Brave Beginnings

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Brave Beginnings - Smashwords Edition

Published by Ruth Ann Nordin at Smashwords

Copyright © 2011 by Ruth Ann Nordin

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places
and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or
are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons,
living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes:

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment
only. This ebook may not be re-sold. If you would like to share
this book with another person, please do. Thank you for respecting
the hard work of this author.

Cover made by Bonnie Steffens

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All rights reserved – used with permission.

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permission.

Cover Photo images Copyright Getty Images. All rights
reserved – used with permission.

Ruth Ann Nordin Books

http://www.ruthannnordin.com

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Dedicated to: Christina Busby and Sabrina
Pascua whose many conversations I’ve enjoyed. Thanks for making the
writing of this book a great memory!

And a special thanks to Bonnie Steffens who
made the cover for me!

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Nebraska Historical Romance
series (chronological order)

A Bride for Tom (novella)

A Husband for Margaret (novella)

Eye of the Beholder

The Wrong Husband

His Redeeming Bride

South Dakota Historical Romance series
(chronological order)

Loving Eliza

Bid for a Bride

Bride of Second Chances (coming soon)

Native American Romances (chronological
order)

Restoring Hope

Brave Beginnings

Bound by Honor, Bound by Love (coming
soon)

Contemporary Romantic Comedies

With This Ring, I Thee Dread

What Nathan Wants

Time Travel Romantic Comedy

Meant To Be

Historical Romance

Falling In Love With Her Husband

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September 1899

(a little over one year since
Restoring Hope
ended)

Chogan divided up the corn and squash in the
wagon as Gary Milton, a member from his tribe, spoke to the
mercantile owner.

“You think having him here makes a
difference?” Chogan asked Citlali, speaking in their native
tongue.

Citlali glanced over at Gary who said
something that made the owner laugh. Turning back to the squash,
Citlali replied, “He manages a better price because he’s white.
They trust their own kind more than us.”

Chogan’s jaw clenched. What did being white
have to do with trust? He hated being in Bismarck. He’d wanted to
stay closer to their tribe. At least the white people in their
immediate area were friendly.

Citlali sighed. “You can’t let your emotions
override good judgment. We are doing this for our tribe. Once we
are done, we’ll go collect two good stallions. They’ll make good
sires for our mares. We’ll have stronger horses.”

“Yes, I know.” And it was those better prices
Gary was in the process of obtaining from the mercantile owner that
would make the purchase of Harry’s prized horses possible. “Harry’s
charging us more because we’re Indian.”

“You don’t know that,” Citlali argued.

“And you think having Gary here means we’ll
get an honest price?”

“It’ll make a difference. Even a small one is
worth the effort.”

Chogan bit back a reply. Why did Citlali have
to remain unaffected by the reality around them?

Gary walked over to the wagon, looking as
happy as a man could get. “I got him to raise the price on the
crops,” he said in their language. “We will get those steeds
without any problems.” Motioning to the store owner, he continued,
“He wants the crops in the storehouse out back.”

“We’ll take them there,” Citlali told
Gary.

Nodding, Gary returned to the owner.

Chogan picked up a bushel of corn and joined
Citlali in carrying the crops to where they were directed,
surprised that none of the white men felt it prudent to watch them.
It must have been because Gary was with them. Gary was white, and
even if he wore a deerskin tunic and moccasins, he was still
welcomed because of his skin color. Citlali knew this and used it
to their advantage. And that was why Citlali would one day be the
chief. He understood how the world worked and utilized this
knowledge to the benefit of the tribe.

Once he and Citlali finished the task, Gary
collected the money and returned to the wagon that was practically
empty. Chogan grudgingly admitted that Gary did a good job of
haggling for a higher price. He only wished he or Citlali were able
to do this.

Chogan got on his horse and waited for
Citlali.

Once Citlali led his steed in front of Chogan
and Gary, he said, “We’ll go to Harry’s farm and then home.”

Chogan waited for Citlali to head out before
he followed. Gary, who drove the wagon, took up the rear of the
small caravan they made. As they trotted down the busy district,
Chogan half-heartedly noted his surroundings. Buildings, sidewalks,
buggies, people, a familiar woman... He halted for a moment and
turned his attention to her. But as quickly as he caught a glimpse
of the pretty blond, she slipped into a bank and vanished. Just
like that.

He looked at Gary and thought to ask if his
sister was supposed to be in Bismarck, but then he decided against
it. No. It wasn’t her. It was a figment of his imagination. A ghost
from his past...and nothing more.

***

Julia Milton entered the bank, carrying the
sewing kit under her arm. She spotted her aunt and her aunt’s
brother sitting at the desk where they were setting up a bank
account for her and Julia. Julia hesitated to join them since there
were no other chairs at the desk where the bank employee talked to
them.

“Julia?”

Startled, she turned to the familiar voice.
Her eyes grew wide. “Ernest?” Of all people she expected to run
into in Bismarck, he was the last one. “I thought you went to
Fargo.”

Ernest Freeman closed the distance between
them in the middle of the bank and smiled. “I was for several
years, but then I got a job here.”

“Here? You mean at this bank?”

He nodded. “I’m the vice president.”

“Oh.” She couldn’t believe it. Shy, awkward
Ernest Freeman really made something of himself. She noted his dark
brown hair that was neatly combed, the spark in his light blue
eyes, the confident smile on his lips, and the way he stood upright
in his dark gray suit. Yes. Ernest did, indeed, make something of
himself. “You look good.” Then she blushed, wondering if that came
out wrong. “I mean, you look professional.”

“Thanks. You look good too. Of course, I
always thought you were pretty.”

She was sure her face grew a darker shade of
pink from the compliment. Nothing short of awkward could adequately
describe this situation. They had once courted, and she’d turned
down his proposal when he got the job in Fargo. At the time, she
needed to stay with her aunt to help raise her little brother. Now,
as she scanned the large bank, which he was the vice president of,
she wondered if she should have said yes.

“Did you move here?” Ernest asked.

“Yes. My aunt and I did, actually.” She
cleared her throat and motioned to where her aunt sat. “My brother
married a Mandan woman and lives at her tribe. My aunt thought it
would be nice if we could be nearby. He has a one-year-old girl. I
think my aunt likes seeing her great-niece. She’s always had an
attachment to babies and children.”

“Gary is old enough to be married?”

“He’s twenty-one.”

Ernest laughed. “I can’t believe it. Time’s
sped by, hasn’t it? Last time I saw him, he was a boy. It’s
been...what? Ten years? It doesn’t seem like it’s been that
long.”

“It is hard to believe.” How much things had
changed for Gary. Her brother, seven years younger than her, was no
longer a child. Part of her missed that. He used to come to her to
take care of his scrapes and bruises, but now he had his own
family. While she... She glanced at her aunt. No. She wouldn’t
think it. She had a good life.

“You moved here with your aunt?” Ernest
asked. “Then I take it you never married?”

“No.” She experienced unease at the admission
but pressed forward. “I’ve stayed with Aunt Erin and...” And what?
Time passed? The seasons changed? Life continued on while she
remained in one place?

“So now you two are moving here,” Ernest
said. “Do you have any other family in the area, besides your
brother?”

“My other aunt and uncle. Uncle Clarence is
my aunt’s brother. He helped us buy a house.”

“Really? Where are you living?”

“7
^th
street.”

“That’s not too far from where I am. I’m down
on 3
^rd
. You’re a couple of blocks away from me. It’ll be
nice to see more of you.”

She wondered if he said that because it was
one of those things people said without really meaning it. “I’m
sure we’ll bump into each other from time to time.” Bismarck, after
all, wasn’t that big. It was bigger than where she and her aunt
came from but apparently not big enough to avoid an old suitor.

Her aunt and uncle finally left the desk, and
she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Your aunt hasn’t aged a day,” Ernest
commented with a slight chuckle.

“Yes. She grows old gracefully.”

Erin caught sight of Julia, patted her
brother on the arm, thanked him, and went over to them. Her eyes
grew wide and she let out a cheery, “Why, if my eyes don’t deceive
me, it’s Ernest!”

Ernest nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I hear you’ve
moved to town.”

“Yes. We’ve only been here for a week. We’re
still settling in.” She clasped her hands in front of her waist and
asked, “How have you been?”

“Good.”

Julia cleared her throat. “Yes. He’s the vice
president.”

Her aunt’s eyes twinkled. “Oh, you don’t say!
You’ve done your ma and pa proud, son.”

“Are they still in Fargo?” Julia asked. Last
she heard, his parents decided to go with him.

“They remained there for awhile after I left
and then bought a house down on 9
^th
street,” he told
Julia.

“He lives on 3
^rd
,” Julia quickly
filled in for him so Erin wouldn’t have to ask.

“Well, we must have you and your wife over
some time,” Erin said. “It’d be nice to catch up on old times.”

Julia tensed, not sure she liked that idea.
Running into him was one thing. Having him in her house was
another. She wished her aunt wouldn’t take the ‘let’s be
neighborly’ thing too far.

Ernest grinned ruefully. “I’d be happy to
accept the offer, but I’m afraid it’ll just be me. I’m not
married.”

Julia didn’t hide her surprise. Ernest had
done a lot of changing from when she last saw him. He’d grown from
the lanky schoolboy into a full-grown man with a great job, and no
woman had snatched him up? What was wrong with the females in the
area? What had been wrong with her?

Nothing. Nothing was wrong with me. I had
duties. Responsibilities. I couldn’t leave Aunt Erin to take care
of Gary all by herself while I ran off to Fargo.

But Gary wasn’t in the picture this time. She
shifted from one foot to the other as she tried to recall why it
hadn’t worked out between her and Ernest back then. Was it really
because of Gary and her sense of duty to him? The years had passed
and that time in her life almost seemed as if it was someone else’s
past. She wrapped her shawl tighter around her shoulders.

Erin shook her head and asked, “You’re
pulling my leg, Ernest. Surely, you have a woman. Are you
courting?”

Ernest glanced Julia’s way before he returned
his attention to her aunt. “Not yet.”