The Other Side of Jordan by Dawn Miller

Author:Dawn Miller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: book, book
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2010-05-24T16:00:00+00:00

Medicine Weasel made a rare appearance at the cabin this evening while the men were down at the barn, checking on one of the horses that was getting ready to foal. Rose and Patrick had taken off earlier with Gale to Jack and Lillie’s for a game of Drop the Handkerchief with Jessie’s grandchildren, so I was left alone with Mara Lee when I heard the knock at the door. I had to call out, “Come on in!” twice before I saw the door finally open and Medicine Weasel cautiously step inside.

I could tell he had tried to make an effort with his appearance, dressing in some of the clothes Jack had given him and braiding his long white hair, but he still looked too thin. I tried to steel myself against the memory of the proud medicine man who had saved Jack’s life all those years ago.

Medicine Weasel smiled at me then sat down on the floor in front of the fireplace with a slight groan. Then he looked at me for what seemed like an eternity before he talked.

“Jessie’s people, with hair like the buffalo, do they fare as well as the whites?” he asked, and when I told him no, he merely nodded, as if he suspected as much. He pulled out a piece of jerky and chewed off a tiny bit and stared into the fire.

“So, getting land of their own, this has been a difficult thing?” he asked finally.

“Yes,” I said. “There are some whites that don’t want them to have any land. But they didn’t put their faith in those people; they put their faith in God.”

“And it has turned out well for them. This is good news,” he said, rising to leave. Then he stopped at the door as if a thought had suddenly occurred to him. “You were right,” he said. “Grandfather does bring you hope to fill where those dead pieces used to be.”

December 6, 1873 . . .

Another day of snow; falling like big feathers through the gray sky, hitting the earth with a hush that seems almost impossible. I can just barely make out Medicine Weasel’s lodge from the window, but I do see the spirals of smoke trailing upward before they’re swept back down with the snow. The valley and beyond looks like it’s been covered by a huge white blanket, and I feel like going back to bed for some reason.

I think Mara Lee feels the same; I can hear the soft baby chatter she does when she’s drifting off to sleep. She said her first word today, which sounded to me like, “Nodunt,” and it wasn’t until I had her repeat it in front of Quinn that Rose and Patrick looked at each other and burst into a round of laughter.

“Bird’s saying, ‘No, don’t,’ Mama,” Patrick said, and Quinn and I laughed as he picked up Mara Lee and brushed over her thick, black curls. I should have known. “No, don’t” has become the most-said words around this cabin since she’s started crawling and reaching for things.

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