That was then.
This was now.
“Our very own daughter, Dancing Cloud,” Lauralee said, smiling over at him as he held Brian Brave Walker on his lap before the fire in their fireplace. “Isn’t she a small miracle? Isn’t she beautiful?”
“She belongs in your arms as though you were the one who gave her life,” Dancing Cloud said, lifting Brian Brave Walker to the floor. He placed a gentle hand on the young brave’s shoulder. “Go. Go and see the child. You will grow up as brother and sister.”
Brian Brave Walker shied away from the suggestion. Instead, he went and stood behind the chair so that he could not see the child.
“Brian Brave Walker, please come and become acquainted with Hope,” Lauralee said, puzzled over why he was acting this way. Nothing about his reaction to the child was normal. He even refused to look at the baby, much less touch her. “Brian Brave Walker, Hope is so sweet. So precious.”
“No,” Brian Brave Walker said, refusing to come from behind the chair, his attitude seeming to be steeped in a deep sadness. “I do not want to see the u-s-di-ga, baby. I wish not to hold or touch any baby.”
Lauralee rose from the chair. She slowl
y rocked the baby back and forth in her arms. “I must take her to the loft and put her in her cradle,” she murmured. “But before long she will be crying to be fed. Brian Brave Walker, will you go with me to prepare her milk and warm the bottle for her feeding?”
“No, I will stay in my bed while you take care of her,” Brian Brave Walker said, running now and throwing himself down on his bed. “Just leave me be. I wish never to call that baby my sister.”
Dancing Cloud’s eyebrows arched. He rose from the chair and turned and gazed questioningly at Brian Brave Walker. He did not think that the child was jealous. There seemed to be more to his behavior than what jealousy would cause.
Dancing Cloud could only conclude from that, that Brian Brave Walker’s behavior stemmed from something else in his past, but he could not fathom what it might be.
As Lauralee waited for Dancing Cloud at the foot of the ladder, he went to Brian Brave Walker and moved to his knees beside his bed.
“My son, we will talk about this tomorrow,” Dancing Cloud said, removing Brian Brave Walker’s moccasins and placing them on the floor beside the bed. He shoved the child’s fringed shirt over his head, then scooted his breeches down and covered him with a blanket.
Dancing Cloud smoothed the palm of his hand over Brian Brave Walker’s brow. “Find solace in sleep, my son,” he said thickly. “Soon all of the battle scars from your past life will heal. Then you will accept things of your new life with much ease. Even sisters.”
Brian Brave Walker gazed up at Dancing Cloud with defiance, then he sobbed and lunged into his arms. He held onto Dancing Cloud as if his life depended on it. “I love you,” he sobbed. “You are more father to me already than my true father ever was. Thank you, Dancing Cloud. Oh, thank you. But do not make me look to that baby as my sister.”
Dancing Cloud held the young brave close to his heart, his hand caressing his tiny back. “If you wish, call me Father,” he said softly. “I already proudly call you my son. And I would never force anything on you. Not even a sister.”
“Thank you, Father,” Brian Brave Walker said, looking past Dancing Cloud’s shoulder at Lauralee. His feelings for her were softening as each day passed, yet he still could not let her know that he was ready to be friends, even perhaps more than that.
The word “mother” came to him at times when he envisioned himself in her arms.
Then his true mother’s face would flash before him, but his feelings for her were still too intense, too real, to replace her with another woman.
“Good night, Brian Brave Walker,” Lauralee said, smiling at him. “Sleep tight. Tomorrow is going to be a wonderful day, darling. Dancing Cloud and I are going to be married.”
Brian Brave Walker smiled weakly at her, then eased from Dancing Cloud’s arms and snuggled beneath his blankets.
Dancing Cloud rose from him and went to Lauralee. He started to take her by an elbow, to help her onto the ladder, then was taken aback when he saw a sudden grimace on her face.
“What is it?” he said, taking the child from her arms. “You are in pain. Where? Tell me where you hurt.”
Lauralee inhaled a quavering breath. Afraid of what she had felt, she placed a hand to her abdomen. Tonight she had wanted to be able to tell Dancing Cloud that she thought she might be with child. She had missed her last monthly flow.
And, ah, what a perfect time to tell him that they would have another child, one born of their love. When they had already been blessed by two children, being able to tell him that they would soon have one of their very own would have been wonderful.
Now, as the pain passed on through her abdomen, leaving only some small, vague cramping, she had to believe that she was going to have her monthly flow after all.
“What is it?” Dancing Cloud persisted as Lauralee silently pondered over what had caused the pains.
“I’m not sure,” she said, smiling awkwardly up at him.
The pain had stopped.