LeClerc 03 - Wild Savage Heart (34 page)

“I’ll be gone from here before the child is born,” he continued. “Make his first breath of life yours when he arrives in your hands. He will grow to be a fine man.”

Shaking her head in confusion, Molly looked at Hawk. “You told him that the baby isn’t yours?”

“There was no need,” Daniel interrupted before Hawk could reply. “I have known from the moment I first saw you. But he will be Hawk’s first-born son, the first of several.”

At her surprised expression, Daniel’s booming laugh filled the air. He turned and walked away, leaving Hawk to explain and to reassure his wife in any manner he chose.

Hawk chose to pull her close and lightly kiss her soft mouth. “Did you sleep well?”

“I think I’m still asleep.” She leaned against him, taking comfort from the strong beat of his heart. “Mark greeted me on the stairs, said it was his turn to watch over me. He fed me enough food for an army and he found my missing shoes. Your other brothers hovered over me like I was in imminent danger of giving birth, and then Daniel comes along with his knowledge of things that have yet to happen.”

“It’s going to snow,” Hawk said, changing the subject.

Molly pulled away from him and stared into his black eyes. “How do you know that?” she questioned suspiciously.

“Daniel told me,” he replied with a chuckle. “The sky is filled with snow clouds and I can smell it. And, if that isn’t enough to convince you, Kaleb came by early this morning with a little surprise of his own to introduce us to and left because his bad leg started throbbing. Said it only did that when there was going to be snow, and he was too old to be riding around in snow when he had a perfectly good home waiting for him.”

“What was his surprise?”

Hawk grinned, remembering his shock of delight when Kaleb had pulled his wagon into the yard. Numerous children of mixed ages and sizes tumbled from the back, but Hawk’s eyes had been glued to the big, rawboned woman sitting at Kaleb’s side.

Kaleb had proudly introduced her as Ethel Mae, his wife. Ethel Mae took no nonsense from her children or her husband, but her clear blue eyes melted with love each time she looked at him.

There hadn’t been time for Hawk to learn how this marriage had come to be, but he intended to hear an explanation, an amusing one, he knew — as soon as he could.

“You’ll meet her and her brood when the weather clears,” Hawk continued. “But first we’ll have to wait out the snowstorm.”

Having never seen snow, Molly was more interested in it than in Kaleb’s new wife, and she was impatient for the first real storm. “Well, if I’m sleeping when it happens, wake me up.”

“I will.”

“Probably not, you’ll think I need my rest more than I need to see snow.”

She turned and watched Luc walk toward them, with his tiny daughter riding on his wide shoulders. “You were well provided for?”

“She’s complaining that everyone was trying to suffocate her in their care,” Hawk answered with a chuckle.

“Linsey complained of the same thing when she was carrying this one,” Luc bounced Dara on his shoulder. “You must understand, daughter, we men have a deep respect for an expectant mother. There is nothing like it in our life and so it remains a mystery that leaves us weak with fear.”

Molly shook her head at the thought of him or any of his sons being afraid of anything. They looked like they could conquer any foe single-handedly without breaking into a sweat.

“Tell us about Kaleb’s wife and family,” Hawk requested.

“Two summers ago, Ethel Mae and her family were traveling downriver on a rather dilapidated flatboat. Everything they owned was piled sky high in the middle. When it capsized they thought everyone was safe but they quickly discovered that one of the youngest children was missing. Her husband returned to the water and dived repeatedly trying to find him. After one dive, he didn’t return to the surface.

“Ethel Mae and the children walked the rest of the way to the settlement, searching the river banks for either body. Neither one was found.”

Hawk hugged Molly when a moan of sorrow escaped her lips. “Kaleb was in town when they trudged in. You know how Kaleb is about kids. I don’t think he even saw Ethel Mae at first. All he knew was that these kids had lost everything. He loaded everybody on his wagon and took them back to his place.

“A few months later, everyone for miles around was invited to attend their wedding.” Luc chuckled. “It hasn’t been all bliss for Kaleb, that woman is fierce enough to scare the war paint off a Shawnee warrior, but I’ve never seen him so content. And those kids love that old man as much as you and your brothers always have.”

“How many families are around here now?” Hawk asked as they walked back to the house.

“Fourteen at last count. And a trading post was constructed last summer just east of here. The settlement can no longer use the name of Shawnee Town since the government began surveying for its mail distribution center about fifty miles west of here. They’re calling it Shawneetown and are using it as a mail route for the territory.

“Guess they were concerned that there might be some argument over rights at the Great Salt Springs on the Saline River so they moved in. I haven’t been down there in a couple of years but Daniel says there’s a federal land office, some taverns and about thirty or so log cabins right on the river.”

Luc shook his head, disgust obvious in the movement. “The Indians have used that salt spring for centuries but now the white men claim it as their personal possession.

“Many times I traveled with the people of your village to gather salt. It was always a time of hard work and hard play. Now they have a salt works built there and you have to
buy
salt.”

Luc stopped walking and lowered Dara from his shoulders. He watched as his young daughter ran off to chase the chickens pecking at the grass. “A man used to be able to come and go as he pleased, to raise his family as he saw fit. Now the government is moving in, watching every move a man makes.

“I’d walk away from everything here without a second thought except that I know that Linsey needs the security of her own home. She’d go with me but I just couldn’t ask that of her.”

“All changes are not bad,” Molly said quietly.

“I know, little one.” Luc reached out and laid a gentle hand on the swelling of her stomach. ” Y ou are like my Linsey, you would follow your man wherever he leads, keeping your discontent to yourself. You, and she, are happier with having other people within your area. But I am a man of the wilderness, I begin to feel trapped when I know that each curve in the trail shelters the home of yet another settler.”

They both felt the kick of the baby and Molly laid her hand on top of his. “Will you go or stay?”

“I’ll stay, there is nothing without my Autumn Fire and her happiness is mine.”

“Is anyone using your old cabin?” Hawk asked as they entered the house.

“Daniel has been down there this morning getting it ready for you,” Luc replied with a chuckle. “He said you’d be wanting a place of your own.”

“Is there nothing he doesn’t know about before anyone else?” Molly shook her head with disbelief.

“He didn’t need the sight for this decision.” Luc added a couple of logs to the fire and looked for his pipe. “It was his knowledge of your husband. He knows his brother well.”

Molly removed her coat and sat in one of the oversized chairs. The room was crispy warm and inviting.

“Daniel does not have an easy life,” Luc continued, sitting in a chair near Molly’s. “He sees things that will happen, but because the images are hazy, he can’t do anything to prevent them from happening.”

“How awful!”

“Sometime in the last few days he’s seen something that’s bothering him more than anything has in a long time. I expect him to be leaving here shortly.”

“Has he said that?”

“It’s not necessary for him to tell me, little one,” Luc said softly, his voice filled with pain for his son. “I know him too well. I can see the agony he’s suffering. He’s been here for several months and it’s never easy for him to be around people for long. There are more events to happen, there is more pain for him to feel, and anger because he can’t stop it.

“I think he’s stayed so long only for the sake of his mother — and because he knew that Hawk was returning home. He and Hawk have a special relationship, far stronger than brother for brother. Hawk is about the only one who can absorb some of Daniel’s pain. Hawk and sometimes Dara.

“Daniel and Dara have been nearly inseparable since he came home. I fear greatly that my little daughter also has the sight.” His voice had lowered to a whisper filled with anguish for his children. “God spare her the agony her brother has lived with.”

As naturally as if she’d done it all her life, Molly stood and walked over to her father-in-law. She knelt at his feet and took his work-worn hands in her own. No words could relieve his troubles, but the touch of hand on hand showed that she understood and cared.

Returning from the kitchen with a cup of hot tea for Molly, Hawk stood in the doorway and stared at his wife kneeling at his father’s feet. Emotion ran rampant through him as he witnessed the silent exchange between them. With a gentle touch, Luc smoothed the hair away from her face, then leaned forward and softly kissed her brow.

“Welcome to our family, Mary Helen,” he said quietly.

Molly blinked back the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. There could be no doubt of the intensity of his greeting. She was now as much his daughter as Dara. She suspected that he would make an ominous enemy and an even more formidable friend.

Seeing Hawk in the doorway, Luc helped Molly to her feet. Their conversation became lighter, discussions about crops, the weather, and mutual friends. Leaning into the corner of the chair with her head against the padded back, Molly soon drifted to sleep, the quiet sounds of their voices fading away.

“It’s ‘nowing, Papa, it’s ‘nowing!” Dara rushed into the room, chubby cheeks pink with cold. “Come on, Papa, it’s ‘nowing!”

Molly sat up and wiped the sleep from her eyes. Snow! She felt almost as excited as the little girl. Having been born and raised in Charleston, she had seen little of the fluffy white stuff familiar to northern residents. She climbed awkwardly to her feet and looked around the room for her coat.

“It’s going to snow for days, pumpkin.” Luc pulled his daughter onto his lap.

“Gonna build a ‘nowman and a cave and fight Marky with snowballs and Mama says we’ll have some ‘nowpudding and . .

“Whoa! You keep that up and you’ll be too tired to play in the snow.” Luc stood, lightly holding Dara on his arm. “Now, where did I put that coat?”

“In the closet, Papa, hurry!”

Hawk helped Molly into her coat, grabbed Dara out of Luc’s arms and carried her to the door. Careful to give Molly extra support, they walked into the drifting snow.

Large palm-size flakes floated lazily to the ground. Already the bare branches of the trees sported a light covering of white.

“‘now,” Dara whispered in awe.

“Snow,” Molly agreed, equally in awe. She tipped her head up and caught a snowflake on her tongue while others clung to her eyelashes and hair.

“Down, Hawk,” Dara demanded, wiggling free of his grasp. She ran into the yard, catching the flakes as they fell.

Jamie and Mark sneaked up on Dara and pelted her with hastily constructed snowballs. Dara screamed with delight but her tiny hands couldn’t make the balls stick together. Taking pity on her. Hawk joined her side of the war, making the balls and handing them to her to throw.

Wanting to share the fun, Molly joined them. Abruptly, the fight came to a halt. Hawk looked at his wife, her pregnant belly pushing out the front of her coat and shook his head.

“No,
nee wah,
this game is not for you.”

“Can’t I have any fun?” she asked, disappointment thick in her voice.

Hawk handed one of the snowballs to her and pointed toward his brothers. Jamie and Mark stood patiently, waiting for her to pitch it, refraining from teasing her when it fell short.

“That was your fun,” Hawk said as he grabbed her arm. “Back to the porch.”

“Some fun,” she mumbled. “One puny snowball!”

“Later, if you’re good, we’ll hitch up the team and go for a ride. But for this winter you’re going to have to leave the games to the others.” When she started to protest, Hawk placed his hand gently on her stomach. “They do not carry my son in their body,
ain jel ee.”

Molly sat on a rocker on the porch and watched them play until the cold drove her inside. As she dispiritedly closed the front door behind her, a smile began to grow. Almost sneaking, she tiptoed through the house to the back door.

The snow fell as heavily in the back yard as in the front and there was no one to tell her she couldn’t play. Molly grunted as she bent to scoop up some snow. She carefully formed the snowball, taking extra care to make it perfectly round. She aimed for the branch of a nearby bush and clapped her hands when it splattered dead on target.

“Very good, but does Hawk know you’re out here?”

Molly groaned as she turned and faced Daniel. He grinned knowingly, a eyebrow arched in question. “Are you going to tell him?”