wife, Julia and Conrad’s brother
followed them down the aisle. Soon after, the others departed the
church and gathered outside for a potluck lunch to celebrate the
blessed event.

During the potluck, Millicent came over to
Julia and gave her a long hug. “Oh my dear cousin, I am ever so
grateful you could be here on this day.”

Julia squeezed her hands. “I’m glad I could
be here too. You look absolutely radiant.”

Giggling, she pressed one of her hands to her
cheeks. “I find myself blushing all the time these days.”

“Enjoy it, Millicent. Conrad’s smitten with
you.”

Millicent glanced at Conrad who was talking
to her parents. He gave a slight wave which she returned before
giggling again. “I feel like a silly school girl.”

“There’s nothing silly about it. It’s
wonderful.”

“Is it any wonder why you’re my dearest
friend?”

Julia hugged her, careful not to disturb the
baby growing in her womb. “I’ll miss you.”

“Oh, in all the excitement, I almost forgot
to tell you the good news!”

Pulling away from her so she could look at
her, Julia asked, “What good news?”

“Conrad realized there are no detectives in
Bismarck and he’s grown rather fond of this place, so he’s set up
his business here.”

“No kidding?”

“Nope. And better yet, we found a lovely
house. You’ll never guess which one.”

By the knowing gleam in her cousin’s eye,
Julia ventured, “Not Aunt Erin’s?”

“Yes, that’s the one!”

“Then we’ll still get to see each other.”

“And your aunt will get to live with you. She
misses you, you know.”

Julia caught sight of her aunt who was
talking to Gary, Chogan, and Woape. “She’s a sly one. To think she
knew you and Conrad were going to buy her house and she didn’t
bother to tell me.”

“Don’t be too hard on her. I swore her to
secrecy. I wanted to be the one to tell you.”

Julia laughed. “Well, considering this is
your special day, I won’t scold her for not telling me.” She saw
Conrad heading in their direction and gave her cousin a quick kiss
on the cheek. “I’ll leave you to your husband.”

Millicent squealed. “Oh, that has a most
lovely sound to it, does it not?”

“It does. Congratulations, Millicent.”

Leaving a very happy Millicent and Conrad to
talk, Julia returned to Chogan.

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

In early October, Chogan returned from
hunting and stopped outside his lodge when he saw his friend
approaching.

Achai motioned to the two bucks on Chogan’s
travois. “I see you got more than one this time.”

“I wanted there to be enough food so when
Julia gives birth, I can be here,” Chogan replied.

“Ah.” He nodded. “I understand. Are you
worried?”

“Julia is strong. She’s a survivor.
Childbirth won’t be any different.”

As much as Chogan said that to others and to
himself, he couldn’t help but worry. Julia’s stomach was larger
than he thought it should be. His first wife never got that big,
and of late, Julia was already experiencing the early stages of
labor pains. The pains lessened, warding off the impending birth,
but it worried him that she experienced them at all.

Achai smiled. “Julia is strong. Stronger than
most, and that includes men. She has the heart of a warrior. It’s
almost a shame she was born a woman. We could use her skills in
hunting buffalo.”

“Hush,” Chogan replied. “It’s good she’s a
woman.”

Laughing, his friend patted him on the
shoulder. “For you, it is. For the rest of us, not so much. I
better go hunt. I hope you didn’t scare off all the game.”

“No. I left a couple of rabbits for you.”

He rolled his eyes. “What a generous friend
you are.”

Chogan grinned. “You need to hunt earlier
instead of sleeping all day.”

“All day? The sun hasn’t even hit the noon
hour.”

“I can’t help how late you are in getting
started.”

Achai sighed. “You are not fair, but I will
talk to you after I hunt.”

Still smiling, Chogan entered his lodge,
pulling the travois behind him. His mother, Erin, and Julia looked
up from the deerskin robe they were decorating for the baby.

His mother gasped and stood up so she could
walk over to him. “Two strong bucks?”

“I got lucky today,” he said, glancing over
at Julia as her aunt helped her to her feet. It had to be his
imagination, but Julia’s stomach seemed bigger than it had that
morning when he left. He turned back to his mother. “I hope you
have enough room for these.”

“Oh, I’ll make room. These are good quality
deer.”

“Are you saying I don’t always get good
quality?”

She jabbed him in the side. “You are trying
to be funny?”

With a slight smile, he nodded.

“Well, I don’t think you are,” she
teased.

Julia came up to him and looked at the deer
in awe. “Two of them? That must have been a thrilling experience. I
wish I’d been there to see it.”

Chogan put his arm around her shoulders and
drew her close. “I will let you go with me after the baby is
born.”

She rubbed her belly and sighed. “I can’t
wait.”

Erin clasped her hands together. “Your
mother’s right, Chogan. These are beautiful deer.”

Julia turned to her. “They’ll make nice
clothes, won’t they?”

“With skin like that? I’ll say!”

Julia returned her attention to him. “I want
a deerskin dress. I want to decorate it so it matches your
headdress.”

He absentmindedly touched the headdress she’d
made for him last year. He hoped she’d get to make that dress.
Forcing aside his fears, he squeezed her shoulders and entertained
thoughts of seeing Julia wearing the clothing of his people.

***

Two weeks later, Chogan realized Julia’s
contractions were getting stronger and more frequent. The baby
wasn’t supposed to be born for another four weeks. He knew better
than to ask if she could delay the birth. Once labor started in
earnest, there was nothing save the delivery of a baby that would
stop it.

As he rose in the middle of the night to get
the medicine man and tell his mother and her aunt, she grabbed his
arm. “Will you be here when the baby is born?”

He shook his head. “I can’t. Only the old
women are allowed in the lodge.”

“But Chogan, I want you to be here.”

“Do white men attend the birth of their
children?”

She frowned from where she sat on their bed.
“No, but why should that matter? White men wouldn’t dare wear as
little clothing as Indians do. The same rules don’t apply
here.”