Back To Our Beginning (45 page)

Tansy extracted the bone marrow and tossed a large bone to Lucky. It had a good amount of meat clinging to it, and she knew he would be kept busy for hours. Tansy was grateful for the dog’s gentle temperament. If one of the children were to approach him while he was eating, he would simply move away or wait patiently for an adult to retrieve his bone and scold the child. She thought this behavior might have arisen from him and Cord sharing what they could scrounge so long ago. She then checked on the drying meat. It would be done later and would have to be stored away.

A large roast of meat was then set on the spit by the fire; Tansy found if she set it slightly to the side of the fire instead of directly over it, she could place a container down to catch the drippings. Tansy could use that to baste the roast.

After everything she could think of to do was done, Tansy sat beside Emmy and Rose drinking a liquid that vaguely reminded them of coffee. They tried eating acorns from oaks, but found them to be bitter. When boiled several times to leach out the tannins, after soaking them in cold water for a few days, the acorns were more palatable when roasted a coffee color and ground up. Aidan gave instructions to bury them in ash and sprinkle water over top. The acorns could be made into a flour that tasted very much like coffee. Skeptical at first, Tansy tried Aidan’s idea, and though not a brand she would have preferred, Tansy found it to be a nice change from tea. She also shelled some of the acorns and after baking, the acorns were again soaked in water, secured in the river before it began to freeze. After several days of soaking, she was able to make decent cooking flour.

* * * *

The snow seemed to be holding off. Tansy took that as a good sign. Dinner came and went with no sign of the hunters. As night settled, Mike cried for Clint, and Ricky wanted his father and because they were crying Max did as well, also needing the attention and comfort the men and Shanie offered. Soon Emmy was sobbing as the darkness increased to dead of night. After a quick comforting embrace with her mother, she excused herself to go to her own bed. Tansy remained awake, but tucked Max and Rose into her bigger bed together, knowing she’d not be getting any sleep until her family had returned home.

Tansy stood a vigil, waiting and pacing. Her only companion was Lucky’s huge brown eyes that followed her around the room. The wind had picked up, but still no sign of snow. The hunters had never stayed out past dark except when tracking the Komodo dragon, and especially never with Shanie in the freezing weather. Tansy was terrified for their safety. The thought of Emmy left alone with another pregnant girl, three small children and snow on the way was the only thing that kept her from going out to search for them.

Finally, near dawn, the heavy hide to the mine entrance was pushed back as snow began to fly, their door left unbarred in anticipation of the hunters’ return. A half-frozen Shanie stumbled into her mother’s embrace. Tansy began peeling off her daughter’s outer clothing and brought her to the fire. She handed her a warm bowl of thickened soup she’d made up for the hunters’ return, knowing they would need something to heat their insides after being out in the bitter cold for so long.

“What happened?” Tansy asked. “Why were you gone for so long? Why are you alone? Where are the men?”

“We were attacked,” Shanie said, her teeth still chattering from fear and cold. She gulped at the soup broth thirstily, downing it and placed the bowl aside.

“By what?” Tansy cried horrified.

“Not what, who.”

“People? Other people?”

“Yes, other people. We hunted all day following tracks. Finally near dusk we came across a tiny herd of about fifteen head grazing and brought down a small bison before they even knew what hit them, but after we had it tied to poles and ready to go, a group of men came after us. They wanted the bison.” Then fearfully she looked at her mother, “And me.”

“Oh my God.”

Shanie began sobbing. She flung herself into her mother’s arms and cried. “It was so awful. One of the attacking men grabbed my hood, and when he saw I was a girl he tried to throw me over his shoulder; I struggled and screamed. I hit at him the way Aidan taught me, but he was so big I couldn’t get him to let go; I was so scared. I was afraid he’d take me away from you and Emmy and Mike. Rose’s story flooded my mind and I wondered what he would do to me. I cried out so loud, thinking I would die just from my horrible thoughts. We both went crashing to the ground when Clint tackled him. I’ve never seen Clint so violent. He was enraged, Mom; he stabbed the man through his heart with the knife you found him. There were five more, two were on Cord, and Clint dragged me to my feet and told me to run. I was too scared; there was blood everywhere. He threw me behind him and pushed hard so I was flung away from the fighting.”

Shanie cried harder. Tansy tried to soothe her, but her sobbing increased.

“A man went after Ethan and caught him by surprise, he tripped and fell with the man pinning him. Aidan knocked the man off Ethan and stabbed him in the throat so hard the knife embedded in the ground under him. I’ve never seen Aidan move so quickly or viciously, like moving death. One minute he was there, the next he had Ethan up and he was mobile again, off like a shadow.

“Cord killed the two that attacked him. Mom he smashed their heads together like coconuts, cracking their foreheads, their brains spilling....” Shanie paused for a brief moment, a quick hand to her mouth, gagging. “Chris had been just a boy, but these were two grown men, they were so big. I never knew a man could be so strong.”

Tansy realized Shanie discovered she was perhaps not invincible when it came to fighting men. Although Aidan had been teaching her to defend herself, Cord was an extremely powerful man, all four of them were. They made certain they were all careful whenever play fighting with Shanie, especially Cord. He didn’t want her tentative acceptance of him to sour.

“You said there were six,” Tansy said.

Shanie looked at her stricken. Her head dropped. When she looked back up at her, Tansy sucked in her breath. At that moment Shanie looked old, almost ancient. A deep pain radiated from within.

“He was going to throw a knife at Clint while his back was turned. He would’ve killed him. I had no choice, I couldn’t let him hurt Clint; I couldn’t let him take him away from us, we need him. He saved your life too many times. After everything we’ve been through, he’s family.”

“It’s all right, Shanie. You were protecting our family, of course we need Clint. I know you care for him. I know how much you appreciate what he’s done.”

“I shot an arrow through the man’s eye. I killed a man, Mom, I killed another human being.” Pitifully, Shanie cried out her anguish, horrified by her actions. It would be a vision she knew would come back to haunt her for the rest of her life, the man’s strangled short scream of agony, the slow drop to his knees, then side, his final breath, the vacant one-eyed stare.

“Shanie it’s not your fault, you had no choice, you did the right thing.” Reluctantly, Shanie nodded. “What happened to the last man?”

“I don’t know. After I killed that man and Clint turned around and saw what I did, he looked at me so surprised; I had to get away. I ran.” She hung her head. Shanie could still hear Clint calling to her in her mind as she set off at a dead run; the darkness had closed around her, covering her escape. Home and her mother being her only thoughts and need.

“You came home alone in the dark?”

“Yes.” The moon’s illumination, coupled with her determination, had directed her shaky feet home. She pulled away from her mother and, exhausted, fell into her bed and was soon sleeping fitfully.

Tansy began to pace. All sorts of awful images raced through her mind. One of them could be hurt. She pictured Ethan bleeding and dying, Clint with terrible stab wounds. What would happen to Emmy if Aidan were hurt or killed? Would she grieve badly enough to lose her baby? Tansy’s very first grandchild, a very wanted grandchild, another proof of her husband’s legacy that he would continue on through his children.

Her thoughts took frantic turns. Images of Cord’s battered body popped into her mind, until she began to dress in warm clothing. There was still one man Shanie couldn’t account for. Tansy had to go find them; she had to make sure that last man hadn’t hurt one of them.

“Jist where the hell do you think you’re goin’? It’s freezin’ outside and gettin’ colder by the second,” a harsh, concerned voice asked Tansy from the mine opening.

“Clint!” Tansy ran at him and threw herself into his arms, a kiss smacked soundly on his cold lips. She pulled him close.

“Well now, I should stay away more often,” he said throatily, then kissed her back thoroughly and she let him, grateful he was home and not injured. Clint broke the contact and asked after Shanie.

“She’s back. Where’re the others?” Tansy dragged him to the fire for something warm to drink, pulling at his cold outer sodden clothing, needing to do something to keep busy. She hugged him once more after hanging his wet garments over the moose antlers to dry.

“Outside, I need to get back out there. I jist come in to pull back the doorframes, the animal won’t fit through the hide, too big. But I kinda got...distracted.” Clint smiled. “Wanna distract me again?”

“Is anyone hurt?” Tansy asked instead.

“Yeah, someone is.” Clint narrowed his eyes. She shuddered at his intensity, remembering Shanie’s near frantic words of how viciously he had attacked the intruders. Tansy’s overwhelming gratitude toward him for saving her child surged.

“Who?”

“Calls hisself Danny.” Clint began dragging back the heavy doorframes.

The others in the mine woke as the men struggled to carry a yearling bison inside. A smaller man was helping, under the watchful eye of Cord. After the men and bison were inside, they replaced the doorframes securing the heavy stiff hide over them, lashing it down, as a cold winter storm began to blow gaining in intensity. Tansy and Emmy fussed over the four of them, excited and relieved they were home safe at last.

“You missed me, didn’t you?” Cord said and laughed as Tansy gave him a hearty hug. Her admittance had him laughing further as she pulled him close.

“I did,” Michaela said, grasping at Cord’s legs once Tansy released him. Tansy smiled as Mike made her way through the men for hugs and kisses, clamoring for their attention, along with Ricky and Max.

Cord picked her up and Michaela’s nose rubbed against his cold cheek affectionately. He placed her on her feet and swatted her behind playfully as she ran off after Max and Ricky. Lucky, curious about the intruder, kept a close eye on him from well across the stone room, with an equally curious Rose. The frightened young girl stood as warily as the dog, with an arm draped across his furry neck. They both watched with apprehension.

After Tansy and Emmy had the men sitting around the fire with cups of warmed brandy and steaming bowls of soup, Tansy made her way to the other man. He was curled up away from the warmth of the fire shaking. He warily watched her approach. His hands had been tied after the bison was set down. His outer clothes still on, Tansy reached to pull back his hood from a tattered threadbare jacket that had seen better days. She gasped; his face was a hideous mess of blood and bruising. His nose was obviously broken, his eyes swelling, one almost closed.

“Leave him,” Cord demanded; he looked up from his meal.

“I will not, Cord; he’s hardly more than a boy.” Tansy watched the young man shrink back as Cord dropped his food and approached, snarling. Obviously the boy wasn’t shaking just from the cold, he was undeniably terrified.

Cord gripped Tansy by her upper arms and pulled her easily to her feet, he glared down at her. “This boy tried to smash in my skull.”

“Well you did a good job of smashing in his face.”

She’d been concerned about the others, but now that they were safely back she couldn’t help but feel pity for the young man. The two stood staring each other down. Tansy pulled her arms free; shrugging Cord off, not feeling at all intimidated by the powerful man’s commanding stance and size.

“Cord, we didn’t bring him back to have him die,” Aidan reasoned.

Cord relented, slightly. He cast an enraged glance in the young man’s direction. “I’ll be close by. You touch her in any way and you’ll be lion bait or worse.” The young man nodded curtly.

Tansy retrieved water that had boiled and was now warm to the touch, as well as a soft skin to bathe his face and cuts with. Most of the wounds were superficial. Tansy drizzled a small amount of honey directly onto the cuts then bandaged them with small strips of clean boiled dry cloth. Because of rigorous activities Tansy found the need to have a handy supply of sterile material to work with. Someone was always in need of first-aid.

Tansy pulled one side of his tattered coat down as best as she could noticing the large amount of blood on his sleeve through the tear. One cut on his forearm was particularly bad and would require stitches. The knife blade had gone through his outer garments.

Pulling the wound together in the middle Tansy’s first stitch went in the center of the wound. She worked outwards, making each stitch individually. She used the smallest needle Aidan had crafted from a piece of bone. Aidan had heated a small fishing hook and burned an eye through the end of the tiny needle. Aidan made a few at Emmy’s request; she found the smaller needles easier to work with when decorating an outfit. Tansy found the smaller needles easier to use when removing splinters from little hands and feet, and even those not so little. It was a necessary evil they endured because the monotonous collection of wood cooked their food and kept them warm and alive and offered a large measure of comfort.

“How old are you?” Tansy asked, working as gently as she could.

“Eighteen,” he choked out. Then added, “At least I think I will be soon.”

Perception of time was difficult. Tansy thought he was young. He’d been through quite an ordeal. His friends were dead; he was badly beaten and exhausted. He was surrounded by four large and hostile men. He gave into his sobs as Cord again approached.