Prairie Thunder

Melody counted on her fingers for a moment.

"Ever since Father passed... four, I guess."

"I'm surprised you're still alive."

Melody laughed.

"Why, because I'm a girl? They didn't have no boys, so Father taught me about farming and raising stock and how to hunt. Mother taught me how to raise a garden and put up food and cook. I eat better'n you, I bet. When's the last time you had a proper meal?"

Daniel smiled shyly.

"'Bout six weeks, I reckon."

"Well, Daniel Morgan, if you'll go fetch me some water from the creek, I'll cook you one."

That night, stretched out on his bedroll in front of the fireplace, Daniel had to smile. Melody was as good as her word. She'd served him a thick slice of ham, fried potatoes and fresh-soaked leather britches beans with bacon. Melody was a good cook and he was full as a tick. He'd almost said no to the cobbler she'd conjured up from flour and dried chokecherries, but was glad he hadn't. As the fire died down, Daniel mused that if there had been no war, he'd probably be going to sleep beside a wife. That wife would make him breakfast the next morning. They'd have children. The flames that flickered in the fire soon caused his eyes to close, and he fell asleep thinking Melody would make a good wife for some man.

}|{

The scream was terrifying. Daniel turned in the water and saw William holding his arm. As he watched, a man in a tattered grey uniform leveled his rifle at William and sighted down the barrel.

It all happened so slowly. Daniel saw the hammer fall, then the cloud of smoke around the rifle barrel, and William collapsed in the water just as two more grey uniforms joined the first.

He and Joseph turned and tried to run, but in seconds, Joseph screamed. Daniel barely had time to see the front of Joseph's uniform turn red before another ball caught him on the cheek. He fell down, dropped his rifle and started swimming underwater for the shore. Even underwater, he could hear Joseph's cries for help. Another ball bored through the water beside Daniel as his lungs screamed for the breath he knew would mean death.

He was wet and shivering when the hands shook him.

"Daniel! Wake up!"

He was shaken again.

"Wake up. Please wake up!"

The mist that clouded his conscious mind made everything just outlines and color. There, in the soft red glow of the coals in the fire, was a person.

"What? Where are we? Are they gone?"

"Who? There's nobody here."

"But William...they shot him ... and Joseph...They're both gone."

Her voice was soft and calm and brought Daniel back to the soddy and Melody.

"Daniel, it was just a dream. You're safe, right here with me, just the two of us. Remember?"

Daniel reached for her, and Melody pulled him to her breast. With a gentle hand, she stroked his hair. Something deep inside her reached out to this stranger, pulled at her heart and made her hold him tight. Without thinking, she kissed him on the forehead.

Daniel looked up into her eyes.

"Melody, I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

Daniel took a deep breath.

"I was in the war. Sometimes things come back to me in my sleep. I'm all right now."

"I don't think you're all right. You're dripping with sweat and shivering because you're cold. You get out of those clothes and wrap that blanket around you while I build up the fire. You're not gonna catch your death in my house if I can help it. Don't worry. I won't look."

The heat of the coals licked at the dry wood, then embraced it in flames that lit the room in a warm yellow glow. Melody turned as Daniel was pulling the blanket around his waist and saw the round scar on his chest.

"Did you get shot?"

"Yes, three times. Only this one and another were bad. The third just nicked my face. Didn't even leave much of a scar."

She touched the raised, whiter skin.

"Never saw a bullet hole before...in a man anyway."

"There's another on my back where it went through."

Daniel turned to show her, and Melody ran her hands over the scar. He tensed at her touch, and she found herself enjoying the feeling of his muscles under her fingertips.

"Where's the other one?"

"On my belly."

"Can I see it?"

"I don't think that would be proper, do you?"

"Just as proper as you undressing me last night was. Now, let me see it... please."

Daniel pulled the blanket down slightly and pointed to the long ragged scar just below his navel.

"Here. The bullet almost missed me, but I bled a lot. If William - "

Daniel's voice wavered.

"If William hadn't bandaged it and got me to the surgeon, I'd probably have bled to death."

Melody caught her breath when she touched the scar. Daniel's belly was flat and firm and caused feelings she'd not felt before, the feelings her mother had warned her about. She pulled back her hand, a little in fear of those feelings and a little from embarrassment.

"It's no wonder you have bad dreams. Now, lay down and try to sleep. I'll be here if they come to you again."

He was already asleep when Melody brought the blankets from her bed and laid down beside him. She looked at his face. He seemed to be at peace and she was thankful. Daniel had touched her, deep inside the core of her mind. Earlier that day, his strength had awakened her to the touch of her body against his and the feelings that caused. Tonight, his weakness had awakened her instinct to care for and nurture him.

It was all a little confusing for her and she wished her mother were there to help her sort it all out. As she lay there, watching Daniel sleep, she tried to remember every talk they had had about woman things.

Those talks had always been about her body, how a man and wife made love, and how babies were conceived and born. How she wished they'd talked about feelings, but Melody never remembered her mother showing any feelings toward her father.

Yet, when he caught cold, Mother brought him special food and cold cloths to drive down the fever. His birthday was in March, but Mother always managed to save a few dried berries for the birthday cobbler he loved. Though her own work was hard, what with the garden and washing and mending, Mother always had supper on the table when he finished work.

Never had she seen them embrace or kiss, things she always thought meant they loved each other, but as Melody thought about these other things, for the first time she realized they were acts of love. She also realized her heart was telling her to do these same things for Daniel.

Melody moved closer to the sleeping man, and covered them both with her blanket. If felt good to have her arm across his chest, so she left it there. As she drifted off to sleep, she wondered if he would leave tomorrow, or if she could persuade him to stay.

}|{

Daniel woke the next morning to find Melody beside him with her cheek nestled against his shoulder and her arm across his chest. He cursed himself for having the dream the night before, then smiled as he remembered Melody's concern and the way she seemed to want to care for him. No woman except his mother had ever acted that way toward him before. He found it comforting that this young girl would do so.

She was peaceful in sleep, he thought, and now that he could see her this close, quite a pretty girl. She would never have fit into the group of girls he knew before the war. That she had cut her hair short was evidence she favored practical over primping for the attentions of men, but the more he thought about it, the more he liked that.

She had not been afraid of him, ever, at least she had no fear that he could recognize. True, she had been angry that he'd undressed her, but in thinking of her standing there in front of his shelter with his rifle at the ready, he smiled again. Melody was more his equal than many of the men with which he'd served.

Her nose wrinkled and her hand left his chest to rub it. When she opened her eyes, he was still staring at her and smiling. She looked concerned.

"You didn't have another dream, did you?"

'No, and I'm sorry for the one last night."

"We all have bad dreams sometimes. I used to have them after Mother and Father passed, but they never happen anymore. Yours'll pass too, I'm sure, and until they do, I'll be..."

She stopped talking and looked embarrassed.

"You'll be what?"

"Nothing. I was just ...would you like breakfast? I have more ham, and I can get some fresh eggs."

}|{

Daniel had finished his plate before Melody spoke again.

"I suppose you'll be leaving today."

"Yes. Why?"

"I just wanted to know. I have a shoulder ham left from last fall's butcherin' that I won't need, so I'll pack it for you. It'll be better than that greasy bacon you've been eating."

"I imagine it will."

"I have a little flour left from last season, too. I don't use much flour all by myself, and I planted more wheat last fall so I can make more. I could make you some biscuits to take with you...if you can wait that long."

Daniel smiled.

"I can wait."

}|{

Daniel walked around the small farm while Melody baked. It was small, he thought, but the dirt was good. In the distance, past the small field Melody had already plowed, the prairie grass was already a foot high. Cattle would thrive on the lush green, and it could be cut several times through the summer and put up as hay for the winter. There was more than enough land to plow more, too. The place was much like the farm on which he grew up, though his father's farm had a large barn and an actual house.

To the east and the river were trees that could be used to make such a house and barn and fences for livestock. He found himself thinking about how such a thing could be done by just two people. It would be hard work, but a man who took on the task would have many rewards, a dry barn full of hay to keep the cattle over winter, pastures to keep them in summer, and a house where a man could make a home and raise sons to help him.

He decided the best time to begin would be after the spring planting. Trees would have to be cut, a lot of them, but the two oxen could pull them to the site of the barn and house. Then, there would be the peeling and cutting of the logs. Rocks would have to be brought from the river for foundation stones, but a rough, log sledge would make that a simple task for the oxen.

Melody called that the biscuits were done, and Daniel walked back to the house. He was almost there when he saw a spot where the clay plaster had come loose and fallen to the ground. After the rain, there was a depression in the wall that would soon break through. He remembered Melody saying she had to patch the walls every year. Her voice startled him.

"Daniel, come eat a couple before they get cold. They'll keep you filled up while you ride."

Daniel made a decision he couldn't have made a day earlier.

"If it's all right with you, I think I'll stay until we get your wall fixed."

"What?"

"Your wall...the rain washed it away...right over there."

Melody was smiling, but the smile was different than he'd seen before.

"Well, if you want to, it's fine with me. We'll have some dinner and then we'll get started."

}|{

That night, after another good meal, Melody thanked him for helping.

"I always have to fix that place, but you did a better job than I always do. It oughta hold for a while this time."

"You need a proper house if you're gonna keep living here."

"I don't have anywhere else to go. Besides, I can't leave Mother and Father here by themselves. I don't know how to build a house. Couldn't anyway, all by myself, so I guess I'll stay here in this one."

Daniel nodded.

"It would be pretty hard, but still possible. A barn too, for cattle and horses in the winter."

Melody laughed.

"It would take a man to do all that. You see any men around here?"

"I'm here" was all he said.

Melody stared at him for a moment, then smiled the same smile he'd seen that morning.

"You'd stay...stay here with me?"

"Yes."

"Like...like a...like a husband?"

"No, not like a husband. I'd have to be your husband to stay...if you'd have me."

Melody stood up.

"Don't move. I have to do something."

She lit a candle and ducked past the cloth drape. Several minutes later, she came back and Daniel could only stare. She wore a white dress trimmed in lace. She walked to face him and took his hand.

"This was Mother's wedding dress. She saved it for me even though we had to sell most of our things before coming out here. She said she wanted to see me wear it at my wedding."

"Don't we need a preacher for a wedding?"

"Well, I don't see any of those around either, and besides, I don't think the words a preacher says mean all that much. It's what we say to each other that does. What will you say to me?"

"Melody, I'm not very good at things like this."

"Just say what you feel, Daniel. That's enough for me."

"Melody, I...I promise to take care of you, to make you a house, and to be as good a husband as I can."

"Daniel, I promise to be a good wife, to look after you always, and to have your babies."

She squeezed his hand.

"You're supposed to kiss me now."

Daniel gathered her in his arms and looked into her eyes, then kissed her. As their lips met, he felt as if some great burden had suddenly slipped from his shoulders. Melody put her arms around his neck and held him close. A few moments later, she pushed gently away and smiled at him.

"Hello, husband."

"Hello, wife."

Melody kissed him again, then looked into his face.

"Shouldn't you be making a woman out of me now?"

}|{

In the glow of the flickering flame of the candle, Melody gently pulled the dress over her head, folded it carefully and placed it inside a heavy wooden trunk. She turned and stood naked in front of Daniel.

"Do you like me? I...I wondered back at the river why you didn't try to...I thought maybe something was wrong with me."

Daniel didn't answer. He took off his clothes, then led Melody to the small, rough-hewn bed on one side of the small room. She slipped beneath the blanket, and after he lay beside her, she stroked his chest.

He knew the ways of men and women, as well as did Melody, but their efforts were clumsy at first. There seemed to be too many arms and legs trying to entwine in the embrace of lovers. Finally, Melody giggled and stroked Daniel's cheek.

"I'll lay on my back and you get on top of me."

Daniel eased down on Melody's belly, still supporting most of his weight on his arms. Her arms around his back felt good, but not nearly so nice as her inner thighs against his legs. His swollen manhood felt the patch of hair he'd seen at the joining of her thighs. Daniel probed the soft curls, then found the cleft and pushed in gently.

Melody stiffened at the pressure, then whispered, "not yet, Daniel. Kiss me again and touch me here."

Melody gently pulled on hand to her breasts.

They were soft to his touch, but her nipples quickly rose to stand proud off her soft breasts. As Daniel stroked them gently, they grew harder, and Melody murmured, "Yes, like that".

Melody's hand slid from Daniel's back and around his belly, searching until it closed around his shaft. Soft fingers gently stroked his length, then felt the smooth head. Daniel shuddered when Melody squeezed him gently. Her hand left him for a moment. He felt it slip lower, move a little and then return. This time, he felt wetness on her fingers, a wetness she rubbed on the tip of his shaft.

"Try it now", Melody whispered.

He slipped easily between her warm, wet lips, and found her entrance to be just as slippery. Gently, because he knew of the narrowness of a virgin, Daniel pushed in until he felt resistance. He kissed Melody again, finding her lips parted and waiting.

Withdrawing a little, Daniel pushed forward again, this time probing deeper. Melody gasped and pulled his mouth tight against hers, then gasped again as Daniel pushed even deeper.

Daniel pulled his mouth from hers.

"Should I keep going?"

Melody's voice was but a whisper.

"Yes. It hurts a little, but I knew it would. I don't want you to stop."

Daniel pulled back again, then pushed deeper. The narrowness again stopped his advance, but suddenly, the way was open. Melody cried out as his manhood slid to her depths, and hugged him tightly.

The sensation of Melody's body sheathing his shaft was more than Daniel had expected, and much more than he could control. With a low groan, his seed raced from his loins to splash into Melody's depths. He hung over her, panting from the effort of release. Melody stroked his back and whispered, "Now I really am a woman...and now, I'm really your wife."

}|{

According to Grandma, on that night, her brother Jacob was conceived. Melody knew long before she told Daniel. There was so much work to do and she knew he'd worry if he found out. Once he saw her growing belly, she had to confess. Daniel was overjoyed, and refused to let her do anything until she sternly reminded him she wasn't sick and was still capable of doing her share of the work.

She raised the same garden and put up food like she had done before while Daniel cut trees for their house. Just as the first frosts of winter coated the plains in white, Daniel lit the first fire in the small cabin that would grow with each passing summer until it became a house with three bedrooms and a summer kitchen. Melody had born two boys and a girl, and said they needed a room for the boys and one for the girl in addition to their own.

Some time after that, a town sprang up a few miles away, and Daniel was able to sell some of their grain and buy more livestock. By the time Grandma was born, he plowed and planted eighty acres every spring, and had fifty cows on pasture.

The old tintype was taken in their later years, and only after Grandma had insisted. I gather she took after Melody quite a bit, and tended to say what she thought. Her harangue eventually forced Daniel and Melody to relent. The stern look on their faces, captured so long ago, doesn't really reflect them as I imagine from Grandma's stories, but then, their life was hard.

Yes, it was hard, with all the work done by hand, but Grandma said they were always happy together. I once asked her how that could be since they barely knew each other when they married. She smiled at me, and said they weren't just man and wife; they were partners in life. Melody knew Daniel would be there for her whenever she needed him, and he knew she'd do the same for him. I guess that's about all any of us can hope for, really.