Restoring Hope Page 4

  His aunt grinned. “You may have gotten yourself into trouble.”

  “She just needs to get used to being here. Once she feels comfortable with you, she’ll ease up.”

  “Maybe.” She warmly smiled at Woape.

  “Oh, her name is Woape.” He motioned to his aunt. “Erin.”

  “Erin,” Woape slowly said.

  “Well, come on in.” His aunt wrapped her arm around Woape’s shoulders and led her into the house. “You need to eat more.”

  Woape glanced back at him.

  “I’ll be there after I wash up.” He held up his dirty hands before he walked up the steps to his room. He wondered if she would follow him, but she didn’t. He poured water into his bowl and used the soap to wash his hands.

  “I see that our guest has attached herself to you,” Julia said as she leaned against the doorframe of his room.

  “Why don’t you talk to her? She could use another woman closer to her age to be with.”

  “You’re the one who brought her here, not me.”

  He grabbed the towel from the hook on the wall and dried his hands. “If you’d been there when it happened, would you have let those men kill her?”

  “No. But I wouldn’t plan to drop her off and leave for my next adventure.”

  “I didn’t say I was going to do that. I didn’t even say I was going to leave. I just said I was on my way to a job when I ran into her.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  He threw the towel down and groaned. “I don’t know. I just got here yesterday. Why don’t you give me some time to figure it out?”

  “Well, she won’t leave you alone, and from what I saw, you seem to enjoy being with her.”

  He frowned. “What were you doing? Spying on me?”

  “It’s hardly spying when you’re right in the open, talking and laughing with her.”

  “So what? I was being nice to her. Since when is being nice to someone a crime?”

  “You’re not nice to me like that. I can’t remember the last time you even bothered to sit and talk to me.”

  “Maybe that’s because you’re always hounding me about something. I’m tired of hearing what I’m doing wrong.”

  “Well, you don’t appreciate anything I’ve done for you.”

  He looked out the window and saw the rolling hills in the distance. Now he remembered exactly why he left home to begin with. Being here, in close proximity with his sister, was sucking the life from him. He longed for the freedom of the prairie. Sure, he didn’t have the comforts he had here, but he did have peace and quiet.

  “I don’t even know why I try to get through to you,” she said, obviously exasperated.

  “Then don’t,” he snapped. He groaned and rubbed his temples, willing the impending headache away. He didn’t know how she did it, but she brought out the worst in him. He didn’t like it.

  “I gave up a marriage to Ernest to help our aunt raise you.”

  “Oh, God. Don’t tell me she’s going into this again.”

  “Well, Aunt Erin couldn’t have taken care of you all by herself back then. Not when she was at death’s door.”

  “For goodness sakes, Julia, I was eleven. I could handle things by myself.”

  She looked over her shoulder and jerked. Then she glared at him. “Your little guest is much too quiet.” She stormed off and ran down the stairs.

  He hastened to the hallway and saw that Woape stood still, a worried look on her face. Terrific. All she needed was to catch him and his sister arguing. He approached her and said, “Everything is fine.”

  She pointed to his bedroom and then down the stairs.

  “Right. Eat.” He passed her so that he could lead her down the steps.

  She reached out to stop him.

  It was the first time she touched him, so he didn’t expect it. He glanced at his arm and then at her.

  She spoke and pointed to the other bedroom doors.

  He tried to decipher her meaning but couldn’t. He shrugged to show her that he didn’t understand her.

  Opening a closed door, she peered into the bedroom.

  “Erin’s room.”

  “Erin.” She pointed down the steps. “Erin?”

  He nodded. “Erin. Room. Erin’s room.”

  She closed the door and pointed to the room she was staying in. It was Julia’s room, but Julia refused to sleep there as long as Woape was in the house. “Woape...room?”

  That was technically true—at least for the time being—so he nodded. “Woape’s room.”

  She walked over to his room. “Gary room.”

  Where was she going with this? “Yes. Gary’s room. My room.”

  “Nunp mih?” She pulled her long braids up and twisted them in a bun and pointed down the stairs.

  “Erin?”

  She shook her head and crossed her arms and glared at him the same way Julia just had.

  “Julia.”

  She pointed to herself. “Woape.” She pointed to him. “Gary.” She pointed down the steps. “Erin. Julia?”

  Oh, she wanted to know the names of everyone in the house. He chuckled. “Yes. Julia.” He crossed his arms and gave his best imitation of his sister’s usual scowl.

  She giggled and undid the bun so her braids hung down her back again. “Julia?” She then motioned to the bedrooms and shrugged.

  “Erin’s room.” He went to his aunt’s bedroom and opened the door. He found his sister’s nightgown and picked it up. “Julia.” Then he pointed to the spot where she slept.

  Woape suddenly rambled on about something and motioned to his bedroom. He caught the word “Julia” and “Gary”, but that was all he understood.

  He wasn’t sure of how to respond. Leaving his aunt’s bedroom, he shut the door.

  She entered the room she’d been given to stay in and looked expectantly at him.

  Uncertain, he said, “Julia’s room.”

  “Gary’s room?” She motioned to the bed.

  “Oh.” He shook his head. “No. Gary’s room.” He pointed to his room. “Julia’s my sister.”

  “Mysister?”

  “Sister.” Then he shook his head. “Not wife.” There was no way he’d marry someone like Julia. It was bad enough he was born into the same family she was in.

  “Julia sister.”

  He nodded and said, “Yes.”

  “Notwife?”

  “Wife.” He should probably stop using the words ‘no’ and ‘not’ in front of a noun. “Julia sister.”

  A wide smile crossed her face. “Sister.”

  “Right. Yes.”

  Then she shook her head. “Wife.”

  “No. Julia sister.”

  She looked so proud of her newfound understanding of the English language that he grinned. She laughed and then said something that ended with the word “eat”.

  He wondered what it was, exactly, that she was thinking about but knew he wouldn’t figure it out. So he chose to nod, say “eat” and lead the way down the steps.

  Chapter Five

  Woape hoped she understood right—that her initial impression of Gary and Julia had been wrong. If ‘sister’ meant what she thought it did, then Gary wasn’t married. She watched him and Julia during the meal. There was no indication that they shared any romantic interest. In fact, there seemed to be an underlying problem between them. She wondered what caused the tension. Then she recalled Julia’s mannerisms toward her. Perhaps she was the reason Julia was upset...but not for the reason she assumed.

  She watched Julia in the parlor, trying to decipher clues that would tell her why she bothered Gary’s sister as much as she did. Since Gary remained in the house, Woape decided she was safe enough to leave his side so she could be in the room with Julia and Erin who worked on sewing quilts.

  She sat in the chair closest to the stairs. She peered up the staircase. What did he do up there? When she wasn’t looking up the stairs to see when he’d return, she took a few peaks at the
two women or glanced out the window. The scene between Erin and Julia reminded her of the times she spent with her mother. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she willed the urge to cry aside. If she hadn’t run when she did, she’d be miserable right now. But she worried that the fact that she ran sentenced her mother to the world beyond this one...if such a world existed.

  She returned her gaze to the stairs. When would he come back down? No. She had to figure out what was going on with Julia. Once she settled that issue, then she’d know for sure whether Gary was free to marry her or not. He’d keep her safe for the rest of her life...and he was nice. She really hoped he could marry her.

  Erin’s laughter caught her attention. She motioned to Woape and said “Gary”, but she spoke to Julia.

  Woape didn’t know how to interpret that.

  Julia’s sharp stare, however, was as clear as day. She definitely didn’t like the fact that Woape was there.

  Woape took a deep breath and asked, “Julia sister...Gary?”

  Julia didn’t answer her. Instead, she turned to Erin and spoke in angry tones.

  Erin responded, obviously trying to calm Julia down, but Julia stood up and threw her quilt on the couch and stormed out of the room and outside.

  Woape looked out the window and saw Julia continue her walk down the street. What did she say that upset Julia? She sighed. Well, now there was no denying Julia was mad that she was there, and she didn’t know what to do about it.

  Erin eased out of her chair and approached Woape.

  Woape fought the urge to flee up the steps.

  To her surprise, Erin rested her hand on hers and nodded. “Julia is Gary’s sister.”

  “Wife?” Woape asked.

  She shook her head. “No. No wife.”

  Woape was beginning to understand what ‘no’ meant, and this was good. She wished she could ask Erin why Julia didn’t like her but couldn’t. She did realize that this was going to make things uncomfortable. Julia most likely wouldn’t like it if Woape married her brother. But she wasn’t going to let someone’s opinion interfere from doing what she wanted. Not anymore. She had learned her lesson. Next time she chose a husband, it would be the one she wanted...instead of the one others chose for her.

  ***

  Gary poured another bucket of hot water into the tub. That should do it. He turned to leave and, once again, Julia stood in the doorway of Woape’s bedroom and shook her head.

  “Her ways are not like ours,” he said.

  “She bathes so much I’m surprised that her skin stays on.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Water doesn’t make skin fall off.”

  “Well, it’s not normal.”

  “What do you expect? She’s an Indian. She’ll do things differently from us. And you know, a bath isn’t a bad idea. We could all use one.”

  “Speak for yourself. I’m fine.”

  “Guess what I heard when I was in Fargo?”

  She shrugged.

  “The Indians say they can smell a white man coming.”

  “So what are you saying? Their sense of smell is superior to ours?”

  “No. I’m saying that we stink.”

  She gasped.

  He laughed. “They have a point, don’t you think?”

  Their aunt came up the stairs with Woape. “Now I’ve seen everything. Are you two actually getting along?”

  “I’m not sure,” Julia said. “He just told me that we all smell bad.”

  The older woman stopped and glanced at Woape who stood behind her. “I suppose we could all use a bath.”

  “See?” Gary shot his sister a pointed look.

  “Tomorrow is the Lord’s day anyway,” their aunt said. “It’s fitting to go to church clean.” She stepped aside so Woape could get around her. “You might teach us some things,” she told Woape. Then she patted her shoulder. “Bath.” She pointed to the tub.

  Taking that as his cue to get out of Woape’s room, Gary moved out of the way.

  Woape glanced at everyone, and Gary couldn’t tell what the expression on her face meant.

  Erin chuckled. “We should get out of here. The poor thing must be wondering why we’re all staring at her.” She lightly pushed Julia and Gary into the hallway. Turning to Woape, she said, “Don’t worry about us. We’ll get out of your hair.”

  Gary and his sister had just finished descending the stairs when there was a knock at the door. He retraced a couple of steps so he could answer it.

  Mrs. Clemens stood before him. “Oh my goodness! Are you the same boy who left over a year ago?”

  A boy? “I’d just turned nineteen when I headed out.”

  She grinned. “When you’re fifty, nineteen won’t seem that old to you, son.”

  He supposed that was true.

  His aunt wiggled past him so she could talk to her friend. “Did you finish making the clothes?”

  “Almost. I want her to try them on so I’m sure I got the measurements right.”

  “Her?” he interjected.

  “Woape, of course,” his aunt replied. “I can’t have her wearing your sister’s clothes all the time.”

  “Thank goodness for that too,” Julia called out from where she sat on the couch, working on the quilt in her lap. “She’s stretching my dresses out.”

  A grin crossed his face. That was because Woape was more endowed up on top than his sister was.

  Julia glared at him. “I know what you’re thinking, and you’d better stop.”

  Their aunt groaned. “It’s been nonstop fighting ever since he got back,” she told her friend. “I’m ready to pull my hair out.”

  Mrs. Clemmens looked at Gary. “If you plan to stick around, why don’t you buy Matthew’s place?”

  “Is he selling it?” his aunt asked.

  “Sure is,” she told Erin. “He just made the announcement a week ago.”

  “Why, doesn’t that beat all?” She nudged him in the side. “That was about the time you came here with Woape. If that isn’t a sign from above, I don’t know what is.”

  Julia stood up and went over to them. “But he doesn’t even know if he’s going to stay in town or not.”

  He cleared his throat. “I’m able to speak for myself.”

  “I’m just saying that you’ve pretty much indicated that you’re going to leave Woape here and head off to your next big adventure.”

  “Julia, go upstairs and see if Woape needs anything,” Erin stated, her tone edged with the implication that Julia didn’t have a choice in the matter.

  Julia sighed but obeyed their aunt.

  Gary wished he could get rid of her as easily.

  His aunt turned to Mrs. Clemmens. “I’ll send Gary over with Woape when she’s ready. She’s taking a bath at the moment.”

  “That is fine.” The older woman looked up at him. “Do you know where I live?”

  “Yes,” he replied.

  As she hobbled away, his aunt shut the door. “Just what are your plans?”

  “I don’t want to stay in this house,” he replied before he went to the parlor and sat in a chair.

  She followed him and sat on the couch. “As a grown man, that’s natural. What are you going to do about Woape? I don’t mind keeping her here. It may take Julia some time to get used to her, but I’m sure she’ll adjust.”

  He leaned forward and stared at his clasped hands. Should he head to his next job? Woape would be safe here. The men who were chasing her were long gone. That was one way of doing things. But was it the best one? He glanced at his aunt who waited for his response. “I don’t know.”

  “What don’t you know?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know if I want to head back out or not. I mean, a man has to settle down at some point, right?”

  “Some don’t. Once Ned left, he never came back.”

  He looked at his aunt. Her expression told him that she had finally accepted the fact that her son was gone for good. There was the question if he was even alive. Maybe he neve
r had the opportunity to return. Gary realized those three Indians could have killed him. If his gun hadn’t been enough to convince them to back off, he’d be pushing up daisies along with Woape.

  He cleared his throat. “I never intended to go from job to job my whole life. At the time, I just needed to get out of here.”

  A scream from upstairs interrupted their conversation. His aunt shook her head. “It’s more than Woape that bothers your sister. You do understand that, don’t you?”

  “Yes. I know.”

  “And you also know that it’s not your fault...just as it’s not hers. The two of you are like night and day.”

  Julia stormed down the steps, her wet hair hanging down her face. “She can’t stay here! I want her out!”

  “What did you do to her?” Gary demanded, jumping up from his seat.

  “Oh sure. Assume it was something I did!” she spat, wiping her eyes.

  “What happened?” their aunt asked, hurrying over to her.

  “She dumped water on me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because she doesn’t like me.”

  Gary shook his head. “What did you do?”

  Their aunt shushed him. “Let me handle this. Julia, do you have any idea what set her off?”

  “She wanted a pair of scissors so I got some, and when I saw that she wanted to cut her hair, I tried to help her. There’s no way she could cut it on her own and have it look right. Frankly, she needs a haircut. There’s no reason anyone should have their hair reach their waist.”

  “Is she trying to cut her hair now?”

  “No. After she grabbed the scissors from me, she threw them out the window. That was right before she took a cup of her disgusting bath water and poured it on my head. This is so gross.” She shivered as she touched her hair. “Now I do have to bathe.” She turned to Gary. “You better get my bath ready the same way you get hers ready every single day since you’ve been here.”

  “She must have seen you as a threat,” he said.

  “I didn’t threaten her! Really, has it come to this? You will defend her regardless of how she acts.”

  “I don’t believe she wanted to hurt you. If she had, she would have stabbed you with the scissors instead of throwing them outside.”