Chapter 6

"So, when are you going to tell me the rest of the story, Pap?" I asked.

I looked over at Mom and she was smiling. "Well, Jase, me and your Mom ain't able to take on four kids at our age. We don't have enough food to feed them for the winter, and we don't have enough room in our wickiup for them to sleep. We were wondering if you all could take them in."

I looked over at Millie and she was nodding just as Tess said, "Of course we'll take them in, Pap."

It was almost time for supper and Abby decided she was hungry, so she joined the other children at the table. I went over and sat beside Abby.

"Adam, I'm Jase Tackett," I said. "Are you the Reverend Green's son?"

"I know who you are. Yeah, I'm his son."

"How old are you, Adam?"

"Twelve, almost thirteen."

"You guys are welcome to stay with us for as long as you like, Adam. I know your father didn't like me, but that won't change how we treat any of you."

"Pa said you're the Devil incarnate," Adam said.

"Your pa thought that because I'm half Indian, and I have more than one wife, that I'm evil. I don't think I'm evil. All of us here try to be the best people we can be."

"I believe Pa."

"Well, Adam, you're almost man high. You're old enough to make up your own mind about things. Why don't you give it a while and see what you think of us?"

Adam didn't answer, but he did nod. I thought that was a good sign, at least. I looked at the oldest girl. At first I thought she was Wanda's age, but now I was thinking she might be a year or two older.

"Who might you be, young lady?" I asked.

"I'm Eve Green. Reverend Green was my pa, too."

"How old are you, Eve?"

She blushed and said, "I'm fourteen. I'll be fifteen in March."

"Millie is due to have our first baby in March. Maybe we'll be able to celebrate both of your birthdays together."

"Pa said it ain't right to talk about women having babies," Adam broke in. "He said that it says so in the bible."

"Have you read the bible, Adam?" I asked.

"No. I know Pa wouldn't lie though."

"Have you read the bible, Eve?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember it saying anything like that in the bible?"

"No, but Pa always said we had to interpret what it says and make it fit the way the world is today."

"Well, I certainly agree with him on that. The only problem is that when we do that, we have to be very careful that we are still doing what the bible intended to say, not what we want it to say."

Eve looked very thoughtful, then she looked me directly in the eye and nodded.

The other girl looked to be seven or eight years old. "What is your name, Honey?" I asked.

"I'm Mary Crank, and I'm eight years old," she said.

"I suppose it'd make you mad if I called you Cranky, wouldn't it?"

She giggled and said, "I don't think it'd make me mad, but most people call me Mary."

"How about I call you Mary most of the time, but once in a while I may throw in a Cranky?"

She giggled again and said, "That'd be okay."

"Who might you be, young man?" I asked, looking at the youngest boy.

"I'm Mike Justice."

"How old are you, Mike?"

"I'm seven."

"You weren't with the same wagon train we were on, coming out. I'd have remembered a fine young man like you."

"No. We came later. Reverend Green told us about you, though."

"Do you think you're old enough to see what you think about me after you've been around me for a while?"

The boy nodded, and gave me a half smile.

Getting everyone bedded down for the night was quite a chore. Abby had shared her bed with Wanda and Lelah enough that sharing with Eve and Mary wasn't a problem. We made a pallet on the floor for the boys and another one for Mom and Pap.

November 13, 1845

My wives and I did not make love in the night. With all of the people in the house, we were a little inhibited. We did have a nice, naked, snuggle, though.

Mom and Pap wanted to take off early, so Tess, Lettie and Emma pitched in and got a nice big breakfast ready in no time. The new kids were impressed with the food.

My parents took off for their home, as John and I went out to run our trap lines. I did really well with my traps, and I came home with five new pelts. When I got back to the house, I almost wished I had stayed out all day.

There was so much tension in the house, you could have cut it with a knife and served it up on johnnycake. I could tell immediately that Millie, Emma and Tess were as mad as all hell. Adam was sulking over in one corner of the kitchen, as far away from everyone else as he could get. Lettie seemed to be quietly amused.

I got Lettie off to herself and asked in a whisper, "What's going on?"

"Adam called Emma a half breed," she grinned. "I thought Millie and Tess and Emma were going to scalp him."

"What happened?"

"They yelled at him a little, but nothing else."

"How did the other kids react?"

"Eve just seemed embarrassed. The two younger ones seemed scared for a while, but they've gotten over it, now."

"Shit! What are we going to do, Lettie?"

"I think that after he gets used to us he'll be okay. In the mean time, I think he's going to feel the bite of Millie, Tess, and Emma's tongues quite a bit."

"Is there anything we can do?"

"You might try taking him with you tomorrow when you run your traps. Maybe you could have him help you prepare your pelts this morning. Try to keep him busy while he learns we're not the devilish people his father taught him we are."

"I can do that," I said, nodding. "You're probably right. Keeping him busy sure can't hurt; and keeping him out of the way of the women, can only be a good thing."

I walked over and kissed Millie, then I kissed Emma. Tess I just gave a big hug.

"Adam, put on a coat," I said. "I need some help with my pelts."

The boy glared at me and didn't move. I just stood there staring at him until he finally decided he'd better do what I said.

Outside, I didn't say anything about what had happened between him and the girls. I asked him if he knew how to prepare a pelt, and he said he had no idea. I showed him how to stretch it and how to clean off any bits of flesh that might be adhering to the hide. He was an apt pupil, and actually seemed to be enjoying the work.

We had been working on the pelts for a while when he said, "I called one of your wives a half-breed this morning."

"Emma is a half-breed. So am I, and so is Tess. It probably wasn't so much that you called her a half-breed that made them mad. It was probably in how you said it. If you said it so that it sounded like you were saying she wasn't as good as you are because she's half Indian, then I can understand why they're angry with you."

Adam thought for a while, then said, "I guess I did. Pa always told us that we are God's chosen people. He said anyone else was bound to hell."

"If you'll read the bible, Adam, you'll find that the Jews were God's chosen people. The Jews have skin that is almost the same color as the Indians do. Even though the Jews are God's chosen, that doesn't mean that anyone from any race can't go to heaven when they die."

"That's what Eve says, but Pa said you can't believe Eve. Him and Eve fought all the time. He was threatening to throw her out of his house."

"Just give it some time to see what you think of us, Adam. In the mean time, I wouldn't be calling any of the women in this family names. They get real excited. Tess has a real bad temper. It's hard to tell what she might do to you, if you made her mad enough."

It was shortly after noon when Eve came over to where I was working on a pair of moccasins and asked, "Jase, could I talk to you for a few minutes?"

"Sure. What's on your mind?"

"Uh... Could we take a walk or something?"

"Grab your coat. It's a mite nippy out, today."

Once we were outside and walking away from the cabin, Eve asked, "Jase, could I ask you some personal questions without you getting mad at me?"

"You can ask anything, Eve. I might not answer you, but I won't get mad at you."

"Well, you know Pa didn't like you. He said a lot of bad things about you. Pa didn't like me, neither. That was mostly because if I didn't agree with something he said, I'd tell him so. Then he'd scream at me, and sometimes he'd hit me. I think he was afraid to hit you."

I had to laugh at that. "I'm really a peaceable guy, Eve. I don't like to get into fights. and the two times I had to kill someone, I got physically sick to my stomach."

Eve nodded and said, "I expected as much. I saw you after you had shot Mr. Arnold and you looked like it had hit you hard. One of the biggest things Pa harped on about you was that you are half Indian. I figure that's a matter of birth, and it isn't anything you have control of."

"Yeah, I hope Adam can see that after a while. Tess has a really bad temper. I don't know what she'll do if he calls her a half-breed."

Eve nodded again and said, "I'll talk to him about that. The other thing Pa harped on all the time was your wives. He said you were living in sin because you're married to more than one woman. Now, I've read the entire bible through twice, and I can't find anywhere that it says a man can have only one wife or a woman can have only one husband."

"Well, we feel the same way about that, Eve. I love all of my wives and they all love me. They also love each other. I'm sure that after you've lived with us for a while, you'll see that love expressed in ways that may shock you."

"I really don't think I'll be shocked, Jase. Pa would have been, and Ma would have been mortified. Adam is a lot like Pa, so you may have some trouble with him."

"What about the two younger kids, Eve?"

"They're too young to have been ruined by their parents. I expect they'll accept things the way they are, here."

I had to laugh. "The way things are can be kind of peculiar. When the weather gets warmer, Millie likes to take baths in the creek. She likes to have the whole family in there."

"You mean you all get naked and get in the water together?"

"Yep."

"Oh, my lands. I don't know if I could do that."

"Eve, you'll find out that we would never force anyone to do anything they didn't want to do. I was a little embarrassed by it at first, myself. The only three people who took to it real natural were Millie, Tess, and Abby. It's hard to get Abby to wear clothes, at any time."