Free Tiopa Ki Lakota by D Jordan Redhawk Page B

except during her monthly time. As time went on, their lack of offspring had begun worrying them both.
    "If God deems it, Kath, ye'll be blessed," her mother's voice whispered in her head. Though, having children denied her because God deemed it so wasn't a comforting thought.
    Kathleen shook off her somber thoughts. Adam doesn't want ye sad, lass. Finish the chore, take a bath and get his dinner ta table. Instead, she focused on happy times.
    The previous Sabbath was spent at her parents' home. Stewart hadn't been there, having gone down the way a piece to have dinner with the Anders' and their sweet eldest daughter. So, the two couples enjoyed a quiet evening of conversation and food. The only fly in the ointment had been the talk of the local natives in an uproar.
    "Apparently, a fellah down south of here cheated one of them when he traded," McGlashan said, puffing on his pipe on the front porch.
    Stevens nodded sagely. "Anyone we know?"
    "No. Unless ye know a man named Silas...?" At his son-in-law's head shake he shrugged. "Well, anyways, ta make a long story short, the indian tweren't happy with the situation and killed him."
    "That's murder!" Kathleen spoke up, her blue eyes wide.
    "Aye, 'tis, lass. As his brothers thought, as well. So, they went out a'huntin' and caught a few of this indian's friends. From there things just escalated."
    Frowning, Stevens finished sipping his coffee. "Do ye think we'll have any trouble up here?" he asked.
    "No, I doubt it. Seems the savages are stickin' to their neck o' the woods. Haven't heard of them comin' any further north."
    Kathleen scowled at herself as she hung one of her husband's shirts. "Nothin' like cheery thoughts, lass," she complained. Pushing the conversation from her mind, she hummed to herself as she hung the laundry to dry.
    Once finished, the teenager looked up at the sun, wiping her hands on her apron. Adam'll be in for a break soon. He's nothin' if not methodical. With a grunt, she tipped over first one and then the second tub of water. When they were drained, she leaned them up against the table to air dry and retrieved more water from the well. After transferring the two buckets to the cabin, Kathleen scooped up the basket and went inside.
    The basket was returned to the foot of the bed, ready to catch their dirty clothing for the next laundry day. Deciding she didn't have time for a bath after all, Kathleen opted to have a quick washing. One of the water buckets was partially poured into the kettle over the fire and she stirred it into the mixture of stew that had been simmering all day. She placed the second bucket on the table and pulled a coveted bar of lavender soap from the cupboard, along with a rag and a piece of linen.
    The blonde hung the apron up on a hook by the door and returned to the table. Undoing the buttons on the front of her dress, she bared herself to the waist and dipped the rag into the water. She rubbed the bar of soap onto the wet cloth and proceeded to scrub her body, gasping at the initial coolness against her overheated skin. Once a fine lather had been achieved, she submerged the rag back into the bucket, swirling it around and rinsing it out. Again, she scrubbed, wiping the soap from her skin. The piece of linen was used to dry off.
    As she shrugged back into the arms of her dress, she heard the door behind her open. "Adam! I didn't hear ye on the porch, love," she said, reaching for the buttons at her waist. "Sit down and I'll get ye somethin' ta drink."
    Two things happened simultaneously. The sound of her husband's musket reached her ears - from out in the fields. And a rough hand grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around.
    Kathleen looked up into the dark and dangerous eyes of a native warrior. Blue eyes wide, she clutched her dress to her chest, covering herself, and stepped back. "Get away from me!" she whispered urgently, unable to make her voice work any louder.
    The warrior looked at her partial state of undress and a