Sagebrush Serenade

by Jeanie P Johnson

  “Ben! You are back!” she cried running and grabbing him to her to make sure he was real. “Why have you waited so long to come see me?”

  “They sent me away to get better. Albert didn’t want me to come back, but I couldn’t stay away Marcel. I couldn’t leave you to face everyone and…” he looked beyond her shoulder. “I suppose that is the man you love,” he said nodding towards Raven who was watching them along with everyone else.

  “And that is his wife over there holding their baby.”

  “Where is your baby?” he asked. “Did he survive?”

  “My friend, Blossom is caring for him,” she nodded towards the blanket where Raven-Ben was happily tearing a flower apart in his small fingers. “I named him Raven-Ben, but I think I will start calling him Bennie, from now on.”

  “Little Bennie? You are naming him after me?”

  “I’ve missed you so much, Ben. Albert told us you were dead and he didn’t invite me to the funeral on purpose! You can’t imagine how I felt. It was my fault you went out in the weather and got sick!”

  “I am going to wring Albert’s neck!” Ben growled. “I couldn’t wait to get back to you, only I was very ill for a long time. When I got better, Albert said Oregon wouldn’t be healthy for me. What he really meant was that you were here, and it wouldn’t be smart to see you again.”

  “Is it smart?” Marcel asked, looking up into his eyes.

  Ben looked around. “We can talk about this later. You have guests right now, and there is your house to be built. I promised I would help you. That is another reason I came back,” he smiled.

  Ben gave Marcel a deep hug, then he took her hand as she led him to the group watching them.

  “This is my friend, Ben. He drew up the plans to my house and promised to help me. He was away for a long time but now he has returned.”

  Trapper Dan looked puzzled, and Blossom was smiling happily. Raven politely nodded.

  “Look here,” Ben said as he went to the blanket and picked up Raven-Ben, “Your son is growing like a weed! Hi, little Bennie, meet your uncle Ben!” Ben turned and looked directly at Raven. “I see you resemble your father quite a bit, and you have a little half-sister there. We should all be a big happy family!”

  Raven shot a look at Marcel and Marcel glared at Ben, but then she knew why Ben had done it. He wanted to rub in Raven’s face that he had left Marcel to marry someone else, and would never be a father to his son now.

  Marcel went and took Bennie out of Ben’s arms, handing him back to Blossom. “I think we should have that talk now,” she said, leading him up to the house. She saw Raven stride over to Blossom and take Bennie from her arms, looking at him closely. Glancing over her shoulder, her eyes met Raven’s. The shock on his face was clear, he had thrown her away to get her out of his system. She wondered if it had worked?

  “I had to do it,” Ben said as they approached the house. “He deserved to know, and he deserved to regret the choices he had made, not only using you, the way he did but leaving you after he used you!”

  “He will probably try to talk me into becoming his second wife,” Marcel murmured. “He only has a daughter, and Bennie was his firstborn. Having a son is very important to him.”

  “You aren’t going to agree, are you?” Ben said, stopping and turning her toward him.

  “Of course, not! I am glad you told him. He deserved to know what I have been going through because of me loving him.”

  “Do you still love him, Marcel?” Ben asked.

  “I suppose a little, but it is tarnished now, knowing the first thing he did when he returned was find himself a wife to take my place since I refused join his tribe so I could become his wife.”

  “Maybe you refused for a reason you didn’t even know about,” Ben said softly.

  “It was because I knew it couldn’t work between us with all the hatred on both sides of each other’s culture. I couldn’t become an Indian and he couldn’t become a white man. There was just no way around it.”

  “I’m a white man,” Ben whispered. “Would you consider having me as a husband?” Marcel stopped and looked at him. “You knew from the beginning I was looking for a wife, and the moment I saw you, I knew you were the one. We are not star-crossed lovers, like you and Raven, Marcel. You and I were meant to be together.”

  “What about your family? They hate me.”

  “It’s not my family that is marrying you, Marcel. I know it will be hard at first, but they will get over it, once we start having children of our own.”

  “What was all that stuff about us just taking advantage of each other’s bodies?” Marcel asked, narrowing her eyes.

  “It was the only way I knew of for me to be able to make love to you, and show you how much I wanted you. I knew it would take time to prove to you I didn’t care about you having Raven’s baby. You were the person I wanted to be my wife. I just needed to show you how much.”

  “When I thought you were dead, I realized I never had a chance to show or tell you how much I appreciated you. I tried to hold back because I didn’t think we could stay together after the baby was born. I missed you so much, Ben. I never told you how much I actually loved you!”

  “You loved me?” Ben breathed.

  “I wouldn’t admit it to myself because of my attachment to Raven, and the fact I was having his baby, but looking back on it now, I realize how much you meant to me. I felt lost when I thought I would never see you again. I wasn’t looking for a husband when you came to me, but if I was to choose one now, you would be my only choice,” she murmured.

  “Then we are agreed? Are you willing to take me on in spite of Albert and Sara fighting against it?”

  “I wish I had met you before Raven got tangled in my life. If I had shown up here on my own, we could have started fresh without anything holding us back.”

  “We can start out fresh now,” Ben pointed out.

  “I think I would like to do that,” Marcel smiled.

  “All right then, you need to start making plans for a wedding, only let’s wait until the house is built so I can carry you over the threshold of the house I designes and we all built together.”

  “Then it’s a deal,” Marcel said. “I think it should be sealed with a kiss.”

  “Yes, and later, we will work out all the details while I start to get acquainted with your body again,” he promised, then his head bent capturing her lips as he crushed her to him. Ben had dreamed of this the whole time he was away. Now it was becoming a reality.

  As their lips parted, Marcel could see Raven approaching.

  “What do you want?” she asked, with angry eyes.

  “To talk to you,” he mumbled.

  “There is nothing to talk about.”

  He glanced at Ben and then at Marcel and cleared his throat. “You have a son by me. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I didn’t think it would make a difference. I told Trapper Dan not to bring you with him when he returned.”

  “Did he know?”

  “Yes, but I told him not to tell you. If you had never known you could be happy with your new wife now. I wanted you to stay with me because you loved me, not because learned I was having your baby. You wanted to forget about me, so you need to go back to your own people and forget about me. I am going to marry Ben and he is going to be the father to your child. We will raise him as a white man. He will never learn the way of the Sioux.”

  “You can’t do that. He has Sioux blood running through his veins. It is only right he learn about his heritage and know his true father.”

  Marcel shrugged. She realized Raven was right. It would not be fair to little Bennie to deprive him of at least seeing his father some from time to time. When he got older he would want answers about the Indian side of his ancestry.

  “Then I will compromise,” she said. “If you wish to teach him, you can come and spend time with him during the summer. Bring your children so he can get to know his half sisters and brothers. You
and I could never become a family because of our differences, but maybe our future children can learn to overcome those differences as they learn to accept one another in spite of what kind of blood runs through their veins.”

  “I suppose it is the only way. I still love you, Marcel. I realize now I should have refrained from taking you the way I did. I just couldn’t help myself.”

  “I don’t regret it, Raven. I needed you in my life back then. If we can remain friends, maybe the future will be better for both your children and mine.”

  “I hope so,” he said and turned back to the group by the stream.

  “We should go back too,” Marcel said, as she started to turn to follow Raven.

  Ben grabbed her hand. “Not yet. I have waited so long for this moment when I could be near you again. I dreamed of you every night. Albert wouldn’t tell me anything about you. He just said you had an Indian girl helping you. He wouldn’t even tell me if your son had survived. He said it was better if I didn’t hear anything about you, so it would be easier for me to forget you. Only I couldn’t forget you, Marcel. You were branded into my soul the moment I laid eyes on you. I didn’t care about your past. I only cared about our future together.

  “Albert was angry at me when I came back. He told me if I went to you, the family would disown me. I didn’t care. I wanted you to be my family. I told you I would not let anyone harm you or treat you bad. I thought Albert and Sara would understand. I’m hoping, as time goes by, they will accept you as part of the family, but if that never happens, you will always be a part of me. You are already a part of me.”

  “I don’t deserve you, Ben. Sara said you were a good boy. You are way too good for me.”

  “No. I had to try to trick you into falling in love with me. I didn’t think it was working. I was desperate, only I wouldn’t give up. I needed you so badly, Marcel!”

  “The funny part is, I needed you so badly too and I didn’t even know it. You wouldn’t have had to trick me, Ben, I would have seen you for who you really are, once I came to my senses.”

  “I’m glad you came to your senses. Before, it was all supposed to be physical satisfaction, only now, I want you to see the physical part was only a very small part of what I wanted to offer you.”

  “I think I realize that now, Ben. You went out in the weather to help save me. You risked your own health to assure mine. That is more than just physical, Ben. That is spiritual! One time Raven told me my lips were sacred to him. All of you are sacred to me, Ben, not just your lips or a part of your body I am attracted to, but your soul, the very thing that makes you who you are is sacred to me.”

  Ben brought Marcel into her little house and stood looking down at her bed.

  “You don’t know how many times I thought about this bed and the way it creaked as we moved while we were in it. I wouldn’t mind hearing it creak right now.”

  “I wouldn’t mind it either,” Marcel replied.

  “Only one way to manage that,” Ben whispered, as he began to unfasten the buttons on Marcel’s dress.

  “I know,” Marcel replied as she started to tear at the front of Ben’s shirt, impatiently removing it from his body.

  “I’ll never be able to get enough of you, Marcel” Ben breathed, as the last shreds of her clothing slipped to the floor and he was able to look at her.

  “I wouldn’t want you to,” she told him, as she finished removing the last barrier that kept him from her view.

  They stood drinking in the vision of each other’s bodies before Ben slowly reached out and touched her lightly with his fingers. Marcel placed her lips on Ben’s strong chest, letting them slide down over his midriff as she slowly pushed him down on the bed. As he settled, the bed gave a small creak and they both started laughing.

  “You planning something special?” he whispered, as he felt her lips caressing his skin.

  “You are something special, she breathed, as she taunted him further. “I don’t think I can get enough of you either.”

  “Just keep this up and it is going to be over quicker than you think,” he chuckled.

  “Says you,” she whispered as she lifted her lips from him and found his mouth instead.

  “You had me going there, for a moment,” Ben chuckled.

  “I’ll bet everyone is wondering what is taking us so long to return,” Marcel mumbled.

  “They can just keep wondering, only I think they probably know.”

  “Then we should take our time,” Marcel suggested, as her lips floated over Ben’s body again, determined to tease him further.

  “I don’t think I can find any complaints,” Ben murmured as his breath caught at her touch. “You sure know how to make my heart sing.”

  “I’m gonna do more than just make your heart sing,” Marcel promised.

  “Trouble is, I want to make your heart sing too,” Ben said, suddenly turning her so he was now in the dominant position. “Two can play at this game,” he chuckled, starting to demonstrate what he was referring to.

  “As I’m starting to discover,” Marcel gasped with a catch in her throat.

  Ben didn’t reply because his mouth was too busy working at causing Marcel to catch her breath as many time as he could. When he was certain of his success, his lips lifted to hers again. “I love your body,” he whispered. “You are all sacred to me too and I won’t stop showing you how sacred you are to me until you beg me to stop,” he promised.

  “It might be a long time before that ever happens,” Marcel predicted.

  “Good,” he chuckled as he went back to find all those places that made Marcel murmur with contentment, as he visited them.

  “All these months I have had to spend without your touch. It was like I was half dead,” Marcel told him.

  “Well, I plan to wake the dead then,” Ben promised and proceeded to prove it to her.

  “Enough about me,” Marcel giggled, “I think I want to learn more about you,” she told him, pushing him back as he hovered over her until she could rest her eyes upon him. She leaned forward to get a closer look, the warmth of her breath teasing him, promising more excitement to come.

  Ben tangled his fingers in Marcel’s hair as she started to fulfill that promise. His senses were going wild as the anticipation built with every soft touch of her lips. Then he was pulling her up where he could reach those soft lips and devour them beneath his own, lowering his mouth back over her body as he pressed her against the mattress, anxious to taste her softness against his lips until she was panting. When her ragged breathing came to a peak, he took the moment to complete her rising need with their union, slowly introducing himself to her until she was crying out and calling his name as the bed creaked beneath them.

  As their breaths returned to normal, Marcel clutched Ben to her. “Never leave me again,” she begged.

  Ben found her mouth and smothered it under his own. “Never,” he whispered. “You belong to me now, and I am never going to let you forget it.”

  “I think I have belonged to you for a very long time already,” Marcel told him. “When I thought you were dead, I didn’t know if I could carry on.”

  “I’m glad you did because now I am here to carry on with you,” he promised.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  he construction of Marcel’s house, shared between them all, became the glue that started bonding the group together. Marcel was happy that Raven could see his son, and that Ben could become a friend to Raven. Neither man showed jealousy over Marcel, and Trapper Dan sat back watching them, thinking about their trip together over the Oregon Trail. It had brought them all to this, and he looked forward to coming and visiting Marcel in the future when Raven came to see his son.

  They all worked well together, as they followed the blueprint that Ben drew up. Blossom and Willow were becoming fast friends as they played with the babies while Marcel helped the men work on the house, dressed in her brother’s trousers.

  Albert and Sara came by once to see if Ben was there. Marc
el invited them to stay, but they turned her down, almost looking frightened since there were so many Indians milling around. The building was moving along. The outside walls and the roof were finished and they had started working on the inside walls.

  Marcel was coming from the small house with a picture of lemonade to quench everyone’s thirst when she noticed a small wagon pulling up. She stopped and stared, not believing her eyes.

  “Josiah!” she called. “Where did you come from?”

  “I see you are getting your house built,” he said, as he stepped down from the wagon. He lifted his step-son down and then help Mary. Marcel saw that Mary was holding a baby in her arms.

  “You have a new child?” Marcel asked.

  “We named her Mary, Marcel,” Josiah smiled. “I didn’t realize how much I would miss you, Marcel. I feel bad for leaving you the way I did. It turned out that the Mexican government wouldn’t let us remain in California unless we denounced our American citizenship and became Mexican citizens. Well, you know I would never do that, so we came here and got our own plot of land.”

  “You are going to become my neighbor?” Marcel squealed.

  “Guess I am,” Josiah laughed. “Did all your belongings make it here in one piece?”

  “You bet. Raven and Trapper Dan helped me. They are over building on my house. I need to tell you, though, I had a baby. Raven is the father, only he went back to his village and took a wife, not knowing I was going to have his child. But all is well, because Ben, who is a neighbor of mine, and helped me out over the winter, asked me to marry him and I accepted.”

  “I know. I talked to his brother Albert. He was the one who told me how to get to your place,” Josiah said.

  “Well then, come join us for lemonade. After the house is built, Ben and I will be getting married. I want you and your family to come. Maybe you can talk Albert and his family into coming too. They are not very happy about Ben wanting to get mixed up with me because of my wayward ways, having an Indian child, and all.”

  “You were always unpredictable, Marcel. I knew you would find a way to get yourself into trouble, only you just never listened to me. He didn’t rape you, did he?”