As the early morning sun swept down through the smoke hole above Eagle Wolf, he tossed fitfully in his blankets, then awakened and sat up quickly.
It was a dream that had awakened him with such a start. Even now there were pearls of sweat on his brow as he thought of it and how real it had seemed.
This dream had been like no other he had ever had. He had dreamed of a woman he could not forget.
Nicole.
In his dream he had seen her in danger. Two men had been on each side of her, pulling her first one way, and then another.
In the dream she had fainted from fear, but before she had fallen to the ground, she had called out Eagle Wolf’s name.
He could hear her voice now, as though she were there, her eyes pleading with him, her arms outstretched toward him as she begged him to help her.
He knew that when someone had such a dream, one that seemed so real, it meant something.
It did not take him long to interpret this dream.
He believed he was being beckoned by Nicole to come and find her and bring her back with him to his village. There she would be safe,
ka-bike-hozhoni-bi
, happy forevermore.
An ache deep inside told him now that he should never have allowed her to leave as she had. He should have gone to bring her back to him.
She was oh, so alone in the world…except for him.
Ho
, dreams spoke true. Nicole was in trouble and needed him. He must go and find her.
He hurriedly pulled on his fringed buckskin breeches and shirt and slid his feet into his moccasins.
He combed his fingers through his thick black hair to rid it of tangles. He quickly slipped on a beaded headband, secured his sheathed knife at his right side, then grabbed his rifle. Before he left his tepee, he recalled the dream once again, to see if something about it that he had not remembered earlier might come to him to help him in his pursuit of this woman.
He clenched his eyes closed in an attempt to remember identifying characteristics of the men in his dream who were a threat to Nicole. He had not seen their faces, just their clothes.
One wore all black, such as he had seen Mormon men wear.
The other man had long, filthy golden hair that fell down his back, and he wore crude, dirty clothes.
The dream had surely meant that those two men were fighting over Nicole. If the dream were true, then would he find her soon enough to rescue her?
He must!
Or he would always regret having allowed himself to fall asleep beside the fire that night. How could he have missed realizing her plan when she had said good night to him so sadly? Surely she had said those words knowing that when he awakened in the morning, she would be gone.
Ho
, he must find her. And when he did, he would take her under his wing and protect her, not only for now, but forever.
With determination etched on his sculpted face, and his jaw tight, Eagle Wolf strode from his lodge and went to stand in the center of his stronghold.
In a loud, stern voice, he awakened everyone, calling his warriors to him.
“My warriors, I should apologize for pulling you from your beds in such a way, but I will not,” Eagle Wolf began. “I have asked you to come to me this early morning because there is something that must be done and I need ten of you to go with me today. I shall point those ten out and
the rest can return to your lodges and families. As we ride, I will explain to you why we are leaving our homes, even without our early morning meal. Ready yourselves. I will wait for you at my corral.”
He chose his men, and then went to his corral and readied his white stallion, mounted it, and waited for all of the ten warriors to come to him on their own steeds.
And when they did arrive, the group rode from the stronghold together. Only when they were far from the tepees and riding down the pass did Eagle Wolf raise a fist in the air, a silent command for them to stop.
He wheeled his horse around and faced his warriors. “There is a woman…” he began, watching their eyes and their expressions as he explained what he expected of them today.
He could tell by their faces that some did not agree with their chief’s plan, while the others showed their support. They loved their chief and would be there for him, always, no matter what he might ask of them. If he wanted to find this woman, even a woman whose skin was white, so be it.
“It might take more than one day—are you prepared to ride with me until we find the woman?” Eagle Wolf asked, again looking slowly from man to man. “This is the chance for you to return to your families should you wish to. If not,
I expect you to follow my direction until we finally have the woman safely with us.”
No one turned back.
Eagle Wolf smiled warmly at each of them, then turned his horseback down the mountain.
He could not get the dream from his mind. If the men in his dream were real and had taken Nicole by force, would Eagle Wolf ever find her? Would he be able to turn back without her and again forget her?
He gazed heavenward and spoke a silent prayer to his Great Spirit. He prayed that what he was doing was right and that he would soon be riding into his village with the flame-haired woman at his side.
Back at the stronghold, Eagle Wolf’s brother, Spirit Wolf, smiled to himself as he sat beside his lodge fire, thinking about his brother having left the safety of the stronghold again.
No matter what had taken Eagle Wolf away again, this time he would surely not return. Eagle Wolf was taking too many chances, too often.
Spirit Wolf’s smile faded as he wondered what had taken his brother away again. What could be out there, beckoning him from his home again?
Spirit Wolf did not really care. All he knew was that if his brother did not return home, Spirit Wolf would be appointed chief by his people again, and this time he would remain so, forever!
He did not care about the safety of a brother who had been favored above Spirit Wolf all of Spirit Wolf’s life.
What was fair about that?
But fairness would soon show its face to his people, by demonstrating that Spirit Wolf was meant to be their chief, not Eagle Wolf.
Today was Nicole’s very first as a teacher and she could not help being apprehensive. Although she had studied hard and knew all that she needed to know to be a good teacher, she was still anxious.
She had been given no reason to feel uncomfortable with her new situation. The people of Hope had been nothing but kind to her since her arrival there.
They had given her a house all to herself, fully furnished. It was small, but large enough for her since she had brought nothing into this new world except her one travel bag of clothing, and now a horse that she called her own.
She looked around the one-room schoolhouse where she would soon greet the children on her first day as a teacher. She walked slowly around the room, absently touching one desk and then another. She glanced at her own desk, which sat facing these. She had already printed her name in big letters on the chalkboard.
She walked slowly to the door, then stood aside when the children began coming into the room. She recognized the four little girls who had been on the stagecoach with her. They were the daughters of the very man who’d come to her rescue and brought her back to his settlement.
She would be forever grateful for his kindness. She only hoped that he hadn’t had ulterior motives for going to so much trouble.
Earlier, when she had first met these girls, she had not been told their names. During the family’s conversations in the stagecoach, she had discovered two of their names, but now could not even remember them.
She smiled at all four of the pretty little girls now as they stepped out of the way of the other children who were hurrying into the building.
Jeremiah’s daughters’ eyes were wide and their smiles were broad as they stood beside Nicole, each looking up at her with what seemed to be an expression of adoration. She could only guess that these pretty things were as anxious to have a teacher as she was to be one.
“It’s so good to see you children again,” Nicole said, smiling from one to the other. “I am embarrassed to say that I do not remember your names,” she murmured.
“Mine is Hannah,” the tiniest of the four spoke up, her dark eyes twinkling as she continued smiling at Nicole.
“Mine is Jane,” one of the others said, smiling just as broadly and sweetly.
The other two children added their names quickly.
“Mine is Tara.”
“Mine is Kathryn.”
“Such pretty names for such pretty and sweet girls,” Nicole murmured. “I am so grateful to your father for having brought me to Hope. I’m especially grateful for being given the chance to be your teacher. I have always longed to be a teacher. I cannot think of anyone I would enjoy teaching more than I will you.”
“We’re glad you are here, too,” Hannah blurted out. She had a strange timid look as she lowered her eyes for a moment, then raised them again so she could look directly into Nicole’s eyes. “My daddy is glad you are here, but Mama is not as pleased.”
Nicole was not at all surprised to hear that, for she knew that the two women on the stagecoach had not been happy at her presence. They had completely ignored her.
Then she was stunned speechless as Hannah continued talking. “Mama said my father is going to marry you.”
“Your father told your mother that he…that he…is going to take me as his third wife?” Nicole stammered.
“Yes, I heard Daddy telling Mama and my other mama that after you are here for a while
and get to know everyone better, he will be asking you for your hand in marriage,” Jane put in.
Hannah stepped closer to Nicole. “Will you please give us a brother?” she asked oh, so innocently.
“A brother?” Nicole repeated, paling at the thought of exactly where this conversation would take her.
She must leave this small and peaceful town of Hope as soon as she could.
That would take a lot of sneaking on her part, but she would never allow him the satisfaction of having her as his third wife.
Never!
“Daddy said he was going to give you time to get settled among our people and then he will tell you his plans,” Tara piped in, her straight perfect teeth shining white in the sunlight coming through the schoolhouse door.
“I hope that won’t be long,” Jane blurted. “We want a brother real bad. Really, really bad.”
“I’m sure you do,” Nicole said tightly.
“Most of the other girls have brothers,” Kathryn said. “We want one, too.”
“I hope Daddy doesn’t wait too long to stand up beside you,” Jane then said. She nudged Kathryn in the ribs. “I think we’d better go and sit down. Everyone else has.”
“Yes, let’s,” Kathryn said anxiously. “It will be such fun, Jane. We will finally learn our numbers!”
Nicole was stunned by what she had discovered. She was so angry, and felt so terribly betrayed, she could not stop trembling.
Nicole turned and looked across the town square at the house where Jeremiah’s two wives stood on the porch. Her insides tightened when she saw how their arms were crossed as their eyes locked on Nicole.
Nicole felt an icy shiver ride her spine at the resentment she saw in the women’s attitude. She thought that if she could read those two women’s thoughts, she would learn that they would do anything to rid themselves of this woman they hated with a passion.
Her heart pounding, suddenly feeling this new threat with every beat of her heart, Nicole turned quickly, placing her back to the women.
She looked at all of the children, who now dutifully sat at their desks, waiting for their new teacher to begin teaching.
How could she carry on as if everything were normal? With all that she knew now, how could she behave as though nothing had happened?
One thing was certain. Her time in this settlement would be very short-lived.
She would never become anyone’s third wife. She most certainly did not want to bear Jeremiah the son he was looking forward to.
Her thoughts went to Eagle Wolf.
Oh, how happy she would be to become
his
wife.
But she must forget him and think about this situation at hand.
Although she felt safe and protected at this settlement, Nicole knew she must leave Hope, and as soon as possible.
She didn’t want to give Jeremiah one more minute of making plans for her to marry him.
Yet what about Sam Partain? With him out there somewhere, surely still looking for her, she might not survive another night riding alone. She had nowhere to go, and no one to truly care about what happened to her.
No matter how these thoughts frightened her, she knew that she must leave tonight when everyone else was asleep.
She went to a window and gazed toward the mountain. Up there, somewhere, was Eagle Wolf’s stronghold.
Yes, that was where she would go. She would leave Hope tonight and find Eagle Wolf, for he was the only person who cared whether she lived or died.
A tiny voice drew her quickly back to the task at hand. Hannah had left her desk and was staring up at her.
Nicole bent low and gathered her in her arms. “Sweetie, go and take your seat,” she murmured. “I plan to teach you and the other children some letters of the alphabet today.”
“You look so sad suddenly,” Hannah murmured.
She placed her tiny hands gently on Nicole’s cheeks. “Why?”
“I’m not sad,” Nicole said, trying to give the child a smile that looked sincere. She truly regretted having to take these children’s dreams away.
She reached up, removed Hannah’s hands from her cheeks and held them tenderly for a moment. “It’s just that I want to be a good teacher,” she murmured. “It’s my first day, you know.”
Hannah smiled. “You will be the best teacher in the world,” she said, then went back to her desk and sat down.
Hannah smiled over her shoulder at Nicole, who still stood at the window. Nicole knew that this tiny child recognized Nicole’s hesitance and was trying to reassure her that things would be all right.
Nicole returned the smile and felt sad about deceiving these children, especially these four sweet girls, for this was the one and only day she would be teaching them anything.
She hoped the town would find another teacher soon, as she could see the eagerness in these children’s eyes to learn.
But Nicole most certainly could not be their teacher. Nor would she be the mother who would give the four sisters a brother.
She forced a smile on her face and hoped that she was hiding her stiffness as she went to the front of the room and stood at the chalkboard.
She picked up a piece of chalk and again printed her name in big letters. She pointed to each letter as she spoke it aloud to the children, then again told them her name.
“And now, children, which one of you wants to come to the chalkboard and learn how to print your name?” Nicole asked.
She smiled to herself, for she was not at all surprised when Hannah was the first to raise her hand.
“Me! Me!” Hannah said, eagerness in her dark brown eyes.
“Come, then, Hannah, and let the children see you print your name. Then you can choose who will be the next to place their name on the chalkboard beside yours,” Nicole said.
Hannah printed her name, then turned with a broad smile and pointed to a boy her same age. “Adam,” she said, not at all shy, as Nicole would have expected her to be at choosing a boy over the other girls.
Nicole could only smile at that, and love the child all the more for proving that she was an individual who could express her own wants and needs.
This child was someone special and Nicole hoped that Hannah would have the opportunity to follow her own dreams into the future, as Nicole had.
Nicole had thought and dreamed for so long of being a teacher. She had eagerly attended school
and learned everything there was to learn in order to be the best teacher possible.
And now?
She would only teach for this one day and then must abandon her post. Now she doubted she would ever be able to teach. Surely it was just not meant to be.
She looked from the window again toward the mountain where her heart longed to be.
Eagle Wolf.
Oh, how she wanted to see him again. She prayed that when she went to that mountain again, she would find him and he would know that she had followed her heart.
He had shown such kindness and love while they were together. She knew that their destinies were intertwined.
She had to make certain they were intertwined forever.
Yes, she must find him!
And she would not let herself doubt the outcome of her search. When she was determined to accomplish something, there was no stopping her.
“Miss Tyler, is it my turn to go to the chalkboard and write my name?” Kathryn suddenly asked, breaking through Nicole’s deep thoughts.
“Miss Tyler, can I?” Kathryn persisted. “Can I go now? Adam is finished writing his name. Can I? Can I have my turn?”
“Why, you most certainly can,” Nicole said,
smiling at Kathryn while the child came up to the board and painstakingly wrote her name.
“Did I do it right?”
Nicole gazed at the clumsily printed letters, but nodded and smiled at Kathryn anyway. “It is very nicely done, Kathryn,” she murmured. She turned to the children. “Let’s give her applause, children. Doesn’t she and the others deserve it since they did such a good job at the chalkboard?”
Big smiles came her way as the children began clapping their hands, making Nicole ache inside to know that on the morrow these children would have no reason to smile. They would come to the schoolhouse, but Nicole wouldn’t be there to greet them.