Embrace the Wild Land

by Rosanne Bittner

  He rode closer and slid from his horse, reaching up and taking Lillian down, while Emily stood staring at him as though he were some kind of grizzly coming to attack her. Zeke Monroe was not only bigger than she had even pictured, but also much meaner looking. He was pure Indian in appearance. She had not expected that, in spite of all the times Danny had tried to explain to her what Zeke was like. He wore only leggings this day, and his bare chest displayed a belt of ammunition, while the menacing knife was strapped to his waist along with the handgun. His arms were decorated with copper bands and his hair hung loose.

  The rest of the Monroe family rode closer, and Abbie was struck by the exquisite beauty and frail countenance of Emily Monroe. So this was the spoiled young girl she had once written to, trying to explain that it was possible for a woman to survive in the West, trying to convince the girl she should come out and be with Danny, who in the early days of their marriage was a very frustrated, unhappy and lonely man, to the point of having an affair with a Sioux woman. But things had finally improved, and much of the credit for that went to the beautiful letter Abbie had sent to Emily, a woman she had never met, until now.

  The rest of the Monroe children stared at the woman and Wolf’s Blood immediately disapproved, deciding right away he would never marry something as breakable as this woman looked to be, although she was very pretty—like a flower. But flowers wilted, and this woman looked like she could wilt very easily.

  Zeke mounted the steps and towered over the sister-in-law he had never met. She stepped back, her eyes wide. He grinned and put out his hand. “So you’re Danny’s wife, are you?” he spoke up gently, seeing the fear in her eyes. She had no choice but to offer her hand, and she was surprised at the gentle way in which he took it, half expecting him to crush it.

  “I … yes. I am Emily. Our little girl, Jennifer, she’s inside, with the gentlemen who brought me here.” She pulled her hand away. “I’m sorry … to intrude upon you this way, Mister Monroe. I am sure you are all very tired. Your man, Dooley, he told me … where you have been.” She glanced over at Wolf’s Blood and swallowed, feeling ill at the thought of what Dooley had explained to her about the Sun Dance and Zeke’s son partaking of the sacrifice. She looked back up at Zeke. “You … you are Zeke Monroe, aren’t you?”

  His smile was warm and handsome, and when he grinned she could see a resemblance to Danny, although their coloring was totally different. “I sure am. Please call me Zeke.” His eyes took a quick scan of her body, and he suppressed an urge to laugh at the thought of Danny diving into a quick marriage just to get this pretty flower in his bed. No wonder they had had problems. This was the kind of girl who probably thought all a husband and wife did was kiss, until she became a wife and found out otherwise.

  Abbie was dismounting now. Emily glanced at her. Abbie was dark and beautiful, much prettier than she had pictured, and much more preserved. She had expected a weathered, tired-looking, rather dried-up and overworked woman. The young woman who approached her now was far from any of those things, a woman of radiant beauty and a woman of amazing inner strength. It was one of those things another could sense about her right away, and Emily found herself wishing she could be as strong as Abigail Monroe. Abbie approached them carrying little Jason. She shifted the boy to one arm and walked up to Emily to hug her, thinking to herself how bony Emily felt.

  “Emily!” she exclaimed softly. “It’s so wonderful to finally get to meet you in person. We’ve heard so much about you over the years.”

  Emily blushed, realizing that all they had heard had not exactly been flattering. Now she could understand the beauty and strength of the words in the letter Abbie had written to her nine years earlier, urging a then-spoiled and frightened Emily to be a better wife to Danny. Here was a woman that another woman could call friend, a woman one could turn to for comfort, one who probably had all the right words. For Abigail Monroe had suffered and fought and loved and sacrificed all of her life. Her smile and eyes were warm. She pulled back and studied Emily.

  “You’re even prettier than Danny said,” she told the young woman.

  Emily smiled and blinked back tears. “I … thank you for your kind words. But … you might not be so happy to see me, Abbie. Is … is it all right to call you Abbie?”

  Abbie suppressed her apprehension over the reason for the woman’s presence. “My heavens, of course it is! Come back inside, Emily. I hope you found everything clean and comfortable. We’ve been gone for weeks, so I haven’t been here to keep things tidy. How long have you been here?”

  The girl twisted her hands nervously. “About four days.” She looked Abbie over again. She was a slender but strong woman, her white skin tanned to a lovely brown but still many shades lighter than her husband’s natural deep color. “You’re so pretty, Abbie,” she blurted out. “I didn’t expect … I mean … you look wonderful. Living out here the way you do … having your babies all alone …” She swallowed again. “I don’t know how you do it.”

  Their eyes held. “A woman can do a lot of things she never thought she could do when it’s for the man she loves,” Abbie replied.

  Emily’s lips quivered and a tear slipped down her cheek. “Yes … I am beginning to learn that.” She sniffed. “I.… was so nervous … about coming here. I didn’t know what to expect, and I heard … so many things about … about how wild your husband can be. And after the way Danny and I started out, I thought perhaps … I’d get chased right off your land. I was hoping …” She looked up at Zeke. “I need your help, Mr. Monroe … I mean, Zeke.”

  To their surprise she burst into tears and Abbie and Zeke looked at each other in confusion. Abbie put an arm around the girl’s shoulders.

  “Come inside, Emily, and sit down. It will be all right,” she soothed the girl. She gave Emily a reassuring hug and they went into the house, Zeke telling Wolf’s Blood to keep the children outside for a while. Abbie was surprised and grateful to see that while Emily had been there she had obviously cleaned the cabin. There was even a pot of stew over the hearth, as well as some coffee. A lovely little girl with green eyes and red curls looked up at them from where she sat on the rough board floor playing with a china doll, and three men sat at the large table in the middle of the room. They all rose when Zeke and Abbie went inside, staring in surprise at Abbie’s Indian tunic and in amazed awe at Zeke himself, the biggest, meanest-looking Indian they had ever seen.

  Emily dabbed at her eyes and breathed deeply for control. “These three gentlemen are Sidney Bale, Paul Smith and Bernard Randall,” she told Zeke and Abbie. “They are all from St. Louis, where I grew up and where I am now staying in my father’s house, which he bequeathed to me. These gentlemen were old friends of my father, and were kind enough to agree to accompany me and help me find you, Zeke. My father was a well-respected army general when he died, and was closely associated with all three of these men. Of course you know my father is the man Danny saved down in Mexico all those years ago. That was how he and Danny knew each other, and how Danny and I eventually met. But that was years later. My … my father is dead now.” She turned to the three men. “This man is Danny’s half brother, Zeke Monroe,” she explained to them, “the one I told you about. And this lovely woman here is his wife, Abigail. She is also from Tennessee.”

  The three men nodded to Zeke and each shook hands with him. “Emily had a rough idea where you were supposed to be living,” Paul Smith spoke up. “So we just headed south and asked at various forts until we found your place. You have some handsome horses out there, Mister Monroe.”

  “Thank you. I raise them. Helps feed the mouths of seven hungry children.”

  The three men smiled, unable to keep themselves from nothing short of staring at Zeke and Abbie, a most unusual couple. Zeke’s friendly handshake and smile did not match his size and appearance. He looked more like the kind of man who would prefer to lift their scalp, and none of them doubted he could take on all three of them at once.

  “It’s good
of you to watch out for Emily this way and give her protection in coming here,” Zeke was telling them. “This is quite a surprise. Surely it was a dangerous journey, with the country in so much turmoil.”

  Sidney Bale frowned. “It was indeed. The country is dangerous for everyone right now—Negro, Indian, Federals, Confederates, just about any faction you can name. Things are a mess, and, well, that’s partly why Emily insisted on coming here and talking to you in person. And since the three of us are not involved in the war, and were very close to Emily’s father when he was alive, well, we agreed to come along and keep watch. It was a long, hard journey for her. But she’s had time to rest while we waited for you to get back.” His eyes scanned the powerful man before him. “You’ve … been at some kind of Indian celebration, your friend, Dooley, tells us.”

  “The Sun Dance. My son took part in a very painful but religious ceremony.”

  The men smiled nervously, totally ignorant of Indian ways and friendly to this one only because he was distantly related to Emily, a fact that seemed incredulous when looking at him, but not as incredulous as the fact that the beautiful white woman who stood next to him had been married to the man for several years and had borne him seven children, all without the help of a doctor.

  Abbie knelt down beside the little girl who was playing on the floor. She smiled and touched her curls. “You must be Jennifer.” She looked up at Emily. “She’s beautiful.” she exclaimed.

  Emily smiled. “Thank you. I suppose you know her middle name is Abigail—after you.”

  Abbie smiled more. “I’m very flattered that you did that, Emily.”

  Zeke walked toward Jennifer to get a closer look, and the girl’s eyes widened. She immediately ran to her mother, burying her face in Emily’s skirts. Emily blushed.

  “I’m afraid … she’s never seen anyone quite so … so big and dark,” she told Zeke. “I’m sorry.”

  Zeke only chuckled, and the three men made their way toward the door. “We’ll give you folks some privacy,” Paul Smith spoke up. “Emily needs to talk to you. We’ll be outside. Is your son out there? The one who participated in the sacrifice?”

  “He’s the biggest one of the lot—the one who looks the most Indian. His name is Wolf’s Blood.”

  The three men looked at each other, and Paul Smith looked back at Zeke. “Wolf’s Blood?”

  “That’s right.”

  “He … doesn’t have a white name?”

  “No. The others do, but not Wolf’s Blood. He wants only to be Cheyenne.”

  The men smiled nervously, fingering their hats in their hands, and Zeke found their attitude humorous.

  “He doesn’t bite,” he told them. “While you’re waiting, have him show you his knife throwing. He’s very proud of that.”

  “Knife throwing,” Smith replied. He glanced at Zeke’s own blade. He had heard some wild tales about this man. “Of course.” They all nodded to Abbie respectfully and went outside, and Zeke moved his dark eyes to Emily, losing his smile.

  “What has happened to Danny?” he asked immediately. “I’ve been worried about him for over a year, ever since I learned he joined the Confederates. Why did he do that?”

  She blinked and stepped back again. His presence seemed to fill the room and make it seem smaller. “Why, because he’s from Tennessee, of course,” she replied. “Surely you would understand that.”

  He snickered. “No, I do not understand that. If you think I have any kind of allegiance to Tennessee, ma’am, think again. I have no ties to Tennessee.”

  “But.… your father is there!” she exclaimed “He’s old and alone now. Your … your brother Lenny is dead, Zeke. He was killed at Wilson’s Creek. That was part of the reason Danny went back to Tennessee to fight for the Confederates. Lenny left behind a wife and two children. He was a good man, Zeke.”

  Zeke closed his eyes and turned away. When he left Tennessee, Lenny was just a child. It felt strange to know he had a grown brother he had never seen and who was now already dead. It brought an ache to his chest, the ache of wondering where all the years had gone.

  “What about Lance?” he asked in a strained voice.

  “Lance is also fighting for the Confederates. But no one knows where he is or if he is even alive. Your father is all alone on the old farm, Zeke. In his last letter to me, Danny told me how … how withered and lonely he is. Lenny was good to him … stayed on the farm. Your father has no one now.”

  Zeke turned, and the look in his eyes frightened her. The hard muscle of his body tensed at the words. “My father is dead, Emily. His name was Deer Slayer, and he was Cheyenne—the man who married my Cheyenne mother and is the father of my Cheyenne brothers, Swift Arrow and Black Elk. I have no father in Tennessee.”

  “But you do!” she replied, confused by the words. “Your true father lives there!”

  “I make no claim to Hugh Monroe.” he told her in a louder voice. “The man is no father of mine!”

  Emily blinked and her lips puckered. Perhaps she had come to the wrong man after all, and now she had offended this favorite brother of Danny’s, although she was not quite sure why he was a favorite.

  “Zeke, you’re scaring her,” Abbie spoke up quietly. “You can’t expect her to understand all of that, and you have no right talking to her that way. This is Emily—Danny’s wife. And she apparently needs our help.”

  Zeke sighed and reached out. She jumped when he touched her cheek lightly, but his touch was gentle. “I’m sorry,” he told her. “Please sit down, Emily. Tell us what it is you want.”

  She sniffed and sat down, wiping her eyes again and keeping Jennifer on her lap. The girl curled up, looking at Zeke out of the corner of her eyes. Zeke remained standing, while Abbie began pouring some coffee. Emily stared at him as she swallowed and breathed deeply, trying to regain her composure. He was exceedingly handsome, just like Danny, but his coloring so very dark, and the many scars on his hard body revealed a man who had fought many battles. If he was anything like Danny had described him, Zeke Monroe was just the man she needed. She glanced at Abbie, so lovely and soft. She could not imagine how Abbie could lie beneath this man, in spite of his dark handsomeness. He was like a savage. Was it possible such a man could be gentle in bed? To Emily sex had been a frightening thing in the beginning, something that was merely necessary and painful. She wondered what it must have been like for Abigail. And yet there was the beautiful letter, written by a woman who was apparently totally happy and satisfied, totally in love. This brother of Danny’s was a most unusual man.

  “Did you really … kill all those men … back in Tennessee?” she asked Zeke. “The ones who killed your wife and son?”

  His eyes hardened again. “I did.”

  She swallowed. She had nearly vomited when Danny told her how the men had been killed. She glanced at the big knife, then back up at Zeke, while Abbie brought the coffee to her.

  “I …I think you should know … that my father was the one who … arranged … to get you removed from the wanted list in Tennessee,” Emily told Zeke. “He did it as a favor to Danny, after Danny saved his life. I don’t think Danny ever told you my father was the one responsible.”

  Abbie sat down to the table. “We’re very grateful, Emily. I always worried about someone shooting my husband in the back just for bounty. What happened to his wife and son was a horrible thing. He’s part Indian—a vengeful man. What he did to those men was natural for him. Besides that, they were murderers. They deserved to die.”

  Zeke turned away, always hating talking about what had happened to Ellen. He rubbed a hand over his eyes. “What is it you want, Emily?” he asked, somehow already knowing.

  Emily looked nervously from Abbie to Zeke. She did not want to hurt them—did not want to separate them. And yet she felt this savage brother of Danny’s could help her husband. She couldn’t let her husband die slowly of his wounds in some filthy prison camp.

  “I …I know that you and Danny … cared very muc
h for one another,” she told Zeke. “You weren’t close … to anyone else in your family. But you were close to Danny. And after you came west, to seek out your Cheyenne family, Danny came west also, searching for you. That’s how he got involved with the army in the first place—a way of earning food and shelter out here while he searched for you.”

  “So?” Zeke turned, folding powerful arms in front of him.

  Emily swallowed and clung to Jennifer. “Danny … got you cleared in Tennessee,” she went on. “And during the years he was up at Fort Laramie, he learned to care about your people. There were many times when he helped them, Zeke, in various ways. When other officers were ordering Indians chased and shot, Danny was working for peace and fair treatment. And I don’t doubt that if …if you were … hurt … and needed him … he would come to help you … even risk his life for you.”

  Abbie’s heart pounded with apprehension. She looked up at Zeke, but he was watching Emily with a frown.

  “What has happened to him?” he asked her cautiously.

  The girl swallowed and blinked back more tears. “I’ve learned … he was at Shiloh,” she replied. “It’s a place in Tennessee where one of the worst battles took place. You probably don’t know very much … about what has been happening in the war. It’s been … a horrible, bloody war, Zeke.” She dabbed at her eyes again. “They say … they say that at Shiloh, hundreds and hundreds were killed and wounded. They say it was so bad that … that the streams and ponds ran red with blood … that the wounded lay out all night in a cold sleet, while … while hogs … feasted on the dead ones!”

  Abbie closed her eyes while Emily cried quietly.

  “Damn,” Zeke muttered. “Danny?”

  “A man … who was there and who knew Danny came to tell me,” she whimpered. “Danny begged him … to come to St. Louis if he ever got away from there … and to tell me Danny loved me and to let me know what had happened. Danny was … badly wounded … and thought he was dying. Then the Federals came … and Danny was still alive when they took him away with other prisoners. The other man escaped, and he came to tell me.” She sniffed. “And now … all I know is that Danny was very gravely wounded, and they … took him away to some terrible prison camp! I have never heard another word since it happened.”